Marvel Spotlight 2

"Jack -- you don't understand. I've done you a terrible wrong -- I've given you a curse -- one that will live with you -- forever!"

- Laura Russell

"Night of Full Moon... Night of Fear!" is the title to the first story in issue #2 of the anthology comic book series Marvel Spotlight. The story was written by Roy Thomas, Jean Thomas and Gerry Conway with artwork by Mike Ploog. The cover art for this issue was composed by Neal Adams with Tom Palmer on inks. The story was edited by Stan Lee. This issue shipped with a February, 1972 cover date and carries a cover price of 25 cents per copy (US).

"Night of Full Moon... Night of Fear!"
In Los Angeles, a mugger skulks about the alleyways in search of prey. He is not the only hunter lurking in the shadows this evening however. A snarling werewolf leaps out and attacks the mugger, killing him. A motorcycle cop chances upon the scene and fires two shots towards the creature. The werewolf bounds off into the night, but one of the policeman's bullets manages to graze its arm. The werewolf races frantically down back alleys in the light of the full moon.

The next morning, young Jack Russell awakens in his bedroom with a start. He cannot understand why he had a dream that he was a werewolf. He grows concerned however as he looks down and sees a cut across his left shoulder; the same area that was struck by the officer's bullet. As Jack gets dressed, his mother, Laura, enters the room. Today is Jack's eighteenth birthday, and Laura wants him to spend it with his stepfather, Phillip. Jack never cared for Phillip, and he despises the dominating hold that the man appears to have over his mother. As Jack comes downstairs, he sees his mother having an argument with Phillip's chauffeur, Max Grant. Frustrated, Jack leaves.

That evening, Jack goes to a friend's house in Malibu. As the full moon begins to rise, sharp blisters of pain surge through him, and he is forced to run from the house. He runs down to the beach just as he transforms into a werewolf. Staring down into the water, the fleeting remnants of Jack's personality begin to realize that he didn't have a dream the night before. He truly is a werewolf.

Instinctively, the werewolf finds himself drawn to a beach-house. He smashes through a patio door where he finds a growling guard dog. The dog attacks him and the werewolf struggles with the beast for several minutes before hurling it outside. The werewolf leaps out the window and bays at the moon.

The next morning, Phillip Russell finds Jack unconscious on the beach. He brings him back to the house where he finds his sister, Lissa, crying hysterically. Phillip explains to Jack that his mother went out last evening looking for him and was in a serious car accident. She has been admitted to a local hospital and is in critical condition. She is not expected to survive the night. Phillip has Doctor Allen give Jack a strong sedative and tells him to get some rest. Through the haze of drugs, Jack overhears Phillip talking with the chauffeur, Max Grant. Phillip agrees to meet Grant at an abandoned warehouse later that evening for a payoff. Unable to concentrate on the issue any further, Jack falls asleep.

Hours later when Jack awakens, he rushes down to the hospital to see his mother. She is barely conscious, but she is strong enough to warn Jack that a curse has been placed upon him – a curse that forces him to transform into a monster on the night of his eighteenth birthday. Jack presses her for an explanation.

Laura explains that twenty years ago she was a student on holiday in Transylvania. She met, fell in love with, and ultimately married a Baron named Gregory Russoff. For three nights out of every month, Russoff would seal himself inside of a tower room in his castle with instructions to never be disturbed. He told his young wife that he was studying. One evening however, a lightning storm swept through the Baltic nation and a stray bolt blasted a hole in the side of the tower. That same night, witnesses claimed to have seen a werewolf prowling the countryside. Several of the town elders visited Russoff Castle to inquire with the Baron, but when Laura inspected the tower room, he was nowhere to be found. Still later, a group of hunters, armed with silver bullets cornered the werewolf and shot him. It was then that they discovered that the werewolf was actually the Baron.

