If you missed the last one…
The 1970s are behind us. The 1980s saw the end of the DC Horror comic lines. The House of Mystery lasted the longest by adding the continuing character of Lord Andrew Bennett and “I, Vampire” and by having a spin-off with Elvira. (The Unexpected ended in 1982. Weird War Tales bit the bullet in June 1983 and The House of Mystery lasted until October of that year. The Witching Hour and The House of Secrets were gone back in 1978) We cap things off with in 1986. Technically that’s post Bronze Age but hey, who’s splitting hairs? Even werewolf hairs.
“Every Shroud Has a Silver Lining” (The House of Mystery #279, April 1980) was written by Mike W. Barr and is another Werewolf Western. A town haunted by a werewolf doesn’t want to part with its silver. A sheriff looks into the crimes only to find out (too late) the real reason behind it all.
“Those Who Pass Judgement” (Secrets of Haunted House #32, January 1981) was written by Bob Rozakis and Jack C. Harris. A witch-hunter is cursed with lycanthropy. Mister E shows up in our time to put a silver bullet in him.
“Hair Apparent” (The House of Mystery #292, May 1981) was written by Gerry Conway. A Briarly can only marry another Briarly or no good can come from it. This is the warning to the newly weds who broke that tradition. But it works out okay, she’s a werewolf too.
“Sister Sinister” (Secrets of Haunted House #36, May 1981) was written by Charlie Seeger. What’s a girl to do? The city is filled with criminals and creeps. Woe to the mugger who tries to catch this sister.
“Trail of the Dying” (Secrets of Haunted House #37, June 1981) was written by George Kashdan. It’s a short three-pager and a Werewolf Western. The local doctor gets a surprise when he pulls a bullet out of a wounded man. The bullet is made of silver.
“Wolfman Walk” (Secrets of Haunted House #38, July 1981) was written and drawn by Dave Manak. Puppies need walkies!
“Conglomerate of Evil” (Secrets of Haunted House #38, July 1981) was written by Bob Rozakis. This another story in the Mister E series, one of DC’s lesser known occult detectives. Our blind detective locates a triumvirate of evil men. One of them turns out to be a werewolf!
“Hunter’s Moon” (The Warlord # 47, July 1981) was written by Mike Grell. This was Grell’s second werewolf tale. Morgan comes across Mikola Rostov in the woods being attacked by cannibals. He gets to know the man from the outside world with the white streak in his hair. He is looking for Mariah Romanova. The duo get caught by cannibals and Mikola saves them by turning into a wolf man. Rostov flees, knowing he will not be able to control himself once completely changed. He will be back for The Warlord #63-68.
“Werewolf Moon” (Detective Comics #505, August 1981) was written by Gerry Conway. As Batman says, it has been ten years since he heard of Anthony Lupus. (It’s actually been only seven.) This time he shows up in the Arctic, attacking the men working on an oil pipeline. Batman goes to the north and has to fight the werewolf in the snow. The environmental message in this one has only gotten stronger in recent years. It is a fine strange Northern as well.
“The Skull That Lived” (The Unexpected #213, August 1981) was written by George Kashdan. An archaeologist gets bitten by a werewolf’s jawbone and becomes one. Imagine his surprise when he gets the specimen back to the museum and it has turned back into a human mandible!
“The Curse of the Werewolf Is Upon You, My Man” (The Unexpected #214, September 1981) was written by Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn. A werewolf is haunting the subway. A young graffiti artist takes him out with some silver paint and the third rail.
“The Were-Witch of Boston” (Secrets of Haunted House #40, September 1981) was written by Bob Rozakis with research by Laurie Rozakis. This Mister E story isn’t really about the blind occult detective but his researchers. The two face off against a were-hound, a puppy that becomes something that looks like a were-bear.
“Back in the U. S. S. R.” (The House of Mystery #316, May 1983) was written by Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn. One of the final issues of The House of Mystery, we have a werewolf against our vampire hero, Lord Andrew Bennett. The Russians have a compound guarded by werewolf officers. Tom Sutton does inks, which is better than nothing, but I miss Tom’s pencils on this one.
“Dark Moon Rising” (Superman #422, August 1986) was written by Marv Wolfman. (Is there a better writer for a werewolf story than a man named Wolfman?) Superman has to stop a gang of werewolves from robbing Metropolis. Sup even gets infected with lycanthropy! The Curt Swan artwork is alright but I wish George Klein or Stan Kaye could have inked this one. The Brian Bolland cover sold many copies. Wow!
“Low Man on the Totem Pole” (Elvira’s House of Mystery #10, December 1986) was written by Stan Timmons. A rich man goes looking for his son when he sees his face on a totem pole on TV. In a remote First Nations village he finds the pole and then the werewolf who was his son. He kills his child because he is now a beast. For more Totem Pole horror, go here.
Conclusion
DC Werewolves in the Bronze Age were done by the early 1980s when the Horror lines were laid to rest with a wreath of garlic and a stake through the heart. (Other companies like Charlton Comics also gave us plenty of Bronze Age lycanthropes.) The days of Berni Wrightson, Alex Nino, Nestor Redondo and Ricardo Villamonte giving us Gothic weirdness were gone but not forgotten. Hopefully our three-post run has satisfied your meat tooth.
Still hungry, then have some dessert with DC’s Bronze Age Vampire tales…
