"Werewolf By Night" Omnibus by various writers and artists (Part 2 of 2)

 

(over-sized hb; 2015: graphic novel)

From the inside flap

“From the streets of Los Angeles, across Europe and into unnamed worlds, Transylvanian-American Jack Russell turned his curse into a blessing for others. During his quest for control or cure, he met many of Marvel’s mightiest monsters as allies, enemies or either—including John Blaze, Brother Voodoo, the Man-Thing, Morbius the Living Vampire, and even Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster! His clashes with two very different vigilantes made him an opponent of the heinous Hangman and a friend with ex-mercenary Moon Knight, commissioned by the cryptic Committee to tame him!

“Bound body and soul to the gruesome grimoire called the Darkhold, the Werewolf and his friends—mortal and otherwise—found themselves at the center of sorcery spanning the centuries: Aelfric the Mad Monk, Marcosa the Soul-Eater, the terrible Taboo and the modern era’s Moondark the Magician! Threats ranging from such mortal monstrosities as Half-man and DePrayve to the all-but-omnipotent forces of Doctor Glitternight and the Starseed harried the hairy hero, who inevitably rose—triumphant—even more steadily than the full moon!

“Featuring the Army of Terror, the Brotherhood of Baal, the Hellrunners and the hordes of Hydra! Demons and androids, Hollywood vampires and zombie police officers, mad scientists, madder monsters, and more! Guest-starring Spider-Man and Iron Man, and featuring the origin of Tigra of the Avengers!”

 

Overall review

Caveat: (possible) minor spoilers in this review. Part 1 of the review is here.

Werewolf is a fun, well-written and excellently illustrated comic book, with main characters that, within the comic book genre, are relatively smart and consistent in their characterizations—though Jack Russell’s occasional young-man-oblivious sexism and verbal cultural appropriation (when dealing with people of color), e.g., “speaking through his Afro” and “hand-jive,” might upset some modern-day readers unable to process that those in the past weren’t sensitive to some future readers’ outrage-archeologist sensibilities. That minor quibble aside, Werewolf is mostly a slice-of-1970s-monster blast-read, an Old School joy ride down memory lane for those who thrill to such things. Worth owning, this.

 

Review, issue by issue

Werewolf By Night: “Giant-Size Werewolf By Night” (#2) – “The Frankenstein Monster Meets Werewolf By Night”: Frankenstein’s Monster, trying to have his soul migrated into a less monster-iconic body, seeks out a Los Angeles-based cult (Brotherhood of Baal, led by Danton Vayla), who, coincidentally, has kidnapped Lissa, Jack’s Russell’s sister. The Brotherhood of Baal intend to sacrifice her to bring Satan’s spirit into Frankenstein’s Monster’s body.

This issue is especially cartoon-cheesy with otherwise smart characters (e.g., Lissa) putting themselves and others into easily avoided dodgy situations. Yes, it’s a comic book, but it’s even-for-comics-cheesy. Buck Cowan, Los Angeles reporter and friend of the Russells, makes an appearance in this issue.

 

Werewolf By Night: “Face of the Fiend!” (#22): Jack Russell finds himself—in his fanged, furry-furious form—fighting a murderous muscleman in Greek attire (Atlas, a.k.a. Steve Rand) who’s killing Hollywood-types responsible for his facial disfiguration. . . and now he’s trying to kill Jack!

 

Werewolf By Night: “The Murderer is a Maniac!” (#23): Buck Cowan fills Jack Russell in about Atlas/Steve Rand’s history, one connected to Cowan’s screenwriting past. Jack and Atlas have a rematch in Mann’s Chinese Theater.

 

Werewolf By Night: “The Dark Side of Evil!” (#24): Winston Redditch, a mild-mannered scientist, might have a cure for Jack Russell’s lycanthropy—unfortunately, Redditch, after a beaker mix-up, transforms into Deprayve, a Mr. Hyde-esque mad man, intent on murder and evil. Jack discovers this in a hard-fought way.

Meanwhile, Vic Northrup, fellow cop and friend of LAPD Lieutenant Lou Hackett, gets a big lead in his werewolf-related investigation of Hackett’s death. (Hackett, a “cop-turned-werewolf,” died in issue 21.)

Also: Jack is evicted from the Colden House apartment complex by his landlady, Sandy. Seems there’s been too many supernatural attacks against Jack and his neighbors, and too much property damage resulting from them. Because of this, Jack moves into Buck Cowan’s house.

 

Werewolf By Night: “An Eclipse of Evil!” (#25): Jack Russell and Winston Redditch (who’d chemically pursued his “Jekyll-Hyde Theory”) recover from their public scrap-up (in the previous issue), reverting  back to his non-Deprayve self.

LAPD Detective Northrup continues hounding Jack about his lycanthropy (which Northrup has gleaned) and Lou Hackett’s death (Werewolf By Night issue 21). A surprise villain makes a shocking appearance!

 

Werewolf By Night: “A Crusade of Murder” (#26): The Hangman (last seen in issues 11 and 12) tries to kill Jack Russell, then kidnaps a bed-ridden Winston Redditch (who inevitably becomes his alter-ego, Deprayve). A three-way battle ensues.

