Sunday 24 May 2020

Werewolf by Night #11 - Comes the Hangman!

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the arcane sorcery of Patreon.
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Werewolf by Night #11
As very long-term readers will know, I always view Werewolf by Night as being the most consistently forgettable book I've ever encountered. Many issues did I own. Zero stories do I recall.

And here's another issue, from my salad days, whose contents I've totally forgotten.

Granted, its battle against forgettability isn't helped by having, possibly, the most generic cover any werewolf comic could ever fear to have.

But that's just the outside. What happens when I plunge inside?

This is what happens.

Some people called The Committee are electrocuting Phillip Russell's nipples.

Phillip Russell is the father of our hero, and they want info out of him about his son.

Meanwhile, his son Jack's in the process of moving into a new home in an apartment block where every female inhabitant lusts after him, upon sight.

Werewolf by Night #11, splash pageUnfortunately, Jack's clearly the absent-minded type because so wrapped up is he in making his flat a desirable place to live that he forgets he's going to turn into a werewolf the moment the sun sets and, with no plan in place as to what to do when that happens, he heads down to the beach to get away from people.

This turns out to be a mistake because no sooner has he completed his transformation than a bunch of beach-partying body-builders decide he's trying to crash their fun and set out to beat him up.

At last, after eleven issues, the werewolf has finally encountered someone he can win a fight against - a group of people from a walk of life that's notoriously terrified of getting bruises - and only the arrival of the police saves the partyers from a fate no better or worse than death, which is death.

But, if things are bad for body-builders, things are even worse for the criminal under-dregs of Los Angeles, as there's a madman on the loose.

He's the Hangman - and he makes the Punisher look well-balanced.

His mind warped from watching too many movies, he's in the habit of rescuing females from street criminals and then locking those females in his dungeon, for their own good.

Werewolf by Night #11, HangmanInevitably, it's only a matter of pages before werewolf and psychopath bump into each other and, thus, begin a fight that's not exactly epic but does climax with the villain hanging the werewolf from a street lamp

To Be Continued!

If Werewolf by Night tales are always forgettable, I do tend to find them strangely enjoyable.

The protagonist's never impressive, being, as I've said before, the Hulk without the strength and vocabulary and this issue he's even less impressive than normal.

Thanks to a clear urge to portray him sympathetically, writer Marv Wolfman goes to great pains, via both thought balloons and captions, to point out the werewolf doesn't want to fight or hurt anyone and is only ever acting in self-defence, even though Gil Kane and Tom Sutton are drawing him to look the most savage and sinister I've ever seen him.

For instance, at the climax of his battle with body-builders, we're informed by Wolfman that the werewolf's only attacking a cop in order to snatch his gun from him, when the pictures show no sign of him snatching the gun and depict the policeman, at the end of it all, clearly dead, on the ground, with his gun still in his hand. I can't help feeling this is the equivalent of a parent telling their child that their suddenly disappeared pet has gone away to live on a farm.

Werewolf by Night #11, transformation
But it could be argued that it's probably best to read this issue without reading the words and just concentrate on the pictures, which are great.

They're great because Gil Kane's always a reliable story-teller and Tom Sutton was born to do horror.

Thus, we get a visual depiction of the beast as a creature that could readily tear men's throats out.

The bad guy's also appealing. He may have those hints of the Punisher about him but even that character would view him as a lunatic cursed with a totally delusional take on the world. Why is his main method of killing people the use of a scythe, when he's called the Hangman? I've no idea but it does, at least, lend him an air of menace.

So, a werewolf vs a madman with a gardening implement, what more could you want of a comic?

Nothing. That's what.

It's just a shame that a werewolf is such a terrible protagonist for a comic because he can't actually do the things a werewolf is meant to do.

Like murdering people.

Werewolf by Night #11, scythe

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

A splash page with someone electrocuted by the nipples? You certainly know your readers Steve!

-sean

Charlie Horse 47 said...

Wow!!!

Steve - thank you for the nipple-electrocution splash page! I am going to raid the piggy bank and up my patronage of SDC toute suite!

I would never had guessed that was Kane until the last panels and the nostril shots. I was going to guess Al Milgrom.

And based on your critique I would really be tempted to get this and read it. I really enjoy your analogy at the end, "Like telling a kid that their pet went to live on a farm." You are a really creative writer and I like your style!

Steve W. said...

Thanks, Charlie and Sean. I like to think nipple electrocution is a whole new direction for me to take the site in.

