Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: moon knight, Werewolf By Night

The Instant Success of Moon Knight in Werewolf by Night 32, at Auction

One of the signs of the success of the debut of Moon Knight as a villain in Werewolf by Night #32 is in how quickly he became a headlining character in his own right.  Within four months of that August 1975 cover-dated issue, Moon Knight co-creator and WWBN writer Doug Moench would respond to an enthusiastic call for Moon Knight to get his own series with the announcement that he and artist Don Perlin were already at work on the character's first solo adventure. "You people have been clamoring for more of the Moon Knight — and preferably starring in a new mag all his own. That makes us, quite simply, very happy… the Moon Knight will star in a mag of his own for at least two issues — #30 and #31 of Marvel Premiere, our newly revamped "showcases" title."  And it was a slow but steady climb to popularity from there to his upcoming star turn in a Disney+ series with Ethan Hawke in 2022.  But you can get a nice copy of his first appearance in Werewolf by Night #32 (Marvel, 1975) CGC VF 8.0 White pages at auction in this week's 2021 September 19-20 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122138 from Heritage Auctions.

While that letters page a few months after Werewolf by Night #32 was enthusiastic about that character's future, it also sounded a note of caution, by commenting that Marvel could not give Moon Knight his own series quite yet, despite the apparent demand.  Elsewhere on the letters page of this issue (Werewolf by Night #36), Marvel's response to rumors about Werewolf by Night's impending demise was downright dire:  "Admittedly, sales have slipped… and admittedly, WWBN was canceled — for all of two or three gloom-laden weeks. In fact, this issue was slated to be the last."  But recent storylines — including the introduction of Moon Knight — had helped level off the sales nosedive and the series continued on as a bi-monthly for a couple more years.  This mid to late 1970s period was a tough time for the comics industry, and the Marvel line's 1975 sales were down roughly 30% from its 1968 peak, while at the same time the number of comics they were publishing every month had almost tripled.

All of which is to say, a nice copy of Moon Knight's debut in Werewolf by Night #32 probably has a notably smaller print run by comparison to the late 1960s era Marvel keys, and this seems to be generally confirmed by comparing the CGC Census numbers as well.  Fortunately, you can get a nice copy of his first appearance in Werewolf by Night #32 (Marvel, 1975) CGC VF 8.0 White pages at auction in this week's 2021 September 19-20 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122138 from Heritage Auctions.

Werewolf by Night #32 (Marvel, 1975) CGC VF 8.0 White pages. The origin and first appearance of Moon Knight, whose TV series is currently in production. Gil Kane and Al Milgrom cover. Don Perlin art. Currently #10 on Overstreet's list of Top 25 Bronze Age Comics. Overstreet 2021 VF 8.0 value = $1,140. CGC census 9/21: 350 in 8.0, 1291 higher.

View the certification for CGC Certification ID 105961002 and purchase grader's notes if available.

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