(no subject)
You know that captoon in The New Gods No. 7 about Kirby interrupting the tapestry upon occasion? I have decided to pay homage to the King by following suit and interrupting my reading and reviewing of Marvel's Tomb of Dracula with a review of
Frankenstein No. 1, January, 1973
‘Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein’ by Gary Friedrich and Ploog (20 pp)
A mere nine months after Dracula first sank his fangs into Marveldom Assembled, that comics company (now an international intellectual property and entertainment corporation) launched the world’s other most famous literary monster onto the world. Where Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway start by reviving Dracula in the present day, Friedrich commences his tale between the events of the novel and the present day, in 1898. Robert Walton IV follows in the footsteps of his great-grandfather by leading a collection of hired rogues across the arctic tundra in search of Frankenstein’s creature. They manage to find same, hidden in a block of ice, and place it on board their ship, at which point Walton decides to assent to the cabn boy’s request to sate his curiosity and begins an edited telling of the events of Mary Shelley’s novel. This encompases pages 6 to 18, after which we return to the present day and the ship getting into trouble because of the weather, and a hint of worse trouble to come as the block of ice begins to melt.
The twelve pages of flashback to the events of the novel obviously cannot cover all the material, even by spreading it across two issues, as I am informed is the case. However, Friedrich does actually retain the actual events of the original rather than simply utilise them as a springboard as is the case with many alleged adaptations of the work in question. This has the effect of producing one of Marvel’s most downbeat comics of the era - yes, even this era. And, yes, even with Mike Ploog’s cartoony art, which always manages to be moody when the material calls for it - 'Werewolf by Nigh't and 'Man-Thing' spring to mind. The art combines with the story well, and I am impressed that Friedrich manages to hold the story together well despite the majority of it being a massive lump of flashback in the middle - a device of which Marvel seem to be very keen indeed at the time.
While preparing to read and review this issue, it occurred to me that this came out the very same month as the last installment of another prose fiction character, Gulliver Jones, over in Creatures on the Loose No. 21- he was replaced by Thongor, warrior of lost Lemuria, adapted from the works of Lin Carter. Following last month’s Supernatural Thrillers No. 1 adapting ‘It’ by Theodore Sturgeon, one might almost believe that Marvel had run out of ides for new series once Jack Kirby had left.
Mike Ploog provides the cover as well as the interior art, and injects some Marvel influence into the scene, ramping up the sensational aspects of the material. Obviously someone felt that there needed to be more of this aspect and added a blurb or two to ram the point home. The logo is one of the most curious of the Bronze Age - and was to be completely revamped twice during the title’s brief, eighteen-issue, run.
Frankenstein No. 1, January, 1973
‘Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein’ by Gary Friedrich and Ploog (20 pp)
A mere nine months after Dracula first sank his fangs into Marveldom Assembled, that comics company (now an international intellectual property and entertainment corporation) launched the world’s other most famous literary monster onto the world. Where Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway start by reviving Dracula in the present day, Friedrich commences his tale between the events of the novel and the present day, in 1898. Robert Walton IV follows in the footsteps of his great-grandfather by leading a collection of hired rogues across the arctic tundra in search of Frankenstein’s creature. They manage to find same, hidden in a block of ice, and place it on board their ship, at which point Walton decides to assent to the cabn boy’s request to sate his curiosity and begins an edited telling of the events of Mary Shelley’s novel. This encompases pages 6 to 18, after which we return to the present day and the ship getting into trouble because of the weather, and a hint of worse trouble to come as the block of ice begins to melt.
The twelve pages of flashback to the events of the novel obviously cannot cover all the material, even by spreading it across two issues, as I am informed is the case. However, Friedrich does actually retain the actual events of the original rather than simply utilise them as a springboard as is the case with many alleged adaptations of the work in question. This has the effect of producing one of Marvel’s most downbeat comics of the era - yes, even this era. And, yes, even with Mike Ploog’s cartoony art, which always manages to be moody when the material calls for it - 'Werewolf by Nigh't and 'Man-Thing' spring to mind. The art combines with the story well, and I am impressed that Friedrich manages to hold the story together well despite the majority of it being a massive lump of flashback in the middle - a device of which Marvel seem to be very keen indeed at the time.
While preparing to read and review this issue, it occurred to me that this came out the very same month as the last installment of another prose fiction character, Gulliver Jones, over in Creatures on the Loose No. 21- he was replaced by Thongor, warrior of lost Lemuria, adapted from the works of Lin Carter. Following last month’s Supernatural Thrillers No. 1 adapting ‘It’ by Theodore Sturgeon, one might almost believe that Marvel had run out of ides for new series once Jack Kirby had left.
Mike Ploog provides the cover as well as the interior art, and injects some Marvel influence into the scene, ramping up the sensational aspects of the material. Obviously someone felt that there needed to be more of this aspect and added a blurb or two to ram the point home. The logo is one of the most curious of the Bronze Age - and was to be completely revamped twice during the title’s brief, eighteen-issue, run.