You’ve Never Read Werewolf by Night by Jenkins and Manco?! Part 2
Part II: Welcome to Hell
Welcome back to this look back at the 1998 Werewolf by Night series from Paul Jenkins and Leonardo Manco. You can read the first part here if you missed it. This week we’ll be taking a look at Werewolf by Night #3 and #4.
When last we saw our furry protagonist, he was being beckoned into the the literal depths of Hell through a funhouse at a carnival with the promise that Jack will find a cure for his lycanthropy within. Seems reasonable. Werewolf by Night #3 picks up in a different kind of Hell altogether: Florida. Specifically, he’s in a dilapidated cabin in the middle of a swamp in the Everglades. I’m used to seeing dilapidated cabins in the middle of the woods in horror stories, but a dilapidated cabin in the middle of a swamp seems even worse on account of the alligators. There is an unknown figure with a rifle approaching this cabin with ill intent. When he arrives we see that an old and disheveled Jack Russell partially transformed into his werewolf form is awaiting the man inside. It would appear that this sequence is set in the future, and poor Jack still hasn’t cured his lycanthropy. Old Man Jack is in a wooden rocking chair with a cane by his side, and he’s ready to spin a yarn for his guest.
This is the point at which we pick back up at the funhouse entrance to Hell. Old Man Jack explains that he took his trip into Hell aboard a train car in the funhouse, but he only remembers entering and exiting the ride. Upon exiting, Roxana approaches him only to discover in horror that he had partially transformed into a werewolf (essentially the same state that he is in now. In a moment of panic, Jack accidentally kills Roxana and flees into the night. Not great!
Jack calls his friend Vince (a reverend who was introduced in the first issue of the series) from a pay phone hoping for help, but all he does is call the police. Jack, now all alone, explains that from that point forward he embraced the monster within and stopped fighting his werewolf urges to kill indiscriminately. Realizing he can no longer live in the city without the endless harassment of police and vigilantes, Jack runs off to the swamp where we see him now. He also says he now primarily kills and eats alligators when in complete werewolf form which is objectively badass.
After he’s finished narrating his story, we learn who this visitor is and why he’s there. It seems that his daughter had been killed by Jack when their car had broken down one fateful night, and now he’s here for revenge. Without any attempt to defend himself, Jack is shot and killed. Quick series!
Just kidding. If you haven’t figured it out by now, this entire issue has been Jack living through his darkest nightmare while traveling through Hell. This is what Jack fears he will one day become if he can’t cure himself of his lycanthropy. Jack has now awoken from this nightmare as he has exited the funhouse, and he has somehow gained possession of another piece of the Wolfsblade.
That’s how Werewolf by Night #3 ends, and I really appreciate the change in style and setting from the first two issues. Jenkins and Manco trade in the grungy city aesthetic for a grimy swamp location. The noir storytelling style is also replaced with a more gothic horror narration reminiscent of the chapters of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein that are narrated by the monster. It’s a nice change of pace.
Werewolf by Night #4 shakes things up yet again. This issue sees Jack once again traveling into Hell to retrieve the third pieces of the Wolfsblade. The look and feel of this issue is like Jack has been dropped into a Hieronymus Bosch painting. He is surrounded by horrific demonic entities amid a nightmarish hellscape as he searches for the object he hopes can save him.
Manco’s art really shines in this issue. Gone are the sewers of New York City and the moss coated cabin in the Everglades. Instead we are treated to surreal planes of existence not meant for human eyes to witness. At the forefront of this Hell is the demonic wolf entity that was first alluded to in Werewolf by Night #1. This is the entity that Jack was told controls the wolf nature that lurks within all werewolves.
Jack is forced to confront this entity as it taunts him. The entity tells Jack that perhaps he will let him avoid the worst aspects of eternal damnation if he one day gifts him his child. That’s the moment that makes Jack realize there is a way for him to overcome this demon. Jack reverts to his human form and willingly presents himself as a sacrifice before the demon. If he wants Jack so bad, he can have him. But Jack will do so as a human. This act of self sacrifice unlocks the final piece of the broken Wolfsblade, and it fuses to Jack’s chest as a glowing wolf symbol. Jack now believes he has achieved full control of his lycanthropy.
With that, Jack once again emerges from Hell at the exit of the funhouse ride. Roxana is baffled as to where he has been for so long (apparently making trips to Hell takes longer than a pee break). Jack simply tells her that he has gotten a new tattoo.
We are now at the halfway mark of this series. There are two more issues of Werewolf by Night as a solo series followed by two issues of Strange Tales where it becomes part of an anthology series along with the DeMatteis and Sharp Man-Thing series. Up next? Circus freaks, vampires, and a certain Spirit of Vengeance.