UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: FRANKENSTEIN #1, by Image Comics & Skybound on 8/28/24, adapts the 1931 film version of Mary Shelley’s classic tale with a twist when a young boy bears witness to the Doctor’s deeds.
Credits:
- Writer: Michael Walsh
- Artist: Michael Walsh
- Colorist: Toni-Marie Griffin
- Letterer: Becca Carey
- Cover Artist: Michael Walsh (cover A)
- Publisher: Image Comics
- Release Date: August 21, 2024
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover Price: $4.99
- Page Count: 36
- Format: Single Issue
Covers:
Analysis of UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: FRANKENSTEIN #1:
First Impressions:
Image Comics & Skybound keep churning out hits by reinvigorating classic characters and properties for a new generation of comic readers. This time, writer/artist Michael Walsh takes a crack at the Frankenstein legend with a mild twist on the film version of the monster’s tale. Does this adaptation twist the legendary story enough to break it, or does a new angle give readers a fresh perspective on an old story? For now, let’s call it a TBD.
Plot Analysis:
UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: FRANKENSTEIN #1 begins with a familiar scene in a graveyard. A young boy weeps over his father’s grave, lamenting the harsh treatment he receives from other boys in the orphanage. When the boy hears men approaching, he scurries to a hiding spot that’s close enough to see what’s happening. The boy is shocked to see two men, Dr. Frankenstein and his assistant, Fritz, digging up his father’s grave.
Michael Walsh begins the tale with a high degree of familiar settings and atmosphere while adding the young orphan boy as a new element. The boy acts as the audience surrogate, which is the significant twist of this adaptation, but he largely acts as a hidden observer until the very end of the issue.
The Doctor laments that the body’s brain is useless due to head trauma, but he’s interested in other parts, so the men load the body onto a cart. The boy quietly stows away on the cart to see where the men are taking his father’s body. When the cart reaches Dr. Frankenstein’s castle, the boy leaps into the nearby bushes before he’s spotted, and he follows the men into the castle from a safe distance. The boy soon witnesses the miracle and horror of Frankenstein’s creation come to life.
Up to this point, the boy’s part of the story runs parallel to the events of the film without any significant changes. Even Dr. Frankenstein’s classic dialog remains unchanged from the film you already know.
When the boy later pays the monster a visit, believing the monster is his father brought back to life, he learns the only part of the monster used from his father’s body are his hands. Overcome with grief, the boy endeavors to stop the Doctor from defiling anyone else. The issue concludes with medical tools, an ambush, and an unsettling pledge.
Overall, UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: FRANKENSTEIN #1 is a relatively faithful adaptation of the 1931 film, but Michael Walsh’s twist presents the opportunity for fresh ideas that allow readers to see the old story in a new light. That said, the boy’s role as protagonist is almost entirely passive until the very end, so it remains to be seen how fresh the new ideas will be.
Artwork and Presentation:
Michael Walsh pulls double duty as writer and penciler/inker on this miniseries, and the results are commendable. Walsh envelops the entire book with gothic shadows and a moody atmosphere to give readers the same feeling as the B&W films. That said, Toni-Marie Griffin’s top-notch coloring palette and application give the comic an otherworldly, Lovecraftian feel that plays to the strengths of Walsh’s composition style. In short, this comic looks spooky.
Art Samples:
The Bigger Picture:
Series Continuity:
In the Universal film Frankenstein (1931) and this comic, Doctor Frankenstein’s assistant is a character named Fritz, who is different than the often-cited pulp culture reference of a hunchbacked assistant named Igor. But did you know Dwight Schultz, who played Fritz in the 1931 film, played the character Renfield in the Universal version of Dracula (1931)?
Final Thoughts:
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UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: FRANKENSTEIN #1 adapts the 1931 film with a twist by telling the story from a new observer’s point of view. Michael Walsh’s reverence for the source material in the script is spot-on, and the gothic, moody art nails the spooky atmosphere perfectly.
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