 

Werewolf By Night: “Giant-Size Werewolf (#3) – “Castle Curse!”: Jack Russell, his sister Lissa, and Buck Cowan return to Transylvania (the last time was there was Tomb of Dracula #18 and Werewolf By Night #15) to rescue Topaz from a “band of gypsies” who ransacked the Russells’ family home (Gregory Russoff’s Manor) while looking for a copy of the Darkhold (Gregory’s warlock spellbook).

Also: a spate of murders is taking place in his family’s in ancestral village. Jack, in lycanthropic form, deals with vigilante villagers and a gypsy woman with a mysterious grudge against Jack and the villagers.

 

Werewolf By Night: “The Amazing Dr. Glitternight” (#27): A month after returning from Transylvania, a malevolent sorcerer (Glitternight) and his tentacled “yecch-monster” stalk Topaz from a nearby cave.

 

Werewolf By Night: “The Darkness from Glitternight” (#28): Dr. Glitternight—not believing that Taboo, Topaz’s stepfather, is dead (Werewolf By Night #14)—torments her, Jack Russell, his sister Lissa, and Buck Cowan in order to discover the dead sorcerer’s whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Lissa’s eighteenth birthday, the night of her first lycanthropic shift, rapidly approaches, worsening the Taboo situation.

 

Werewolf By Night: “A Sister of Hell” (#29): Lissa Russell, transformed into a weredemon by Dr. Glitternight, engages in a fierce battle with her lycanthropic sibling, Jack, in their “ancestral castle, reconstructed on an island off the coast of Malibu”. Meanwhile, Topaz, her stepfather (“a solidification of Taboo’s dead soul”) and Buck Cowan try to stop Glitternight from completely killing Taboo, who wronged the malevolent magic-wielder in the past.

All this happens while LAPD Detective Vic Northrup and a fellow cop (Eddie) go to the Colden House apartment complex, looking for Jack as well as Raymond Coker, who taken a trip to Haiti in order to lift his shapeshifter affliction—he hopes a local voodoo priestess (“Jeessala of de thousand years”), in the heart of the jungle, will help him with this.

 

Werewolf By Night: “Red Slash Across Midnight” (#30): Jack Russell and his sister, Lissa, fight anew on her second-full-moon-night transformation (again, her werewolfery is mutated by Dr. Glitternight’s magickal interference). The stakes are higher this time: Glitternight, watching, has claimed her soul, which he intends to use to further his mass destruction plans.

Topaz, Buck Cowan and Taboo (as a fleshless soul essence) seek a way to save Lissa, and, again, the world. Like the previous issue, this is an especially action-frenetic read.

 

Werewolf By Night: “Giant-Size Werewolf” (#4) – “A Meeting of Blood”/”When the Moon Dripped Blood”—

 “A Meeting of Blood”: Michael Morbius (“the living vampire”) is reunited with his amnesiac fiancée, Martine, who may lead him to more than love, when a wolf-mode Jack Russell crosses their path and attacks them, possibly undoing Morbius and Martine’s shot at a sweet new life.

“When the Moon Dripped Blood”: A too-good-to-be-true film shoot with famous stuntman Brad Wrangle leads Jack Russell, his ex-neighbor Clary Winters (a.k.a. Melody Tune), and reporter/screenwriter Buck Cowan into a Lovecraftian, mountainous nightmare. Despite some heavy-handed dialogue, When is a creepy, over-the-top and fun ride.

 

Werewolf By Night: “Giant-Size Werewolf By Night” (#5) --“The Plunder of Paingloss”: A satanic priest (Joaquin Zairre) kidnaps Jack Russell so that Jack (in werewolf form) might be sacrificed for an increase in Zairre’s power. Unfortunately for Zairre, Buck Cowan comes along for the ride, and a fanged and furry Jack is cast into an alternate realm (Biphasia), with its 24/7 benighted Shadow-Realm, and 24/7 daylit side, Searland.

Russell is forced to fight in a supernatural war between two insane foes (Delandra, the “yin-yang half-queen of Biphasia,” and Sardanus, a black-armored warlord whose bellicose designs include Russell’s—our—world.

Ambitious, complex (for a comic book) and wild-with-its-ideas-and-creatures issue, one of my favorite Werewolf By Night storylines thus far.

 

Werewolf By Night: “Death in White” (#31): Jack Russell’s ski vacation with his friends, including a newly met widow (Elaine Marston) and her seven-year-old daughter (Buttons), goes horribly awry when Buttons sneaks out while Jack, in fur and fang form, runs wild in a blizzard. Meanwhile, L.A. detective Vic Northrup heads to Haiti to hunt down Raymond Carver, whom he thinks had something to do with his friend’s (Det. Lou Hackett) murder (see issue 21).

 

Werewolf By Night: “The Stalker Called Moon Knight” (#32): While Buck Cowan—seriously hurt in issue 31—fights for his life in a L.A. hospital, Jack Russell, moon-transformed, fights for his life after The Committee hires a mercenary (Marc Spector, a.k.a. Moon Knight) to bring Jack Russell, of course in werewolf form, to them. In Haiti, Raymond Coker (last seen in issue 21) gets bad news from “Jeesal of de thousand years”.

