The Complete Idiot's Guide to Werewolves (25 page)

Werewolves often fall under the category of anthropomorphic figures, especially when depicted in their most popular hybrid/ humanoid forms. Werewolves were by no means, however, the first anthropomorphic figures to be depicted in the assorted media of human art. In fact, some of the oldest known anthropomorphic depictions come from ancient Mesopotamia, commonly known as the “cradle of civilization.”

 

The oldest known anthropomorphic depictions in the ancient world date back to nearly 4000 B.C.E. and are representations of the gods and nature spirits of the Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian civilizations of Mesopotamia. The majority of these have been found on small stone engravings called cylinder seals, which when rolled over wet clay tablets create panoramic-style pictures. The cylinder seals were often used to quickly create religious charms meant to invoke certain beneficial gods or to ward off any number of malevolent deities/spirits, which were in those times thought to be the bringers of famines, disease, and natural catastrophes. For example, the ancient figure known as Lilith (associated with the conflicting elements of childbirth/death, creation/disease, and agriculture/storms) was often depicted in cylinder seals and relief carvings as a beautiful, winged female with the talons of a raptor for her feet.

When it comes to the anthropomorphic integration of human and canine features, werewolves are still not the oldest of the bunch. The dark ancient Egyptian god of death, Anubis, was depicted in drawings, carvings, and statues as having a human body and the black head of a canine (which many people would describe as resembling the head of a Doberman Pincer).

The Book of Jack
is based on the original French story
Le Livre de Jack
written by Denis Pierre Filippi. The
graphic novel
was translated into English by Piche and Kelly and then released in America in July 2002 by Humanoids Publishing. The graphic novel’s artwork was done by Olivier G. Boiscommun.

The story begins with a young man named Jack trying to gain acceptance into a local gang of boys. As part of his initiation into the group, Jack must go into an old abandoned house that is supposedly haunted. Not wanting to be seen as a coward by the others, Jack accepts the challenge and ventures with them, crossing the threshold of the strange house.

Once inside the house, Jack stumbles upon an odd and dusty book. He opens it but cannot read. Sam, the only female member of the gang as well as the only one who can read, informs Jack, much to his astonishment, that the book appears to be telling the story of his life. When they reach the final pages, which are blank, words magically begin to appear that tell the story of Jack’s present actions. He decides to take the book with him when he leaves, and as a joke he has someone write in the book that he becomes a werewolf. The next morning, Jack thinks twice and decides that perhaps he should return the book to the house. Unfortunately for him, it has now mysteriously disappeared.

 

As days pass, the book remains missing, and Jack soon discovers that he is transforming into a werewolf … just as he’d had it written. In the hopes of finding a way to break the curse of his new lycanthropy, Jack must go on a strange quest to find the lost book and return it from whence it came. Sam stays with Jack and helps him despite his monstrous transformation. They manage to find the man Jack had write in the book and by doing so are able to return Jack to normal. The story ends with Sam and Jack returning the book to the house.

Crescent Moon
is the English title of a Japanese
manga
series called
Mikan no Tsuki,
which basically translates as “The Incomplete Moon.” Both the story and the art of the
Crescent Moon
series were created by Haruko Iida. It was originally released in Japan by publisher Kadokawa Shoten. It was later translated into English and released to American audiences by the corporation TokyoPop.

The story of
Crescent Moon
follows the unusual adventures of a young girl named Mahiru Shiraishi. Mahiru was born with a gift that allows her to bestow good fortune upon people simply by touching them. She cannot apply her gift of good fortune, however, to her own life. Sadly, because it is her own good fortune that she gives to other people, she has very little of it left for herself.

 

At one point, Mahiru begins to experience a series of reoccurring dreams involving strange beings. These dreams later cause her to encounter a group called the “Lunar Bandits,” all of whom are part of a race of special mythical beings referred to as “The Lunar Ones.” The name of this race of mythical creatures comes from the fact that their powers are dependent upon the phases of the lunar cycle.

 

Mahiru meets a number of these “Lunar Ones,” among them a vampire, a
kitsune
(“demon fox”), and a
tengu
(a winged and beak-faced mountain spirit). The youngest member of the “Lunar Bandits” is a 16-year-old, rather carefree werewolf by the name of Akira Yamabuki. Akira later develops a crush on one of Mahiru’s classmates, a girl named Keiko.

The “Lunar Bandits” tell Mahiru that she is the descendent of the “Moon Princess” and that they need her in order to find and take back the stolen source of their powers, called the “Lunar Teardrops.” In addition to helping the “Lunar Bandits” recover the powers that are rightfully theirs, Mahiru must also try to mend the fear and hostility that has grown in humans toward these forgotten creatures of the moon.

Wolf’s Rain
is the English title of the
anime
and manga series
Urufuzu-Rein
. The series was created by Keiko Nobumoto and animated by Toshihiro Kawamoto. The anime was directed by Tensai Okamura and was originally released in 2003 by BONES Studios. The series was later adapted into a two-volume manga series.

 

Wolf’s Rain
follows the harsh journey of four wolves who are seeking a lost paradise of legend. They have learned to make themselves appear like normal people to the eyes of humans. In this postapocalyptic world, few wolves still survive. After nearly being completely wiped out almost 200 years ago, the wolves learned to conceal their existence from humans, and they have long lived among them in secret. The four main characters of the series have names that are related to wolves and are as follows: