The issue opens with a splash page of Jack Russell, in his hip seventies clothes, waking from a nightmare about being the Werewolf by Night (unsure if it’s a nightmare or a werewolf outing), and it’s somehow obvious the art this issue’s going to be superior. In that one page, artist Mike Ploog gets in some great, active figure drawing and a fantastic expression on Jack. It’s probably the best Werewolf story so far, even if it didn’t have the best art—Ploog gets to do all sorts of things, including introducing a tragic femme fatale—but it’s also got a somewhat wild script from Gerry Conway.

Keeping with the now established structure, Jack opens the issue with his family, then they disappear. But he also meets a writer named Buck Cowan, who’s sneaking around the house looking for information. Cowan knows all about the Darkhold, Jack’s real father’s European castle, but nothing about the werewolf. It’s a strange exposition method, but then again, Cowan and Jack’s scheme to get Jack’s step-father’s boat involves Cowan wearing a disguise… so everything about it’s a little strange.

Except Cowan can’t accompany Jack on their boat trip—some eccentric bought Jack’s dad’s castle and shipped it over from Europe. Jack’s evil step-father Philip sold it right after Jack’s mom died, and he got control, which means the eccentric was able to ship it over in five months? And rebuild it? I’ve lost count of Werewolf months, but I think they’re only on four, actually. Plus however much time has elapsed since last issue, it’s not clear it’s a month later.

Though it’s definitely some multiple of a month because wouldn’t you know it, Jack forgot it’s going to be the full moon, and he’s going to werewolf out.

Once he gets to the private island, he’s got too many immediate problems to worry about getting furry, including the aforementioned fetching femme fatale. She’s a younger teenager named Marlene who wears sunglasses all the time, and her dad’s an intense creep who runs a private institution and employs a machine gun-toting thug.

The werewolf will fight that thug, which gives Ploog something different from a Frankenstein’s monster stand-in, especially since they’re duking it out in a castle. Ploog gets to mix three different visual tropes, and the result is sublime (and not at all disjointed).

Conway changes the formula a little, giving Jack a big thought balloon sequence on the boat, then taking over for the werewolf’s beast narration. The werewolf gets occasional thought balloons, but most of it’s Jack narrating the werewolf’s adventure in the exposition boxes.

It works out.

There are twists and turns, big reveals, secret liaisons, and a great cliffhanger. The beginning’s unsteady as far as the writing, but Ploog holds it all together. Conway does all right, but the comic’s all about the art, and Ploog keeps delivering through various set pieces and moods.

There is no backup story in this issue, just Jack Russell’s third adventure as Werewolf by Night. Writer Gerry Conway—through Jack and the werewolf’s narration—is very clear about it; the first outing as the werewolf was two months ago, meaning we’re skipping Jack’s second Larry Talboting and going straight to the third.

There’s not much story to the adventure, starting with the werewolf interrupting a biker gang trying to assault Jack’s sister, Lissa. His evil stepfather, Phil, only appears briefly. Conway’s keeping the family stuff on the back burner. The story this issue’s all about setting Jack up for this next adventure, not this one.

Once the first lycanthropic night passes, Jack tries to hitchhike home and finds himself with a Peter Lorre-type who takes him to one of those desolate European castles all over L.A. The Peter Lorre-type’s wife, Angela (not Harkness), starts torturing Jack for information about the Darkhold, which she thinks is Jack’s inheritance.

Jack, however, doesn’t know what she’s talking about, so she sics her pet Frankenstein monster on him. There are various fights between the werewolf and the monster, some convenient black magic gone wrong, and Jack’s promise (to himself and the reader) he’s going to track down this Darkhold book.

In other words, a bridging issue, but one so early, who knows where the story’s headed. Conway sticks to his narrative approach from last issue—the werewolf thinks a lot, Jack talks a bit to himself but doesn’t think a lot—at least until the narration-heavy second half, where Jack’s recollecting has to move the story along from set-piece to set-piece.

The story’s not the point, however. The point is Mike Ploog's absolutely phenomenal artwork. It’s getting to see Ploog do his own Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, page after glorious page. Of course, there are some great Ploog expressions, but since most of the comic has monsters fighting, the emphasis is on the action.

It’s wonderful.

The finale’s a tacked-on mess, with Ploog and Conway rushing through a resolution in one page, but right up until it, the comic’s a visual delight. Ploog gets to do strange action—werewolf versus bikers–and then the more traditional monster versus monster action. Whether the modern California setting or the dark castle setting, Ploog does a great job. The figure drawing, the expressions, and the settings; it’s breathtaking work and more than makes up for the story being perfunctory.

Also… Conway (and his editor, Stan Lee) don’t seem to know what the word “penultimate” means; they just know it’s a fifty-cent word. But it comes on that lackluster last page, just punctuating it being a disappointing finish.

Ignore all missteps for the masterful Ploog art.