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Joshua Williamson Breaks Down Blood of the Wolf Man’s Connections to Original Film, Reveals Key Similarity With Obsession, and More (Exclusive)
The Universal Monsters are icons of cinema and horror, and over the years, fans have seen a bevy of different interpretations of many of them, including Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Mummy, and The Wolf Man, just to name a few. Now the all-star team of Joshua Williamson, Leomacs, and Pip Martin have brought the character back into the spotlight with Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man #1, and ComicBook had the chance to speak to Williamson all about his love for the character, the story’s connections to the classic film, the book’s mysteries and brutal moments, and what the series has in common with the phenomenon known as Obsession.
Williamson’s always loved the Universal Monsters and their unique stories, but when it comes to Wolf Man specifically, his love for the character actually started with a project that is not a Universal Monsters project at all. “I think the one that really brought it together for me, it’s funny because it’s not a Universal property, is Monster Squad. Like, it’s not a Universal thing at all, but it’s one of the best Universal Monsters movies,” Williamson said.
“It’s not a Universal Monster movie, but they’re all there. Not really, but that was when I started becoming more aware of the mythology, because they talk about the mythology of all those characters in it, and they talk about the mythology of being a werewolf, and they show it. There’s an actual werewolf story in there, and then after that, it’s like watching American Werewolf in London and watching The Howling and then watching Wolf, the Jack Nicholson one. I’ve always just really liked the idea of werewolves. I like the mythology of werewolves. I always think it’s really interesting, of all the monsters to be, I’ve always been curious if that’s the one that’s the best one to be. It’s like you have to deal with it once a month kind of thing, during a full moon, but the curse, the burden, all that stuff,” Williamson said.
The Wolf Man’s Story Is Connected To The Original Film In Unexpected Ways
While Monster Squad had a major impact on Williamson’s love for the character, so did the 1941 Wolf Man movie that starred Claude Rains as John Talbot, and it turns out there was a perfect parallel story that had happened organically. “I sat up here in my office and I re-watched it on the big screen in here, and then I realized how much the idea I had actually aligned with it,” Williamson said. “It was very much like a parallel kind of story. I realized how much they had in common with each other, and I was like, okay, this is right. I can do this, and this will be really fun.”
While issue #1 definitely evokes similar traits from the film, Williamson teased when fans can expect those connections to really start to show, and that you can ignore everything that came after the first movie when you jump into the series.
“I think when you get into the second and third books, you’re going to be like, oh, this connects to the 1941 movie. It’s certainly when I did. When I did RoboCop, I went to them and I was like, ‘Can I ignore everything but the first movie?’ Just for continuity reasons, I say this takes place right after the first movie, and they were like, ‘ Yeah, you can totally do that.’ And with this I didn’t have to do that, but that’s what was in my head was like, okay, I know there’s a bigger mythology here and other stuff. I’m gonna focus on just the 1941 movie, and then you’ll see as it goes, it is actually connected to that movie,” Williamson said.
The Wolf Man Wants You To Step Into Their Bloody Shoes
While the family elements are a key part of the book, the series also lives up to its title, and when the Wolf Man is in control, things get brutal quickly. There’s also a shift in perspective, as Leomacs presents the story from a first-person perspective, meaning you have to witness everything from an up-close perspective.
“Whenever we talk about the violent stuff that happens, especially what happens in the first issue, I always wanted to be through Adam’s point of view, his eyes, because I wanted there to be an element of questioning what was real and what really happened. I just felt like I wanted you to put you in Adam’s shoes, and I wanted to be all through his perspective, especially because so much of the story is told in a way by the dad, like, the dad is clearly the point of view of the trauma of it,” Williamson said.
“I even hesitated on even showing the Wolf Man at all in the first issue. I was debating it, and that’s where the mirror thing came in, where I started realizing all this stuff about the mirror and the family, all these things that were connected together, but I wanted to put you in his shoes for it, and then see the violence that way. It’s also a way of showing the violence a little bit, just differently than you expect,” Williamson said.