 

Werewolf By Night: “Wolf-Beast s. Moon Knight” (#33):Jack Russell’s full-moon battle with Moon Knight continues. L.A. detective Vic Northrup lands in Haiti, continuing his search for Raymond Coker, who tells “Jeesala of de thousand years” about an undead threat that killed his aunt and uncle “in a small village north of Mirebalais” and terrorized his seven-year-old cousin (Banita).

 

Marvel Premiere featuring: The Legion of Monsters—“There’s a Mountain on Sunset Boulevard!” (#28): After a mountain rips through Sunset Boulevard, Jack Russell (moon-transformed), Ghost Rider, Morbius the Living Vampire, and Man-Thing find themselves fighting for or against a golden alien warrior (Starseed), in a conflict that’ll cost them plenty. Palpable sense of comic book-y heartbreak in this issue. One of my favorite Werewolf By Night issues.

 

Werewolf By Night: “Not All the Shades of Death Nor Evil’s Majesty” (#34): A moon-changed Jack Russell, his sister (Lissa), Topaz and Elaine Marston (introduced in issue 31) investigate the haunted Marcosa House (once owned by evil supernatural enthusiast Belaric Marcosa “nearly a century” before). They do this for multiple reasons, not the least of which is to save Buck Cowan’s life (issues 31-32), find out what happened to Elaine’s fellow paranormal investigators (including her husband Steven).

While effectively heavy on atmospheric dread and horror, the plot that leads them there is thin and forced, even for a comic book. Its storyline recalls Shirley Jackson’s 1959 gothic horror novel The Haunting of Hill House and Richard Matheson’s 1971 novel Hell House. Still, this issue is a fun, spooky and above-average horror read.

 

Werewolf By Night: “Evil in Every Stone No Longer Hiding” (#35): Wild, malefic hallucinations (or are they?) manifest themselves with Jack Russell (who, in human form, must fend off a lycanthropic attack), Elaine Marston (volatile and kill-crazy), Lissa and Topaz in Belaric Marcosa’s hellish house.

Intense, relentless in its terror scenarios, above average issue, like the issue that preceded it and the two issues that follow it.

 

Werewolf By Night: “Marcosa in Death” (#36): Still trapped in Belarus Marcosa’s malefic, spirit-infested death abode, Jack Russell and his friends try to suss out their (and Elaine Marston’s) escape, a plan that unveils further mysteries and monstrous visions/attacks.

 

Werewolf By Night: [no story title] (#37): The four-issue Marcosa House arc wraps up as Jack Russell and his family (blood kin and extended) mount a desperate, zombie- and hallucination-bashing offensive against the evil manse-master, Belarus Marcosa. Solid, milestone-for-Jack-Russell finish.

 

Werewolf By Night: “Rebirth Also Kills” (#38): A supernatural trio (The Three who Are All)—“the Cowled One, burning snake, and goat child”—appear to various Werewolf By Night characters, including Jack Russell, to bring them together for a pivotal conflict with a common foe. Not a lot happens in this issue, but it’s a set-up for the next issue.

 

Werewolf By Night: “Some Are Born to the Night” (#39): Jack Russell and his friends (including the unexpected Brother Voodoo, a.k.a. Jericho Drumm) battle zuvembies (“dead men who’ve lost their souls. . . and serve the very person  preventing their eternal rest”) in the Devil’s Grotto in Haiti.

 

Werewolf by Night: “Souls in Darkness” (#40): Still battling the zuvembies, Jack Russell and his friends now have to contend with the supposedly dead Dr. Glitternight (last seen in issues 27-30), master of the zuvembies. Also: Dr. Glitternight’s past is revealed, The Three Who Are All make an appearance as does LAPD Detective Vic Northrup.

 

Werewolf By Night: “. . . And Death Shall Be the Change!” (#41): The conflict between Jack Russell (and his friends) and Dr. Glitternight intensifies made more wild by a revelation and a task put out by The Three Who Are All. Conclusion of the story arc begun in issue 38 (“Rebirth Also Kills”).

 

Werewolf By Night: “The Marauder and the Man of Iron” (#42): Jack Russell, now able to control his lycanthropic transformations, interrupts a four-man burglary, led by the Marauder (last seen in Iron Man issues 60 and 61). Iron Man shows up, and after the obligatory mistaken-intentions fight between Russell and Iron Man, they try to stop the Marauder and his henchmen.

Excellent issue! I love that Jack, one issue away from the end of the original run of Werewolf, is finally able to control his familial curse. Also: his interaction with Jarvis, The Avengers’ manservant, are warm and hilarious.

 

Werewolf by Night: “Terrible Threat of the Tri-Animan” (#43): In a warehouse on Houtson and Mottle Streets in LA, Iron Man and Jack Russell (of course in werewolf form) face off against the Marauder’s latest mutation-cyborg, Tri-Animan (who has the “strength of a gorilla, the speed and agility of a cheetah, and the raw savagery of an alligator”). After their building-smashing fisticuffs spill out onto the streets, things spiral further out of control.

