Marvel Turns One-Shot Special Into Full Series

The new ongoing Werewolf By Night will be written by Jason Loo with art by Sergio Davilla. It will follow Jack Russell and Elsa Bloodstone as Russell sets out on a quest for bloody vengeance. The ongoing comic will spin out of the upcoming cross-title Blood Hunt event set to release this summer. 

It will be the first time Marvel has released a title based on the character in several years, with the last volume of Werewolf By Night being coming out in 2020, lasting for four issues, and focusing on a different werewolf character. Since his introduction in the 1970s in Marvel Spotlight #2, Jack Russell has appeared infrequently and rarely in his own title. Seeing one of Marvel’s best horror character get the spotlight he deserves is exciting, not just in its own right but for the often neglected horror side of Marvel. 

The new Werewolf By Night comic likely owes its existence to the success of the Disney+ show of the same name. It brought Jack Russell, the titular werewolf, and many of Marvel’s most important horror characters into the MCU. Shot in black and white, the special paid tribute to classic monster movies and gave the MCU one of its most stylish entries. 

The new comic is part of a larger initiative from Marvel to make more adult-oriented comic titles. These new comics will be called the Red Band line and will have fewer restrictions, much like DC’s Vertigo line of comics. Werewolf By Night will be one of the first titles in Red Band, allowing the new ongoing to lean into its horror premise with more blood and gore. 

If the Red Band line is successful it could help reinvigorate the comics with fresh ideas that wouldn’t normally make it past Marvel editorial. Horror titles like Werewolf By Night benefit from an adult-oriented line but so do more violent characters like The Punisher and Wolverine. As the MCU has created a broader interest in characters like Jack Russell, it’s crucial that Marvel can accommodate adults coming into the comics from their live-action adaptations. 

Marvel has experimented with adult-oriented lines before with Marvel Max being released in 2001. The line was criticized by parent and religious groups who saw the line as an attempt to sell adult content to children after Marvel’s break with the Comics Code Authority. It will be interesting to see if Red Band titles like Werewolf By Night will fare better than with The Punisher Max being the only title to appear in the line after 2014. 

Whether it succeeds or fails, the new Werewolf By Night represents Marvel trying something new in a tumultuous comic book market. Its success could be huge for the future of Marvel’s Red Band line. The first issue of the new ongoing series will come out Wednesday, August 14.