Awoooooo!! Welcome to the Werewolf by Night comics reading guide!
After the Comics Code Authority relaxed in 1971, Marvel wasted no time in launching new monster horror comics, with Werewolf by Night and Tomb of Dracula both debuting in 1972.
Created by Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, and Mike Ploog (with a little input from Stan Lee), the idea of a werewolf character seems simple enough, so what’s all the fuss about? Here’s a quick look what you need to get started with Werewolf by Night!
Werewolf By Night comics quick start:
- Marvel Spotlight (1971) #2-4
- Werewolf by Night (1972) #1-7, 13-23, 32-33, 38-41
- Tomb of Dracula (1972) #18
- Spider-Woman (1978) #19
- Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme (1988) #9, 15-16, 26-27
- Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #54-59, 107-113, 143-144
- Werewolf by Night (1998) #1-6
- Legion of Monsters: Werewolf by Night (2007) #1
- Werewolf by Night (2020) #1-4
With Moon Knight:
- Werewolf by Night (1972) #32-33
- Moon Knight (1980) #29-30
- Solo Avengers (1987) #3
- Marc Spector: Moon Knight (1989) #50-53
- Moon Knight (2006) #20
- Moon Knight Annual (2022) #1
With the Legion of Monsters:
- Marvel Premiere (1972) #28
- The Punisher (2009) #11-14, 21
- Legion of Monsters (2011) #1-4
- Daredevil (2011) #32-34
- Deadpool: Dracula’s Gauntlet (2014) #1-7
- Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos (2015) #1-4
- Deadpool (2016) #1, 14, 17-18
- Deadpool: Til Death Do Us… (2017)
The bloodline of Jack Russell was cursed forever when his ancestor Grigori Russoff was bitten by a werewolf while fighting Dracula in 1795. However, their family’s lycanthropy laid dormant until the early 20th century when Gregory Russoff bound Chthon’s Darkhold scrolls into book form. The Darkhold re-awakened their family curse, as his poor son Jack discovered on his 18th birthday.
More than a generic wolfman, Jack Russell quickly became a cornerstone of Marvel’s supernatural, with major storylines featuring the Darkhold, Dracula, Moon Knight, and more! Further evolutions of the character would see him lead the Legion of Monsters, feud with Deadpool, and even form a close bond with Morbius.
But read on to discover his adventures for yourself! Be sure to also check out our guides to Moon Knight, Man-Thing, and Elsa Bloodstone! Be sure to also check out our guides to the Legion of Monsters and Midnight Sons for more midnight monster madness!
“Man by day… Werewolf by night!”
Werewolf by Night (1972)
After the Werewolf’s first hit appearance in Marvel Spotlight #2, Marvel immediately green-lit his own solo series, which ran for a whopping 43 issues! These fantastic comics feature Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, Morbius, Brother Voodoo, the Darkhold, and Man-Thing. Don’t miss ‘em!
This era also introduced Topaz, a super psychic and one of Jack’s best friends. She would later become a major player in the mystical side of the Marvel Universe, even teaming up with Doctor Strange, Jennifer Kale, Satanna, and Quincy Harker’s vampire hunters!
- Marvel Spotlight (1971) #2-4 by Gerry Conway & Mike Ploog
- First appearances of the Werewolf and the Darkhold!
- Werewolf by Night (1972) #1-19
- #1-4, 9-10 written by Gerry Conway
- #5-8 written by Len Wein
- #11-15 written by Marv Wolfman
- #16-19 written by Mike Friedrich
- #1-7, #13-16 drawn by Mike Ploog
- #11-12 drawn by Gil Kane
- #17-20 drawn by Don Perlin
- #13 is the first appearance of Topaz!
- #15 comes after Tomb of Dracula #17-18!
- Giant-Size Werewolf by Night (1974) #1-4
- #1 originally printed as “Giant-Size Creatures #1”. The first appearance of Greer Grant Nelson as Tigra!
- #2 features Frankenstein’s Monster!
- #3 features Topaz!
- #4 features Morbius!
- Werewolf by Night (1972) #20-43 by Doug Moench & Don Perlin
- Topaz leaves between #20-27
- #32-33 is the first appearance of Moon Knight!
