Frankenstein Day!

Berni Wrightson was born on this date in 1948. Wrightson made his mark in the fanzines and later at DC where he brought a stylishness to his work on the ghost books. He went on to do outstanding for Warren Magazines as well. He's likely most famous for his breakthrough work on DC's Swamp Thing. His epic work though was his detailed illustration of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. 

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein is one of the most influential novels in history. It's impact on culture is enormous generating plays and adaptations almost from the very beginning in the 19th Century. In more modern times adapting the story to film has been almost a requisite. There are countless film adaptations of the story from Edison's early attempt in the teens to the iconic Universal version in 1931 which along with its sequels and imitators catapulted the story into myth. I've read the novel a half dozen times at least and taught it in school many times as well. It's a lush story of one man's startling obsession to conquer death by bringing the reassembled remains of many dead back to some sort of shambolic existence. It is the story of a man's obsession to conquer nature and the cancel even the thought of God from the equation of man's time on this planet and beyond. The novel is a cornerstone of both science fiction and horror and more besides. And it was the lifelong love of another artist, a chap named Berni Wrightson. 

As an artist who was often called on to illustrate horror tales, Wrightson did many takes on the Frankenstein myth such as "The Patchwork Man" in Swamp Thing and "The Muck Monster" for Eerie Magazine.  But it's here, illustrating the original Shelley narrative that we see how much he is ideal for the work. It was a true of passion, something he worked on between paying jobs for Marvel and DC and others. It took seven years to create the artwork which would serve to draw the reader into the world of Frankenstein more completely. As can be seen readily Berni lavished time and effort into each of the carefully rendered pages, each capturing a single moment from the novel. Reading the novel again for the first time in several years I was struck by the venal nature of Frankenstein, his absolute self-absorption is stunning but alas exceedingly modern. If anything Wrightson elevates him to a more heroic status with his idealized presentations. 

The art was first published alongside the text by Marvel in one of their oversized graphic novels. I missed out back then and had long wanted to behold this material, to hold it in my hand. Dark Horse at long last gave me that chance when they published the book again. 

The art itself is magnificent and as it turns out stunningly expensive. The original of the image above (seen in its entirety below) sold recently for a cool million dollars. 

Below are just a few of the magnificent images which Wrightson produced for his favorite work of literature. He comes close to making it mine too. 

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Hollywood Gothic And The Monster Show!

Hollywood Gothic - The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen is a 1990, but updated in the early 2000's. Its sub-title tells up pretty accurately what the late David Skal was up to in this in look at how Bram Stoker's novel was composed and subsequently marketed, first on stage and later in the movie houses across the world. Stoker worked for a famous actor named Henry Irving and wanted his employer to bring the work to the stage but that never happened. Instead, the work was adapted to the stage a few times by various people, many with the authorization of Stoker's widow Florence, who in her time was a renowned beauty courted by not only Stoker, but Oscar Wilde among others. Dracula was a primary source of income for the widow, and she protected the rights with vigor. 

Many pages are dedicated to her battles to end distribution of Nosferatu, the German silent adaptation by F.W Murnau. Ultimately the court order to destroy all the prints of the movie failed thank goodness, or we'd not have arguably the scariest Dracula movie of all time. The other great Dracula movie is the 1931 effort from Universal and the story of how that cash-strapped studio finally put the project together is the core of this book. We follow not only the fortunes but also the misfortunes of the many actors and talents who have appeared in Dracula films. First among these is the bizarre Bela Lugosi who because of his appearance as the vampire became fantastically famous, but he was also trapped in horror roles. 

The book tracks the character as he became grist for others such as Hammer Films with their Christopher Lee offerings as well Frank Langella's take in a later Universal film. Even Marvel's long-running 70's comic version gets a mention. This is a fascinating investigation of the story of Dracula, from print to the silver screen. 

The Monster Show was written by Skal in 1993 and likewise was updated in the early years of this century. This book is a broader investigation of horror movies and how they've become such a staple of the entertainment diet. The title of the book was one considered as an alternate title for the movie Freaks by Tod Browning. Tod Browning is the focus of the early parts of this book as well as the way this director, formerly a carnival performer and explores his fascination with deformity. Deformity was something the world was forced to adapt to when so many soldiers returned from World War I with hideous life-changing war wounds, wounds that once upon a time would have killed them. 

