Werewolf by Night 11

Werewolf by Night 11

Nov 1973

Comes the Hangman

by Marv Wolfman, Gil Kane, Tom Sutton, Stan G, Roy Thomas

Philip Russell, Jack’s stepfather is tortured by the Committee. They want to get their hands on Jack but Philip refuses to tell them anything.

Jack moves into a new apartment by the beach. He meets some of his new neighbors, one of whom has books on werewolves and other supernatural subjects. 

The Hangman, a veteran of the armed forces with a criminal record, who sees himself as a vigilante, kills a man and kidnaps a woman. He locks her up in his lair and claims it it for her own good. 

Jack tries hanging out on the beach at night when he starts to turn into the Werewolf. He runs into a group of guys who are suspicious of him. They chase him down the beach. Once they have surrounded him he stands and fights.

The Werewolf escapes from the group of young men and runs away. He crosses paths with the Hangman. The vigilante has just crossed paths with Jack's sister Lissa and is planning to add her to the collection of women he is holding captive or "protecting", as he sees it. The Werewolf and the Hangman fight on the streets. 

Thoughts

There is just one scene involving Philip Russell and the Committee in this issue. Presumably there will be more in future issues. 

I thought it was a little odd that the Werewolf felt overwhelmed by the group of young men. They were wearing bathing suits and they weren’t armed with anything other than their fists. 

I like the job that Gil Kane did on this issue. His layouts seem a little more traditional and flow better than the work Tom Sutton did penciling the two previous issues.

The credits make note of the fact that at last this werewolf comic is being written by a Wolfman. Marv Wolfman’s run on Werewolf by Night lasted until issue 15. Mike Friedrich wrote issues 16 to 19 after which Doug Moench took over and wrote the series until it ended with issue 43.