Werewolf by Night 10

Werewolf by Night 10

Oct 1973

The Sinister Secret of Sarnak!

by Gerry Conway, Tom Sutton, Petra Goldberg, Roy Thomas

The Werewolf wakes up chained in a pit. Lissa, Jack’s sister, is also chained up in the pit. Sarnak and his followers surround the pit. The Werewolf breaks free and tries to jump out of the pit. Sarnak blows on the whistle and the Werewolf falls backwards back into the pit. 

Sarnak tells Lissa, while the Werewolf recovers, about the Committee (his employers) and his background as a sound engineer. Sarnak then leaves with most of his followers. Morning comes and the Werewolf reverts to being Jack. Jack escapes from the pit but is unable to free Lissa. 

Grimjack in Starslayer 11

Starslayer 11

Dec 1983

Mortal Gods - Conclusion 

by John Ostrander, Timothy Truman, John Workman, Janice Cohen, Mike Gold

Elvanna is shocked to find that Manwyyes is a drunken slob. She doesn’t get more than a few seconds to let the reality of the situation sink in before a rival god, the four-armed, sword-wielding Zago walks into the cafe eager for a fight. He has killed all of Manwyyes followers, with the exception of Elvanna, and he is eager to finish off Manwyyes and his high priestess.

Grimjack steps in the way. His attempt to fight Zago with his own weapons proves fruitless. Once he borrows Manwyyes staff and gets his hands on one of Zago’s swords he is able to even the odds. 

Secret Origins (1986) 10 (2)

Secret Origins (1986) 10

Jan 1987

…And Men Shall Call Him Stranger

by Paul Levitz, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Gaspar Saladino, Tatjana Wood, Robert Greenberger

10 pages

This is the second of four possible Secret Origins of the Phantom Stranger.

In biblical times, presumably well before the birth of Christ, a man agonizes. Crime is rampant, his own son calls him out as being silly and foolish. A flood of supernatural origins ravages the city in which the man and his family live. Most are killed but the man survives.

Werewolf by Night 9

Werewolf by Night 9

Sep 1973

Terror Beneath the Earth!

by Gerry Conway, Tom Sutton, George Roussos, Len Wein, Roy Thomas

The Werewolf runs through the rain swept streets of Los Angeles. It is pursued by a man dressed in a raggedy red and blue outfit, whose face is concealed by a scarf. The man catches up to the Werewolf but then leaves him when summoned by Sarnak. A high pitched, ultrasonic, wave of sound hits the Werewolf and he collapses as the man runs off. 

Jack Russell, aka the Werewolf, wakes up once again human. He is in jail. The policeman on duty, sees that Jack has regained consciousness and calls for Jack’s stepfather. Lissa, Jack’s sister, and Phillip Russell, Jack’s stepfather, take him home. Jack quarrels with his stepfather and then goes up to his room. He isn’t there long before he is attacked by the man in red and blue once again but this time he has brought some help.

Grimjack in Starslayer 10

Starslayer 10

Nov 1983

Mortal Gods

by John Ostrander, Timothy Truman, John Workman, Janice Cohen, Mike Gold

Elvanna, high priestess of the Kyrians, travels to Cynosure to find Grimjack, aka John Gaunt. She hopes that he can help her find Manwyyes, her god, who has stopped responding to their people’s prayers. The Kyrians are desperate because they being overrun by the followers of Zago, the god of the blood red sun. 

This installment ends with Grimjack taking Elvanna to Wu Fang’s Cafe. Manwyyes is there, hunched over a drink. The high priestess is shocked by what she finds.

Secret Origins (1986) 10 (1)

Secret Origins (1986) 10

Jan 1987

Tarry Till I Come Again

by Mike W. Barr, Jim Aparo, Tom Ziuko, Robert Greenberger

10 pages

This is the first of four possible Secret Origins of the Phantom Stranger.

The Phantom Stranger confesses to a priest, Father Knox, on Christmas Eve. He tells the priest about his past, about how he lost his wife and child. They were murdered roughly 2000 years ago. He got a measure of revenge on Jesus Christ, the man he blamed for the death of his loved ones, but as a result of his actions he has lived on. 

The story ends with the Phantom Stranger being forgiven for his crime 2000 years ago. He is offered the chance to move on and end his life but he chooses to remain. 

Fantastic Four 212

Fantastic Four 212

Nov 1979

Battle of the Titans!

by Marv Wolfman, John Byrne, Joe Sinnott, John Costanza, Carl Gafford 

The Fantastic Four, HERBIE, Galactus, and Terrax arrive on Earth. Galactus’ new herald immediately starts to terrorize the population of New York City. Reed and Ben fight with Terrax until Galactus tells his new assistant to back off.

Sue feels the effects of the rapid aging to a greater degree than Reed or Ben and collapses. Reed does what he can for his wife and then starts to prepare to deal with Galactus. He knows that once Galactus has dealt with the Sphinx he will turn from Earth’s defender into its greatest menace. 

The Skrull who was last seen Fantastic Four 204 returns. He is a construct. He explains how he repaired himself and makes preparations to help the Skrull Empire conquer Earth. 

The Sphinx tells his origin story which goes back to biblical times. Terrax tries to take down the Sphinx on his own but when that fails he heads to the Baxter Building. The issue ends with Terrax threatening to destroy the Fantastic Four. 

Terry and the Pirates (31.C)

Vol. 5: 1943-1944

By Milton Caniff 

 

Infiltrator

Aug 28, 1943 - Feb 7, 1944

This is the fifth of twelve stories in what Carl Horak, author of the Terry and the Pirates Companion, considers to be the fourth era of Caniff’s run on the strip. This era began in late Jan 1942 and ran through early Nov 1945 and is called The War Years in the companion book. 

The Wikipedia article on Terry and the Pirates breaks the entire series down into 60 arcs. It breaks this arc down into the following arcs:

44 - "On the Wing" (8/30/43 to 10/29/43)

45 - "Jungle Rescue" (10/30/43 to 12/17/43)

46 - "The Fair Sex Revealed" (12/18/43 to 2/4/44)

10/12/23

Dec 19, 1943 - Terry and Bonnie visit Grett in the hospital. Terry borrows a fingerprint kit from the military police and takes his findings to military intelligence. Terry is disappointed to find out that Midi’s fingerprints check out. 

Criminal (2008) 7

Criminal (2008) 7

Nov 2008

Bad Night - Part Four

by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Val Staples

Starr was in charge of investigating the disappearance of Jake’s wife. He went at the case tenaciously. He didn’t let up, even after Jake had been cleared, until he was ordered t stop it. He was still convinced that Jake needed to pay for his wife’s death. 

Jake tries to break into Starr’s home. Starr catches him in the act. They get into a fight. Starr gets the upper hand and is getting ready to call in for backup when Jake shoots and kills Starr, with one of Starr’s own guns. 

Jake gets some help disposing of the body and then goes to find Iris. He tells her a version of the truth, that Starr skipped town, won’t be back, but will get blamed for Danny’s murder. Iris has had enough of Jake but he’s not ready to give up on her. He kidnaps her and takes her driving down the same road where his wife crashed years before. 

Jake’s driving recklessly. He crashes. He is the only survivor but he’s seriously injured.