- #38-41 feature Brother Voodoo!
- Marvel Premiere (1972) #28
- First appearance of the Legion of Monsters!
- Starring Werewolf, Morbius, Ghost Rider, and Man-Thing
Extra reading:
- Marvel Tales (1949) #116
- Original “Werewolf by Night” story from 1953
- Marvel Team-Up (1972) #12
- Tomb of Dracula (1972) #17-18
- Monsters Unleashed (1973) #6-7
- Marvel Spotlight (1971) #28
Werewolf By Night comics guest appearances (1980s)
After the initial Werewolf by Night comics run ended, Jack was put on hold for most of the 1980s. He had a bunch of guest appearances here and there, but his main role was relegated to a side character for Moon Knight and Spider-Woman. Meanwhile, Jack’s mystical friend Topaz started building her own reputation as a mainstay in Doctor Strange.
- Spider-Woman (1978) #6, 19, 32, 48-50
- #6 features the Darkhold!
- Moon Knight (1980) #29-30
- Introduced a new Werewolf design!
- Captain America (1968) #330-331, 403-408
- Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme (1988) #2, 6-9, 15-16, 23, 26-27
- Jack is in #9, 16, 26-27
- Topaz is in #2, 6-9, 16, 23, 26-30, 36
- Gregor Russoff is in #9, 15
- Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #54-59, 87, 98, 107-113
- Marc Spector: Moon Knight (1989) #50-53
Extra watching:
- Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981) S3 E2
Extra reading:
- Marvel Preview (1975) #12
- Marvel Team-Up (1972) #93
- Spider-Man and the Werewolf!
- Marvel Premiere (1972) #59
- Ghost Rider (1973) #55
- Jack Russell and Johnny Blaze!
- Contest of Champions (1982) #1, 3
- West Coast Avengers (1985) #5, 40
- Werewolf vs. the Avengers! Features Morbius
- Iron Man (1968) #209
- Solo Avengers (1987) #3 [B Story]
- Features Moon Knight!
- Incredible Hulk (1962) #362
- Dragon Magazine (1976) #126
- “A Marvel Monster-Phile” by Jeff Grubb
- Starring Frankenstein’s Monster, the Living Mummy, Werewolf by Night, and Vampires
Alternate universes:
- Valour (1980) #6
- Earth-333333333 AKA Earth-33⅓
- Ka-Zar the Savage (1981) #34
- Land of Cancelled Heroes
- Fantastic Four Roast (1982) #1
- Hembeck-verse
Extra reading for Topaz:
- Tomb of Dracula (1972) #62-64
- Marvel Age Annual (1985) #1
- Doctor Strange (1974) #75-81
- Strange Tales (1987) #1-3, 11, 16, 18 [B Stories]
Extra reading for Gregor Russoff:
- Avengers (1963) #187
- The Saga of the High Evolutionary
- Silver Surfer Annual (1988) #1 [D Story]
- New Mutants Annual (1985) #4 [C Story]
- Fantastic Four Annual (1963) #21 [C Story]
- Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1964) #22 [C Story]
- X-Men Annual (1979) #12 [C Story]
- Web of Spider-Man Annual (1985) #4 [C Story]
Werewolf By Night guest appearances: Midnight Sons (1990s)
In the 1990s, Jack got a little spotlight in a few Midnight Sons issues thanks to his new role as Morbius’ BFF. He also had a new short-lived solo and Topaz even got her own team spinoff starring Jennifer Kale and Satanna!
- Midnight Sons: Midnight Massacre (1993)
- Nightstalkers (1992) #10
- Ghost Rider (1990) #40
- Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins (1992) #11
- Morbius: The Living Vampire (1992) #12
- Ghost Rider and Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) #13
- Blade transforms into ‘Switchblade’. A major arc featuring the Darkhold!
- Werewolf by Night vs. Blade!
- Continue reading with the Blade reading guide!
- Morbius: The Living Vampire (1992) #12-15
- Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #143-144
- Morbius: The Living Vampire (1992) #27-30
- Werewolf by Night (1998) #1-6 by Paul Jenkins & Leonardo Manco
- Continued in Strange Tales (1998)
- Strange Tales (1998) #1-2 [B Stories]
- Continued from WBN (1998)
- The issues also feature Man-Thing!
