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111-508: It follows the supernatural exploits of Doc Horror and his daughter Eve in Pacific City, a fictional California town which seems to have more than its fair share of paranormal activity. The series is noted for its eclectic combination of pulp storytelling, fantastic creatures, moody atmosphere, Halloween style and colorful characters, as well as Brereton's signature painted art style. The eponymous original limited series ran in 1995 and

222-481: A state of trance ; or it may be no more than the messenger of the human being, a real animal or a familiar spirit , whose intimate connection with its owner is shown by the fact that any injury to it is believed, by a phenomenon known as repercussion, to cause a corresponding injury to the human being. Werewolves were said in European folklore to bear tell-tale physical traits even in their human form. These included

333-517: A "disorder of the brain". Although there were continuing reports of extraordinary wolflike beasts, they were not considered to be werewolves. One such report concerned the Beast of Gévaudan , which terrorized the general area of the former province of Gévaudan , now called Lozère , in south-central France. From 1764 to 1767, it killed upwards of 80 men, women, and children. The part of Europe which showed more vigorous interest in werewolves after 1650

444-540: A Crim-like monster himself, forcing him to hide his true nature behind a weakling facade in order to pass as human on Earth. Despite his monstrous strength, Horror was able to defeat him with his magic bullets and let the newly freed hybrids from the Monster Shop tear him to pieces. The Narn K is a shadowy conglomerate located in the outskirts of Pacific City. It is a weapons and defense contractor, researching occult sciences and developing strange technology for sale to

555-451: A captured Doc Horror. His reputation is such that even synthetics with no free will of their own show fear when they realize who he is. During one of Doc Horror's expeditions to Northern Europe, he came across a proto-human tadpole creature living in a peat bog. He brought it back to the Tomb and nursed it in a salt water tank, where it grew into the beautiful young amphibian Starfish. Starfish

666-415: A common man, Lycaon wants to test if he is really a god. To that end, he kills a Molossian hostage and serve his entrails to Zeus. Disgusted, the god turns Lycaon into a wolf. However, in other accounts of the legend, like that of Apollodorus' Bibliotheca , Zeus blasts him and his sons with thunderbolts as punishment. Pausanias also relates the story of an Arcadian man called Damarchus of Parrhasia, who

777-402: A hereditary condition manifesting itself in excessive hair growth. Woodward dismissed the possibility, as the rarity of the disease ruled it out from happening on a large scale, as werewolf cases were in medieval Europe. Woodward suggested rabies as the origin of werewolf beliefs, claiming remarkable similarities between the symptoms of that disease and some of the legends. Woodward focused on

888-671: A marginal one, accusations of lycanthropy being involved in only a small fraction of witchcraft trials. During the early period, accusations of lycanthropy (transformation into a wolf) were mixed with accusations of wolf-riding or wolf-charming. The case of Peter Stumpp (1589) led to a significant peak in both interest in and persecution of supposed werewolves , primarily in French-speaking and German-speaking Europe. The phenomenon persisted longest in Bavaria and Austria, with persecution of wolf-charmers recorded until well after 1650,

999-681: A maternal figure to the Horror crew and an older sister to Eve, as well as a pacifistic influence in a gang that has a tendency to draw pistols before asking questions. Polychrome has the ability to leave the Tomb and travel freely, with the exception of the regions underneath the Narn K headquarters known as the Monster Shop. Apparently during one of Doc Horror's earlier missions to rescue imprisoned animal-human hybrids he and Polychome discovered that nothing of an ectoplasmic nature can function in that area, almost leading to her total dissipation. The Firelion

1110-585: A mission nothing can sway him. He serves as brute force and unmatched firepower within the Nocturnals, and has quickly become a fan favorite. Being a corpse, Gunwitch can take an unspecified amount of damage with no ill effects; one of the few times we ever see him be affected by an enemy attack is when Eve is kidnapped in Nocturnals: The Witching Hour . Tiny forest sprites dust him with a magic powder that puts him to sleep, and when he

1221-530: A number of volumes : Nocturnals: A Midnight Companion is a sourcebook to integrate the characters with Mutants & Masterminds ( Green Ronin Publishing , May 2004, ISBN   1-932442-02-2 ). The Nocturnals: Black Planet was nominated in the category of Best Painter at the 1995 Eisner Awards. Nocturnals: A Midnight Companion sourcebook and guide (Green Ronin) won three Gaming Industry awards (ENnies) for 2003. Eponym An eponym

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1332-399: A person – or, less commonly, a place or thing – for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Eponym may also refer to someone or something named after, or believed to be named after, a person – or, less commonly, a place or thing. A person, place, or thing named after a particular person share an eponymous relationship. In this way, Elizabeth I of England is the eponym of

1443-496: A tail. After returning to their human forms, werewolves are usually documented as becoming weak, debilitated and undergoing painful nervous depression. One universally reviled trait in medieval Europe was the werewolf's habit of devouring recently buried corpses, a trait that is documented extensively, particularly in the Annales Medico-psychologiques in the 19th century. Various methods for becoming

1554-542: A teenager or young adult, though his actual age in years is impossible to determine. He has reptilian claws and fangs as well as night vision, and is stronger and more durable than normal humans. His physical stamina is strong enough to necessitate a Narn K soldier use an entire clip of tranquilizer darts in order to bring him down. He idolizes the Raccoon as a legend for his escape, despite the Raccoon's discomfort of this status, and seeks to liberate his imprisoned brethren from

1665-427: A troublesome magic devil lantern, though often these would-be kidnappers find that Halloween Girl is far too much for them to handle. Even the most dire of situations appear to Eve as whimsical distractions, since very little on this world (or any other) can scare a girl who grew up around real live monsters. Polychrome is a wraith ; the spirit of a dead young woman who was destined to haunt this world for eternity. She