Also of keen interest is Frankenstein, in particular the Universal horror movie starring Boris Karloff. Mad science is featured in horror films, progress run amok some might imagine. Skal tracks not only the Frankenstein films, but other such Island of the Damned and The Wolfman from the classic era. Then he follows the development of the monster movie into the 1950's and the bevy of radioactive monstrosities that rumble across the movie screen in all their giant splendor. 

The development of the "Monster Kid" generation was key with magazines such Famous Monsters of Filmland and the coming of classic monster movies to television.  Films like Night of the Living Dead and The Exorcist helped to define the 60's and 70's just as flicks like It's Alive and sundry slasher films defined the 80's. The human body and the mutilation of same by science or midnight intruder are at the core of what we regard as horror. 

Both of these books are dandy reads, as Skal tries to make some sense of how the world came to become at once bewildered by, entranced by, and even fall in love with monsters. 

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Monsters Ball!

(The dates for 1975 and 2025 are identical.)

When the Comics Code was amended in the early 70's and the long-standing prohibitions against horror tropes was lifted, the emaciated Code was unable to stop the horde of monsters which shambled forth. Marvel led the way with Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, and even a Werewolf by Night. Also there was a revamped Ghost Rider and other variations on the classic themes such as Morbius and Man-Wolf. This tome doesn't capture all of the monsters who escaped to the newsstands but it does a worthy job of getting many of them. Eventually the monster rally subsided but for a time in the early Bronze Age, the monsters were well and truly unleashed.

What Decades - Marvel In The '70s really becomes in many ways is a celebration of the lush artwork of Mike Ploog, a talent who drew comics in the style of Will Eisner, and was an assistant to Eisner for time as well. Ploog's distinctive oily lines gave Marvel's "Monsterverse" a different vibe, a somber somewhat more realistic aspect. 

(Neal Adams Cover Art)

(Neal Adams Cover Art)

Gene Colan's work on Tomb of Dracula struck a similar vein and that's what makes the Marvel monsters different than what had come before, a grounded sense of this could really be. The stories didn't happen in fantastic clashes atop the skyscrapers of NYC, but in the back alleys and in the shadows where people had to deal with real death, or at least as close as any comic book story can offer. 

Eventually the monster rally subsided but for a time in the early Bronze Age, the monsters were well and truly unleashed.

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The Adventures Of The Spirit!

The Adventures of the Spirit is not a Republic serial, nor even a Columbia one. It fell to amateur filmmaker Don Glut to at long last bring Central City's protector to the screen, albeit not necessarily the big one. The movie is shot in five chapters and of course in the climax of each chapter the Spirit is seemingly killed or about to be killed. He faces a villain Glut names the "Black Avenger" who wears a hood and sends out his minions. 

The first of these is a robot played by an impressive toy, the second is a Wolfman using a Don Post mask, the third is a Mummy using props from actual films owned by superfan Bob Burns who plays many of the parts. The fourth and final menace in this silent film is Frankenstein's Monster played by Glenn Strange using a mask made especially for him to promote Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The Spirit (played by Glut of course) is pretty hapless in most of these chapters and needs saving by such classic stalwarts as the Green Hornet, Captain America, the Shadow and Superman. Even Rocketman makes an appearance. 

(Art from this cover used in title cards.)

I Was a Teenage Movie Maker - Don Glut's Amateur Films is an exceedingly strange movie package. Don Glut is well known to my generation of comic book fans as a prodigious writer of comics for most of the major publishers such as DC, Marvel and especially Gold Key. But when he was a youngster, he was apparently a relentless moviemaker. The movies he made were the stuff you'd expect from kids at first but later they became much more refined.  

The Adventures of the Spirit is only a tiny part of the overall collection of handmade films produced by Glut. There are hours and hours of homemade movies about dinosaurs, classic monsters, and even more superheroes. Glut's films even got mentions in Famous Monsters of Filmland.  The DVD also has a pretty lengthy documentary hosted by Don Glut himself explaining how his various films came to be over the course of his life. Audio commentaries accompany the films as well. 

To get a look at the documentary check out this link. 

