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Cycle of the Werewolf
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...all black winter and dark ice...
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Cycle of the Werewolf
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In 1979, as the now-familiar story goes, Christopher Zavisa of Land of Enchantment Press asked King to come up with short, 500-word vignettes, to be put to use on a calendar illustrated by Berni Wrightson. King agreed, but, owing to what he describes as “literary elephantitus,” he couldn’t just stop there. The vignettes grew into chapters, and the calendar grew into a book.
King has stated since that he’s not a huge fan of the werewolf genre, but with Cycle of the Werewolf (and, later, The Talisman), he managed to do all right. We are given no explanation for the appearance of the werewolf in the midst of this frightened Maine town of Tarker’s Mills – the matter seems to be almost beside the point – and the book does nothing much in the way of forwarding the creaky genre into something new (unlike what ’Salem’s Lot did for the vampire mythos). Heck, we’re not even sure who the protagonist is until chapter seven ... but all that doesn’t seem to matter much. What matters is the short, grisly tale (almost a Cliffs Notes for King’s more epic tales of “Losers” who must face some form of Ultimate Evil) ... and, of course, those wonderful pictures.
Berni Wrightson, at the peak of his talent here, does a remarkable job of marrying the simple, direct narrative with both breathtaking two-page black and white spreads to delineate the start of each chapter-month and lurid, often gruesome full-color plates within the chapters themselves. Other than perhaps Creepshow, no King project has ever tied the writing with the art so completely. When you think of Cycle of the Werewolf, you think of the tale of the crippled boy with the silver bullets and that picture of the snarling beast on the diner counter simultaneously.
Is Cycle of the Werewolf Stephen King at his best? Of course not. The book is largely a self-contained novella with some neat illustrations. But it’s perfect for what it is, and I find myself reading it over and over again, and falling in love with it anew each time. It’s Stephen King having a bit of fun, and that’s a party I always want to join.
(Note: In 1985, a movie adaptation of Cycle of the Werewolf, entitled Silver Bullet, was released. The novel was repackaged and republished with the new title, including not only the entire text and illustrations of the original book, but also King's full-length screenplay and a new foreward. Silver Bullet is the first of only two full-lenth screenplays that King has allowed to be published (the other being Storm of the Century, which makes Silver Bullet worth having. Plus, I'm a sucker for King's chatty introductions and afterwords. Aren't you?)
Cycle of the Werewolf was my first Stephen King book. I used to go to camp in the summer in upstate New York, usually a day camp but there was a sleep-out one night. On kid brought along Cycle, and it passed around through the hands of the kinds that had seen the movie they were showing (Raiders of the Lost Ark) in the front room. I fell in love. Those pictures terrified me (I was only eight), but I loved them anyway. And the story of the kid (who could be any kid, even though his legs didn't work) who triumphed over the wolf: totally cool. Still, to this day, I look back on that book with nostalgia. I didn't get into SK- obsessed mode until It, four or six years later (and I didn't even own my own copy of Cycle unti four years ago), but it will always be my first. HOWWWWWWWWWWWWL!!!!
When the movie was released, a tie-in book followed, including the text and pics of Cycle as well as the Silver Bullet screenplay. Plus, the new cover is wicked cool.
My thoughts: The naming of the motorcycle/wheelchair was kinda dumb, and as a movie it's sort of just there. But I liked all the leads (especially that Gary Busey, who's so cool!) So, check it out, and look for the neat book Silver Bullet.