In Strangest Northerns we looked at the stories of Algernon Blackwood, George Allan England and August Derleth around the Wendigo legend. Northerns like Jane and Paul Annixter’s Windigo and George T. Marsh’s “The Valley of the Windigo” gave us fake monsters based on the legend. In the comics, Marvel used the idea to create a villain for Wolverine to fight.
Here are some more Wendigos, both real and fake, from the comics. As usual, surprises abound.
“Captain Marvel and the Slayer on Skis” (Captain Marvel Adventures #7, February 6, 1942). This eighteen-pager was written by Alfred Bester and drawn by an unknown artist. Yes, that is the same author who gave The Demolished Man and The Stars, My Destination. Bester wrote comics before Science Fiction, before moving into film writing.
Billy Batson is making a radio broadcast from Spook Mountain. He tells of the legend of the Wendigo. The mountain is being developed as a ski resort by a Mr. Wayland. Big Chief Blackheart warns them off. Billy and Trixie Topps, the movie star who is planning to make a film on Spook Mountain, go skiing. When ski champ Ole Slalomson is attacked by a bear, Captain Marvel is there to save him. Cap throws the bear and sings “The Bear Went Over the Mountain”. They investigate the bear attack, finding a bear den with a trap door and electric eye for a trigger. After Billy’s next radio show, Chief Blackheart comes and tells him that the bears are brother to the Wendigo. Captain Marvel’s action will anger the demon.
The Wendigo shows up, a man in a parka using skis (Yes, I was disappointed too.), and strikes the chief on the head, killing him. The Wendigo doesn’t like the Native American man telling Billy about his affairs. Billy transforms into Cap. The Wendigo tries to club Captain Marvel in the head but Cap takes the club away. When Cap tries to give him a lick of his own medicine, there is an explosion and the monster is gone. Trixie comes to see if Cap is okay. Cap points out that their enemy is an ordinary man, using non-supernatural explosives.
The Wendigo captures Billy, gags him so he can’t transform. He takes him to a cave and shows him his trap for Cap, a metal gridiron that will release a thousand volts into the superhero. The Wendigo goes after Trixie, but Billy escapes by cutting his bonds with a diamond. The cave is filled with them. Here is the Wendigo’s real motive. Captain Marvel arrives in time to save Trixie and reveal the culprit. It is Wayland, who doesn’t go quietly, but skis away. Captain Marvel captures him but Billy gets the reward. A kiss from Trixie.
“The Windigo”(Long Bow #9, Winter 1952-1953) No credits for this comic are known. This four-pager has Long Bow and Foxfoot going to an island that is supposedly haunted by the Windigo. They see a giant footprint made by the monster. When Spotted Hawk catches the boys there he blames them for scaring away the rabbits from his traps. He ties them up so he can kill them later.
Flying Squirrel shows up and frees the boys. He explains he had a dream vision in which he was told to rob Spotted Hawk’s traps so his foot would heal. Flying Squirrel made the Windigo track with a fake foot. The boys leave rabbits tied up where they were and Spotted Hawk believes the Windigo changed them. The logical explanation is typical of most comics not of a fantastic nature.
“The Wendigo” (Unknown Worlds #3, October-November 1960) was written by Richard Hughes (as Zev Zimmer) and drawn by Paul Reinman. This six pager has a skeptical scientist, Professor Morton, working on Wendigo Mountain. The local chief explains that long ago Wendigos came from outer space and took victims away with them.
One of the giant creatures fell asleep and is still on the mountain. Morton ignores him, calls his stories superstition. Later, when the creature wakes it grabs Morton and returns to space. Other scientists watch him ascend to the heavens on the radar.
This comic shows the 1960s interest in UFOs and aliens, working it into the Wendigo legend. The alien carrying off the victim is a nice touch as the old Wendigo stories talk about the creature taking people for a sky ride that burned off their feet.
“Wendigo” (Eerie #10, July 1967) written and drawn by Roy G. Krenkel. The inside cover was a great place for a creepy (Oops, sorry, eerie) poster. Krenkel does a great job of encapsulating the terror of the Wendigo.
“The Wendigo” (The House of Mystery #292, May 1981) Written by Bill Kelley and drawn by Ric Estrada. This eight pager surprised me for its Lovecraftian content.
Ben Graham comes to rural New England to find a boy who has a fantastic story to tell. Graham hopes to capitalize on the current interest in “New England Horror” to write a killer article or book.
The kid tells how the Wendigo killed his father, then some roughs who planned to steal his house, and even scared the truancy officer that tried to keep him in school. The boy and the monster had a relationship that he no longer needs. The Wendigo needs a new victim to take it to new places, just as someone had brought it to New England. Ben Graham doesn’t want to be that next victim and peels off in his car. When he gets back to civilization he crashes into a light pole and dies. The cops who find him see his anguished face. They also hear the wind. One cops says it almost sounds like laughing.
Bill Kelley not only transplants the Wendigo to Lovecraft country, he also gives us a quickie version of “The Terrible Old Man”. This time it is the terrible little boy. The ending is sadly not that Lovecraftian, the guy dying in a car crash. But you can see he didn’t make his SAN roll.