This final issue of the original Werewolf By Night run is mostly fun and all-around excellent for an series-ending work, but I’m guessing its writers didn’t get a lot of warning (if any) about Werewolf’s demise because of a dangling Story B thread where Buck Cowan was dramatically kidnapped by a terrifying, mysterious someone (at the end of issue 42). In issue 43, Buck’s still missing, news that has to reach Jack Russell. Still, this is a minor, beyond-the-creators’-control element. I’ve little doubt they probably would’ve tied up that loose end if Marvel had given them the chance. Great finish.

"Werewolf By Night" Omnibus by various writers and artists (Part 1 of 2)

 

(over-sized hb; 2015: graphic novel)

From the inside flap

“From the streets of Los Angeles, across Europe and into unnamed worlds, Transylvanian-American Jack Russell turned his curse into a blessing for others. During his quest for control or cure, he met many of Marvel’s mightiest monsters as allies, enemies or either—including John Blaze, Brother Voodoo, , the Man-Thing, Morbius the Living Vampire, and even Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster! His clashes with two very different vigilantes made him an opponent of the heinous Hangman and a friend with ex-mercenary Moon Knight, commissioned by the cryptic Committee to tame him!

“Bound body and soul to the gruesome grimoire called the Darkhold, the Werewolf and his friends—mortal and otherwise—found themselves at the center of sorcery spanning the centuries: Aelfric the Mad Monk, Marcosa the Soul-Eater, the terrible Taboo and the modern era’s Moondark the Magician! Threats ranging from such mortal monstrosities as Half-man and DePrayve to the all-but-omnipotent forces of Doctor Glitternight and the Starseed harried the hairy hero, who inevitably rose—triumphant—even more steadily than the full moon!

“Featuring the Army of Terror, the Brotherhood of Baal, the Hellrunners and the hordes of Hydra! Demons and androids, Hollywood vampires and zombie police officers, mad scientists, madder monsters, and more! Guest-starring Spider-Man and Iron Man, and featuring the origin of Tigra of the Avengers!”

 

Overall review

Caveat: (possible) minor spoilers in this review. Part 2 of this review is here.

Werewolf is a fun, well-written and excellently illustrated comic book, with main characters that, within the comic book genre, are relatively smart and consistent in their characterizations—though Jack Russell’s constant lack of planning about how to lock himself up (or how to sedate himself) when he’s a werewolf seems comic book convenient, as he doesn’t seem to try too hard to solve the problem. That minor quibble aside, Werewolf is mostly a slice-of-1970s-monster blast-read, an Old School joy ride down memory lane for those who thrill to such things. Worth owning, this.

 

Review, issue by issue

Marvel Spotlight: ‘Werewolf By Night’ – “Night of Full Moon—Night of Fear!” (#2): Jack Russell’s eighteenth birthday is marred by familial betrayal, tragedy, a nightmarish curse, and murder.

 

Marvel Spotlight: ‘Werewolf By Night’ – “The Thing in the Cellar!” (#3): Two months after his mother’s murder, an on-the-run Jack Russell takes on a motorcycle gang to protect his sister Lissa). He’s later kidnapped by a couple, Nathan and Andrea Timly, who want to “learn the secrets of the Darkhold,” somehow connected to his father, killed in the Balkan by villagers.

 

Marvel Spotlight: ‘Werewolf By Night’ – “Island of the Damned!” (#4): Jack Russell meets L.A. reporter (Buck Cowan), a potential ally in Jack’s search for the Darkhold. This leads them to Miles blackgar’s Monterey, CA-adjacent island where Blackgar engages in mysterious scientific experiments.

 

Werewolf By Night: “Eye of the Beholder!” (#1): Buck Cowan helps Jack Russell escape from Miles Blackwell’s Doctor Moreau-esque island, now run by his once-sympathetic-to-Jack, Gorgon-gazed daughter (Marlene, first seen in Marvel Spotlight #4). The wealthy Blackgars and their reluctant, mutant henchman (Strug) pursue them and kidnap Jack’s sister, Lissa.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “The Hunter—and the Hunted!” (#2): Terri (Jack Russell’s romantic interest) helps Jack interpret his warlock father’s spell book (Darkhold). Another villain, a bald giant named Cephalos, tracks Jack down and tries to transfer Jack’s animal strength and resilience into his villainous body.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “The Mystery of the Mad Monk!” (#3): While translating the Darkhold (written in twelfth century Latin) for Jack, Father Ramon Jacquez, introduced in the last issue, is now controlled by a fire-scarred, eight-hundred-year-old satanic monk (Aelfric the Mad Monk). Jocquez/Aelfric tells Jack Russell about the source of his lycanthropy (an eighteen-hundred-year-old demon), before trying to kill Jack and Lissa. There’s some excellent witchsploitation flick-worthy artwork in this issue, and this is one of my favorite issues in the series thus far.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “The Danger Game!” (#4): Twenty-four hours after the events of the previous issue, a boastful big game hunter (Joshua Kane) hunts Jack Russell (in his werewolf form) in an abandoned L.A. western movie set.

