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Werewolf by Night (1972) #20
I’m not sure Doug Moench read much Werewolf by Night before writing this issue, which has eighteen-year-old Jack Russell walking around talking like a cheap forties gumshoe. Moench also doesn’t seem to know the bad guys kidnapped his sister because she too has the werewolf curse; when Jack goes to rescue her, the bad guy—Baron Thunder—reveals they just want his werewolf blood to make a super soldier serum.
Pardon the expression but, like, what?
Because Moench’s not lazy. He writes a bunch of narration for Jack. Including the werewolf fighting the bad guy for four or five boring pages. Jack’s got a ring to let him control the werewolf—he grabbed it from a rich guy who offered it to Jack’s landlady as a come-on—so he (and Moench) explain why he’s making all the various wrestling moves as the werewolf.
Thunder’s got a scary house on a haunted hill. It looks like a haunted mansion from a cartoon. It’s absurdly silly; penciller Don Perlin works the fight scenes; he’s interested in the fight scenes. They’re boring and not very good, but he’s engaged. The haunted mansion on a hill? Shockingly bad. Even for Perlin and inker Vince Colletta. This issue reads like the book got told to go cheap on the art, and to compensate, they told Moench he could write 300,000 words.
There’s a little with Jack and his werewolf neighbor, Raymond Coker. The cops have it out for Coker—they just happened to have decided the Black werewolf must be the bad one—but there’s also a third werewolf in the mix now, and it’s got something to do with the magic ring.
Even with the tedious fight scene, this issue does seem like Moench is trying to resolve the loose plot threads. Not sure why he changed old lady hit woman Ma Mayhem into a Marvel seventies blonde, but it’s another change. At first, I thought Topaz was back. Nope. Bummer.
Werewolf’s rarely renamed consistent longer than a few issues, and its best days are long gone.
Will Moench do something interesting with it, or will he too fall victim to the curse of the werewolf (By Night)?
It’s too soon to tell, but it’s not looking great.
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Kevin Can F**k Himself (2021) s02e08 – Allison’s House
Despite the title, this episode is not about Allison’s House, though there are technically two houses in the episode Annie Murphy’s protagonist could be possessive about. It’s also not really about Murphy; it is, but it also isn’t. The show’s grown quite a bit since its first episode, with Murphy realizing her life as the “too good looking for my schlub husband” sitcom wife was all bullshit and her husband, Eric Petersen, was an obnoxious, lying man child. The first season grew Mary Hollis Inboden from supporting cast to co-lead and gave Murphy a real-world character arc with high school crush grown-up Raymond Lee.
This season’s been all about Petersen’s best friend, Alex Bonifer, realizing Petersen sucks—very simplified recap—and liking liquor store clerk Jamie Denbo, who’s stuck in a miserable marriage similar to Murphy’s. There’s some beautiful echoing between the seasons and their respective adultery arcs. In the latter half of this season, Candice Coke’s gotten a lot more to do as Inboden’s girlfriend, a cop investigating, well, Inboden and Murphy, usually unknowingly. As Petersen’s dad, even Brian Howe has gotten a character arc this season. So while “Kevin” hasn’t exactly become an ensemble show, the supporting cast has become far more critical than they started.
House shows a Worcester, MA unlike any we’ve seen before on “Kevin”—one without Murphy—and how everyone reacts to it. The action picks up six months after last episode’s surprise finish, with Inboden playing amateur P.I. and trying to track Murphy, Lee becoming her reluctant sidekick. Coke has moved in with Inboden but is getting sick of living in Worcester and wants to leave. Inboden’s reluctant, which Coke assumes has to do with “mourning” Murphy.
Meanwhile, Petersen’s milking his widower status, getting Howe and Bonifer to dote on him while dating the shoe girl from the bowling alley. Erin Hayes plays the new girlfriend; she makes an excellent impression in three scenes. Bonifer and Denbo are still carrying on, just at somewhat different speeds.
By the end of the episode, everything gets resolved. There isn’t much in the way of surprises—so they didn’t introduce multiverses or time travel, like last episode briefly implied might be possible (so, no spoiler?)—just thorough, exquisite character development and acting. Show creator Valerie Armstrong gets the script credit and makes her directorial debut with the finale. She’s off to a phenomenal start.
“Kevin”’s been an almost entirely outstanding show; Murphy and Inboden’s acting is off the charts, Petersen’s spectacular, and this season gave Bonifer, Coke, and Denbo glowing adjective turns too. The first season was a wild, dangerous ride; this season’s been a far more introspective and personal one, with the finish tying the bow.
It’s so damn good. I can’t wait to binge-rewatch it someday.
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She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) s01e05 – Mean, Green, and Straight Poured into These Jeans
There aren’t any big guest stars this episode; it’s all regular cast—including Renée Elise Goldsberry getting a big part after showing up in the background for an episode. Two episodes? Did I sleep through a scene in the first episode where they introduced the law firm staff? Because they really should’ve. Especially since Josh Segarra’s back this episode, and no one says his name (it’s “Pug”), so if you weren’t paying attention for his minimal involvement an episode or two ago… he’s basically just some dude.