It was when Glut finally headed off to film school in California, that he continued to make weird but fascinating films, often with the help of other film fans such as Bob Burns, notorious for his own roles as Tracy the ape in Ghost Busters. Glut also made movie serials in the tradition of the classic Republic films and even was able to attract pros like Roy Barcroft, Kenne Duncan and Glenn Strange to play roles for him. Some of those films, made on locations such as the famous Bronson Canyon (my favorite place on Earth) were even shown on local Chicago television. 

If you're a "Monster Kid" or sympathetic to the cause you might find this interesting. Watching the all the movies can be a chore, but there are many charms to be discovered. 

There is also a paperback book which enhances the documentary and the films themselves. I should also note that it has just been announced that Don Glut has won The Bill Finger Award. 

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Halloween Eve By Adams - The Monster Rally!

Count Dracula, the Wolfman, and the Frankenstein Monster are the triad of classic terror. These creatures were brought into the modern imagination by Universal Pictures decades ago. The classic images became part of the pop culture of the 30's and 40's when the movie hit the silver screen. Then in the late 50's and early 60's they were rediscovered by a new generation and the legends continued. New and different versions of the classic monster were created by Hammer Studios as well as others. Reimagining these classic monsters became a normal part of the entertainment industry. And it was into this that the late great Neal Adams created his own versions for Power Records in A Story of Dracula, the Wolfman and Frankenstein. 

He felt the monsters needed to share a story. They had done from time to time over the decades in various films, but Adams did so with gusto. His monsters were different, his Dracula a blonde nobleman with a mustache, as it had been in the original novel. His Frankensten's Monster was completely redesigned, with vague echoes of the classic make-up but different enough to keep Universal's lawyers from getting interested. And finally, his Wolfman was in fact not even a man.

You can enjoy this wild yarn at this YouTube link. If perchance that link is not active you can enjoy the story in two parts at this link and then this one after that. 

And then in the dawn of a new century Adams decided to revive his story and expand and refresh it. 

Neal Adams Monsters is a handsome volume from Vanguard Publishing which represents the classic reimagination of the story. A savage tale with twists and turns and constantly shifting situations which command the reader's attention. 

The story begins as it does in the old Power Records effort, with the nephew of Victor Frankenstein and his love Erica fleeing for their lives from angry villagers, all too ready to eliminate any trace of the Frankenstein legacy. 

He found and compelled to continue his Uncle's work. As we follow along in this beautiful slender volume, it's easy to remember just how important the work of Adams had been to comics and pop culture. 

It seems the vintage Power Records have been re-released by Studio Chikara. To check them out go to this link. 

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The Monster Of Frankenstein!

Though not as successful, Marvel's version of Frankenstein has always held a place of high esteem for me. It also is a series that underwent the most severe fall from grace. The classic story by Mary Shelly we all know, it's one of the most famous stories in all of English literature. The saga of the character on film and in comics is also pretty successful, with more than a few excellent movies made about these characters and several fine comics as well. Marvel's first few issues of The Monster of Frankenstein as it was first known is among those. 

In the first four issues of the comic Gary Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog join forces to retell Mary Shelly's epic tale. They do so with gusto and more than a few alterations to fit their own specific needs for future storytelling. The saga is moved forward in time to the late 19th century for the reader and that is accounted for with Marvel tried-and-true frozen in ice gimmick. They will actually use it twice with the Frankenstein monster. Ploog is joined by inker John Verpooren after the debut issue and the two of them produce work which I think ranks among the very best Ploog created for Marvel. Verpoorten help give Ploog's pencils a heft they sometimes lack. 

In the fifth story the Monster heads out on his own and chances upon a seemingly helpless girl being burned at the stake by some angry villagers. Feeling empathy the Monster intervenes but learns later that was perhaps a mistake. 

The title changes to The Frankenstein Monster with the six issue, the last by Ploog. Here the Monster thinks he encounters the last living Frankenstein but once again he is frustrated when things are not what they seem to be. 

Then John Buscema joins the team and in tandem with Friedrich produces perhaps my favorite of all the tales in this series, a three-part encounter with Dracula himself. In a trilogy of mayhem which hearkens back to the old "Monster Rally" movies from Universal we see the Monster and Dracula mix it up a few times. We see the Monster fall in love and we see that despite a seeming victory he suffers a great loss. This one has frightened villagers, gypsy witches, and just anything one would ask for in a classic Frankenstein tale. 

