Geraldo Kabal

Real Name: Geraldo Kabal

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Attorney

Group Membership: American Bar Association

Affiliations: Baron Thunder, Joshua Kane, Ralston, Jack Russell (Werewolf)

Enemies: Lt. Lou Hackett

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None (last name sometimes misspelled "Kabel")

Base of Operations: Los Angeles, California

First Appearance: ("Geraldo Kabel" mentioned) Werewolf by Night I#17 (May, 1974)
   ("Geraldo Kabal" seen) Werewolf by Night I#20 (August, 1974)

Powers/Abilities: Geraldo Kabal had no superhuman powers but appeared to have some skill as an attorney. Jack Russell's first impression of Kabal was that he was "a regular snake-oil salesman, slippery charm oozing from his sun-tanned pores." Kabal appeared to have no fighting skills at all (since he didn't even try to defend himself when Hackett assaulted him), and he was so terrified when Hackett transformed into a werewolf before his eyes that he didn't even try to run.

   For some unspecified time, Kabal had one of the two "Werewolf Rings" in his possession but he was never aware of the powers they possessed...until it was too late. He just used the ring he had to try to charm young women.

History:
(Werewolf by Night I#21 - BTS) - As a lawyer, Geraldo Kabal made enough money that he could afford to live in a "swank set-up" with a butler.

(Werewolf by Night I#21 (fb)) - Kabal was hired by Joshua Kane to draw up (or to revise) his will. In order to make certain that Kabal understood the irregularities of his last testament and to facilitate the disposition of his inheritance, Kane brought Kabal to his home in Tugunga Canyon and showed him "a trunk, filled with arcane paraphernalia, which he claimed was over eight-hundred years old and which once supposedly belonged to a mad monk named Aelfric." Kane then reached into the trunk, pulled out two seemingly-identical rings and told Kabal that Lou Hackett should get one of the rings and that it would "suit (his) nature."

(Werewolf by Night I#17 (fb) - BTS/Werewolf by Night I#20 (fb) - BTS) - Following Joshua Kane's death, Geraldo Kabal collected all of his possessions from Mallet Studios and (supposedly) had everything carted off.

(Werewolf by Night I#21 (fb) - BTS/Werewolf by Night I#20 - BTS) - Acting as the executor of Joshua Kane's estate, Kabal fulfilled the stipulations of his last request by seeing to it that Lou Hackett received one of the two rings. For some reason, Kabal kept the other ring for himself.

(Werewolf by Night I#21 (fb) - BTS)) - When Lt. Hackett began trying to contact Kabal, Kabal's butler always told him that Kabal wasn't home at the time.

(Werewolf by Night I#19 - BTS) - For some reason, Kabal apparently took all of the other sorcerous artifacts out of Aelfric's ancient trunk, put them into a trunk with his name-plate on it and left that trunk in the prop room at Mallet Studios.

(Werewolf by Night I#20 (fb) - BTS) - Kabal was hired by Baron Thunder to handle the mortgage for the baron's new home on Moonrise Hill.

(Werewolf by Night I#19 (fb) - BTS/Werewolf by Night I#19 (fb)) - The trunk with Kabal's name-plate on it was found by actress Clary Winter who had been keeping an eye out for Kabal on behalf of her friend Jack Russell. Frightened by what she found in the trunk, Clary phoned Jack and insisted that he come to meet her at Mallet Studios. Once he arrived, Clary led him to the prop room and showed him Kabal's trunk and the glowing arcane artifacts it contained. Jack began to transform into the Werewolf (because the moon had risen) but Clary, unaware of his curse, assumed that he was "freaking out" because "something in that trunk must've sent (him) mad!" Clary fled and was (briefly) pursued by the Werewolf until he was attacked by two vampires.

(Werewolf by Night I#19) - The next morning, Jack Russell brought Raymond Coker to Kabal's trunk. While looking through its contents, Coker found a notorious and rare book, the Libro del Malditos. As they both looked at a certain page, the words on that page changed from Spanish to English and they read the following:
   "There is but one cure for the curse of the wolf: that the cursed one find another werewolf and kill him under the full moon."