1776-726: A wolf, prowling, he crossed. For him in Polotsk they rang for matins early at St. Sophia the bells; but he heard the ringing in Kiev. The situation as described during the medieval period gives rise to the dual form of werewolf folklore in Early Modern Europe. On one hand the Germanic werewolf, which becomes associated with the witchcraft panic , and on the other hand the Slavic werewolf or vlkolak , which becomes associated with

1887-517: A woman has been reported who during episodes of acute psychosis complained of becoming four different species of animals. The beliefs classed together under lycanthropy are far from uniform, and the term is somewhat capriciously applied. The transformation may be temporary or permanent; the were-animal may be the man himself metamorphosed; may be his double whose activity leaves the real man to all appearance unchanged; may be his soul , which goes forth seeking whomever it may devour, leaving its body in

1998-521: A year a man was chosen by lot from the Anthus' clan. The chosen man was escorted to a marsh in the area, where he hung his clothes into an oak tree, swam across the marsh and transformed into a wolf, joining a pack for nine years. If during these nine years he refrained from tasting human flesh, he returned to the same marsh, swam back, and recovered his previous human form, with nine years added to his appearance. Ovid also relates stories of men who roamed

2109-426: Is deprecable . Periods have often been named after a ruler or other influential figure: Trends For examples, see the comparison table below. By person's name By category Lycanthrope In folklore , a werewolf (from Old English werwulf  'man-wolf'), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek λυκάνθρωπος , lykánthrōpos , 'wolf-human'),

2220-713: Is McCone (1987). A few references to men changing into wolves are found in Ancient Greek literature and Folklore . Herodotus , in his Histories , wrote that according to what the Scythians and the Greeks settled in Scythia told him, the Neuri , which was a tribe to the north-east of Scythia , were all transformed into wolves once every year for several days and then changed back to their human shape. He added that he

2331-401: Is a great friend and ally to Doc Horror and the Nocturnals, his son Tony hates them with a passion. In the beginning of Black Planet , Tony uses Zampa gangsters loyal to him in order to capture Doc Horror and uses him as a peace offering for a new partnership with the Narn K. Although Tony had established his own power base within the syndicate, many of his underbosses resented his departure from

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2442-568: Is a massive blond-haired hulk that has the ability to conjure fierce fires, the result of Narn K experimention. He was once known as Phestus Gold, a police officer who had the misfortune of being the one in a million to die of spontaneous human combustion . His remains were appropriated by the Narn K scientists, who were able to put his brain into a fireproof synthetic body capable of harnessing his innate pyrotechnic abilities. He and others like him, known as "Burners", were deemed to be too dangerous for government use and scheduled for termination until he

2553-545: Is a person, a place, or a thing after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word eponym include eponymous and eponymic . Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovations, biological nomenclature, astronomical objects, works of art and media, and tribal names. Various orthographic conventions are used for eponyms. The term eponym functions in multiple related ways, all based on an explicit relationship between two named things. Eponym may refer to

2664-427: Is a precocious youth who perpetually seeks excitement. She carries with her a plastic pumpkinhead bucket filled with possessed toys that can grow to monstrous versions of themselves and talk to her from the spirit world. Doc Horror theorizes that Eve's toys became this way when she made the voyage from their native world to Earth; lost souls and wandering spirits looking for a friendly face and a listening ear found her in

2775-595: Is a widespread concept in European folklore , existing in many variants, which are related by a common development of a Christian interpretation of underlying European folklore developed during the medieval period . From the early modern period, werewolf beliefs spread to the New World with colonialism . Belief in werewolves developed in parallel to the belief in witches , during the Late Middle Ages and

2886-505: Is actually a native of a parallel world referred to as the "Black Planet" that was overrun by the nefarious Crim following a great global war. Horror used his scientific genius to develop a technology that could open interdimensional gateways to other worlds in an effort to banish the Crim forever; however, Horror was betrayed by his government as part of their surrender and handed over to the traitor and Crim conspirator named Fane. Horror revealed

2997-486: Is an individual who can shape-shift into a wolf , or especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction, often a bite or the occasional scratch from another werewolf, with the transformations occurring on the night of a full moon . Early sources for belief in this ability or affliction, called lycanthropy , are Petronius (27–66) and Gervase of Tilbury (1150–1228). The werewolf

3108-716: Is explored in Sabine Baring-Gould 's work The Book of Werewolves is that werewolf legends may have been used to explain serial killings . Perhaps the most infamous example is the case of Peter Stumpp , executed in 1589, the German farmer, and alleged serial killer and cannibal , also known as the Werewolf of Bedburg. Common Turkic folklore holds a different, reverential light to the werewolf legends in that Turkic Central Asian shamans after performing long and arduous rites would voluntarily be able to transform into

3219-649: Is inferred from the Middle Low German variant and was most likely borrowed into Old Norman garwa(l)f ~ garo(u)l , with regular Germanic – Romance correspondence w- / g- (cf. William / Guillaume , Wales / Galles , etc.). The Proto-Slavic noun * vьlko-dlakь , meaning "wolf-haired" (cf. * dlaka , "animal hair", "fur"), can be reconstructed from Serbian vukòdlak , Slovenian vołkodlȃk , and Czech vlkodlak , although formal variations in Slavic languages (* vьrdl(j)ak , * vьlkdolk , * vьlklak ) and

