Frankenstein

Frankenstein

By Martin Powell & Patrick Olliffe (Malibu Graphics, Inc.)
ISBN: 0-944735-39-8

Mary Wollstonecroft Shelley’s gothic classic The Modern Prometheus was first published in 1818 and is probably one of the most influential novels of popular fiction ever written, and it is the book rather than the many cinematic interpretations that best informs this impressive lost graphic gem from 1990.

Originally released as a three issue miniseries from Eternity Comics, it followed the success of author Powell’s Sherlock Holmes pastiches Scarlet in Gaslight and A Case of Blind Fear (most recently collected by Moonstone in Sherlock Homes Mysteries Volume 1, ISBN: 978-0-97216-686-7), but rather than extrapolation he aimed for a more straightforward adaptation of the source material.

Although no true and faithful version yet exists – since most of the novel deals with the agonies, travails and travels of Victor Frankenstein and his interactions with his creation are relatively few (albeit torturous and telling) – this is an effective and often chilling interpretation made starkly memorable by Patrick Olliffe.

The Chiaroscuric art-in-transition of the young artist perfectly establishes a mood of tortured humanism, with resonances of Roy G. Krenkel and solid echoes of Berni Wrightson – but oddly not that latter’s own impressive treatment of Shelley’s text. Of the many, many versions of the tale, this ranks closest to the superb Mike Ploog version put out by Marvel in the early 1970’s (see Essential Monster of Frankenstein ISBN: 0-7851-1634-6).

This is not a replacement for the novel – so read that too – but a well-crafted addendum that deserves a larger audience. Oddly enough the Spanish already agree with me as editions in that language have been available for over a year now.

¿Que?

Script © 1990 Martin Powell. Artwork © 2006 Patrick Olliffe. All Rights Reserved.