Beyond its obvious story lift, this issue sports a nice visual shout-out to Richard Connell’s 1924 story “The Most Dangerous Game,” along with effective poetic karma at the end. Another favorite issue in this series.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “Life for a Death!” (#5): Luther Kane, scientist brother of Joshua Kane (last seen in issue 4), offers Jack Russell a cure for his lycanthropy-cursed sister (Lissa) if Jack kills someone for him. Luther’s target: Justin Hemp, a “reclusive millionaire” who negatively altered Luther’s fortunes. Like the two issues before it, this is an above-average-for-the-series issue, one where the storylines and characters begin to gel.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “Carnival of Fear” (#6): When Buck Cowan (Jack Russell’s reporter friend), Lissa (Jack’s sister) and Jack visit a traveling carnival, a swami (Rihva) cages Jack, with the intention of turning the reluctant lycanthrope into a sideshow attraction. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Detective Lou Hackett begins looking for Jack, whom he suspects is a night-beast.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “Ritual of Blood!” (#7): Lissa Russell and Buck Cowan, investigating Jack Russell’s abrupt disappearance, fall under Rihva’s sway. Seems the swami, introduced in the last issue, needs Jack’s shapeshifter blood for a Bloodstone ritual—a ceremony that will end with Jack’s death.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “The Lurker Behind the Door!” (#8): After escaping from Caliope’s Carnival and Circus, Jack Russell accidentally frees a cave-bound, fire-breathing demon (Krogg) who intends to make Jack his first post-cave meal.

 

 

Marvel Team-Up Featuring: Spider-Man and the Werewolf—“Wolf at Bay!” (#12): In San Francisco, Peter Parker/Spider-Man—taking on an out-of-town photo assignment to process his grief for the recently murdered Gwen Stacy—encounters Jack Russell in werewolf form. Seems Jack was transformed by a Svengali magician (Moondark) who has the entire bayside city under his hypnotic control.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “Terror Beneath the Earth!” (#9): Jack Russell, after a skirmish with a seemingly mutated and rags-clad monster, returns to his stepfather’s (Philip Russell) home where he, Philip, and Lissa are stalked by a freakish mini-army under the command of Sarnak, a mysterious master with a “control flute.” Aside from Jack’s plot-convenient/unlikely memory lapses in one part—any werewolf worth his fangs would surely monitor moon phases—this is a solid comic book read.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “The Sinister Secret of Sarnak!” (#10): Sarnark, the “Master of Sound,” unleashes his “army of fear” on Los Angeles after Jack Russell escapes from him—with Jack’s sister, Lissa, still in Sarnak’s clutches.

Meanwhile, Detective Lou Hackett continues his investigation of Jack and his family. Good, character-interesting twist-finish to this issue, although Sarnak’s reasons for working The Committee (a group of gangsters) are thin, too cartoonish/comic book-y, even for a comic book villain.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “Comes the Hangman” (#11): The Committee, who kidnapped Philip Russell (Jack Russell’s stepdad) last issue, begin to question him. Jack, in human form, moves out of Buck Cowan’s apartment, and in his lycanthropic form, Jack battles the corruption- and justice-obsessed Hangman, who “rescues” women.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “Cry Werewolf!” (#12): Jack Russell’s battle with the scythe- and noose-wielding Hangman intermittently continues. Jack, in human form, goes swimming with his skimpy bathing-suited apartment-building neighbors, Clary Winter (a.k.a. Melody Tune, an actress) and Samantha (“Sam”). While doing so, Jack meets his brusque new neighbor, Mr. Coker, whose intentions toward Jack are uncertain.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “His Name is Taboo” (#13): Jack Russell (in werewolf form) is mind-manipulated by Topaz, a willful, sexy telepath-mind mutant who works for Taboo, a vengeful sorcerer with a grudge against Philip Russell (Jack’s stepfather). Taboo also seeks the Darkhold, “the Book of Sin,” which was destroyed in the third issue of Werewolf By Night, unbeknownst to Taboo and Topaz. Fun, fast twists and characters in this one, a standout issue.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “Lo, the Monster Strikes” (#14): Jack/Werewolf fights Algon, Taboo’s lumpy-fleshed monster (with Philip Russell’s mind transposed to it), to escape, with new ally (Taboo) in tow. Revelations about Philip, Gregory Russoff (Jack’s father) and Jack’s mother are revealed.

 

 

The Tomb of Dracula: “Enter: Werewolf By Night” (#18): In this crossover issue, Jack Russell and Taboo travel to Transylvania, where Gregory Russoff’s manor is located—Jack and Topaz seek the details regarding Jack’s father’s life and death. While there, they cross paths with Dracula, dramatic and bloodthirsty as ever.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “Death of a Monster!” (#15): Jack Russell and Topaz find Jack’s father’s (Gregory Russoff) diary in Russoff Manor, Jack’s familial Transylvanian estate. Frank Drake and Rachel Van Helsing, the former a descendant of Dracula, also hunt the iconic bloodsucker within the same Balkan village, their endeavor made easier by Dracula, who—like many Werewolf By Night characters—constantly announces his intentions.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “Death in the Cathedral!” (#16): Jack Russell battles a Parisian mutant terrorist (Hunchback) in France while Topaz tries to balance Jack’s human/lycanthropic nature.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “The Behemoth!” (#17): After barely escaping their debacle with the Hunchback and Parisian gendarme, Jack Russell and Topaz return to Jack’s Los Angeles home, where the Committee, who’ve not been idle under the leadership of Baron Thunder. Thunder has created the Behemoth, “a veritable mountain of synthetic, clay-like muscle,” and a hard-to-stop enemy of Jack and his family. Meanwhile, Raymond Coker—Jack’s occultist neighbor in the Colden House apartment complex—has advanced in his supernatural plans, yet to be fully revealed.