As she concludes her tale, Jack realizes that Laura married Phillip in the hopes of wiping out his true father's bloody memory. Seeing the anger rising within him, Laura makes Jack promise that he will never raise a hand in anger to his stepfather. Jack swears a vow, and Laura passes away.

The full moon rises, and Jack feels the change begin to take effect. He races outside of the hospital and begins prowling the city. Instinctively, the werewolf heads towards an empty warehouse where he finds Max Grant. Max is a large, muscular man and does not believe that Jack is a true werewolf. He tackles the creature and holds his own for several minutes. During the melee, Grant confesses that Phillip owes him ten-thousand dollars for sabotaging the brakes on Laura's car. With Laura dead, Phillip stands to inherit the entire Russoff fortune. Even as a werewolf, a small part of Jack's subconscious recognizes what he hears and sinks his teeth into Grant's neck. Max falls to the ground, dead.

Moments later, a car pulls up and Phillip Russell enters the warehouse. The werewolf is poised to attack, but Jack's mind recalls the deathbed promise he made to his mother. Running off into the night, the werewolf angrily howls at the moon.

Appearances

 * Jack Russell


 * Laura Russell
 * Lissa Russell
 * Phillip Russell


 * Maxwell Grant


 * Gregory Russoff
 * Terri
 * Doctor Allen


 * None


 * Humans
 * Werewolves


 * California
 * Los Angeles
 * Malibu


 * Transylvania


 * The Darkhold undefined


 * Laura Russell's Rolls Royce



"Where Gargoyles Dwell!"
Venus takes a taxicab to the Graycar building on West Fifty-First St. She asks the elevator operator to bring her to the Corpo Construction Company on the thirteenth floor, but the operator tells her that there is no thirteenth floor to the Graycar building. She gets off on the fourteenth floor and finds a small stairwell that takes her down to an area between the two floors. She opens the door to room 1319. Inside, the room is in shambles and there are several dead bodies on the floor. A gargoyle bust calling itself Gara, King of Gargoyles springs to life and tries to kill Venus. She manages to avoid the flying stone bust and leaves the building.

Venus contacts her friend Whit Hammond and explains what happened. Whit in turn, telephones the police who show up at the Graycar building to investigate the matter. However, they cannot locate the thirteenth floor. The stairwell that Venus used earlier has disappeared. The police lieutenant chides Venus for sending him on a wild goose chase, and warns her to leave him alone.

Venus returns later that evening and scales the cables of the elevator shaft until she finds another entranceway to the elusive thirteenth floor. The room is still in shambles, but the gargoyles appear to be inert. Inside the room is Sylvia Corpo, the daughter of Henry Corpo, the founder of the Corpo Construction Company. Sylvia professes that she is the Queen of the Gargoyles and is responsible for bringing the statues to life. However, the gargoyles have since turned against her and they now wish to kill her. Venus and Sylvia fight one another, during which time Gara and the other gargoyles return to life. They begin chasing Sylvia until she stumbles and falls into the empty elevator shaft. The elevator car snaps and plummets down crushing Sylvia and the gargoyles.

Appearances

 * Venus


 * Whit Hammond


 * Gara, King of the Gargoyles
 * Sylvia Corpo


 * Pete (a police officer)


 * Los Angeles Police Department


 * Humans
 * Goddesses
 * Gargoyles


 * California
 * Los Angeles
 * Beauty Magazine
 * The Graycar Building


 * None


 * None

Notes & Trivia

 * "Night of Full Moon -- Night of Fear!" is reprinted in Essential Werewolf by Night, Volume 1. It is also partially reprinted in the 1974 Werewolf book-n-record set by Power Records.


 * "Where Gargoyles Dwell!" was originally printed in Venus #16.


 * This issue introduces the character of Jack Russell, commonly referred to as the "Werewolf by Night". This issue is the first part of a three-part story-arc, which eventually leads into the first issue of the Werewolf by Night ongoing comic book series.


 * Letterer John Costanza is credited as John Costa in this issue.