- Shadows and Light (1998) #3 [B Story]
Check out the Morbius reading guide to read this era from Morbius’ point of view!
Extra reading:
- Dragon Magazine (1976) #159
- “An Empath and an Apprentice” by Dale A. Donovan
- Starring Topaz and Rintrah!
- After Midnight (1990)
- Tie-in book for the After Midnight role-playing adventure game
- Stars Frankenstein’s Monster, Black Widow, Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Moon Knight, Spider-Man, Black Panther, and more!
- Ghost Rider/Doctor Strange: Strange Tales
- Ghost Rider (1990) #12
- Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme (1988) #28-30, 36
- Features Topaz!
- Spider-Man Unlimited (1993) #20
- Features Topaz!
- Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) #5, 7
- Ghost Rider (1990) #55
- Jack Russell and Danny Ketch!
- Code of Honor (1997) #1
- Doctor Strange (1999) #1-4
- Features Topaz!
- Witches (2004) #1-4
- Starring Topaz, Jennifer Kale, and Satanna!
- New Avengers (2005) #53
- Features Topaz!
Alternate universes:
- Spider-Boy Team-Up (1997) #1
- Timberwolf by Night, member of the Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099.
DC/Marvel Amalgam universe
- Timberwolf by Night, member of the Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099.
- Supernaturals (1998) #1-4
- Earth-Chaos
- Spider-Man Newspaper Strips (1977) #2000-2001
- A Werewolf named Wagner!
- Marvel Knights Millennial Visions (2001) #1
- A variant named Soldier by Day!
- Exiles (2001) #55-57
- Paradise X (2002) #4
- Earth X universe
- Wha…Huh? (2005) #1
- A variant named Werewolf by Day!
- Marvel Adventures Spider-Man (2005) #17, 57
Legion of Monsters (late 2000s)
In the 2000s, things really turned around for Jack. With the relaunch of the Legion of Monsters, the Werewolf became a staple of Marvel’s modern monster mythos. Leading a team of Frankenstein’s Monster, the Living Mummy, Morbius, and Elsa Bloodstone, Jack became the face of the group across their many guest appearances.
Meanwhile, Jack’s cousin Nina got bitten by a vampire. Combined with her werewolf blood, this turned her into the amazing Vampire by Night! Recruited by SHIELD, Nina became the leader of her own special ops monster team called the Howling Commandos.
- Vampire by Night (2000s)
- Amazing Fantasy (2004) #10-12 [B Stories]
- Nick Fury’s Howling Commandos (2006) #1-6
- Jack appears in Amazing Fantasy #12!
- Legion of Monsters: Werewolf by Night (2007) #1 by Mike Carey & Greg Land
- Moon Knight (2006) #20
- Halloween Special Issue (2008) #1
- Dead of Night Featuring Werewolf by Night (2009) #1-4 by Duane Swierczynski & Mico Suayan
- Alternate timeline, set in 1983
- Marvel MAX mature readers imprint
- Marvel Zombies 4 (2009) #1-4
- Morbius, the Werewolf, Jennifer Kale, and Hellstrom create a new Midnight Sons team!
- Leads into Punisher (2009) #11-14
- The Punisher: Frankencastle (2009) #11-14, 21
- Leads into Legion of Monsters (2011) #1-4
- Legion of Monsters (2011) #1-4
- Tie-ins: Daredevil (2011) #32-34, Deadpool Team-Up (2010) #894, Hulk (2008) #52
- Catch up with Mark Waid’s award-winning Daredevil series here!
- Morbius: The Living Vampire (2013) #8
Video games:
- Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011)
Extra watching:
- Blade: Trinity (2006) (deleted scenes)
- The Werewolf scenes are described in the Blade: Trinity (2006) tie-in novel
- Marvel Super Heroes: What The–?! (2009) S1 E8, 37
- Marvel Super Hero Squad Show (2009) S2 E17
- Tie-in game: Marvel Super Hero Squad Online
- Ultimate Spider-Man (2012) S2 E21-22
- Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. (2013) S2 E9, 21, 26
- S2 E21 features Gregor Russoff!
