Man-Wolf and She-Hulk may have been David Anthony Kraft’s favorite Marvel Comics characters to write back in the 1970s, even though the hirsute hero bore the burden of being the second werewolf in the Marvel universe.
A loosening of the Comics Code had inspired a sudden four-color flurry of werewolves, zombies and vampires. To differentiate his character from the cutely named Jack Russell, Werewolf by Night, DAK took him in the direction of planet-hopping science fantasy.
As I recall, there was some discussion at Marvel about whether the Creatures on the Loose 34 cover included sufficient peril, what with the protagonist plunging hundreds of feet into a ravine, followed by a plummeting freight train that also happened to be on fire.
Subtlety was a hallmark of 1970s comics.
Anyway, the more action the better. DAK chuckled with delight when he got the opportunity to insert himself into a comic book explosion in the form of a sound effect.
Although the She-Hulk is better known, Man-Wolf had the distinction of appearing first in a Marvel screen project, albeit in his other form — John Jameson, the son of blowhard Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson.
“Unleashed” by the Comics Code, Marvel was big on monsters in the 1970s. Of the 52 titles Marvel had on the newsstands in December 1974, 15 featured monsters.
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