Anonymous said...

Steve, are you telling me Rex did not go to live with a family in the country?
AAAAHHHHHHH

Kidding. I do enjoy these one issue reviews.
WBN was a funky little comic. I've got four or five issues. I dig those '70's spooky comics Marvel was putting out.
Anybody remember Dr. Glitternight? He was a bald guy who had magical powers, and he wore an outfit that was shaped like a kite, which allowed him to hover in mid-air. I dunno what his deal was.
When they were handing out arch-enemies to super-villains, they said, "You know what, Mr. Showmanship, we're giving you the Werewolf guy. You ain't even Daredevil material. Good luck, slick."

M.P.

Anonymous said...

M.P., Dr Glitternight turned up a few times in legendary SteveDoesComics feature The Most Forgettable Comics I Have Ever Owned... and yet somehow I remember him too!

When he did his kite impression he also had a spotlight that shone out of his chest.
I think maybe he had something to do with Topaz, the witchy woman who hung around with Werewolf By Night for a while.

-sean

Anonymous said...

Sean, I remember now! That was a cool post.
Your memory is holding up a lot better than mine is. But we're at the point when things start to slip.
I'm not quite sure what I had for lunch today. I think a chicken was involved.

M.P.

ColinBray said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ColinBray said...

Hey chaps and chapesses, sorry to threadjack but this is a quick boost of the excellent Comic Book Historians podcast esp. the first ten minutes of an interview with letterer Tom Orzechowski. In it he talks about breaking into the comic business via re-lettering UK Marvel reprints for the British market:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0C2Tzfqqz718tcam9XWccR?si=e-iaw2GKQH2RSoGsN0AV1g

Back in the day I enjoyed a discussion here about re-lettering Marvel comics and figured you might like to hear what Tom had to say. Cheers all, happy Bank Holiday!

Steve W. said...

Thanks for the link, Colin.

MP and Sean, I do indeed remember Dr Glitternight. He was a strange character indeed.

Steve W. said...

And a happy bank holiday to you too, Colin, and to all who visit this blog.

Charlie Horse 47 said...

Steve - Thank you! No one has ever wished me a happy bank holiday before. Here it is Memorial Day... but its meaning gets muddled with July 4 and Veteran's Day.



Killdumpster said...

Bad timing for a Werewolf By Night critique response from me.

Was insanely busy this weekend, and I'm nodding off even now.

So, Hangman bad, Glitternight even worse.

Anonymous said...

This is a pretty fun issue. Sutton inking a Kane was always a good match (Warlock, Ka-Zar, Giant-Size Conan) . As you say, Steve, this is just about the most savage and sinister our pal Werewolf B. Night ever looked. I suspect that’s mostly Sutton’s doing — the two issues immediately prior to this one were pencilled AND inked by him, and the beast is magnificently scary looking there as well. Much as I love Mike Ploog’s art on this series, his Wolfie looks almost cute and puppy-dog-ish compared to Sutton’s rendition.

Good point about the Werewolf not being able to be true to his nature, because of Comics Code restrictions. Interestingly, much later in the run, Jack DID severely tear up his best pal Buck — not FATALLY, mind you, but it was touch and go there for a bit. It was pretty startling, honestly. Kinda made you GLAD that he wasn’t killing folks on a monthly basis.

Back in the day, I remember thinking it was interesting that The Punisher, The Hangman and The Foolkiller all debuted within a month or two of each other. Fanatical self-righteous vigilantes were in the zeitgiseist apparently.

- b.t.

Anonymous said...

b.t., I remember reading an interview of Sutton a real long time ago, probably in Comics Journal or somesuch.
He was a very funny guy, and I enjoyed the article just for his dry humor. Maybe he was destined to specialize in horror comics.
One thing I remember is that he confessed to having a thing for Kirstie Alley.
...you gotta keep in mind, this was a long time ago.

M.P.

Anonymous said...

Impressive recall there M.P. - sounds like your memory isn't that bad after all. You're not senile yet!

Much as I like Gil Kane's work, he did benefit from inkers who added a bit of texture, so I definitely agree with b.t. that Sutton was a good match, on Conan for sure, and - it seems - here.
The most savage looking Werewolf By Night though was definitely drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz, in a couple of early 80s issues of Moon Knight. Mind you, he didn't have to worry about the comics code, which did give him an advantage over the other artists (on top of the one he already had by being Bill Sienkiewicz).