What’s wild is that, while issue #1 features several shocking moments, issue #2 is evidently going to put that to shame. “I always like about horror, sometimes it’s what you don’t see, and so with this, it was like trying to walk that line a little bit, but I mean, it gets crazier,” Williamson said. “There’s a scene a couple issues in that is like, yeah, it’ll put this one to shame. You’ll be like, oh, wow. The first one was crazy. You see the couple issues in. You’re like, oh, my gosh.”
The Heart of Blood of the Wolf Man Is A Story of Family and Secrets
While there are several compelling threads throughout issue #1, one particularly crucial thread is the story between Adam and his father. Their relationship is strained to be kind, and as Adam tries to figure out what’s happening, it becomes apparent that there are secrets trying desperately to emerge into the light.
“This is not the first time the dad has tried to bury something like bad things with the family, right? I mean, that’s really what it is. Like, the dad has a history of bearing stuff that has happened, and so you’ll see as it goes over the course of the story that the dad is obsessed with control. He’s obsessed with image. He’s obsessed with, you know, everyone needs to think he is some kind of successful person and he’s a great father and all these different things,” Williamson said. “And then over the course of the series, you’ll see those cracks, those lies, and it’s sort of complicated in some ways, but it is very much about this family trauma, and it is about him always wanting to have some kind of control over things. So you’ll see as the story goes on, the lengths he has gone to hide stuff well.”
At one point, Adam confides in his father about his sudden transformation and his involvement in the massacre, and his father’s reaction is quite telling. “The part where it all came together for me was thinking about it, it was just that moment when he tells his dad this story. This is what happened. This is what I saw and what I think happened. The dad looks around, and he’s like, Who else have you told this to? Yeah son, I believe you, but who else have you told this to, right? And like, that’s it right there. They get back to the house, and they start arguing about family stuff,” Williamson said.
The Heart of a Horror Story, And How Relatability Helps Horror Movies Like Obsession Soar
While you can seek out to terrify the reader and hit them with all sorts of disturbing imagery, some of the best horror tales are more rooted in more human and relatable stories. Sure, there’s a person who turns into a violent wolf man, but you don’t necessarily care as much if you don’t have some sort of empathy or connection to the main character and what they want, and that translates to any sort of horror film, including one of the year’s biggest success stories in Obsession.
“That’s what I always talk about with this book or about horror, where it’s like, you have to have a human heart to horror, right? It has to come from a place of real. It has to come from a place that is relatable. You have to feel those things, and then once you do that, you can really put that horror lens on it in many different ways, but if it’s not coming from a place that is real first or has a human piece first, the rest of the horror, I don’t know if it necessarily works,” Williamson said.
“I haven’t seen Obsession, but that idea of, like, wanting someone to love you, you know, I imagine that is a very real feeling. So it’s like, that’s a real place, and when I look at a lot of horror stuff, that’s the stuff that I gravitate towards when it’s that. I think it’s when it works best. Don’t get me wrong, I like some stuff that’s like slasher house s*** too, you know, there’s stuff out there that’s really fun, but, you’ve got to find something kind of grounded for it, and for me, I always lean into family stuff a lot in my work,” Williamson said.
“Whether it’s Flash, Superman, Green Arrow, and then you look at some of the other stuff I’ve done, I always try to find a human place, and sometimes family is the easier one because everyone has family. So sometimes it’s the easier one to kind of use as that vessel to transport the horror in,” Williamson said.
There’s also another crucial thread in the detectives’ attempts to figure out who killed all these kids, and now that Adam is the lone survivor, there are lots of questions coming his way, and that will remain a key part of the series throughout.
“It’s interesting because the whole story, all four issues take place within about, geez, 24 hours. It goes fast because the full moon isn’t over yet. I’ll give you a clue, right? You’ll see. We actually didn’t get the full moon yet,” Williamson said. “But I always made a point to remind the audience of that part. Like, there’s a part in three where Henry is going into the police station, and there are people outside who are like, what happened to our kids? You know, what happened? What happened? Do you know anything? Like, do you know, do you know what’s going on with this? What’s going on with that? I didn’t want to lose sight of that part.”
Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man #1 is in comic stores, and issue #2 (of 4) lands in comic stores on Wednesday, July 27th.
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