Universal Monsters: Frankenstein – V01 N01

“The Hands Of A Father”

The boy’s father had passed away in the night, leaving his son nothing but an unmended toy as his last memory. The very next evening, the lad would make his way towards the cemetery to pine over his dead father’s gravestone. It would be there, under the old ash trees, that the memory of his father’s burial would be overtaken by a much darker event.

Two men have just unearthed the freshly covered grave, and in defiance of god, begin to steal the corpse. As the wagon begins to pull away from the dig, the boy races through the dark towards the grave robbers’ tailgate. He leaps and grasps the wooden planks just as the horses reach their stride. Unknown to the sullen driver, the putrid Mr. Fritz, and his employer, Doctor Henry Frankenstein, a young stowaway had just invited himself along for the ride.

Can the boy truly understand what scientific nightmares his father’s corpse was about to endure? Will Doctor Frankenstein be able to convince his guests that he is of sound mind and body? What is the Great Ray? Collect the series to find out!

Reviewer Notes

Universal Monsters has teamed up with Image Comics to re-imagine the silver screen adaptation of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein story. In this new version, a young victim of Doctor Frankenstein has followed a trail of body parts to the infamous castle laboratory. There, he will not only face religious sacrilege, but two madmen in their quest for scientific discovery.

Who are Fritz and Henry Frankenstein? I asked myself the same question. I’ve always known the two characters as Igor and Victor Von Frankenstein. Apparently, in the original 1933 Universal Studios film, the characters were renamed to better suit an American audience. The names were too harsh? Weird.

In issue one of “Universal Monsters: Frankenstein” there is very little dialog to propel the story forward. Everything is about the visuals. Thankfully for us readers, the talents of Michael Walsh really shine here. Walsh’s art is top-notch, and he rightly deserves a place at Image Comics.

I previously read the adaptation of “Universal Monsters: Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives”, and if this Frankenstein series is anything like that, it should be thoroughly enjoyable. I give issue #1 four out of five stars.

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