-sean


Anonymous said...

Yeah, Moon Knight did make his first appearance in WBN, didn't he? (I hadda look that up, Sean, my memory's not that good)
I guess I preferred the earlier incarnation of the character, a wise-cracking mercenary versus what he was written as later, a obsessed vigilante.
Then again, wise-cracking mercenaries are, as fictional characters, about as tired and worn out as obsessed vigilantes.
Say, fellas, I just saw that Joker movie. To be honest, I dunno what to think about it. Anybody else see it? Personally, I think Inherent Vice was a much better Joachin Pheonix movie. But I can't say it wasn't compelling.
And it confirms what all of us have long suspected: Thomas Wayne was a real S.O.B.

M.P.

Killdumpster said...

Yes! The Werewolf By Night #11 autopsy was extended! Hooray!!

As a "monster kid" I found the artistic depiction of our favorite title character quite furious, thanks to the hands of my boy Kane. Sutton contributed in making the issue memorable to me as well.

Gimme Gil's werewolf nostrils during transformation anyday of the week.

Man, I loved that book, since Marvel Spotlight. Till lamer artists were put into place. A couple years ago I had the Marvel Essential Werewolf By Night, just so I could read the issues I missed. Lets just say there wasn't the enthusiasm for the book at the tale-end.

Wished they would've kept to the supernatural/mysticism of the early storylines. I loved the occasional monster brawls, but cringed at so-called "supervillains".

His battle with Morbius was good in a Giant-Sized, but Jack was more fun when
he fought heroes. His appearance in Marvel Team-Up was a fun read, but when he could control his transformation in the Iron Man/Masked Marauder (who should've been offed by anybody)storyline, it was disheartening.

Making the Werewolf a hero was just as pathetic as making the Man-Thing a portal to other dimensions. Guess just trying to keep up with the Swamp Thing-Jones.

Give me my monsters continually creeping, stalking, and clumsily getting into mischievous adventures. The Ploog era of those books are masterpieces.

Wish the later artists and writers would have followed that example.

Killdumpster said...

On a sidenote, I don't believe the Werewolf was drawn with nipples, even though hair shouldn't have grown out of them.

Don't think he was electricuted thru them either, but I could be wrong. Sounds like something Glitternight would do, and his stories are forgettable.

As villains go, I could almost stand Tatterdemalion. Almost.

Charlie Horse 47 said...

You know... Gil must have been in 7th Heaven with Morbius's and Wolfie's nostrils facing forward like they did, LOL.

Killdumpster said...

Hokey Smokes, Nipple-winkle!

I totally forgot the nipple electrocution in that issue!!!

I'm a buzzsaw damaged fool, and didn't completely preview the post before making an observation. Didn't remember it till I re-read the post.

Please cut me some slack, oh my brothers.

Steve W. said...

You're welcome, Charlie.

MP, I've yet to see The Joker movie. After all the various screen versions there've been of the character, I feel a bit Jokered out.

Sean, I've never seen Sienkiewicz's take on the werewolf. I shall have to Google it within the next few minutes.

Bt, it was a toss-up between me reviewing this issue or the one where Jack savages Buck. In the end, I decided the other issue was a bit too much of a downer for me.

I wasn't aware the Punisher, Hangman and Foolkiller all made their debut around the same time. Thanks for enlightening me.

KD, I can understand them giving Jack control over his transformations and powers, as it'd give the writers more leeway in their story-telling. However, it's clearly less potent, emotionally, for him to be able to do that.

Killdumpster said...

Steve, I believe Marvel always did their monsters into superheroes just because it was simpiler to just have them fighting villains, plot wise.

It was easier for the writers, because most of them couldn't keep coming up with captivating, suspenseful, spine-tingling stories issue after issue.

I can see the bullpen in the 70's now. "The books due at the printer next week! Just have (insert monster here) fight (insert lame villian here)!! Easy!!! Off to the presses!!!"

Killdumpster said...

As an example, there was a FEAR issue wear Man-Thing fought Wundarr (a Superman knockoff). He ended up as a semi-regular in Marvel Two-In-One, the Thing being his "Unca Ben". That and Sal B's art made it my least favorite book.

Now I'm going to look up Wondarr. Hope he died a grisly death. Or at least got his nipples thermo-nuked.

Killdumpster said...

Hokey Smokes, Jesus-winkle!

I am so glad I didn't read alot of comics into the 80's.