Category: Books & Comics

NY Times Bestselling Author Micky Neilson worked at Blizzard for over 20 years, guiding the narrative of the Warcraft universe and writing many of the related comic series, including Curse of the Worgen. Now he’s debuting The Turning, his first self-published horror novel.

Years ago Brandon Frye was bitten, cursed to transform into a primal killing machine under the light of the full moon… until he met Celine, who introduced him to experimental pills meant to suppress the turning. Now, after a terrible tragedy has taken Celine’s life, Brandon boards a cruise ship bound for Alaska, intending to venture into the cold white north and never return.

But when Brandon meets Ginny, he gains a second chance at love. Nevertheless, circumstances align against him: a storm is building, a hunter is on his trail, and the pills that are meant to prevent the turning… are about to trigger it.

If I may be reductive for a moment, “werewolf runs amok on a cruise ship” sounds delicious. I’m buried in production stuff for the next issue of Werewolves Versus, so I don’t have much leisure time for reading, but I chomped off the first 16 pages and it’s got everything I want at the start of a werewolf horror novel: a dive bar, a grisly death, and some excellent werewolf action. Neilson’s been wrangling Worgen for years, so I have high hopes for his modern-day, Earth-based werewolf tale.

The Turning ebook comes out tomorrow, August 2nd – you can pre-order (it in the next 11 hours) or buy it on Amazon.

Werewolf comic fans might want to clear their afternoon schedules before reading any further. Werewolf News reader / supporter / all-around great dude Kurt just launched wereshere.com – a tremendous resource for anyone interested in comic books and graphic novels with werewolves in them.

The site is split into two sections: comics in Kurt’s collection, and comics he’s searching for. Both lists are enormous, and every entry leads to a page with tons of details on the issue. Publication info, characters, writers, artists and letterers are all present, and Kurt plans to start adding his own reviews, too. He was nice enough to answer a few questions I had about his collection and his site.

I count roughly 500 comics on the “own” section of the site. Is this your entire collection of werewolf comics, or only part of it?

The first collection listed on wereshere.com is every comic book and graphic novel that I have in physical print. This is NOT my entire collection. The second list of comics to dig up represent books that either I have come across and do not own or in some cases may not be available in print and only exist online. Drivethrucomics, Amazon Kindle, and Comixology contain some great materials by independent people who don’t have the financial support. And comic books and graphic novels are just at the edge of the wereshere forest.

What’s your criteria for adding a comic to the list? Can a werewolf appear anywhere in the issue, or do they need to be a character of a certain prominence?

There are actually a few titles already listed that are may not even be considered were-related to most. For example, I have an issue of Darkchylde that except for the cover art turned out not to have anything within its pages, but the issue caught my eye with what looked werewolf-related. If I see something that looks were-like, humanoid monster, or fur, fangs, and claws, that is enough in my book. Wereshere will start providing reviews and details on each of the materials listed so others can prey upon the flavors they want.

What’s your favourite single issue in the collection, and why?

Wow, do you have any difficult questions? That was wercasm if you didn’t catch it. To keep this question in proper context, Let keep the choices limited to the comic books then. One of my most lasting impressions was from a Batman miniseries called Scratch, specifically the final issue #5. At the time I read it, Scratch was a boy’s alter werewolf ego and until he was to accept this part of himself, the werewolf transformations resembled puberty because he could not control it and often times only a portion of his body might change, so maybe one of his hands would be a paw while the rest would remain human. I have never seen this metaphor used in another comic book and at the time I read the series, I could really connect. The messages delivered by the story and the art style itself really leaves an impression.

Are there any comics you’re searching for? What’s the best way for WN readers to reach you if they have something you’re interested in?

Without going into the what should a werewolf look like panel [I did a panel that touched on this topic at Howl Con – aq], I am always looking for new stuff usually with creatures that tend to resemble the Howling or American Werewolf in London appearance. I respect and pay homage to the Lon Chaney Jr. hairy face creatures, but I am a child of the 80’s and between Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, KNB Effects, or Stan Winston, the more lupine features are my idols. Also, gotta mention my late mentor Lance Pope of Haunted Verdun Manor who shed light and fur on many things. I have lots more to share and I hope wereshere will be my window to do just that. Twitter, tumblr, and email all point to me and I will keep my ears perked.

