Jack Russell and Elsa Bloodstone must put aside their differences in a preview of Werewolf by Night #1

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

The original Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell, returns for a new adventure in an oversized one-shot written by Derek Landy and drawn by Fran Galán.

Presented in color and in black and white, the issue sees Jack join forces with monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone to tackle a deadly new threat. Here's Marvel's official synopsis.

"AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE! In the shadows of black-and-white night, Jack Russell races to halt the sacrifice of a young girl at the hands of monsters. Elsa Bloodstone, in all her colorful monster-hunting glory, isn't far behind. But can they put their differences aside long enough to save the day? And what would such a partnership even look like?"

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Werewolf by Night has had a long - if slightly haphazard - publishing history that spans 70 years. The very first iteration was a five-page short story published in July 1953's Marvel Tales #116, though it has little to do with the character as we know it today other than being the origin of the title.

Thanks to the formation of the Comics Code Authority in 1954, it would be a while before mainstream comics went anywhere near horror-tinged stories. When the CCA rules were somewhat relaxed in the early '70s, however, Werewolf by Night's time finally arrived.

The first character to bear the title was Jack Russell, created by Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog, working from a plot by Roy and Jeanie Thomas for the first issue. He debuted in 1972's Marvel Spotlight #2 and was granted his own comic in September 1972. The series ran for 43 issues and notably marked the first appearance of another Marvel hero: Moon Knight, who debuted in Werewolf by Night #32.

The character returned in Marvel Comics Presents in the early '90s and would occasionally feature in Morbius: The Living Vampire after that, but it wasn't until 1998 that Jack Russell was granted another book of his own. That run, written by Paul Jenkins and drawn by Leonardo Manco, lasted just six issues.

Since then Jack's appearances have been more sporadic - a guest spot here, a limited series there, with a new character taking the name for a four-issue miniseries in 2020.

The second Werewolf by Night was Jake Gomez, created by Taboo, Benjamin Jackendoff and Scot Eaton. He's still around, most recently showing up in last year's Crypt of Shadows #1. Jack Russell returned in October 2022's Moon Knight Annual #1, which was timed to come out alongside the Werewolf by Night MCU TV movie.

Werewolf By Night #1 is published by Marvel Comics on September 13.

Discover everything you need to know about Werewolf By Night right here.

Will Salmon is the Streaming Editor for GamesRadar+. He has been writing about film, TV, comics, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he launched the scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for well over a decade. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places too.