Thursday, October 16, 2014

WereWolf the SuperHero "First Howl" Conclusion

...he's about to burst into dynamic, daring action!
Next: The Return of Frankenstein the SuperHero!
Of the trio of monster-based superheroes created for Dell Comics by the team of writer Don Segall and artists Bill Fraccio and Tony Tallarico, WereWolf was the least like his monstrous "inspiration".
Considering Dell was not a member of the Comics Code Authority and could use a werewolf (whether mystical or scientific), it seems odd they didn't do so.
There are rumors that a second batch of monster superheroes based on the Mummy, Invisible Man, and Creature from the Black Lagoon were proposed and some preliminary art had been done, but poor sales doomed the "second wave".
At any rate, no evidence of any such work has ever been unearthed.
WereWolf, like Frankenstein and Dracula, lasted only three issues.
Trivia: Due to the fact they didn't use "Wolf Man", WereWolf wasn't a continuation of an existing title like Frankenstein and Dracula (both of which began their superhero versions with issue #2s), WereWolf runs #1-3, instead of #2-4 as the others do!

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

WereWolf the SuperHero "First Howl" Part 1

...he had just been given his codename "WereWolf" as well as the garb voted "Easiest to Draw SuperHero Costume in Comic Book History"!
Thus prepared, he becomes the 1960s version of a couch potato...
Is WereWolf's mission over before it's begun?

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

WereWolf the SuperHero "Assignment Top Secret"

Major Wiley Wolf of the USAF crash-lands in the Arctic and is stranded for six months with only a pack of wolves for company.
When he's rescued, the once-gregarious pilot seems distant and withdrawn, a changed man.
His only friend...one of the wolves he named "Thor".
Wolf resigns from the Air Force and heads to Washington DC...
And on that ironic note, we take our leave until tomorrow, when WereWolf will go into action!

Monday, October 13, 2014

WereWolf the SuperHero "Trial by Nature"

After revamping Dracula and Frankenstein into superheroes...
...the team of writer DJ Arneson and artists Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico turned to the next monster in the classic Universal Studios line-up.
However, whether it was because Universal objected to the radical change in format or because the project was actually unauthorized by the studio, the next book couldn't use the trademarked name "The WolfMan".
Both Frankenstein and Dracula were based on public domain books, so they could be used without legal repercussions.
But The WolfMan movie series, though based on European legends, was conceived by Universal's in-house writers (though based on European legends), so Dell had to go back to the generic term for lycanthropic transformers..."Werewolf"!

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Dracula the SuperHero "Dracula's Pledge"

After inadvertantly ingesting a serum derived from bats that gave him extraordinary abilities, scientist Dracula (first name unknown) uses those talents to defeat a nuclear terrorist using his family's castle as a base of operations.
Writer Don Segall and artists Bill Fraccio and Tony Tallarico took a somewhat more serious approach to this origin from Dell's Dracula #2 (1966) as opposed to their work on the Frankenstein SuperHero, which was "campy" from the beginning.
Keep in mind I said "somewhat", and that the tone began to radically-shift to camp as of the next issue!
Dracula will return shortly, but next up is the super-spy based on The WolfMan...also by the same creative team of Segall, Fraccio and Tallarico!