Jack’s family was linked to lycanthropy after one of Jack’s family members read the magical Darkhold during a full moon in the first half of the 20th century, prior to Jack’s parents emigrating to the United States from Transylvania. Jack was cursed to inherit the curse of the werewolf, transforming for the first time after he turned 18. The vampire supervillain’s legacy would help inform Jack’s, right down to his family’s origins in Transylvania. With the industry’s self-censorship organization, the Comics Code Authority, relaxing its standards for wide publication going into the ‘70s, Marvel Comics was able to incorporate more horror into their titles, with Werewolf by Night being published alongside series like Tomb of Dracula. Jack Russell was created by Roy Thomas, Jeanie Thomas, Gerry Conway, and Mike Ploog in 1972’s Marvel Spotlight #2 before receiving his own solo ongoing series Werewolf by Night later that year. Beyond the printed page, Werewolf by Night is about to make a big splash in the MCU and here’s where Jack Russell and his supporting cast could potentially turn up next. Here is a quick overview of Werewolf by Night, from his comic book origins and role in the main Marvel Comics continuity to what exactly the feral figure is capable of. And more than simply introducing Jack Russell and his lycanthropic alter ego to the MCU, Werewolf by Night is set to bring even more horror-oriented Marvel characters to the shared cinematic universe that could reverberate across the MCU in the years to come.

Among these is Werewolf by Night, a Disney+ original television special set to revolve around the monstrous antihero of the same name. I enjoyed this.As the Marvel Cinematic Universe nears the end of its Phase 4, several of the movies and television projects are veering more into outright horror than typical superhero derring-do. I give it three stars for the memories and some of the art. It's been quite an experience, reading through this. I remembered street corners, trees, and sidewalks. A couple were such sudden and powerful memories that I could visualize the old news stand in clear detail, which I hadn 't been able to do on my own. And as I read it, I came across cover art that I hadnt seen in decades. Not only did I finally find out how certain stories came out, but this really is a beautiful and solid volume, well made and printed in all its seventies glory. Which took me down more memory lanes than i expected. So i splurged and bought a nearly new copy. That meant that the storyline got chopped up for me. There i dithered and agonized: famous monsters of filmland? Werewolf by night? Or pretzels and candy? So while I sometimes chose Werewolf, I didn't always. I would walk across the South Side to a news stand.

A fun trip down memory lane! Back in the era of bell bottoms and headbands, i was a kid with an allowance of 25 cents, maybe more.

Werewolf by Night by Gerry Conway