More concerning is Lissa Russell, Jack’s about-to-turn-eighteen sister, who is likely to inherit their familial lycanthropic curse.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “Murder By Moonlight!” (#18): Lieutenant Lou Hackett shows up at Jack Russell’s door talking about werewolves, making Jack nervous—just as an assassin with an axe (Ma Mayhem) attacks Jack. The complicated battle between Jack and Mayhem soon involve occult-ritualizing neighbor Raymond Coker, who becomes an (offscreen) a black-blue-furred lycanthrope himself.

Lots of crazy action in this one—this is especially fun, with plot-convenient weirdness involved. Also: The Committee, who’ve been watching Jack’s stepdad (Philip Russell), kidnap Jack’s sister Lissa.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “Vampires on the Moon!” (#19): Raymond Coker and Jack Russell, in werewolf form, fight vampires (Louis Belski and Liza) in a film studio. Later, the lycanthropes discover a book (Libro del Malditos) in Geraldo Kabel’s (Joshua Kane’s estate executor) office. Libro is a book with alarming, possibly fatal news for the two werewolves.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “Giant-Sized Creatures ‘featuring: Werewolf By Night’” (Special Issue #1): Jack Russell, again in werewolf form, and Tigra the Were-Woman fight green-suited HYDRA agents. Tigra’s superhero/shapeshifter origin story is told.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “Eye of the Wolf!” (#20): A lycanthrope stalks Raymond Coker (whom Lieutenant Lou Hackett suspects is a werewolf) and Jack Russell . A lawyer (Gerald Kabal) accidentally gives Jack an animal-eye ring that allows Jack to think as a rational human while he’s in his cursed furry form. Jack, in said form, battles Baron Thunder, head of the committee and “former client” of Kabal, in Thunder’s manse on Moonrise Hill, “a combination of a haunted house and condemned tenement” (Jack’s description). While there, Jack discovers the true identity of a Ma Mayhem (last seen in Werewolf By Night issue 18). Jack also rescues his sister Lissa from the house on Moonrise Hill.

 

 

Werewolf By Night: “One’s Wolf’s Cure. . . Another’s Poison!” (#21): Lieutenant Lou Hackett interrogates lawyer Geraldo Kabal about the green animal-eyed ring Hackett found at Joshua Kane’s place (Werewolf By Night #4). Hackett, wearing the ring, becomes a werewolf and attacks Jack Russell and his “wolf-brother” Raymond coker while they’re wolfed-out.

 

 

Monsters Unleashed magazine (#6) – first chapter in a two-part Werewolf By Night “prose feature,” (“Panic By Moonlight”) by Gerry Conway: A motorcycle gang takes the occupants of Jack Russell’s apartment building. (This story takes place between issues 17 and 19 of Werewolf By Night.)

 

Monsters Unleashed magazine (#7) – second chapter in a two-part Werewolf By Night “prose feature,” (“Madness Under a Mid-Summer Moon”) by Gerry Conway: Continuation of the story about a biker gang attacking and imprisoning Jack Russell, Raymond Coker and their Colden House neighbors—unfortunately for the bikers, they picked full-moon nights to do this!

Fun, mostly well-written (the bad guys’ reason for doing bad deeds feels underwhelming and forced).

Essential Marvel: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 5 by “Stan Lee, John Romita, Sam Rosen & Friends”

(pb; 1970, 1971, 1972 and 2006: graphic novel. Collects The Amazing Spider-Man #90-113.)

From the back cover

"Granted amazing, arachnid-like abilities by the bite of an irradiated spider, Peter Parker has vowed to protect his fellow man! In this volume: The return of the diabolical Doctor Octopus! A side trip to the Savage Land that time forgot! The first-ever appearance of Morbius the Living Vampire! The death of Captain George Stacy! Plus: the wall-crawler's climactic battle with the grinning Green Goblin!"


Overall review

Caveat: possible spoilers in this review.

The fifth volume of The Amazing Spider-Man shows Peter Parker maturing, in fits and starts, and sports some experimental – for the series – storylines and backdrops for the webhead to explore and fight in. There is less adolescent melodrama and less roll-your-eyes filler issues, making this one of the better entries in this series. Even the oddball issues that do not work, and there are a few, have something interesting in them, something that later issues build upon in a more effective way.

The artwork continues to be, well, amazing. Vol. 5 is worth owning, and includes a section with diagrams showing how Spider-Man’s web shooter and belt-camera work, as well as Doctor Octopus’s tentacle harness – interesting, well thought-out stuff. Be warned that this graphic novel ends on a cliffhanger note. Followed by Vol. 6


Story arcs

“And Death Shall Come!” (#90): In this carry-over storyline from issues #88 and 89, Spider-Man is still battling Doctor Octopus, a.k.a. Otto Octavius, resulting in the death of a major character.