3330-414: Is most commonly portrayed as being indistinguishable from ordinary wolves, except for the fact that it has no tail (a trait thought characteristic of witches in animal form), is often larger, and retains human eyes and a voice. According to some Swedish accounts, the werewolf could be distinguished from a regular wolf by the fact that it would run on three legs, stretching the fourth one backwards to look like

3441-482: Is not convinced by the story but the locals swear to its truth. This tale was also mentioned by Pomponius Mela . In the second century BC, the Greek geographer Pausanias related the story of King Lycaon of Arcadia, who was transformed into a wolf because he had sacrificed a child in the altar of Zeus Lycaeus. In the version of the legend told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses , when Zeus visits Lycaon disguised as

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3552-437: Is one of Doc Horror's best gunfighters, and has become the object of the Raccoon's amorous affections. She has a feisty personality and does not suffer fools gladly, even going so far as to answer one of the Raccoon's cheeky remarks with a punch to the face. In spite of her professed revulsion to the hybrid gangster, she obviously conceals certain feelings for him and has even gone out with him on dates (during Halloween, of course,

3663-592: Is revived by Starfish and the Raccoon he appears to have taken it personally, much to the chagrin of those he discovers kidnapped Eve. He is the main character in his own miniseries called The Gunwitch: Outskirts of Doom , where he and Eve come upon a town that is torn between warring vampire gangs vying for control. The Crim are an extradimensional species of parasites that have overrun Doc Horror's native world and have arrived here on Earth. They resemble red octopuses and squid, and some have wings and various tendrils in all shapes in sizes. They are intelligent, and they have

3774-466: Is the prince of the Zampa crime family. His ultimate goal is the attainment of even greater power and fortune than was managed by his father, Don Lupo, and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve this goal. He has always had a hatred for Doc Horror and the relationship he had with his father, and would have liked nothing more than to see Horror dead on the floor. He betrays his original business partner,

3885-467: Is uncertain, as Horror will only say that if left untreated he would "hurt a lot of people", but an unused story panel found in the artist's notes in the back of the Black Planet compilation indicates that Horror is in fact a lycanthrope . Doc Horror's preferred weapons are dual .45 caliber automatic pistols, which can be equipped with different types of ammunition he creates. In the final issue of

3996-562: The Black Planet miniseries, Doc Horror uses magically enhanced bullets that can send pieces of the target into other dimensions for a truly devastating effect. Aside from firearms, Horror carries a vast knowledge of arcane magic and advanced technology that aid him against supernatural enemies. Horror also appears to have a much stronger constitution than normal humans, taking bullets "like they were bee stings" and has no problem going toe-to-toe with vicious monsters and demons. Doc Horror's daughter Evening, who prefers to be called Halloween Girl,

4107-500: The Elizabethan era , but the Elizabethan era can also be referred to as the eponym of Elizabeth I of England . Eponyms may be named for things or places, for example 10 Downing Street , a building named after its street address. Adjectives and verbs may be eponyms, for example bowdlerize . Adjectives derived from the word eponym include eponymous and eponymic . When Henry Ford is referred to as "the eponymous founder of

4218-759: The Ford Motor Company ", his surname "Ford" and the name of the motor company have an eponymous relationship. The word "eponym" can also refer to the title character of a fictional work (such as Rocky Balboa of the Rocky film series ), as well as to self-titled works named after their creators (such as the album The Doors by the band the Doors ). Walt Disney created the eponymous Walt Disney Company , with his name similarly extended to theme parks such as Walt Disney World . Medical eponymous terms are often called medical eponyms , although that usage

4329-657: The Old Brittonic place-name Viroconium (< * wiroconion , 'place of man-dogs, i.e. werewolves'), the Old Irish noun ferchu ('male dog, fierce dog'), and the medieval personal names Guurci ( Old Welsh ) and Gurki ( Old Breton ). Wolves were metaphorically designated as 'dogs' in Celtic cultures. The modern term lycanthropy comes from Ancient Greek lukanthrōpía (λυκανθρωπία), itself from lukánthrōpos (λυκάνθρωπος), meaning 'wolf-man'. Ancient writers used

4440-468: The early modern period . Like the witchcraft trials as a whole, the trial of supposed werewolves emerged in what is now Switzerland , especially the Valais and Vaud , in the early 15th century and spread throughout Europe in the 16th, peaking in the 17th and subsiding by the 18th century. The persecution of werewolves and the associated folklore is an integral part of the " witch-hunt " phenomenon, albeit

4551-441: The meeting of both eyebrows at the bridge of the nose, curved fingernails, low-set ears and a swinging stride. One method of identifying a werewolf in its human form was to cut the flesh of the accused, under the pretense that fur would be seen within the wound. A Russian superstition recalls a werewolf can be recognized by bristles under the tongue. The appearance of a werewolf in its animal form varies from culture to culture. It

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4662-550: The "wolf-men" of Germanic paganism had carried, the associated beliefs and practices had been successfully repressed after Christianization, or if they persisted, they did so outside of the sphere of literacy available to us. We have sources other than those mentioned above. Such examples of werewolves in Ireland and the British Isles can be found in the work of the 9th century Welsh monk Nennius . Female werewolves appear in

4773-636: The 20th century became part of the horror and fantasy genre of modern popular culture . The Modern English werewolf descends from the Old English wer(e)wulf , which is a cognate of Middle Dutch weerwolf , Middle Low German warwulf , werwulf , Middle High German werwolf , and West Frisian waer-ûl(e) . These terms are generally derived from a Proto-Germanic form reconstructed as *wira-wulfaz ('man-wolf'), itself from an earlier Pre-Germanic form * wiro-wulpos . An alternative reconstruction, * wazi-wulfaz ('wolf-clothed'), would bring