(Werewolf by Night I#20 (fb) - BTS) - Kabal was contacted by Baron Thunder who offered him a considerable sum for a trunk filled with odd paraphernalia which had belonged to one of Kabal's former clients (presumably, Joshua Kane). Kabal did not immediately accept Thunder's offer.

(Werewolf by Night I#20) - A week later, while out at a restaurant with Ralston, Kabal saw a girl he liked (Clary Winter) sitting at a nearby table with a young man (Jack Russell) and told Ralston to take his card over to her. As soon as Ralston had delivered the card and expressed Kabal's wish to join the couple at their table, Kabal approached them, confirmed that Clary's screen name was Melody Tune, and presented her with "a small token of (his) esteem for (her) prodigious acting talent." As Kabal opened the box, revealing the ring inside, Jack (overcome by a strange compulsion) suddenly snatched the ring and jammed it on his finger. As Kabal sat down beside Clary, Jack asked if he could have seen Kabal at Mallet Studios and Kabal replied that he had been there tending to the disposition of a former client's possessions, a trunk filled with odd paraphernalia. When Kabal mentioned that "just last week" a "Baron Thunder" had offered him a considerable sum for the trunk, Jack revealed that he was a friend of the Baron's who had been trying to get in touch with him but who had lost his address. Once Kabal had obligingly helped Jack by giving him directions to the Baron's new home on Moonrise Hill, Jack abruptly excused himself, telling Clary that he was sure that Mr. Kabal would see her home.

(Werewolf by Night I#21) - After a month of avoiding him, Kabal was confronted in his home by Hackett who demanded to know where his ring came from. When Kabal refused, stating that, as the executor of Joshua Kane’s estate, he had fulfilled the stipulations of Kane’s will by seeing that Hackett got the ring but was not required to reveal the ring’s origin, Hackett grabbed him and struck him across the face until Kabal agreed to talk. Kabal revealed that the ring had come from a trunk full of sorcerous artifacts which had once supposedly belonged to the mad monk Aelfric but which had come into Joshua Kane’s possession. Kane had told Kabal that Hackett was to be given one of two (identical) rings because it would suit Hackett’s nature. When Kabal revealed that the second ring had been taken from him by Jack Russell, Hackett punched him to the floor, put on his ring and transformed into a golden-furred werewolf before Kabal's disbelieving eyes. As Kabal begged him to stay away, the Hackett werewolf slashed Kabal across the chest and then left him, seemingly dead, lying partway over his desk. The Hackett werewolf then left Kabal's home via the patio door.

Comments: The (unseen) character of Joshua Kane's lawyer, Geraldo Kabel, was created by Mike Friedrich.
   Geraldo Kabal was created by Doug Moench, Don Perlin and Vince Colletta.

None of the WBN stories explain how a bunch of glowing arcane artifacts ended up in the prop room at Mallet Studios in a trunk with Kabal's name-plate on it. The explanation that appears in this profile is conjecture on my part but I have no idea WHY Kabal would take Kane's arcane paraphernalia out of Aelfric's trunk, put them into his own trunk and then hide that trunk away in a movie studio. Maybe he was thinking of stealing them from Kane's estate?

I'm not certain about the chronology of Kabal's interaction with Baron Thunder. I've assumed that Thunder hired Kabal to handle his mortgage because he really wanted to get his hands on Kane's artifacts and hoped that having a prior business relationship with the executor of Kane's estate would make that easier. Also, I find the idea of the head of the Committee taking out a mortgage on his new home to be a bit odd. However, there is nothing in WBN #20 which indicates whether Thunder offered to buy Kane's collection before or after he hired Kabal.

Finally, while it's almost certain that the "trunk filled with odd paraphernalia" that belonged to a former client of Geraldo Kabal is the "trunk filled with arcane paraphernalia" that Joshua Kane owned, it's not absolutely certain. While I consider it unlikely, it is remotely possible that Kabal had two different clients who each possessed their own collection of odd paraphernalia.

Profile by Donald Campbell

Clarifications: