Creatures on the Loose #36
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeCreatures on the Loose #36 sits at the heart of one of Bronze Age Marvel's most ambitious character rehabilitations: writer David Anthony Kraft and penciler George Pérez, in only their fourth issue together on the Man-Wolf feature, pushed John Jameson decisively away from a standard lycanthrope-on-the-loose formula and into a cross-genre science-fantasy narrative involving an extra-dimensional tyrant, the Godstone, and the 'Other Realm' — a mythology that would ripple outward through the Defenders title and eventually retcon the villain Harrisyn Turk (revealed here as an antagonist scheming against Kristine Saunders) into the later character Arisen Tyrk/Lunatik. The issue also functions as an early showcase for Pérez at a pivotal moment in his Marvel apprenticeship, before he moved on to The Avengers and, eventually, his world-defining DC work; the Man-Wolf run is consistently cited as the assignment that proved he could carry an ongoing serial.
In "Weird Stone," Nitro’s apocalyptic scheme to flood the world takes a bizarre turn when he veers off course to follow Captain Marvel—only to stumble upon a colossal stash of Twinkies, abruptly abandoning his plan. Ross Andru’s dynamic artwork, inked by Mike Esposito and lettered by Joe Rosen, brings the absurdity and suspense of this 1975 Marvel adventure to life, while Gil Kane’s cover, finished by Klaus Janson, captures the moment’s surreal tension.
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David Anthony Kraft came to the Man-Wolf feature through editor Roy Thomas, who assigned him the book while Kraft was still an associate editor at Marvel — making issues #33–37 of Creatures on the Loose his first sustained comics writing work. Kraft personally advocated for the still-unknown George Pérez to join him as penciler after seeing an early plot page from the artist, persuading both Thomas and John Romita Sr. that Pérez's kinetic approach was the right fit for the character. Issue #36 was edited by Len Wein (with Marv Wolfman listed as editor-in-chief), inked by Frank McLaughlin and Terry Austin, colored by Petra Goldberg, and lettered by Tom Orzechowski; the Gil Kane cover was inked by Klaus Janson.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date July 1975, on sale April 15, 1975; written by David Anthony Kraft, penciled by George Pérez, inked by Frank McLaughlin and Terry Austin, cover by Gil Kane and Klaus Janson.
- The story, titled 'Weird Stone' (also referred to as 'Weirdstone' in some indexes), continues the multi-part arc in which the villain Harrisyn Turk — the human alias of the extra-dimensional tyrant Arisen Tyrk — manipulates Kristine Saunders while Man-Wolf (John Jameson) faces mortal danger adrift in space.
- Nick Fury and Dum-Dum Dugan of S.H.I.E.L.D. appear in flashback, as do the Hate-Monger and Joel Stevens; their in-story deaths and the 'Project Red Hate' subplot are referenced from events in the preceding issue (#35).
- This is the penultimate issue of the Creatures on the Loose series, which ended with #37; the Man-Wolf storyline was then concluded in Marvel Premiere #45–46, where the Godstone and the Other Realm mythology were fully resolved.
- Arisen Tyrk, whose disguise as 'Harrisyn Turk' is central to this arc, was later retconned as the source character behind the Defenders villain Lunatik; Kraft himself intended to make that connection explicit during his Defenders run, though a successor writer executed it differently.
- The letters page contains a contribution from a then-fan named Ralph Macchio — later a longtime Marvel editor and writer — confirming his presence in Marvel letter columns before his professional hiring in 1976.
- The issue's letters page also carries Marvel Value Stamp Series A #73, depicting the Kingpin as illustrated by John Romita Sr.
- The story was reprinted in the Italian L'Uomo Ragno [Collana Super-Eroi] (Editoriale Corno) #182–183 (April–May 1977), in the UK's Star Wars Weekly #114–115 (April–May 1980) in black and white, and was collected in Marvel's Man-Wolf: The Complete Collection (2019).
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↩ Reprints [Marvel Hostess Ads] #2 (1975)
Reprinted in L'Uomo Ragno [Collana Super-Eroi] #182 (1977), L'Uomo Ragno [Collana Super-Eroi] #183 (1977), Star Wars Weekly #114 (1980), Star Wars Weekly #115 (1980), Man-Wolf: The Complete Collection #[nn] (2019), Άνθρωπος-Λύκος [Man-Wolf] #7
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