4884-763: The 20th century, wolf attacks on humans were an occasional, but still widespread, feature of life in Europe. Some scholars have suggested that it was inevitable that wolves, being the most feared predators in Europe, were projected into the folklore of evil shapeshifters. This is said to be corroborated by the fact that areas devoid of wolves typically use different kinds of predator to fill the niche; werehyenas in Africa, weretigers in India, as well as werepumas (" runa uturuncu ") and werejaguars (" yaguaraté-abá " or " tigre-capiango ") in southern South America. An idea

4995-464: The Dragon Boy, is a young animal-human hybrid created by the Narn K Corporation's Monster Shop. Inspired by the legend of how the Raccoon was able to escape to a real life on the outside, he made two attempts to break out. The first time he tried to fly over the wall, but when he was recaptured they punished him by cutting off his wings. The second time he tried to go through the sewer, but the map he

5106-579: The Eisner-Award nominated, Nocturnals: Black Planet miniseries is Brereton's moody, gothic style realized by hand painted art in every panel. The storytelling and visual imagery draws its influences from an eclectic mix of sources, including gangster films, science fiction , Lovecraftian creatures, and film noir . Brereton's supernatural art made a fan of rocker/filmmaker Rob Zombie , who tapped Brereton to paint an interior illustration for his multi-platinum Hellbilly Deluxe album. Zombie also wrote

5217-854: The Elder. Augustine explains that "It is very generally believed that by certain witches spells men may be turned into wolves..." Physical metamorphosis was also mentioned in the Capitulatum Episcopi , attributed to the Council of Ancyra in the 4th century, which became the Church's doctrinal text in relation to magic, witches, and transformations such as those of werewolves. The Capitulatum Episcopi states that "Whoever believes that anything can be...transformed into another species or likeness, except by God Himself...is beyond doubt an infidel.' In these works of Roman writers, werewolves often receive

5328-685: The French use the term " gerulfi" to describe what the English call "werewolves". Melion and Biclarel are two anonymous lais that share the theme of a werewolf knight being betrayed by his wife. The German word werwolf was recorded by Burchard von Worms in the 11th century and Bertold of Regensburg in the 13th century, but is not recorded in all of medieval German poetry or fiction. While Baring-Gould argues that references to werewolves were rare in England, presumably because whatever significance

5439-553: The Germanic compound closer to the Slavic meaning, with other semantic parallels in Old Norse úlfheðnar ('wolf-skinned') and úlfheðinn ('wolf-coat'), Old Irish luchthonn ('wolf-skin'), and Sanskrit Vṛkājina ('Wolf-skin'). The Norse branch underwent taboo modifications , with Old Norse vargúlfr (only attested as a translation of Old French garwaf ~ garwal(f) from Marie's lay of Bisclavret ) replacing * wiraz ('man') with vargr ('wolf, outlaw'), perhaps under

5550-765: The Irish work Tales of the Elders , from the 12th century, and Welsh werewolves in the 12th to 13th century work, Mabinogion . Germanic pagan traditions associated with wolf-men persisted longest in the Scandinavian Viking Age . Harald I of Norway is known to have had a body of Úlfhednar (wolf-coated [men]), which are mentioned in the Vatnsdœla, Haraldskvæði, and the Völsunga saga , and resemble some werewolf legends. The Úlfhednar were fighters similar to

5661-457: The Nark K corporation sought a business partnership with Don Lupo's son Tony, heir apparent to the Zampa family, but the deal was soon broken by Tony's death at the Raccoon's hands. They then tried to control Don Lupo with the hypnotic abilities of a Crim hatchling, but Doc Horror overcomes the trap and rescues Lupo before heading off for the final showdown with Fane and the Crim invaders. Tony Zampa

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5772-460: The Narn K Monster Shop at any cost. Described as equal parts scarecrow and zombie gunslinger, the Gunwitch is a silent undead golem with unerring marksmanship. Doc Horror made him as a babysitter and bodyguard for his daughter Eve, though the details of how he was made exactly have yet to be revealed. He only responds to commands in an occult language that is never given a name, and once he has

5883-489: The Narn K. The Raccoon still likes to think of himself as being a free agent, but remains loyal to Horror. When Eve Horror was kidnapped by a bat-witch to be an ingredient in a stew on Halloween, the Raccoon helped Starfish and the Gunwitch rescue her. The Raccoon tried to appear offended that Eve didn't thank him properly for the assistance, but was quickly silenced when she told him that she could tell he had been helping himself to her trick-or-treat candy. Komodo, also called

5994-427: The Raccoon, in favor of a partnership with the shadowy Narn K corporation, but ends up dead when the Raccoon comes to confront Tony. When pistols were drawn, Tony found his weapon empty; the other underbosses rejected Tony's abandonment of the traditional family ways and distrusted the Narn K, so they let the Raccoon take his revenge and take the rackets that were initially promised to him. Unbeknownst to Tony, however, he

6105-473: The Slavic "werewolf" tales. The 11th-century Belarusian Prince Vseslav of Polotsk was considered to have been a werewolf, capable of moving at superhuman speeds, as recounted in The Tale of Igor's Campaign : Vseslav the prince judged men; as prince, he ruled towns; but at night he prowled in the guise of a wolf. From Kiev, prowling, he reached, before the cocks crew, Tmutorokan . The path of Great Sun, as

6216-859: The Swiss Vaud region, werewolves were convicted in 1602 and in 1624. A treatise by a Vaud pastor in 1653, however, argued that lycanthropy was purely an illusion. After this, the only further record from the Vaud dates to 1670. A boy claimed he and his mother could change themselves into wolves, which was not taken seriously. At the beginning of the 17th century witchcraft was prosecuted by James I of England , who regarded "warwoolfes" as victims of delusion induced by "a natural superabundance of melancholic". After 1650, belief in lycanthropy had mostly disappeared from French-speaking Europe, as evidenced in Diderot's Encyclopedia , which attributed reports of lycanthropy to

6327-490: The Zampa family, and even goes on a date with the Raccoon. Her presence throughout the story is not particularly clear until the end, when she is revealed to be a Crim working for the Narn K. The Raccoon thanks his lucky stars that he never ended up sleeping with her when he sees her true form. Ultimately she is destroyed with the rest of the Crim when the Nocturnals show up in the Monster Shop tunnels and lay waste to Fane and his minions. The various stories have been collected in

6438-434: The ability to make their own choices however, and are subject to be loyal to whomever they are programmed to serve. Although they are mostly competent, they don't stand a chance against the Nocturnals during a fight. Don Lupo, "Papa Wolf", is the undisputed head of organized crime in Pacific City. He owes his status to Doc Horror, who single-handedly demolished both the illicit drug trade and the Zampa family competitors within

6549-408: The ability to secrete a chemical through their bite that allows them to exert control over a person. The amount of control that a Crim can force over a host depends on the individual's constitution: Tony Zampa was influenced by a Crim hatchling, but it appears that Tony was unaware of its presence and its level of control over him may have been more subtle than a direct form of mind-control. Don Lupo, on

6660-487: The berserkers, though they dressed in wolf hides rather than those of bears and were reputed to channel the spirits of these animals to enhance effectiveness in battle. These warriors were resistant to pain and killed viciously in battle, much like wild animals. Úlfhednar and berserkers are closely associated with the Norse god Odin . The Scandinavian traditions of this period may have spread to Kievan Rus' , giving rise to

6771-436: The city in less than a year. Though a mobster in every respect, he is an amicable old fellow who does not tolerate what he calls "junkie behavior" and appears to be very loyal to friends and family. It was Don Lupo who helps locate Doc Horror's daughter Eve after they were separated on their journey to Earth, and even after Horror left his employment they have maintained a loyal friendship. Seeking to capitalize on this friendship,

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6882-754: The codes aim to ensure that "...the madly audacious werewolf do not too widely devastate, nor bite too many of the spiritual flock." Liutprand of Cremona reports a rumor that Bajan, son of Simeon I of Bulgaria , could use magic to turn himself into a wolf. The works of Augustine of Hippo had a large influence on the development of Western Christianity, and were widely read by churchmen of the medieval period. These churchmen occasionally discussed werewolves in their works. Famous examples include Gerald of Wales 's Werewolves of Ossory , found in his Topographica Hibernica , and in Gervase of Tilbury's Otia Imperiala , both written for royal audiences. Gervase reveals to

6993-567: The concept of the revenant or vampire. The eastern werewolf-vampire is found in the folklore of Central and Eastern Europe, including Hungary, Romania and the Balkans, while the western werewolf-sorcerer is found in France, German-speaking Europe and in the Baltic. Being a werewolf was a common accusation in witch trials. It featured in the Valais witch trials , one of the earliest such trials, in

7104-463: The conflict between the Nocturnals and the Narn K during their investigation of the Zampa criminal syndicate. During a stakeout they actually witness the emergence of Crim and the vicious gunfight involving Doc Horror, several Narn K synthetics, the Gunwitch, and a monstrous Fane. Afterwards, when they debate whether or not to tell anybody about the incredible things they saw, the Nocturnals appear and subtly convince them that some things are better left in

7215-405: The contacts he acquired within the Narn K to establish a Crim stronghold and slowly spread their influence. He used a Crim beast to subtly influence Tony Zampa, and after Zampa was killed he attempted to use Don Lupo in order to get to Horror. After the Nocturnals rescued Zampa and stormed the Monster Shop, Fane revealed his true form and attacked. Apparently his exposure to the Crim had made him into

7326-511: The context of Christianity, although stories of humans turning into wolves take their roots in earlier pre-Christian beliefs. Their underlying common origin can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European mythology , where lycanthropy is reconstructed as an aspect of the initiation of the kóryos warrior class, which may have included a cult focused on dogs and wolves identified with an age grade of young, unmarried warriors. The standard comparative overview of this aspect of Indo-European mythology

7437-407: The dark. Despite not having a clue as to what is really happening in Pacific City's darkest corners, the two detectives continue to search for the truth behind Doc Horror and his inhuman crew. Lica is one of Zampa's secretaries. She "interviews" Doc Horror for his insights into "the criminal mind" before he is rescued by his crew, candidly indulges Detectives Goodis and Willeford when they investigate

7548-408: The family traditions and stood by as the Raccoon exacted revenge for his betrayal. Following Tony's death, his underlings discontinued any hostility towards the Nocturnals. Synthetics are robotic foot soldiers produced by the Narn K. They are identical to humans except for their unnatural-looking skin, and appear to have at least a similacrum of (if not actual) personality and emotion. They do not have

7659-531: The final cases taking place in the early 18th century in Carinthia and Styria . After the end of the witch trials, the werewolf became of interest in folklore studies and in the emerging Gothic horror genre. Werewolf fiction as a genre has premodern precedents in medieval romances (e.g., Bisclavret and Guillaume de Palerme ) and developed in the 18th century out of the "semi-fictional" chapbook tradition. The trappings of horror literature in

7770-529: The first half of the 15th century. In 1539, Martin Luther used the form beerwolf to describe a hypothetical ruler worse than a tyrant who must be resisted. In ' Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus ' (1555), Olaus Magnus describes (Book 18, Chapter 45) an annual assembly of werewolves near the Lithuania-Courland border. The participants, including Lithuanian nobility and werewolves from