In a fourth story drawn by John Buscema the Monster does indeed meet the last Frankenstein who assisted by immensely powerful giant hunchback Ivan wants to change out the Monster's brain to make him more obedient. One detail worth noting is that due to a bite from Dracula, the Monster had lost the power of speech. This makes him more like the movie versions, but it sadly takes away much of the power of the stories. 

But with the assistance of Ivan the Monster escapes those schemes leaving the castle after a terrific struggle. Frankenstein himself doesn't live long enough to see his own heir born. 

Doug Moench takes over on scripts and Val Mayerik handles the artwork as they quickly get the Monster frozen yet again. He will not awaken again until 1974 by some sketchy scientists, one of whom reminded for all the world of Dr. Sivana. These events tie into things already presented in Monsters Unleashed and the action picks up after that, with a mute Monster roaming the streets of the modern world. What could go wrong?

The next stop for the Monster is in Giant-Size Werewolf where he of course battles the furry star of that comic. By the end after a ferocious battle against a devilish cult he falls once again into the water amidst a flaming house. Moench and Don Perlin do the honors. 

The Monster's next stop is New York City and he gets mixed up mad scientist type, his worried spouse and their troubled teenage son Ralph Caccone who will become the Monster's sidekick for a good long while. Ralph's Dad cooked up a monster from spare parts and that beast kills the parents. 

Next the duo are intercepted by a private dick named Eric Prawn and soon after fall into the clutches of the last living Frankenstein (1975 variety) and his mammoth helper Zandor. 

Turns out Frankenstein is part of a larger outfit called ICON (International Crime Organizations Nexus) who want the Monster for too. Frankenstein wants to change out the Monster's brain yet again but Prawn helps Caccone and the Monster to escape for a short time until ICON arrives. But it turns out the previous Frankenstein was an imposter and the real last Frankenstein is a woman who is also a scientist. She wants to help the Monster. We are treated to a reprise of the Monster's origin and the images are from the movies not the book. The slow descent of the character is well and truly along. 

Lady Veronica Frankenstein helps the Monster some by giving him voice back, so he's not just some passive lump while others talk around him. The Monster without his voice is played too much like Man-Thing and that's not at all smart for the character in my estimation. ICON attacks again, this time with a robot named Berserker who battles the Monster until they realize they have common goals. 

In the final issue of the color run the Monster loses his buddy Berserker, and falls into the clutches of yet another Lady Frankenstein, this one named Victoria and this one wants vengeance. She's helped by a gaggle of half-men who wiggle all through the comic. 

Soon after he got his own color comic book, the Frankenstein Monster took up residence in Monsters Unleashed. To keep a distinction between the two series, the stories here were set in the modern day. Eventually the color series will coincide with this but for a long time there were two continuities, and I loved that fine at the time. The first installment features some fine art by John Buscema and Syd Shores with Gary Friedrich scripting as well. 

For several bloody installments the Monster's brain keeps getting switched in and out. It proves a distraction to him needless to say. 

Win Mortimer joins the art team as eventually the Monster gets his own mind back into his body, though it took quite a bit of doing. 

Doug Moench and Val Mayerik eventually take over the Monster's doings in the magazine as well as the color comic. Mayerik's art always looks better when he inks himself and I think he is particularly well served by black and white. 

The Monster is still mute through most of these stories which I think really limits the ability of the storytellers to stretch the yarn. He's presented most often a sometimes benign ally to those he deems worthy, but he is capable of horrible violence when provoked. Again, the goal seems to be make the Monster more like the one in the films and less like the verbose creature in the original novel. 

But the Monster's search for someone who will accept him on his own terms is frustrating to say the least. He often finds himself among others of a freakish physical nature. 

In the last Monsters Unleashed issue he tries to help a girl save people aboard a train but it all goes tragically wrong despite the best intentions. 

In the final story from The Legion of Monsters he almost thinks he might have found a spot of romance but actually he's merely being played by an assassin. The Monster's lot seems always to find sadness and even profound grief at every turn. He is a walking living dead man and that contradiction seems to be at odds with the entire world. 

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