The Mystery of the Mad Monk! (Werewolf by Night #3) (1973)

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Scripter: Gerry Conway

Artist: Mike Ploog

Inker: Frank Chiaramonte

Father Ramon Joquez is translating the Darkhold for Jack Russell, unaware of the danger it poses to him.

However, he is disturbed by what he finds, so he calls Jack at a fateful moment.

I’ll never understand how a man afflicted by lycanthropy can lose track of the phases of the moon. Literally nothing should be more important to him.

Meanwhile, Jack’s sister eavesdrops on a suspicious conversation.

And the werewolf finds out what happened to Father Joquez.

Through some magical function of the Darkhold, strange yet convenient for the reader, the mad monk Aelfric’s backstory is transmitted to the mind of the werewolf.

Despite his power, he is overwhelmed by the villagers and burned as a witch. The magical scrolls themselves are salvaged by scavengers and passed from hand to hand down through the generations in a chain of treachery and death.

The origins of the Darkhold, the Russell curse, and the appearance of Aelfric are all revealed on one powerful page.

Meanwhile, what’s Lissa up to?

Unfortunately, she continues on to the monastery.

Aelfric sees the werewolf as a useful pawn and seeks to manipulate him accordingly.

However, his plan does not work out.

With Aelfric dead, the werewolf wanders into the night with his unconscious sister in his arms.

The backstory of Aelfric and the Darkhold deepens the werewolf curse mythology, connecting present-day terror to 12th‑century sorcery. Ploog’s surreal, expressionistic art—complemented by Chiaramonte’s inking—lends the series a distinct visual identity that heightens its horror credentials.