Marty has fireworks because his Uncle Al gives them to him, telling his nephew to go ahead and set them off during the night of the full moon, when the killer has been rampaging. Marty meets the werewolf on the Fourth of July, when he’s out shooting fireworks. I myself don’t know any human being who speaks that way, but I’ve lived a sheltered life in New Jersey, so who knows? Marty’s Uncle Al should be locked up. Marty’s father says things like rootie-patootie and diddly-damn, which is a great way of identifying a person through dialogue. Our hero is Marty Coslaw, a ten-year old in a wheelchair. Gosh, I wonder who the werewolf could be? Also, the Reverend Lowe has a nightmare/wet dream wherein he and everyone in his congregation transform into a werewolf.

King tells us that Constable Neary is a Busch Man because such details make or break a story. Constable Neary dies in his cruiser with a bottle of Busch beer nestled against his crotch. Young Brady flies his kite too high, and is found headless and disemboweled. The deaths are vintage horror dreck, Stephen King style. Every month we learn about the weather in Tarker’s Mills, because what else do people in small towns have to talk about? We also learn who – if anyone – the Beast will kill. However, in honor of Valentine’s Day I decided to use an image from my vintage 1983 copy of Cycle of the Werewolf.Ī publishing experiment/gimmick set in Tarker’s Mills, Maine, Cycle of the Werewolf is an illustrated novella consisting of twelve vignettes, one for each month of the year.

When I viewed the trailer for Silver Bullet, I was thrilled to see that Gary Busey plays Uncle Al, young Marty has a rocket-powered wheelchair and the werewolf is played by a guy in a rubber suit. I dimly recall seeing Silver Bullet, the movie adaptation of Cy cle of the Werewolf, years ago. Deciding what image to use for this week’s blog post was rough.

Cycle of the werewolf graphic novel