Essential Monster Of Frankenstein Volume 1 TPB [Paperback]

Trying to cash in on the monster boom of the sixties and seventies, as well as the success of Warren's black and white horror comic magazines CREEP and EERIE, Marvel Comics launched a wave of monster titles in both comic and magazine form. Mummies, werewolves, zombies, vampires and even Satan's son mingled with Spider-man and the Hulk at the newsstand.

THE MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN starts off as a worthwhile endeavor, but because of the frequent rotation of writers, artists and inkers, the comic, like the monster himself, quickly morphs into a slow-moving, lifeless patchwork mess. The persona of the monster rapidly looses focus simply because the writers cannot decide weather he is a sympatric hero or vindictive villain. Devoid of personality and purpose, Frankenstein is relegated as a second rate character in his own book.

Most of the narrative for the comic series is supplied by those who come in contact with the monster, weather it be a Satanic cult, killer robot, or a troupe of circus freaks. Their motivations shape the storylines as an unaware Frankenstein, mute and directionless, is eventually usurped thematically by the flamboyant supporting characters around him.

In the fifties, Dick Briefer created the ultimate Frankenstein comic,The Monster of Frankenstein. Because the Comic Code Authority was not in effect, Briefer was free to portray Frankenstein as a sadistic brute with animal cunning ever vengeful at the world that feared him. He was a force of nature with his own sinister desires, which usually led him into conflict with the police, Russian spies, mad scientists, the military, werewolves, mummies, zombies and ghouls, all with devastating results. It is a pity that the stable of Marvel Comic writers never saw Dick Briefer's comic, they would have learned a great deal from it.

Back in the 1970s, Marvel had a line of horror comics, many of which are now being re-released in Marvel's Essentials books. Up to now, my feelings of these horror comics have been mixed: while I have enjoyed The Essential Dracula, I have been far less impressed with the Essential Werewolf by Night and Essential Marvel Horror. So it was with a bit of wariness that I picked up The Essential Monster of Frankenstein, but I found myself pleasantly surprised. While not great, it is a decent collection.

Despite all the issues within featuring Frankenstein's Monster, there are actually two separate Monsters appearing in different storylines. In the issues of Monster of Frankenstein (later titled Frankenstein's Monster), the story begins in the late 1800s, with the Monster being thawed out and his story recounted. The Monster, like in Mary Shelley's novel, is actually intelligent but has a major chip on his shoulder. After an encounter with Dracula, he loses his ability to speak and is eventually refrozen and awakens in modern times, where he tries to track down Frankenstein's last descendants. This storyline ends inconclusively.

We then get the storyline of Monsters Unleashed, featuring a Monster who is of subhuman intelligence and entangled in a plot involving brain switches, animated corpses and other twists. While still savage, this Monster is also not as angry at the world.

Even within the storylines, we get inconsistencies, especially in the first one, where the Monster somehow loses his intelligence in the later issues. In general, the parts of this volume are better than the whole: the individual issues are often fun to read, but taken in its entirety, there is a bit lacking. With that caveat, I still recommend this collection for fans of the Marvel horror comics.

a good collection fairly priced of early comics material, writing quality various with different writers; artwork generally consistent and high, if not especially innovative or stirring quality.