The hallowed halls of Golden Age comic lore echo and rustle with the apparitions of missed tales. Indeed, one must sometimes delve deep into the cave of forgotten treasures to stir legends back into the living world. One such tale belongs to the spectral skirmishes of the Werewolf Hunter, a remarkable piece from renowned Golden Age artist, Lily Renée, where wolfish foes are conspicuously absent.

Relishing in the details and the chaotic momentum of the supernatural, Renée brought an unprecedented style that elevated the horror genre into new heights within the comic world. This spectral saga is a forgotten gem, shimmering teasingly beneath decades of comic chronicles.

The Werewolf Hunter’s legacy was born in the whimsical folds of Rangers Comics, sketched diligently by the hand of Lily Renée. Our ethereal warrior, Professor Armand Broussard, guides us through wild encounters with creatures and sorceresses sprung from every shade of the magic spectrum. His journey through the eerie enigma of unchartered terrains and dark incantations vibrates under Renée’s distinct creative lens.

Before bounding enthusiastically into Broussard’s moonless battles, it behooves us to wade momentarily into the rich biography of Renée herself. A Viennese native, Renée’s talent blossomed amidst war, separation from her family, and an unplanned, albeit fortuitous, migration to New York City. A self-taught artisan, Renée sketched her way into the heart of Fiction House, the genius incubator that eventually launched her to legendary heights.

In a cosmic quirk of fate, Renée bagged the Werewolf Hunter series because no one else wanted it. Not a fan of lupine aesthetics, she led the ever-adaptable Broussard to varied interactions with a kaleidoscope of horror spectrum, leaving the werewolves out of the picture. As much as one respects the noble lupine creature, Renée’s iconoclastic rebellion gave Broussard an expansive roadmap of 19 eerie episodes, battling fresh horrors with each comic roll.

Following her adventurous stint with Werewolf Hunter, Renée’s artistic touch graced many a comic panel. Among her extensive repertoire, her work with Fiction House and later St. John Publications, particularly on the whimsical “Abbot and Costello” Comics, barely scratches the surface of her celebrated contributions to the medium. Above all, the revolution she kick-started by sidelining the werewolf continues to bear fruit, underscoring her iconic stature in comics’ pantheon.

Dabbling in the deliciously uncanny, Lily Renee’s take on the Werewolf Hunter franchise is a roller-coaster ride of supernatural shenanigans. It served as a refreshing plunge into a pool of horrors yet unexplored, eliciting gasps and goosebumps as the pages turned and the ghosts whispered.

July 7-9, 2024, steps into the comic calendar as Heritage Auctions opens its doors to their Comic Books Select Auction #122428, presenting a collection of Ranger Comics, among which Lily Renée’s Werewolf Hunter finds stage. If you are a ghost chaser, a comic collector, or a comic historian, mark it down in bold. For the supernatural saga is set to rise from the ashes, its eerie whispers beckoning the eager and the brave.

Written by ATC.