I met Kurt during Howl Con 2015, at a roundtable discussion about werewolves in comics (surprise!). It was my first panel and I was nervous, but the pretence of formality instantly dissolved when Kurt produced an enormous pile of werewolf comics, which he spread around the table and invited everyone to explore. He was generous and kind, and his enthusiasm for collecting, sharing and reading werewolf comics was infectious. Check out wereshere.com to get bitten by werewolf comics yourself!

For the next few full moons, Caption Comics will be sharing teaser images for their upcoming comic series, Joe Dante Presents American She-Wolf. Featured in this post is July’s image by Orlando Arocena, which is more revealing (conceptually and literally) and more menacing than the one they shared on Independence Day.

I’ve been lucky enough to get a sneak peek at what the folks at Caption have in store for American She-Wolf, and I have used a lot of enthusiastic exclamation points in my email responses. These teaser images are a lot of fun, a little schlock-y, and great at building hype – eg., they’re very good at their job – but behind the scenes, there’s a lot of character work and excellent world-building happening. I’ve promised I won’t share any details, but I’ll go out on a limb to leave you with this little tidbit, which pertains to one of the deepest schisms in the werewolf fandom:

In the world of American She-Wolf, werewolves have tails.

Follow Caption Comics on Twitter or Facebook for more on ASW, and Orlando Arocena on Twitter for more great art! Oh, and don’t forget to check out the “mothership” site for Joe Dante and ASW writer Kris Millsap, Trailers From Hell.

I have another werewolf comic recommendation for you, and this one you can buy and read right now. Howl is a black and white indie series about Jack Lowe, high school history teacher and “last man living in a world where a mysterious pandemic has transformed everyone else [including his wife, Rebecca] into werewolves.”

Thanks to the Lycanthrope Emancipation and Human Transition Act, everyone in the world – except Jack – gets to go buck-wild on the eve of the full moon, although people are encouraged to restrain themselves for their own safety. Of course, not everyone thinks self-restraint is necessary or patriotic.”Things might have changed,” the Lowe’s bulldog of a neighbour barks over his hedge, “but we still have rights!”

Writers Ryan Davidson & Eastin Deverna and artist Dan Buksa funded the first two issues of Howl with a Kickstarter campaign that went on to raise 180% of its goal. I’ve read those two issues, and I’m happy to say they’re smart, funny, and just adult enough – thanks to some gore and mild werewolf nudity – that it could earn you some serious Cool Aunt / Uncle Credit if you were to get it for your wayward nephew or niece. Buska’s werewolf design is big and hairy/scary enough to satisfy any werewolf fan, but nuanced enough that readers can easily identify who a werewolf might be on the other 29 nights of the month.

Issue 3 is in the works. For updates on that and other merch (they had a cool t-shirt design at one point), check out the Howl web site, Facebook page or Twitter account.

Happy Independence Day! Caption Comics is celebrating the red, white and blue by releasing a teaser poster for its upcoming comic anthology series, Joe Dante Presents American She-Wolf.

Yes, that Joe Dante. He’s been working with TrailersFromHell.com colleague Kris Millsap, who created American She-Wolf along with co-writer Lance Dobbins. This title is the first of (hopefully many) comics that Caption plans to develop for the enjoyment of cinema savvy comic readers.

According to Kris, American She-Wolf is an anthology series that will showcase “gritty tales of girls gone feral” in a variety of formats. Artists Greg Smallwood and Ario Murti are involved, and an illustrated anthology magazine and a graphic novel are in the works. From what Kris tells me, they have a lot of werewolf stories to share, and more details will be released later this summer. For more information, follow Caption Comics on Twitter or Facebook.

In the meantime, check out this lovely gore and drool-streaked painting by Orlando Arocena, featuring a hand-lettered ASW logo by Mateusz Witczak. Ah, it’s patriotic enough to make me consider applying for that dual citizenship!