Extra reading:
- Mystic Arcana: Scarlet Witch (2007) #1
- Special appearance by Gregor Russoff!
- Marvel 1985 (2008) #5
- Marvel Digital Holiday Special (2008) #1 [C Story]
- Monster-Size Hulk (2008) #1 [B Story]
- AKA “Hulk Monster-Size Special”
- Wolverine: First Class (2008) #10-11
- Astonishing Tales: Boom Boom and Elsa (2009) #1
- Tomb of Terror (2010) #1 [C Story]
- Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #622
- X-Factor (2005) #222-224, 244
- Fearless Defenders (2013) #9
Deadpool (late 2010s)
In the 2010s, Deadpool writer Gerry Duggan took the newly revamped Legion of Monsters and went nuts with them. Duggan’s Deadpool was a sprawling saga of love, betrayal, and cartoon horror that showed us new sides of Dracula and the Legion of Monsters that we’d never seen before. This entire era is an absolute joy for Marvel monster fans.
Shortly after, Marvel debuted an all-new Werewolf with Jake Gomez, who had a 4-issue miniseries in 2020. Music helps control his transformations, presenting an exciting update to the standard wolfman trope.
And finally, with the new Werewolf by Night Disney+ special coming this fall, Marvel is bringing back a few furry friends for the Crypt of Shadows comics Halloween special. Plus Jack will get his own spotlight with a brand new Moon Knight/Werewolf rematch! This is a great time to be a fan of Werewolf by Night.
- Vampire by Night (2010s)
- Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2015) #1-6
- Old Man Logan (2016) #14-15
- Secret Warriors (2017) #2
- Deadpool: Dracula’s Gauntlet (2014) #1-7
- Published digitally as Deadpool: The Gauntlet Infinite Comic #1-13
- When Dracula’s fiancee falls in love with Deadpool, a massive monster war breaks out across New York!
- A great introduction to the monsters of the Marvel universe.
- Features Dracula and the Legion of Monsters in major roles!
- Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos (2015) #1-4
- Continues from Deadpool: The Gauntlet, but in an alternate timeline
- Features Dracula and the supernatural Howling Commandos in major roles
- Deadpool (2016) #1, 14, 17-18
- Deadpool: Til Death Do Us… (2017)
- Deadpool (2016) #28-29
- Spider-Man/Deadpool (2016) #15-16
- Deadpool & the Mercs for Money (2016) #9-10
- Continues the story from Deadpool: Dracula’s Gauntlet in the main timeline
- Werewolf is in Deadpool #28-29 and Spider-Man/Deadpool #15
- Werewolf by Night (2020) #1-4
- Features a new Werewolf named Jake Gomez!
- Created by Taboo, Benjamin Jackendoff, and Scot Eaton
- Crypt of Shadows (2022) #1
- Features Jake Gomez vs. Moon Knight, along with several other Midnight Sons
- Moon Knight Annual (2022) #1 by Jed Mackay & Federico Sabbatini
- New Moon Knight/Werewolf by Night rematch!
Video games:
- Marvel Avengers Academy (2016)
Extra reading:
- Deadpool & the Mercs for Money (2016) #3
- Spider-Woman (2016) #10
- Deadpool: Last Days of Magic (2016) #1
- Alternate universes:
- Spider-Island (2015) #1
- You Are Deadpool (2018) #3
- Venomized (2018) #2
- Poison Werewolf by Night, member of the Hive. Alongside “Poison” versions of other characters
- Infinity Wars: Arachknight (2018) #1
- Norman and Harry Russell both turn into a version of “Goblin by Night”!
- Peter Spector turns into “Arachknight”!
And that’s everything about Werewolf by Night comics! Have you ever read any of these comics before? What’s your favorite werewolf movie? Let me know on Twitter @vinwriteswords and remember to follow the site @MyCosmicCircus for more monster mayhem coming soon!
Keep reading with our reading guides for Moon Knight, the Darkhold, and the Legion of Monsters! To learn more about Werewolf By Night, visit the official page.
All images courtesy of Marvel Comics.
