Giant-Size Creatures – Volume 01 Issue 01

“Tigra – The Were-Woman!”

Midnight on a remote beach in Mexico, Jack Russell has just stumbled upon a raven-haired beauty being assaulted by two goons. Jack races forward to help the young woman escape the men dressed in strange green and yellow uniforms. His bare feet sank into the wet sand, causing his charge to slow significantly. This would be the least of his troubles as the full moon peaked up over the nighttime cloud cover. 

First Night had arrived in force. Yet, Jack was not the only beast on the Mexican sands. The woman that appeared so helpless in the grasp of her assailants now began to transform into a were-creature unknown to Jack. She was one of the legendary cat-people whispered about in the inner circles of occult magic. This woman was Tigra!

“Waiter, There’s A Werewolf In My Soup!”

Roy Thomas presents a two-page article covering the history of werewolf characters under the Comic Book Code Authority, the rule revisions of the early 1970s, and the creation of the Werewolf By Night series. This is a very interesting read. Mike Ploog and Gerry Conway receive mentions here as well. If you like DVD extras, then you will love these “Wolfy” extras. 

“Where Walks The Werewolf!”

Dr. Wade was a brilliant surgeon and geneticist, but the plan to save his friend Martin Killian from a lifetime of blindness seemed ludicrous. The two men began their hunt inside a forest two miles west of Dr. Wade’s laboratory. Somewhere inside the dense pines was the final ingredient needed to cure Martin. The spinal fluid of a North American timber wolf. What they found, however, was something much more dangerous. 

“Tigra’s Year”

With the failure of Night Nurse, Shanna the She-Devil, and The Cat, Writer Tony Isabella was under pressure to develop a strong leading female character for a series in 1974. This is the story of how Tony repurposed his Cat character (Greer Grant-Nelson) into the first werecat superhero in Marvel Comics. As Tony Isabella recounts his creative process, several well known names come into play. Say hello to Gil Kane, John Romita, and Don Perlin. This was certainly a blast from the past.

Review 

Greer Grant-Nelson makes her debut as Tigra in Giant-Size Creatures #01. She battles alongside Jack Russell, the Werewolf By Night, to stop the evil forces of Hydra from killing her mentor Dr. Joanne Tumolo. With the mysterious “Cat People” on the verge of extinction, Greer and Jack must work together to save the day. The werewolf may have other motives, however. 

I knew very little about Tigra before opening up the pages of this giant-sized delight. Unfortunately, Greer and Dr. Tumolo’s backstory, which debuts in this issue, was part of the storyline in Marvel Premiere #42 (1978) which I read recently. So some of the reveals were spoiled for me. No matter. If you are a fanatic of the original Cat character, Hellcat, or Tigra, you will want this comic for your collection. I give it four out of five stars.

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