Issue #126
January 20th, 2008
Almost 20 years ago independent comics (mostly in the form of Image and Malibu in this regard) made a lasting, seemingly overnight change that affected the Big II via introducing a new standard of minimum paper quality. Since then, their greatest contribution has been keeping the idea alive that comic books are not a genre– they are a medium, and they do this by keeping the ideas of genres on the shelf. When I say this, I don’t mean to diminish Vertigo at all, whose presence can’t be overstated, but Vertigo is so unique in editorial choice and creative execution they almost have become a genre on to themselves. They are almost agenre, an anthology linked by nothing but the quality of its individual chapters.
For the most part, if you want Crime, Horror, War, Western, SF, or traditional Fantasy comics, you have to look to the independents—and there are many that have done well (though many more admittedly that don’t). When it comes to Marvel and DC, mainly due to availability, I don’t really have too many points to take reference from. Generally speaking, I’ve always been more of a DC guy as it pertains to horror, but this opinion’s basis is made from ’60s and ’70′s material where DC was hitting on all cylinders when it came to genre in general (though Marvel was making a killing in Fantasy with Conan) with material being drawn by people like Wrightson, Adams, Cardy, Heath, Toth, Kubert, Nino, and others. Marvel did have Wolfman/Colan’s Tomb of Dracula, which is an oddity in that it’s a 70′s Marvel title that has aged well.
Another thing Marvel had going for it was Mike Ploog, who probably isn’t mentioned enough now when contemporaries of his are mentioned for purposes to identify excellence. Ploog also co-created a title called Werewolf by Night, whose lead character Jacob Russoff is back in his own title this month in Dead of Night: Featuring Werewolf by Night, a title from the Max imprint of Marvel Comics. The four issue miniseries already had something going for it being written by Duane Swierczynski, a writer whose novels I’ve enjoyed a great deal, and whose work in comics haven’t been lauded enough. The guy took over one of the best Marvel titles with the Brubaker/Fraction/Aja team on Iron Fist, and has done more than admirable job. In previous editions of this column I’ve gone into my own comic reading habit of – for the most part – really placing art secondary to quality writing. You cannot do that with a horror comic book. Horror, good horror, is a psychological assault. It’s completely about mood, atmosphere, tension, and even more so than other books, the artist has to sell the book. What you see after reading the words have to not only correlate, it has to constantly go a step beyond– it has to disturb, and present calms always seemingly always on the verge to be broken. I’m not familiar with Mico Suayan, but the guy gets the job done here, and I dare say he’s a damn beast.
Plot? Review? Jack Russell is a werewolf. He hides it from his wife, and takes unique measures to do so. What we can infer is that Jack’s family and mundane life is something he is more than content with, and that he has taken what looks to be a both simple and extravagant method of insuring that his unique condition does not get in the way of it. You don’t need to know any of the previous history to enjoy Werewolf by Night. It is a true Max relaunch that seems to have nothing mythic or especially fanciful (beyond the whole werewolf deal itself) in this setting, and if anything, I got the feeling that we may be staring at the beginnings of a mini-mystery, something that Swierczynski would excel at. As noted before, the art is rather outstanding, and if I come away with any negative thought on the issue, it is that it reads extremely fast. There is a quite a bit of narrative, effective narrative, and the sparse dialogue causes for a rather brisk, unimpeded experience.
The question becomes whether or not the issue has value-questions related to brevity, or if it is in fact a reader’s displeasure in having to wait for more of what he or she enjoyed. I tend to be a reader who can’t knock an issue that is well written and has perfect art– there aren’t enough of those to go dismiss so easily. It even has me looking for previous titles under the Dead of Night banner, and as I’ve done so I’ve been seeing a trend of great talent being assigned on to these projects. That such creators are attached to projects like these, there must be some connection to past source material that some personal affinity for the projects. When considering that for a moment, the first issue of Werewolf by Night comes into a bit more a focus. The pacing may be assuredness of a story that’s been waiting to be told. If that hold true here, I’m along for any ride that’s been marinating in the mind of Swierczynski for that length of time.
Jan-ken-pon is the time traveling, force-walking, multiverse crossing column of Jay Tomio, owner of 1/3 of everything you see currently on screen and the editor of Heliotrope. He’s not a werewolf, but at times barks at the moon. Some call him the Bodhisattva.