“To Smash the Spider!” (#91): Sam Bullitt, a corrupt politician, tries to exploit the death of police Capt. Stacy, Gwen Stacy’s father. Bullitt does this by framing Spider-Man for murder.

“When Iceman Attacks!” (#92): The frosty X-Man, believing Spider-Man responsible for Capt. Stacy’s death, tries to bring the web-slinger to justice.

“The Lady and – the Prowler!” (#93): Hobie Brown, a.k.a. the Prowler, comes out of retirement to try his hand at capturing Spider-Man, still thought to be a killer. [The Prowler was last seen in issue #87.] Meanwhile, a grieving Gwen Stacy struggles with a decision – whether or not to stay in New York City, or move to London, England, with her distant relatives.

“On Wings of Death!” (#94): Spider-Man’s origin story is recounted. Also, the Beetle is back, with the intention of stealing something mysterious. While doing this, he kidnaps Aunt May!

“Trap for a Terrorist!” (#95): Peter Parker flies to London, England, to look for Gwen Stacy. While there, he tangles with terrorists.

“. . . And Now, the Goblin!” (#96) – “The Goblin’s Last Gasp!” (#98): Norman Osborn remembers his criminal past as the Green Goblin – as well as secret identity of Spider-Man. The Goblin’s mission this time: to kill his arachnid-enhanced foe. While this is happening, Osborn’s son (Harry) struggles with drug addiction, and Peter Parker’s separation from Gwen Stacy reaches its conclusion.

“Panic in the Prison!” (#99): When rioting prisoners take their warden hostage, Spider-Man swings into action. This roll-your-eyes filler issue has a remarkably upbeat finish – if only all hardened criminals were so innocent and agreeable!

“The Spider or the Man?” (#100): In one of the more boneheaded and bizarre issues, the web-slinger – seeking to rid himself of his super powers – drinks an untested laboratory formula. He has an issue-filler dream, and mutates in a theme-consistent way.

“A Monster Called Morbius!” (#101) – “Vampire At Large!” (#102): Panicked by his mutation, Spider-Man goes to the Everglades in Florida to see if Curt Connors – sometimes the Lizard – can help him undo his boneheaded experiment in the previous issue. The situation is exacerbated when a vampire (Michael Morbius, also called Morbius) shows up, sparking a three-way battle between Spider-Man, the Lizard [a transformed Curt Connors] and Morbius.

This is Morbius’s first appearance in this series.

“Walk the Savage Land!” (#103) – “The Beauty and the Brute” (#104): J. Jonah Jameson leads an expedition into the Savage Land, a beneath-the-earth realm located in Antartica. The reason: Jameson wants to publish a series of stories about a mysterious monster said to be there. His fellow travelers include Robbie Robertson, Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy.

While they are there, another monster – Gog, an oversized reptilian alien – snatches Gwen and escapes into the prehistoric forest. Spider-Man, with help from Ka-Zar and his sabretooth tiger (Zabu), goes after Gog to rescue Gwen. The giant reptile is not the only threat to Gwen, it seems: Gog is the pet of Kraven the Hunter, a villain familiar to the web-slinger and Ka-Zar. . . These issues were especially fun and out-there for this title.

“The Spider Slayer!” (#105) – “Spidey Smashes Thru!” (#107): Dr. Smythe, who has built a new arachnid-like robot, is once again hired by J. Jonah Jameson. Their goal: to kill Spider-Man. Dr. Smythe also appeared in issues #25 and #58.

On the friends-of-Peter Parker front, Harry Osborne – fragile in his recovery from drug addiction and longing for Mary Jane Watson – returns home. So does Flash Thompson, back from the Vietnam War – and it seems he is afraid of something, though he won’t say what. Not only that, his yen for Gwen Stacy, Parker’s girlfriend.

“Vengeance from Vietnam!” (#108) – “Enter: Dr. Strange” (#109): Flash Thompson is kidnapped by Vietnamese monks, who hold him responsible for the death of their leader. This prompts Spider-Man to save Thompson, with unexpected help from Dr. Strange, who has additional information about the monks. This is Dr. Strange’s first appearance in this comic book series.

“The Birth of. . . the Gibbon!” (#110) – “To Stalk a Spider!” (#111): Spider-Man meets the huge, ape-faced Martin Blank, a.k.a. the Gibbon, and tries to discourage Blank from embarking on a superhero career. Blank, who has low self-esteem, takes this the wrong way and is manipulated by Kraven the Hunter [thought dead at the end of issue #104] into joining forces with the vengeful hunter – Kraven is still raging against the web-slinger about previous defeats, as well as the death of his friend, Gog.

“Spidey Cops Out!” (#112) – “They Call the Doctor Octopus!” (#113): Peter Parker, worried about the disappearance of Aunt May, considers – for the zillionth time – quitting the superhero gig. His self-pity session is interrupted by the accidental reappearance of Otto Octavius, a.k.a. Doctor Octopus, who was laying the groundwork for a new criminal scheme while fighting a turf war with Hammerhead, whose head-shape and attitude reflect his moniker. This is the first appearance of Hammerhead in this comic book.