7881-483: The highest bidder. Its two main "products" are robotic soldiers, known as Synthetics, and "Hybrids", creatures created using human and animal DNA and raised within the Monster Shop located deep below the Narn K grounds. They are in league with the parasitic Crim, but it is unknown just how far back these two sinister groups go. The leader of the Narn K is a woman named Fletcher, an unseen overseer who somehow has access to unnatural technology and scientific knowledge used in

7992-725: The humanoid "Kurtadam" (literally meaning "Wolfman"). Since the wolf was the totemic ancestor animal of the Turkic peoples, they would be respectful of any shaman who was in such a form. Some modern researchers have tried to explain the reports of werewolf behaviour with recognised medical conditions. In 1963, Dr Lee Illis of Guy's Hospital in London wrote a paper entitled On Porphyria and the Aetiology of Werewolves , in which he argues that historical accounts on werewolves could have been referring to victims of congenital porphyria , stating how

8103-406: The idea that being bitten by a werewolf could result in the victim turning into one, which suggested the idea of a transmittable disease like rabies. However, the idea that lycanthropy could be transmitted in this way is not part of the original myths and legends, and only appears in relatively recent beliefs. Lycanthropy can also be met with as the main content of a delusion, for example, the case of

8214-475: The incident as follows, "When I look for my buddy I see he'd stripped and piled his clothes by the roadside... He pees in a circle round his clothes and then, just like that, turns into a wolf!... after he turned into a wolf he started howling and then ran off into the woods." Early Christian authors also mentioned werewolves. In The City of God , Augustine of Hippo gives an account similar to that found in Pliny

8325-470: The influence of the Old French expression leus warous ~ lous garous (modern loup-garou ), which literally means 'wolf-werewolf'. The modern Norse form varulv (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish) was either borrowed from Middle Low German werwulf , or else derived from an unattested Old Norse *varulfr , posited as the regular descendant of Proto-Germanic * wira-wulfaz . An Old Frankish form *werwolf

8436-483: The insidious Narn K Corporation, a powerful bioengineering firm specializing in controversial experimentation and covert weapons development, and have been busy producing animal-human hybrids and synthetic soldiers for use in warfare and ultimately global invasion. Aside from the Narn K and the Crim, Horror and his crew have encountered everything from wish-granting demon lanterns and vampire street gangs to hillbilly swamp witches and robotic mobster hitmen. The hallmark of

8547-469: The introduction to Nocturnals: The Witching Hour one-shot. The Nocturnals were seen in various appearances from 1994 through 2002. In 2003 "Nocturnals: A Midnight Companion" was published by Green Ronin as a sourcebook and guide, which won three gaming industry awards (ENnies) for that year. Olympian Publishing collected the first of two oversize hardcover volumes, followed by the second collected volume from Image Comics in 2009. The main character of

8658-897: The late attestation of some forms pose difficulties in tracing the origin of the term. The Greek Vrykolakas and Romanian Vîrcolac , designating vampire-like creatures in Balkan folklores, were borrowed from Slavic languages. The same form is found in other non-Slavic languages of the region, such as Albanian vurvolak and Turkish vurkolak. Bulgarian vьrkolak and Church Slavonic vurkolak may be interpreted as back-borrowings from Greek. The name vurdalak (вурдалак; 'ghoul, revenant') first appeared in Russian poet Alexander Pushkin 's work Pesni , published in 1835. The source of Pushkin's distinctive form remains debated in scholarship. A Proto-Celtic noun * wiro-kū , meaning 'man-dog', has been reconstructed from Celtiberian uiroku ,

8769-421: The lives of Horror and his cohorts. Although he appears to be human, he is in fact native to the same blackened planet as Horror. It was Fane who helped betray Horror to the Crim following the loss of the war on their homeworld, and as such the good Doctor has nothing but contempt for what he calls the "traitor-bureaucrat". Fane managed to follow Doc Horror to Earth through the transdimensional gateway, quietly using

8880-422: The material limbs of any animal.' Marie de France 's poem Bisclavret (c. 1200) is another example, in which the eponymous nobleman Bisclavret, for reasons not described, had to transform into a wolf every week. When his treacherous wife stole his clothing needed to restore his human form, he escaped the king's wolf hunt by imploring the king for mercy, and accompanied the king thereafter. His behavior at court

8991-629: The name versipellis ("turnskin"). Augustine instead uses the phrase "in lupum fuisse mutatum" (changed into the form of a wolf) to describe the physical metamorphosis of werewolves, which is similar to phrases used in the medieval period. There is evidence of widespread belief in werewolves in medieval Europe. This evidence spans much of the Continent, as well as the British Isles. Werewolves were mentioned in Medieval law codes, such as that of King Cnut , whose Ecclesiastical Ordinances inform us that

9102-499: The one night of the year when they can blend in with everyone else). Being an amphibian, Starfish can exist freely in both dryland and aquatic environments. She has to maintain a high moisture content, however, and when fighting alongside Firelion his flames can be an uncomfortable annoyance. Procyon Cleanhands, also known as the Raccoon and the Bandit, is an escapee of the Narn K Monster Shop with enhanced strength, senses, and claws, and

9213-549: The other hand, was reduced to a zombified puppet because of his frail health and advanced age. Separation from the Crim beast will immediately free the host of its influence. The Crim are, in Doc Horror's words, "a nasty breed. Difficult to kill". After discovering the Crim's presence on this world, Doc Horror worked on developing special pistol rounds that could affect the creatures: rather than simply inflict impact damage, they used his transdimensional technology to blow pieces of

