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By various (Marvel Comics)
ISBN 0785116346
There’s a tremendous amount of value in these phone-book sized cheap ‘n’ cheerful monochrome Essential editions. This particular collection reprints Marvel’s interpretation of the Mary Shelly classic from the early 1970’s when the censorious Comics Code Authority first loosened some of its strictures banning horror material from the pages of comics.
Much American comic art should only be seen in colour – that is after all how it was intended to be, but in this instance that moody – and economical – black and white only serves to enhance the groundbreaking artwork of Mike Ploog. A young find who had worked with Will Eisner, Ploog illustrated Gary Friedrich’s pithy adaptation of the original text before moving on to new ventures as the strip graduated to all-new material.
Ploog was followed by John Buscema and Bob Brown before Val Mayerik settled as regular artist and Friedrich gave way to Doug Moench, a writer once synonymous with Marvel’s horror line.
My only quibble in a book that re-presents the entire 18-issue run of the comic, plus the crossover from Giant-Sized Werewolf #2 and all the strips from the horror magazines Legion of Monsters #1 and Monsters Unleashed #2 and #4-10, is that a little more attention to publishing in chronological order might have made for a smoother read.
Taken all in all, however this is great treat for fantasy fans and should be a perennial favourite for introducing civilians to the world of comics.
© 1973, 1974, 1975 and 2004 Marvel Characters Inc.