Werewolf By Night #13, page 1
Artists: Mike Ploog (Penciller) , Frank Chiaramonte (Inker)
41 Comments - 6,483 Views - 10 Likes
Additional Images:
in color, as printed
before and after
original block lettering underneath art replacement
the cover
unaltered cover
Werewolf By Night 1 (of 4) limited series variant cover 2020
Artwork Details
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DescriptionLadies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the Fasten Seat Belt sign. So, strap in... it's going to be a graily ride!Like a lot of kids, I went from a dinosaur phase when I was little, into a horror movie phase, into a comics phase, with some overlap between each. When I was in grade school I was completely obsessed with monster movies and werewolves. The wolfman was my favorite monster. My cub scout troop met at my classmate Bill Noland's house in Amherst, MA. Bill found out that I was into werewolves and loaned me his Werewolf By Night #2 comic, with art by Mike Ploog. This issue featured a dramatic splash page that completely slayed me. The whole comic was mind-blowingly cool. I was instantly obsessed with Werewolf By Night and Mike Ploog. After a week Bill called me and said that his mom was mad that I still had his comic, and he bicycled over to my place to pick it up. Even though I wasn't yet a serious comic collector, I was horrified to see Bill grab his comic, roll it up, jam it into his back pocket and bike home with it crushed between his butt and the bike seat. EEGAD!! I knew that was wrong, and disrespectful to one of the greatest comics I'd ever seen! I had to have that comic, so at some point I went to the newsstand to get one. What I bought was Werewolf By Night #13. I didn't realize that they were monthly and that Bill's comic was a year old. WBN #13 had another amazing splash page, also by Ploog. I copied the WBN #2 splash a couple times during the brief period I was borrowing it. But, with WBN #13, I became completely, monomaniacally obsessed. I was spellbound by this comic. I learned cross-hatching and feathering (drawing techniques I still use) by tracing the splash page, using an opaque projector to throw the image onto a piece of oaktag paper taped to the wall outside my fourth grade classroom. I drew a lot of Ploogish werewolves before I started creating comics in sixth grade, a discipline I took very seriously for years. Mike Ploog's Werewolf By Night #13 was so profoundly influential, I can honestly say it was Ploog's work that really drew me into the hobby that I still enjoy forty years later. I was astonished to discover the Werewolf By Night #13 splash at auction. It was cripplingly expensive, and was the most costly thing I've ever purchased that didn't have a driveway. But, an opportunity like this only comes along once in a lifetime, and current economic indicators forecast the price of ramen noodles to remain low in the coming years. If the Black Widow shower page doesn't surface (Amazing Adventures #5, page 3), this Ploog splash will likely remain the most significant comic art grail that I will ever find in my life. A note on condition! For the printed comic, Marvel's production department statted Topaz' head and tilted it a bit (see additional images). At some point, this stat element fell off and someone felt compelled to paint over the glue stains, giving gorgeous Topaz one asymmetrical goldfish eye. Thankfully, the overpainting was accomplished with acrylics and, in an indescribable stroke of good luck, the offending touch-ups completely rinsed off during the conservation process. Miraculously, the unaltered original artwork exists once again as Nature Herself, and Ploog/Chiaramonte intended! Social/Sharing |
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Comments on this Artwork
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August Uhl
Member Since 2015
Posted on 1/17/2016
Wow, this is totally amazing! Thanks for sharing your story on this too Drake. I think there is a reason pages like these are "crippling expensive" ! Anyone who has one wouldn't want to sell it and they just demand the viewer too keep looking. Wow !
glen gold
Member Since 2004
Posted on 1/17/2016
You tell a great story. I can totally identify. I also love the Spirit swipe -- Ploog was an Eisner assistant, wasn't he?
Sean Clarke 
Member Since 2005
Posted on 1/17/2016
glen gold wrote:
I also love the Spirit swipe -- Ploog was an Eisner assistant, wasn't he?He was indeed, Glen... they worked together for years on PS Magazine (The Preventive Maintenance Monthly) for the US Army. This whole issue seems like a series of Eisner homages. I discovered Eisner many years after Ploog, so... imagine my surprise seeing P'Gell, Ellen Dolan, Sand Saref and especially Skinny Bones for the first time. I'm still reeling!
