Book Review: Marvel Masterworks: Werewolf by Night Vol. 1 by G. Conway et al.

Marvel Masterworks: Werewolf by Night Volume 1 written by Gerry Conway and Len Wein, pencils by Mike Ploog

Jack Russell turns eighteen and discovers a horrible family secret. His father lived in Europe and was secretly a warlock with a curse...the curse of lycanthropy! Jack turns into a werewolf when the full moon rises for three nights a month. His father died years ago and his mother remarried....to a cad! The step-dad sold the European castle (which got moved to an island just off southern California) and is abusive to the mom and the kids (Jack has a younger sister named Lissa). Jack's mom dies in a mysterious accident, though Jack (in wolf form) saw the chauffeur messing around under the hood. Jack has plenty of things to deal with: protecting his sister, getting revenge on his step-father, and finding some way to deal with the wolf within.

After an initial three-issue appearance in Marvel Spotlight 2-4, Werewolf by Night got its own comic which continued Jack's adventures. The castle has his father's book of magic, the Darkhold, which Jack gets ahold of but can't read because it's in Latin. He enlists a monk to translated it though things don't turn out well for the monk. Jack wanders about, running into adventures. This collection ends with an issue of Marvel Team-Up where the Werewolf is paired up with Spider-man.

The book has an interesting narrative and style. The story is told mostly from Jack's perspective, with him narrating what's going on, especially when he is in werewolf form. Each of three nights of the full moon are chronicled, along with some daytime stuff to fill in the narrative. The wolf version of Jack can't talk or think but Jack has memories of what happens. The wolf is occasionally influenced by Jack's memories and desires. The wolf's main desire is to hunt in the forest for food. He kills some bad guys but surprisingly few and happily eats none of them. Jack gets out of bad situations through accidents or brute force. Neither Jack nor the wolf are very clever. They have the earnestness that has been part of the werewolf mythology since Lon Chaney's version. The visual style is very much a 1970s horror comic, with dark panels and sinister drawings. The stylistic exception is the Team-Up story, which is dominated by the wisecracking Spider-man. The web-slinger visits San Francisco to get away from Gwen's death and winds up in a whole other adventure, first fighting then allying with the Werewolf. Typical Marvel fare. 

Mildly recommended--this is probably more interesting for comic book fans than general readers. I liked it more than the TV show.