Title: The Monster of Frankenstein

Author: Gary Friedrich

Date of First Publication: September 5, 1973

Place of Publication: Marvel Comics Group

Type: Graphic Novel

Characters: Victor Frankenstein; The Creature

Themes: BYRONIC HERO; POSTHUMAN; MAD SCIENTIST/MONSTER; RETRO SF

Critical Summary: Gary Friedrich’s version of Mary Shelley’s original Frankenstein is embedded in the Marvel Comics universe. His mini-series picks up where Shelley’s novel ends, with the Creature disappearing into the arctic to (supposedly) never be seen again. But, years later, the grandson of Walton returns to the area where the monster was last seen to search for him. He and his crew find the Creature, who has been encased in ice for several decades. Despite the crew’s warning that the Creature would bring them bad luck on their journey home, Walton bring the Creature aboard.

As Walton and the crew begin their journey home, Walton recounts the stories that he’s read from his grandfather’s letters (the same letter that opens Mary Shelley’s novel). This section of the graphic novel is presented in a series of flashbacks in which the reader witnesses Victor Frankenstein in his prideful obsession for life after death, or a solution for immortality. The reader sees Victor succeed, only to be horrified by what he’s created. The flashbacks continue by recounting the story from the Creature’s perspective, who is alone and abandoned. They show the Creature’s attempt to connect with humanity, only to be persecuted and scorned by those he meets. Though filled with hatred for his creator, the Creature came to give Frankenstein a way out of the dangerous cat-and-mouse game when he asked for a mate. Victor agrees and creates the companion, but upon seeing the female creature rise from the dead he goes into a rage and kills her. In retaliation, the Creature kills Victor’s fiancé before escaping to the North Pole. His creator pursues him but dies due to the cold. The Monster, anguished, tries to kill himself but ends up in a state of suspended animation from the cold.

The story comes back to Walton as the Creature revives due to the warmth. The year is now 1890. Through a series of events, the Creature ends up leaving Walton in search for the descendants of Frankenstein. In his travels, he ends up in Transylvania and encounters Dracula, who engages him in a battle. The rest of the mini-series focuses on the travels of the Creature in the Marvel universe.

Though the Creature is in a completely different universe in Friedrich’s version, the themes of the Byronic Hero, the Last Man and Posthuman, and the Mad Scientists and Frankenstein Monsters apply. I would also categorize this as Retro SF because of the way that the story is told in a series of flashbacks with the emphasis on the “new” technology that would be considered outdated today.

Administrative Notes:  Annette Morrison, CSUF.