9324-462: The personality of a dyed-in-the-wool gangster. He worked as a hired gun for the Zampa crime family before leading his own group called the Freelynchers and eventually joining up with Doc Horror and his crew. The Raccoon was once in league with Tony Zampa, Don Lupo's son and heir apparent, but was ousted in favor of an alliance with the Narn K. Zampa was inclined to betray and kill the Raccoon, who

9435-464: The production of the Narn K abominations. The Raccoon, Firelion, and Komodo are all the results of Narn K experimentation, and would like to see nothing more than the utter destruction of the evil corporation. The Nocturnals regularly stage raids on the Narn K headquarters, freeing Hybrids and sabotaging the inner workings of the Monster Shop. The animosity between the Nocturnals and the Narn K could only be described as unrelenting. Although Don Lupo Zampa

9546-653: The reader that belief in such transformations (he also mentions women turning into cats and into snakes) was widespread across Europe; he uses the phrase "que ita dinoscuntur" when discussing these metamorphoses, which translates to "it is known". Gervase, who was writing in Germany, also tells the reader that the transformation of men into wolves cannot be easily dismissed, for "...in England we have often seen men change into wolves" ("Vidimus enim frequenter in Anglia per lunationes homines in lupos mutari..."). Further evidence of

9657-519: The second of Gervase of Tilbury's werewolf stories, about a werewolf by the name of Chaucevaire. Marie also reveals to us the existence of werewolf belief in Breton and Norman France, by telling us the Franco-Norman word for werewolf: garwulf, which, she explains, are common in that part of France, where "...many men turned into werewolves". Gervase supports this terminology when he tells us that

9768-399: The secrets of his technology under threat of Eve's life, but managed to push Eve into the open gateway and sending her here to Earth. After a struggle with Fane, Horror went through the gateway as well, apparently escaping his hellish world and leaving the Crim behind forever. Once on Earth, Horror used his knowledge of advanced technology and the occult to gather resources to find Eve, travel

9879-586: The series, leader of the Nocturnals and father to Eve. Doctor Nicodemus Horror first made himself known as "the Bogeyman", the feared Mafia "fixer" for Don Lupo Zampa in Pacific City. Within a year of his employment Horror managed to destroy the city's drug trade and eliminate all of Zampa's competitors, earning both a reputation as a top-notch enforcer and the ire of the Pacific City Police Department. Although he appears human, Doc Horror

9990-460: The silent undead gunslinger, Gunwitch. They live in or frequent Doc Horror's underground sanctuary called the Tomb, both home and fortress to the group, as they battle the criminal underworld and various supernatural threats which often rear up in nearby Pacific City. Doc Horror's chief nemeses are the Crim, a parasitic species of extradimensional conquerors who ravaged his home world before he and Eve escaped to Earth. They have aligned themselves with

10101-600: The surrounding areas, gather to test their strength by attempting to jump over a castle wall's ruins. Those who succeed are regarded as strong, while weaker participants are punished with whippings. There were numerous reports of werewolf attacks – and consequent court trials – in 16th-century France. In some of the cases there was clear evidence against the accused of murder and cannibalism , but no association with wolves. In other cases people have been terrified by such creatures, such as that of Gilles Garnier in Dole in 1573, who

10212-468: The symptoms of photosensitivity , reddish teeth, and psychosis could have been grounds for accusing a person of being a werewolf. This is argued against by Woodward, who points out how mythological werewolves were almost invariably portrayed as resembling true wolves, and that their human forms were rarely physically conspicuous as porphyria victims. Others have pointed out the possibility of historical werewolves having been people with hypertrichosis ,

10323-480: The target back to Horror's black planet. During the raid to rescue Holloween Girl and Komodo in the Black Planet finale, these rounds prove to be especially effective in dealing with the monsters. The man known only as Fane is the Narn K/Crim liaison and archenemy of Doc Horror. He is in charge of the Narn K's bizarre and disturbing experiments in the dark recesses of the Monster Shop, and endlessly seeks to end

10434-476: The term solely in the context of clinical lycanthropy , a condition in which the patient imagined himself to be a wolf. Modern writers later used lycanthrope as a synonym of werewolf , referring to a person who, according to medieval superstition, could assume the form of wolves. The European motif of the devilish werewolf devouring human flesh harks back to a common development during the Middle Ages in

10545-503: The time of Lycaon. If they abstain from tasting human flesh while being wolves, they would be restored to human form nine years later, but if they do not abstain, they would remain wolves forever. Lykos (Λύκος) of Athens was a wolf-shaped herο, whose shrine stood by the jurycourt, and the first jurors were named after him. Pliny the Elder likewise recounts another tale of lycanthropy. Quoting Euanthes, he mentions that in Arcadia , once

10656-403: The transdimensional ether and offer their protection in return for someone to talk to. Eve's propensity for getting into mischief is often the source of the Nocturnals' adventures. She once was captured by the Crim when she wandered into the Narn K subterranean Monster Shop, only to be rescued by Horror. She also once became a menu item for a hungry bat-witch on Halloween as well as a "victim" for

10767-560: The widespread belief in werewolves and other human-animal transformations can be seen in theological attacks made against such beliefs. Conrad of Hirsau , writing in the 11th century, forbids the reading of stories in which a person's reason is obscured following such a transformation. Conrad specifically refers to the tales of Ovid in his tract. Pseudo-Augustine, writing in the 12th century, follows Augustine of Hippo's argument that no physical transformation can be made by any but God, stating that "...the body corporeally [cannot], be changed into