Essential Marvel: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 4 by "Stan Lee, John Romita, Sam Rosen & Friends"

(pb; 1969, 1989 and 2005: Collects The Amazing Spider-Man #66-89, & Annual issue #5. Note that issues #66-68 are also republished in the previous graphic novel, Volume 3.)

From the back cover

"After being bitten by an irradiated spider, young Peter Parker learned he had gained the proportional strength and agility of a spider. Combined with a keen "spider-sense" that warned him of danger, Peter became the hero we all know and love...Spider-Man! In this great volume, Peter will face some of his greatest challenges and overcome some of his most harrowing foes. Adventure at its best, true believer!"

Overall review

Volume 4 is a fun, action-oriented and youth-angsty read. There is less melodrama than usual in these issues – “frail” Aunt May still dotes too much on Peter, and he still does dumb things (even for someone his age) that make little sense. Also, there is the issue of the oh-so-sexist issue #86 with Black Widow, and the occasional, silly filler issue (e.g., Annual #5). This is a worthwhile graphic novel, if you can overlook the above elements, as the artwork – as always – is top-notch. Followed by Vol. 5.

Story arcs

"The Madness of Mysterio” and “To Squash a Spider” (#67-68): Spider-Man gets shrunk and tries to elude death in a trap-rigged mini-amusement park.

“Crisis on the Campus” (#68) – “The Speedster and the Spider” (#71): Spider-Man is publicly accused of being in cahoots with the Kingpin, who tries to steal an ancient and priceless tablet. This leads to skirmishes with the cops and Quicksilver (who is trying to acquit himself and his wife, the Scarlet Witch, of unrelated false charges).

"The Parents of Peter Parker” (Annual #5): Peter accidentally discovers what really killed his parents – and what they were. Red Skull, from the comic book Captain America, makes an appearance. This storyline and inclusion of Red Skull feels silly and shoe-horned, the admixture of two unlikely elements. Still, there is plenty of action.

“Rocked By the Shocker” (#72) – “In the Blaze of Battle” (#77): More mayhem ensues, centered around that ancient tablet, issues #68–71. The Shocker, whose last appearance was in issue #46,  takes the tablet, with the intention of ransoming it. Before long, others are caught up in the conflict between Spider-Man and the Shocker: the Maggia (mobsters), including the hard-punching Man-Mountain Marko; Dr. Curt Connors, a.k.a. the Lizard; Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch. . . This is Man-Mountain Marko’s first appearance in the Spider-Man comics. The Lizard last appeared in issue #45.

“The Night of the Prowler” and “To Prowl No More!” (#78–79): A desperate, down-on-his-luck window washer (Hobie Brown) turns his hand to thieving via a costumed alter ego, the Prowler. When his path crosses Spider-Man’s, they fight for a brief time. Also, Peter Parker stews about Gwen Stacy, whom he mistakenly thinks has dumped him.

“On the Trail of the Chameleon!” (#80): Spider-Man battles the Chameleon, who steals an expensive painting. The Chameleon was last seen in issue #2.

“The Coming of the Kangaroo!”(#81) A misunderstood man with the ability to leap about like a kangaroo finds himself at odds with Spider-Man.

“And Then Came Electro!” (#82): Electro, out of prison and working as an electrician, battles Spider-Man on live television. Electro is aided in his vengeful desire by Daily Bugler publisher J. Jonah Jameson, whose laser-focus hatred of the web-slinger once again comes into play. . . Electro was last seen in comic’s first annual Spider-Man issue.

“The Coming of the Schemer!” (#83) – “The Secret of the Schemer!” (#85) Two events reawaken the violent impulses of Wilson Fisk (a.k.a. the Kingpin) – first, the news that his wife, Vanessa, has discovered that their son (Richard) is likely dead; and second, the clamorous appearance of the Schemer, a new mobster-esque villain whose main aim to take over the criminal empire that Fisk abandoned, after the debacle involving a priceless, ancient tablet (issues #68–71). 

“Beware. . . the Black Widow!” (#86): Spider-Man crosses paths with the ex-Avenger and ex-agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Of course, a minor fight takes place before they finally talk and sort out their misunderstanding.

Even by the standards of the late Sixties, there is an underlying sexism that exists within the boy-centric tone of the Amazing Spider-Man universe. All of the female characters – “frail” Aunt May, Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy (with their catty rivalry) and the Black widow – are all, in one way or another, reliant on a man or his approval. Black Widow is an egregious example of this, as three characters (including Black Widow herself) refers to the ex-Avenger as a “copy” of Spider-Man, with her huge identity crisis. (Black Widow, with her powers, battle style and outlook, is not derivative of the web-slinger.) I have not noted this in earlier reviews of The Amazing Spider-Man because few, if any previous issues, were so in-your-face sexist (to my knowledge).

“Unmasked At Last!” (#87): Peter, feverish with a mystery illness, reveals his alter ego to his friends at a party. He seeks  medical help. Hobie Brown, once the Prowler [#78–79], makes an appearance.

“The Arms of Doctor Octopus!” and “Doc Ock Lives!” (#88–89): Doctor Octopus escapes from prison, hijacks a plane and creates general havoc – often while battling Spider-Man, of course. Be warned that this last issue-chapter of Vol. 4 ends on a cliffhanger situation.

Followed by Marvel Essential: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 5.