In honor of the new Werewolf By Night television show, I thought it would be fun to look back at the old Golden Age Marvel comics that would ultimately inspire the 1970s run that in turn gave us the show. Marvel, which published under the Atlas brand at that time, joined the other comic companies in producing werewolves in 1952 in imitation of the popular EC Comics. Until 1955, Marvel produced more than two dozen tales with lycanthropes in their many titles (eighteen are presented here. Some of these old comics are very hard to locate.) 1955 sees a sudden and complete stop, as they a switched to superheroes, which Marvel often did as the buying tastes changed.
The early stories typically only showed the werewolf in the final panels. As the years went on, writers experimented with more than a simple reveal. Most of these stories were written by unknown authors. I have indicated the author where known.
1952
“Terror at Midnight” (Suspense #21, August 1952) has a newly wed couple at a remote mountain ranch. Which of the two women is a werewolf? It is important to pick the right one. This twist reminds me of Robert Bloch’s “The Man Who Cried Wolf”.
“The Werewolf of Wilmach” (Astonishing #17, September 1952) has a plot to convince the people of the seaside town there is a werewolf loose. Unfortunately for the culprits, they are right.
“Where the Werewolf Prowled” (Suspense #25, December 1952) has a werewolf loose in Peltzmark. And only the local idiot boy is smart enough to know who it is.
“She Married a Werewolf!” (Uncanny Tales #4, December 1952) was written by Carl Wessler. This is a classic. A werewolf seeks a cure to his lycanthropy. Once fully human, he discovers his wife’s family are vampires.
1953
“In the Wake of the Werewolf” (Mystic #20, May 1953) was written by Carl Wessler. A private detective saves a beautiful young woman from a couple of lunatics that say she is a vampire. She isn’t. She’s a werewolf like them.
“Werewolf!” (Menace #3, May 1953) was written by Stan Lee. Hen-pecked Waldo researches a werewolf killing the local pigs. Emily is in for a surprise when he comes home after encountering the beast, a changed man… Bill Everett’s art in this one reminds me of the underground comics of the 1970s.
“Werewolf By Night!” (Marvel Tales #116, July 1953) is set in 1890. Johann is in love with Bettina but he hides a secret from her. He is a robber. His life becomes more complex when a werewolf takes over and manipulates him. Johann tries to avoid letting Bettina see his place because of the werewolf. He shouldn’t have worried about it. It is her father. She is a werewolf too. (There is the slightest connection between this story and the later 1971 Marvel Spotlight #2, the first Jack Russell story. Jack’s mother tells him his father was a man from “a Baltic State” that she met while a student in Europe.)
“Terror in the North” (Marvel Tales #117, August 1953) is our first strange Northern. I wrote about it here.
“Moon Madness” (Marvel Tales #118, September 1953) has a space race in which one side claims that the moon is home to werewolves. This allows them to get the upper hand and get to the Moon first. You can guess…they were right.
“The Werewolf Was Afraid!” (Menace #8, October 1953) has an Englishman hunting werewolves in Austria. The prey is a surprise though, being a reader of poetry. When the lycanthrope calls the hunter a cad, he loses his temper. Soon the werewolf is back to his book, having had a hot meal. John Romita’s art on this one is so fun.
1954
“The Fangs of the Wolf” (Menace #9, January 1954) is the tale of Kenneth Long, dog-hater. Even as a young man, Long tormented dogs. He gets bitten by a werewolf and soon regrets hiring a man to kill all the dogs on his property.
“Once a Werewolf” (Astonishing #33 , June 1954) has a man fleeing a group of werewolves. The lawmen at the jail don’t believe him. They hand Franz over, thinking the whole thing is a send-up. Later his girl shows up and finds the wolf hide that has been left by the killers.
“Seeing Eye” (Uncanny Tales #22, July 1954) begins with Joe Bronson spying on a rich blind man. He comes up with a plan to kidnap the man’s dog. Unfortunately for Joe, he doesn’t realize the man is a seeing-eye man for a blind werewolf.
“A Werewolf There Was” (Mystic #32, July 1954) has a doctor in Budapest seeking a cure for lycanthropy. He doesn’t listen to his patient when he claims to not be a werewolf but a fugitive. When the aliens come looking for him, the whole earth suffers.
“The Werewolf Tale to End All Werewolf Tales” (Journey Into Unknown Worlds #29, July 1954) is another strange Northern set in “the Northern woods”. Carl is on the hunt for a werewolf loose in the woods. A photograph leads him to Tanya. But he doesn’t want to kill her but join up with her because he is a werewolf too.
“The First Man” (Strange Tales #31, August 1954) has mountaineers racing to be the first man to climb Mount Ka. Jackson Cole uses every dirty trick to win. Too bad he failed. A werewolf beats him there and enjoys a nice meal. The use of the name “Jackson Cole” is intriguing since it was a well-known house name at Better Publications.
“Look Homeward, Werewolf” (Uncanny Tales #23, August 1954) has boating champ, Karl, get a strange request. A werewolf wants him to row him to the far shore for $500. There is a catch. No drop of water can touch the lycanthrope or he will become blood-thirsty. Karl gets the beast across but something goes wrong. It starts to rain. Mort Lawrence’s artwork is refreshingly strange.
1955
“Werewolf Beware” (Marvel Tales #25, January 1955) is a love story. Hugo is a werewolf in love with the beautiful Erika. She asks him to marry her but kills himself to save her from his curse. Erika thinks she scared him off with talk of marriage. Read the whole comic here.
More Covers
Conclusion
In 1972, Marvel revived the title Werewolf By Night! for a series by Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog (working from a suggestion by Stan Lee and a plot by Roy and Jeanie Thomas, so many midwives on this one.) The werewolf star was Jack Russell (You sure that isn’t Terrier By Night?) JR would guest star alongside Ghost Rider, Moon Knight, Doctor Strange and Tigra. The new TV movie stars Gael García Bernal as Jack Russell. (And hey, at least these were in color!)