10878-472: The woods of Arcadia in the form of wolves. Virgil , in his poetic work Eclogues , wrote about a man called Moeris, who used herbs and poisons picked in his native Pontus to turn himself into a wolf. In prose , the Satyricon , written circa AD 60 by Gaius Petronius Arbiter , one of the characters, Niceros, tells a story at a banquet about a friend who turned into a wolf (chs. 61–62). He describes

10989-423: The world, earn the loyalty of fellow paranormal outcasts, and eventually falling in with the Zampa crime family. Don Lupo's resources located the young Eve and reunited her with her father. This allowed them to make a home for themselves on Earth. Horror requires regular treatments with a special medicine he developed to control "a rather nasty virus" he picked up on one of his expeditions. The nature of this disease

11100-429: Was a fugitive from Zampa's new business partners, but was killed himself when the Raccoon got the drop on him. The Raccoon was content to make his bid for power in the criminal syndicates, but when the Narn K rekindled their pursuit of him he could no longer maintain neutrality in their dealings. Although he claimed not to care about what happened to Doc Horror, his conscience lead him to join forces with him and help defeat

11211-412: Was a three-issue mini-series that started in 2001 (July 2001 – February 2002). A spin-off mini-series from Oni Press followed, called The Gunwitch: Outskirts of Doom (June–August 2001). After leaving Oni Press, Image Comics later published The Nocturnals: Carnival of Beasts (July 2008), a prestige format 64-page comic book, published by Image Comics , containing three stories. "Nocturnals: Legend"

11322-489: Was able to break free of this posthumous obligation and now resides with Doc Horror in the Tomb. Being a ghost, she has unspecified supernatural powers that include clairvoyance , the ability to heal wounds, and cast illusions, among others. Polychrome's otherworldly senses help Doc Horror maintain a close eye on enemies and individuals of interest, alert him to paranormal goings-on in Pacific City, and more importantly help him keep track of his trouble-magnet daughter. She acts as

11433-538: Was convicted of being a werewolf. A peak of attention to lycanthropy came in the late 16th to early 17th century, as part of the European witch-hunts . A number of treatises on werewolves were written in France during 1595 and 1615. In 1598, werewolves were sighted in Anjou . In 1602, Henry Boguet wrote a lengthy chapter about werewolves. In 1603, a teenage werewolf was sentenced to life imprisonment in Bordeaux . In

11544-405: Was gentle, until his wife and her new husband appeared at court, so much so that his hateful attack on the couple was deemed justly motivated, and the truth was revealed. This lai (a type of Breton sung-poem) follows many themes found within other werewolf tales – the removal of clothing and attempting to refrain from the consumption of human flesh can be found in Pliny the Elder, as well as in

11655-413: Was given by a rat-hybrid named Chatter was meant to slow him down. He was about to be recaptured yet again by Narn K synthetic soldiers, but the timely arrival of the Gunwitch allowed him to evade them. The Gunwitch brought him back to the Tomb, where he made quick friends with the other Nocturnals and accepted their offer to join them. Komodo is an idealistic reptile-human who appears to be the equivalent of

11766-604: Was in fact being subtly controlled by the Narn K corporation by use of a Crim creature attached to his body. The Crim was able to influence him towards their favor, and apparently even Tony was unaware that he was being manipulated. When he was exhumed by Doc Horror, the bite of the Crim beast actually brought Tony back into a form of temporary half-life that allowed him to have one last conversation with his old rival. Before he dies again for good, Tony simply asks Horror to make sure nobody hurts his father. Detectives Willeford and Goodis are two Pacific City police officers who come across

11877-499: Was published under Malibu Comics ' Bravura imprint. This was followed by a story that ran in Dark Horse Presents #125–127 (October–November 1997) that was collected by Dark Horse Comics into a 48-page comic book as The Nocturnals: Witching Hour (May 1998). Moving to Oni Press the next outing was in a giant-sized one-shot The Nocturnals: Troll Bridge (October 2000). Still at Oni The Nocturnals: The Dark Forever

11988-665: Was released by BigWowArt (October 2014), a hardcover coffee-table style art book, described as a 20-year " introspective". Nocturnals: The Sinister Path is a new graphic novel (successfully crowd-funded in January 2015 via Kickstarter) released through BigWowArt in June 2017. Joining the Horror family is a group of societal outcasts who shun the light of day and avoid mainstream society: spectral apparition, Polychrome; amphibious spitfire, Starfish; pyrokinetic swordsman, Firelion; reptilian, Komodo; streetwise animal-human chimera, Raccoon; and

12099-456: Was rescued by Doc Horror. Firelion is now the last Burner alive, and he lives only to see the Narn K Corporation burn to the ground in retribution. Unlike other Nocturnals, Firelion prefers to use katana and wakizashi swords instead of firearms. When enraged, he becomes a fiery hellstorm of flames and blades. In his first appearance in the Black Planet miniseries, he lays waste to an entire building full of synthetic mob hitmen assigned to guard

12210-616: Was the Holy Roman Empire . At least nine works on lycanthropy were printed in Germany between 1649 and 1679. In the Austrian and Bavarian Alps, belief in werewolves persisted well into the 18th century. As late as in 1853, in Galicia , northwestern Spain, Manuel Blanco Romasanta was judged and condemned as the author of a number of murders, but he claimed to be not guilty because of his condition of lobishome , werewolf. Until

12321-430: Was turned into a wolf after tasting the entrails of a human child sacrificed to Zeus Lycaeus. He was restored to human form 10 years later and went on to become an Olympic champion. This tale is also recounted by Pliny the Elder , who calls the man Demaenetus quoting Agriopas . According to Pausanias, this was not a one-off event, but that men have been transformed into wolves during the sacrifices to Zeus Lycaeus since

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