Filmore W. Bedwick
Member Since 2003
Posted on 1/17/2016
I can say with certainty that there is No Better WBN Splash than this Gem with a Most Sultey Lass and the Coolest Werewolf Ever!!!
Lee Benaka
Member Since 2004
Posted on 1/17/2016
What they said! It's great to finally see this masterpiece in your gallery. The write-up was super as well. Big congrats!
dom masullo
Member Since 2004
Posted on 1/17/2016
Really sweet splash Ploog could really set the tone from page 1. Issues 13, and 14 were a true showcase of his many talents. This first image and introduction of Topaz is indeed knockout.
Brian Peck
Member Since 2003
Posted on 1/17/2016
"ARH-WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"!!!! One of Ploog's best splashes great combination, and composition. Major Congrats!
David K
Member Since 2008
Posted on 1/17/2016
The story, the art, everything here is so wonderful!!!!
Lenny Da Collector
Member Since 2005
Posted on 1/17/2016
Congratulations on getting such an amazing splash as this. Thanks for solving the mystery as to who won this too :)
Lenny Da Collector
Member Since 2005
Posted on 1/17/2016
Also I noticed the goldfish eye on Topaz and asked HA about it. That ultimately was the deciding factor for me not to bid too high on it as it bothered me. I'm now envious that it's no longer a factor since that problem is now resolved.
Timothy Finney
Member Since 2006
Posted on 1/18/2016
This splash is one of the most memorable of Ploog's Marvel career (and your story is almost as good as the art).
Michael Kenyon
Member Since 2008
Posted on 1/18/2016
Dumbfounded! The art speaks for itself but your personal story made this all the more enjoyable.Love it when a fellow CAF member comes full circle with the art of their dreams.Sincere congratulations!!!
J L
Member Since 2005
Posted on 1/18/2016
This splash is wonderful, but your story is the best. Congrats!!!!
Bronze Horror Fan
Member Since 2010
Posted on 1/23/2016
Son of Satan, that is such a cooool splash!!!
Fernando Arteaga
Member Since 2004
Posted on 1/23/2016
I was also a huge WBN fan as kid, Ploog's trifecta of the Werewolf, Man-thing & Frakenstein's monster can't be beat. Nostalgia aside this is a beautifully crafted page, if I had to choose a page from Ploog's WBN run, this would be it. Also a tip of the hat to Frank Chiaramonte's inking,a great complement to Ploog's pencils. Congrats!
Lars Teglbjaerg
Member Since 2005
Posted on 1/27/2016
Yes, very Eisneresque. Splendid story. Congrats, Sean!
Scott Williams
Member Since 2004
Posted on 1/15/2017
Honestly, I really prefer Ploog art when he inks himself, but this splash is magic. Wouldn't change a thing about it and glad that the art has been restored to it's proper appearance. I'd kill to have this in my collection. If the cover ever comes up, I'll have to fight you for it!
E DLS
Member Since 2005
Posted on 2/12/2018
Really enjoyed your write up! Great story! And this splash, so unbelievably beautiful. Congratulations!
Bill J
Member Since 2009
Posted on 11/1/2018
Fasbulous splash. Fabulous story as well. Thanks for sharing.
Bob Diamond
Member Since 2020
Posted on 8/28/2020
Great background story and fantastic splash. Never really followed the Marvel horror books consistently (couldn't afford everything on that big paper route money) but I always admired Ploog's art as I flipped through the books at the spinner rack. This is gorgeous down to the hand-drawn title, is that Ploog?
Rob L
Member Since 2003
1 - Posted on 1/21/2021
That's got to be one of the FINEST Ploog pages EVER!!!
Bill J
Member Since 2009
Posted on 11/30/2023
Wow! Wow! Wow! Absolutely stunnning page one splash to Werewolf by Night by Mike Ploog. Gorgeous figurework here. The Werewolf has that cool bent-over posture that Ploog was famous for. And the girl has that come-hither look that Ploog was also famous for. It's an amazing splash!
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