Monstrous Nature: Werewolves & Nuns with Guns

As reported by Fangoria and Dread Central, writer / director Jason Cuadrado has finished shooting a 15-minute short film about a nun who’s kidnapped and wakes up in the woods handcuffed to a werewolf. The film is called Monstrous Nature and it should be making the rounds on the festival circuit soon. It stars Camillia Sanes as the beleagured nun and Gary Perez as the werewolf, and special effects (gore and werewolf effects!) were handled by Graham Shcofield.

A nun. Handcuffed to a werewolf. Are you taking notes, Kevin VanHook?

Superman and Batman vs. Vampires and Werewolves

You’ve got your Man of Steel and your Dark Knight in one corner, and your werewolves and vampires in the other corner. This October, DC Comics is hoping you’ll put a big pile of money right in the middle so these four forces can all grab a fistful. Superman and Batman vs. Vampires and Werewolves is a four-issue, bi-weekly title written by Kevin VanHook and illustrated by Tom Mandrake, and if it seems like I’m having a hard time getting excited about this, that’s because I am. Check this official synopsis and see if you don’t wind up the same way:

A man is killed by a mysterious creature – his body drained of blood. A woman is savagely attacked by a ferocious beast – her jugular ripped out. Bat wings flutter across the moon and the howl of a wolf echoes through the streets, for the creatures of the night have risen from the grave, and humanity’s only salvation is the combined might of The Last Son of Krypton and The Dark Knight Detective. Blood will run red when Superman and Batman face off against vampires and werewolves for the fate of the entire DCU!

See, I’m… I’m just not feeling it, guys. There aren’t a lot of plot points there to criticize, but already this feels like the sort of thing that’s been done a dozen times before, and in ways that seemed less like a deliberate cash-grab. I’m ready to have my mind changed, but I don’t have a lot of interest in this one. What about you?

Restoring the Original American Werewolf

Twenty-seven years is a long time for a film prop to survive– especially one made of fragile foam latex and fake fur. When the werewolf prop from An American Werewolf in London started to show serious signs of wear and tear, the private collector who owned it called on Tom Spina to do some major restoration work.

Tom’s site has an excellent photo gallery and project diary detailing the process of repairing this important artifact from werewolf film history. His work is really quite amazing, and it’s a real treat to see this amazing prop up close.

An interesting postscript: this isn’t the only werewolf work Tom has done. Want to buy a life-like werewolf bust or a full-size werewolf statue? Tom Spina’s got you covered. On a totally unrelated note, I may start taking PayPal donations on this site soon. For… hosting costs. Yes.

Thanks for the tip, ArcLight.

“I Wrestled a Werewolf Once” by Matthew Skiff

I Wrestled a Werewolf Once
[click for full version]

Holy crap. Arist Matthew Skiff has captured something truly glorious here, and if you don’t agree, you weren’t alive in 1986, you’ve never seen Teen Wolf or The Monster Squad, and you don’t know how to rock. According to Matthew’s writeup on Flickr, this masterpiece was accomplished in a single day when the genre-thrashing band I Wrestled A Bear Once commissioned him for some promo artwork. “So I labored today on Labor Day”, he writes,  “and got this done. They like it, I like it.” Matthew, I love it, and I sincerely hope it winds up on a shirt soon. I encourage Werewolf News readers to visit Emptee.com and vote this design up. To see more of Matthew’s work, check out his web site, Flickr photostreamblog, or his Ectoplasm Cooler shirt (which you can buy). And yes, he does take commissions.

Legendary is Lookin’ Good

Word is once again making the rounds about Legendary, the “you opened Pandora’s box and now werewolves and gryphons are attacking the city” first-person shooter from Spark Unlimited. It was recently shown off at PAX, and by all accounts it’s actually exceeding expectations.

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Another Rob Zombie Werewolf Auction

The ever-vigilant ArcLight sent me this link the other day, and I’ve been too busy to put it up until now: Rob Zombie is auctioning a Werewolf Women of the S.S. prop on eBay. It’s a 4.5-inch figurine of a werewolf in a torn military uniform, and is visible in the Werewolf Women of the S.S. trailer. The opening bid is $150.00, the auction ends at 9:44 AM PST on Friday the 12th, and of the time I’m making this post, there are no bids yet. Happy bidding!

Werewolves Prefer Google Chrome

According to my web anayltics software, in the 20 hours that Google Chrome has been available, 4% of the traffic visiting Werewolf News has been using the new web browser from Google. I mention this as news because many of the other first-day stats I’m seeing from other people indicate Chrome user levels at around 1%. That’s a gargantuan number of users for a browser that’s been out for less than a day… and to have four times that number visiting this site is really quite amazing. I guess werewolves (and those who like werewolves) really do prefer Google Chrome. Do you?

“Lykanthrop” by cibex


[click for full version]

Check out this fellow. Is he bemused? Is he irritated? Is he appraising the potential tastiness of your femur? Only cibex knows for sure! Indeed, it’s the expression and the bold colouring of this piece that caught my eye. There’s a wonderful sentience to this werewolf, and if you take a look through cibex’s DeviantArt gallery, sketch blog or portfolio site, you’ll find that much of her excellent art is composed of vibrant colours and kinetic expressions. If you like what you see and want some of your own werewolf art, check her DA page— although the slots are currently closed, she does take commissions!

Wolves of Odin Preview & Pre-order

For those of you who agree that “werewolf versus viking” is the new “werewolf versus vampire”, rejoice! Grant Gould has posted six preview pages of his upcoming Wolves of Odin graphic novel, which is due out in November.

If you’d like to pre-order a copy, you’ll find Wolves of Odin in the September edition of Previews magazine, on page 318. Its Diamond Order Code is SEP084260, and you can use that order code to get Wolves through Previews, or directly from any comic retailer who knows what’s up.

New Trailer for Timo Rose’s Beast

Fans of German filmmaker Timo Rose will be pleased to know there’s a new (NSFW for gore and a little skin) trailer out for his werewolf gore-fest Beast. If you’re into gore, black humour and very earnest efforts at acting, check it out!