Speaking of werewolves, the only Marvel/DC comic I read regularly in the 1970s was Werewolf by Night, which appeared from 1972 to 1977.I bought the first issue because I figured it would the first time the character appeared in print, as opposed to other Marvel characters who moved in and out of each other's books at random. Wrong -- Jack Russell had been around for a couple of years.
Why name a werewolf after a breed of dog?
At least the first issue had an origin story.
Jack Russell turns 18 and inherits the family curse; during the three nights of the full moon, he turns into a ravaging werewolf. Afterwards, of course, his clothes are gone, revealing an amazing physique. In the second issue, he tries to explain his dilemma to the man he lives with -- "more than a friend" -- a middle-aged writer named Buck Cowan.
Buck also has an amazing physique and is allergic to shirts.
There is a "damsel in distress" being threatened on most covers, but surprise! It's not some girl, it's his sister. Jack doesn't have a girlfriend, girl admirer, or female crush, at least not in the issues I read.
In 2013, he appeared in a guest spot on The Ultimate Spider-Man, voiced by Disney hunk Ross Lynch.
See also: Jim Steranko
Buck also has an amazing physique and is allergic to shirts.
In 2013, he appeared in a guest spot on The Ultimate Spider-Man, voiced by Disney hunk Ross Lynch.
See also: Jim Steranko
I always wondered why werewolves are allergic to shirts. My cheapest pants cost three times as much as my cheapest shirts. If I were a werewolf, I wouldn't wear pants during my "time of the month". (Sorry.)
ReplyDeleteBy Marv "My Name Made Me Do It" Wolfman. If you want to know, he actually began at National Publishers, better known these days as DC Comics. He created what was supposed to be first black superhero, named him Jericho, but the rechristenrd Joshua was white for "we want to sell at least one book in the South" reasons. So he used it for what was really the second attempt at a gay/bi superhero. (At Marvel, Chris Claremont wanted to make the teenage science experiment Wolverine bi. Obviously a lot of things had changed from Claremont's rough draft.) To drive it home: Jericho would have the same last name as the actual first black superhero: Wilson.
ReplyDeleteDuring the 70s, though, Wolfman worked at Marvel, and earned the not at all distinct distinction of having been editor-in-chief. (Seriously, I think everyone took a crack at the big chair.) Aye, there's the rub: While he was fine going back to the writer, eventually a drunk Stan Lee revealed at a Christmas party that Jim Shooter, another National Publishers alum that Wolfman himself hired,
Marvel hemorrhaged talent because of this decision. Jim Shooter had no social skills to speak of, this was the worst possible time to announce it, Shooter reportedly had no vision for the company, and Lee's plan to "promote" the current editor to a seemingly vital but really irrelevant position went over like a lead balloon.
Marvel still became the #1 comic book publisher, but they lost a lot of talent, on top of losing Jack Kirby at the start of the 70s. Or, you could say that once Teen Titans (Wolfman's work at Marvel was also Marvel Two-in-One, so he said no team books, so they put him on Brave and the Bold and DC Comics Presents. Then he realized what he hated were random teamups and revived Teen Titans instead.) saved the company a lot of Marvel alumni in position to destroy the multiverse. But that is a story for another day.
Oh, he was recently on Teen Titans GO!. He and George Pérez acting like a couple while trying to come up with an idea for reinventing the Titans.
If the man turns into a beast it makes sense for him to shred the clothes- but once you know what's coming I would get naked first
ReplyDeleteHave you seen "Werewolf of London" (1935)? there is plenty of gay subtext in that one
ReplyDeleteI don't think so. The earliest werewolf movie I've seen is "The Wolfman" (1941), with Lon Chaney
Delete"Werewolf of London" (1935) is closer to Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde.
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