The Bride of Frankenstein Returns In A Terrifying New Take on A Classic Story

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The Bride of Frankenstein screams in horror

Published Jul 1, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT

Jason is an award-winning journalist whose writing career dates back to when he developed the ability to use a crayon. He, most notably, worked previously as a "professional fan," as he likes to call it, at CinemaBlend, for which he wrote about anything and everything under the pop culture umbrella... especially Batman. His passion for the art of cinema began even earlier, stemming from repeat viewings of The Wizard of Oz.
This initially led him to pursue a career in filmmaking -- and even work briefly in the industry as an extra in the straight-to-video family film, Alice Upside Down -- before deciding that his talents would be better served discussing and showing appreciation for the various forms of entertainment he is passionate about.

For much of the genre's existence, women's influence on horror has gone largely unnoticed and underappreciated. Even a classic like Bride of Frankenstein did not do much to help further the progress of femininity in freaky fiction.

Luckily, things have changed in more recent years, not just with the rise of more female creators delivering scares in Hollywood, but also in creepy comic books made with a feminine touch. Two of the industry's most esteemed female creators are continuing the trend with a new reimagining of a certain aforementioned horror hit.

The Bride of Frankenstein Lives Comes Halloween 2026

It was announced on June 30, 2026, that Skybound Entertainment, a subsidiary of Image Comics, will release Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives. The upcoming comic book, which will debut just in time for Halloween, serves as a reinterpretation of the Golden Age horror movie classic.

The 1935 film from director James Whale is a sequel to the filmmaker's 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley's seminal novel, Frankenstein, in which the ambitious eponymous scientist actively pursues a cure for death itself, only to respond to the success of his results with great fear. The follow-up, ignoring the original's tragic ending, sees Frankenstein (Colin Clive) offer to help cure his creation (Boris Karloff) of its loneliness by building it a female companion (Elsa Lanchester).

The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 Cover B by Joshua Middleton

The Bride of Frankenstein Lives is the latest series in Skybound Entertainment's lineup of comics offering fresh takes on the Universal Monsters franchise. It was launched with James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds’ Dracula in May 2024, and followed in October of that year by Ram V, Dan Watters, and Matthew Roberts’ Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives!

Michael Walsh would take on Frankenstein, Faith Erin Hick introduced a new take on The Mummy, Tynion IV returned to work with DANI on The Invisible Man while Simmonds drew Tyler Boss’ Phantom of the Opera. Most recently, Joshua Williamson and Leomacs put out Blood of the Wolf Man in June.

This latest addition of this franchise comes from author Kelly Thompson, who is best known lately for penning Absolute Wonder Woman for DC. One of the writer's many collaborators on the popular Absolute Universe series, artist Mattia De Iulis of The Cult fame, serves as the illustrator for The Bride of Frankenstein Lives.

The Bride of Frankenstein Lives Explores Her Unsettling Origins

The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 Cover C by Artgerm

The key to the success of Skybound Entertainment's Universal Monsters line is the way the writers and artists behind the comics have introduced new ways to retell these iconic stories. Kelly Thompson's idea for The Bride of Frankenstein Lives is certainly no exception.

The original Bride of Frankenstein is a brilliant film exploring the creature's failed attempts to find friendship and community, and then the desperate act to force others to create that which he cannot find. What it's not about, however, is how The Bride herself feels about her creation. Through The Bride of Frankenstein Lives we get the opportunity to explore not only her search for who and what she is, but her search for the women that were destroyed to create her -- all brought to striking vivid life via Mattia De Iluis's incredible visuals.

Mattia De Iulis agrees that Thompson's vision for the horror comic as an exploration of The Bride's origins is something special. She is quoted as saying, "We are finally giving the Bride the center stage, she’s no longer someone’s property, she is a human being fighting for her own story. And for me, it’s an honor to translate that onto the page."

Earlier in 2026, Hollywood made its own similar attempt at reinterpreting the classic story with writer and director Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride!, starring Oscar winners Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale in the title role and Frankenstein's Monster, respectively. Unfortunately, the tale of two resurrected creatures falling in love and promoting radical change in 1930s Chicago was not very well received by critics, sparking hope that this new comic can be just what the property needs.

Skybound is also releasing a series of exciting "Hairiant covers," as Editorial Director Alex Antone likes to call them, of The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1, including one by Eisner Award winner Joshua Middleton and another from the prolific Artgerm, with Universal Monsters comics vet Luana Vecchio also offering her talents. There is also a Die Cut FOIL "Hairiant" by Ryan Sook of Dark Horse's Hellboy franchise fame, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me artist Rosemary Valero-O'Connell's 1:50 Incentive cover, and plenty more.

Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 is set to come alive on Oct. 28, 2026.