But forgetting the characters not being introduced by name, this episode is the law firm sitcom I’ve been waiting for. Tatiana Maslany has to go to court to fight for the “She-Hulk” moniker, and her ostensible nemesis Jameela Jamil starts a wellness brand with the name to be an asshole. Goldsberry represents Maslany and the two bond over lawyer stuff, but also the alter ego business. Their tactics are good both as legal show banter and character development. She-Hulk, the character, has an odd place in the Marvel Universe, someone who can change their appearance at will, without a secret identity; the show’s been staying pretty light on the psychology of it, but it’s nice to see it still affecting the arcs.
Then Ginger Gonzaga and Segarra have a subplot about trying to get Maslany clothes for both She-Hulking and not. It’s a strange delayed costume reveal arc, complete with an Easter egg reminding of the last time a Marvel show did such a delay. Albeit not a Disney+ one. Gonzaga and Segarra are fun together, even if the arc’s busywork.
Because it’s a law firm sitcom episode, not an “MCU movie star guest stars” episode. Though I’m not sure anyone’s thought out the legal ramifications of superheroes and trademarks yet in the MCU. Kevin Fiege should get on it.
Script credit to Dana Schwartz, Anu Valia directs; it’s exactly what it should be. I’m going to be so sad if the last episode doesn’t promise another season. “She-Hulk”’s what a Marvel show should be.
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All Creatures Great and Small (2020) s03e03 – Surviving Siegfried
Like they heard my questions, this episode has Rachel Shenton returning to her family farm to check in on things. Sort of. There’s no discussion of whether or not she’s still working at the farm or what’s up with little sister Imogen Clawson (who doesn’t appear in this episode; I keep forgetting this season is a Rona-season). She’s instead going to ask dad Tony Pitts to get on board with Nicholas Ralph’s TB testing program.
Other than the visit with Pitts, Shenton spends her entire time this episode hanging out with Ralph. Mostly at work. Farmer Isaac Crawford wants Ralph to falsify a cow autopsy to collect on the insurance, but Ralph doesn’t think fraud is cricket. It’s a subplot for Ralph and Shenton, giving them something to do, while the main plot belongs to Samuel West.
The episode begins with a World War I flashback, which is never good. Andy Sellers plays the young version of Ralph, who’s in the veterinary corps and protecting the horses. They’ve just found an injured one they think they can help. It’s devastating. The flashbacks are recurring, too, because, in the present, Ralph’s going through a couple things involving his old war buddies.
Michael Maloney, playing the old man version of Ralph’s commanding officer, has a skittish racehorse giving him problems and wants Ralph to evaluate. Depending on Ralph’s report, Maloney might put the animal down. As the present-day story progresses, with West trying to rehabilitate the horse, the flashbacks show how Sellers and Jolyon Coy (as young Maloney) squared off about the horses back in the war. Again, devastating stuff.
The episode—script credit to Ben Vanstone—knows there are only so many times they can dunk the viewer into despair, so Callum Woodhouse gets the lighthearted subplot about trying too hard to restock the dispensary.
Anna Madeley plays support to Ralph’s arc, the only person he’s willing to confide in. There’s a brief mention of the current war at the beginning of the episode, but nothing for Ralph to do with it. Given how much the season premiere foreshadowed Ralph’s interest in enlisting (again, I haven’t googled James Herriot for spoilers), it’s weird quickly he’s forgotten.
It’s a particularly great episode for West, who rarely gets this kind of extensive focus and character development.
Besides Ralph forgetting he wants to join up and Shenton not getting to establish herself post-wedding, living with her husband and his coworkers, “Creatures” is checking all its boxes this season.
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Scene of the Crime (1999) #3
Scene of the Crime doesn’t exactly stall out this issue, but it definitely goes into idle. Not sure why I’m doing car references, possibly because of an ill-advised speeding car sequence, which artist Michael Lark visualizes too quickly. Our hero, Jack, has just been to a hippie commune where he’s gotten in trouble, a la Philip Marlowe (or The Dude), and he and his P.I. buddy have to make a run for it. The issue’s been building to them going to the commune to question the prime suspect. When they don’t, it seems like the revelation is going to wait. Instead, Jack gets a talkative visitor to get us to a cliffhanger.
The issue’s lost the San Francisco personality. Not just with the road trip to the commune, but it’s rainy this issue of Crime and rainy Lark (with Sean Phillips inks and James Sinclair colors) overpowers the location.
Writer Ed Brubaker’s got some decent moments. The best—technically speaking—is when Jack and his aunt talk in exposition dumps to help him along to the subsequent investigation scene. It’s a neat trick, though a little obvious. The supporting cast doesn’t get much personality in this issue, not those related to the murder, not those in Jack’s personal life. His ex-girlfriend reappears, and he has a profoundly narcissistic conversation with her, something Brubaker definitely isn’t doing intentionally. Again, Scene feels very much of its time.
Right down to a jackass hipster P.I. being homophobic while wearing a fedora in 1999.
It’s been so long since I’ve last read the series I can’t possibly remember how it finishes (the end reveal tosses most of Jack’s working theory, and the reader isn’t privy to anything more). I’m convincing myself two was the peak, however. I do remember really wanting another series, something they never did, but in addition to it being a 1999 comic, a 1999 me wanted that sequel.
Even with the lackluster issue, it’s not bad (just problematic). Rainy Lark is glorious, and Brubaker’s got some of the better narration going.
Maybe it’ll end just fine. As long as there aren’t more hippie communes.
Fingers crossed.
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