Since Essential Werewolf by Night Vol. 2 is out, and my copy is on the way, I thought I'd celebrate it by looking at this seminal WBN old school audio-visual from Marvel Comics and Power Records.
"Curse of the Werewolf" was a defining monster moment for the children of the 70s. Like the rest of the Power Records' Book & Record set, "Curse" consisted of a 45 and a comic book. The content was culled from contemporary comics and edited to limit unnecessary backstory or subplots. "Curse" actually pulls from three comics, fusing two separate WBN tales: his origin story from Marvel Spotlight 2 (Feb. 1972) with elements from Werewolf by Night 15 and Tomb of Dracula 18. It features the art of Mike Ploog and Gene Colan, and the cover by Neal Adams.
The story, loosely
In Marvel Spotlight, Jack Russell celebrates his 18th birthday by turning into a werewolf and tear-assing around Los Angeles. His mother suspects she knows why Jack's been disappearing and, while searching for him, wrecks the car and ends up on her deathbed in the hospital. She hangs on long enough to tell Jack he's got the family curse, which sets him on a quest to discover the origin of the curse and if there's a cure. The scene ends as Jack transforms while his mother fades. This is where Marvel Spotlight 2 and "Curse" diverge, and the story jumps to Werewolf by Night 15.
Jack and his girlfriend, Topaz, are now in Transylvania, at his family's manor. In a diary scribed by Jack's great, great, great grandfather in 1795, the pair learn that the author had slain Dracula in revenge for killing his wife and had been attacked by a werewolf he had mistakenly freed from the vampire's castle. Jack decides to kill Dracula (apparently not dead) in the hopes that it will break the curse, and the scene shifts to Tomb of Dracula 18.
Atop a tower at Castle Dracula, the owner of the house watches Jack and Topaz approach. Drac turns into a giant bat and snags Topaz. The moonlight hits Jack and the werewolf attacks Dracula. There is a dramatic battle ends in a draw with Dracula warning WBN to pray they don't meet again.
To be sure, the story is a chop-job. The elements of the original comics are moved around. On some pages, parts of Gerry Conway's and Marv Wolfman's scripts are replaced with simpler dialogue. Subplots about Jack's mother's potential murder, the sorceress Topaz and the intricacies of Jack's family's past are necessarily ignored. But it's still a fun – if disjointed – ride. And the art is great.
Three giants
The cover of "Curse" is adapted from Neal Adams' front of Marvel Spotlight 2. Adams arguably is the greatest of his generation, and his work on Batman, Brave and the Bold, Green Lantern and Green Arrow, Deadman in Strange Adventures, and X-Men, among others, as well his prolific cover work ranks among the best ever. He runs a pair of animation studios in New York and Los Angeles.
The interior art of Marvel Spotlight 2 and Werewolf by Night 15 is by Mike Ploog, whose pencils are all over the line of monster and macabre books Marvel launched after the loosening of the Comics Code in 1971. His cartoony stylings can be found in pages of WBN, Man-Thing, Ghost Rider and Frankenstein and he is still active today.
Tomb of Dracula's artist is Gene Colan, whose apocalyptic strokes perfectly captured the horrific mood of that book. He had been in the business for about 25 years and was a mainstay in the Marvel bullpen when he started Tomb of Dracula in 1972. He drew the entire run. The great Gil Kane did the cover for Tomb of Dracula 19.
Some other stuff
Marvel Spotlight was an anthology book used to test-launch new characters. Ghost Rider and Spider-Woman (who made her first appearance in the series' penultimate issue) got their starts here. WBN was the lead for three issues before being spun out into his own series.
Werewolf by Night ran for 43 issues. It was drawn by a number of artists other than Ploog, most notably Don Perlin. The character also made a number of guest appearances throughout the Marvel Universe. He appeared in Legion Monsters: Werewolf by Night one-shot in 2007.
Tomb of Dracula ran for 70 issues, ending in 1979. It is considered by many to be the best example of Marvel 1970s horror books.
Marvel Essentials
The bulk of Marvel '70s books has been reprinted in the company's black-and-white Essential line. Monster of Frankenstein, Man-Thing, Zombie, Ghost Rider, Godzilla, and Son of Satan and his sister, Santana, each have a volume (Son of Satan and Santana are featured in Marvel Horror). All are worth a look. Dracula has four, and the first three are must-haves for the master penciling work of Gene Colan. Werewolf by Night Vol. 1 collects Marvel Spotlight 2-4, Werewolf by Night 1-21, Marvel Team-Up 12, Tomb of Dracula 18 and Giant-Size Creatures 1. Vol. 2 reprints Werewolf by Night 21-43, Giant-Size Werewolf 2-5 and Marvel Premiere 28.
Also check
Power Records Plaza
Great Comic Book Database
Marvel Masterworks and Essentials Resource
John Seavy on Werewolf by Night
Interview with Mike Ploog
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