Werewolf by night 7 page 28 by Mike Ploog & Jim Mooney

For those who follow my gallery, adding a Mike Ploog Man-thing page was already significant but this one is a MAJOR get for me.

Mike Ploog was probably the most successful and talented Marvel monster guy during the 70s. Many artists have done horror well during that period but they didn’t thrive on the genre at Marvel as Ploog did (Sutton may also be regarded similarly though while less considered than Ploog has been). Mike Ploog has always been an incredible artist, cartoonist and splendid storyteller.

To anyone who has read this story at a young age, that particular page has likely been BURNED into their memory. The evil mind reader Rihva dared taking a peek at the Werewolf’s mind and only found death doing so as his heart couldn’t bear to witness the horrible things that the beast intended to do him. What brilliant storytelling and a subtle way to suggest unbearable horror without actually showing it. I’d be interested to know whose idea it was (if Ploog came with it while working on this issue using the Marvel method or if it was Lein Wein’s idea).

The first panel is excellent at establishing the final scene. The fire is spreading, the Werewolf entering the tent and we even have a shot at the sexy girl of the story. I loved Jim Mooney’s inks on this story and in this particular panel they really shine as you could always count on him to add more sexiness to any female character (he drew or inked) as is the case here. One could even argue that this issue was the best inked one outside the one Ploog drew and inked all by himself.

In the second and third inserted panels, the duel of minds begins. I always found that Rihva offered an eerie design with his eyes of two different sizes. A classic device yet effective. And the Werewolf is all (fur)ry here as he should be. I love that Ploog didn’t let us forget about the fire either by adding smoke in the background.

In the fourth panel, Ploog drew Rihva concentrating on reading the beast’s mind, complete with pinched lips.

The close ups in panels 5 and 6 are fantastic. You can actually feel the Werewolf’s rage just by looking at his eyes. And the little dots coming out of Rihva’s mind are both cheesy and super fun at the same time.

The shock in panel 7 is superbly depicted, closing up on his only working eye, leading to the deadly chest pain in panel 8. I find incredible the different use of perspective and angle here, to just showcase the camera on the feral maw and fangs of the beast in the foreground and a full body Rihva grasping at life in the background as if he is the prey of those fangs.

And then death comes in the 9th panel. An eerie image for sure even without a drop of blood. Him dropping the stone is of course a nice touch to further indicate his final fate.

The last panel benefits from a full figure Werewolf who probably didn’t totally understand what just happened. The pointing finger towards the stone is a nice touch. It’s fun to notice that this panel mirrors the one above it with a close up on part of one of the protagonists and a smaller full figure of the other.

A ten panels page and yet it effortlessly flows, a true indication at how great a storyteller Ploog was.

Super delighted to add this page. The inks are splendid and you can still see much of the blue pencil underneath all over the page.

I will conclude that it always feels special to own a page older than you are, especially when it’s of such quality.

Now if I could find a nice Ghost Rider page and even a Frankenstein one by Ploog (not an easy task I know), I’d be in comic art heaven.

This is part 7 of my 2021 CAF b-day celebration.