Spoiler Warning:
In my endeavour to keep my lovely readers up to date on the latest goings
on in the comic monster world, I’ve had to make certain sacrifices.
For instance, this week I have absolutely nothing left in my budget for
comic books. Not a single thin dime (or penny, in my case) to spend on
the sweet, sweet paper-based intoxicant that is the comic book. However,
in order to bring you the best and most current information available,
I STOLE a copy of Frankenstein #1 from beneath the shop owners very nose.
Ahem…
 Okay,
so I put it on my credit card (which is a naughty expense) and then hastily
made my retreat to work, where I sit here disappointed.
This book should be excellent. There are no real indications to the contrary
when casting a cursory glance at the cover. Grant Morrison is a well-known
comics master, and Doug Mahnke has a style that reminds me of Richard
Corben – one of my favourite artists of all time. So why is it so
dull and derivative? The fact that two of my favourite creators are collaborating
on a character with such raw potential should be enough to have me writhing
in ecstasy on the office floor, with puppies and tiny kittens rejoicing
around me. However there are no puppies here, certainly no rejoicing kittens,
and much to the relief of my co-workers I am not writhing on the floor
in ecstasy. Frankenstein #1 is stagnant. The dialogue is corny throughout;
the themes used by Morrison are old and tired (such as popular teenagers
being insecure about themselves) and the ending is rather unimpressive.
It pains me to type this: but in terms of writing, Frankenstein #1 is
a bit of a stinker. Usually it bothers me when a title character hardly
appears in his own comic, but this time I was rather indifferent about
it. I imagine that Morrison was trying to paint Frankie as an undead bad-ass
(which he really should be), but the effect I got was more of a lumbering
bag of pretentious insults and clunky metaphors. The main chunk of story
revolves around a psychic (or is he?) teenager shunned by his peers. Through
his mental gifts, he is able to coerce and psychically break down the
defences of the student body, and turn them to his cause. Yet as the story
unfolds, we see there is more to the child’s gifts than meets the
eye. This feels like treading old ground, and in truth the story of Frankenstein
taking on this kid doesn’t stitch together too well.
Stitch together? Frankenstein? Huh!?
Sigh… 
It pains me to type this. Morrison is a fantastic writer; his past stories
(such as Animal Man) have really had an effect on me. He’s also
from Glasgow, which makes it even harder to bash his work since we share
a special Scottish bond. I shed a tear for this book, I really do…
Thank goodness then for Mahnke! Talk about getting it right on the button!
Frankenstein looks amazing, despite his shortcomings in the speech department.
The short-lived action sequences flow brilliantly, and even the slower
pace of the main story are executed with flair and panache.
Panache? I just used the word…panache? I’m cutting this section
short.
Colouring is again handled competently, with no real ‘wow’
factor. We need to see more colourists in the mainstream that can really
impress us. Nothing against John Kalisz you understand, I think he’s
a fine colourist. However there are no moments in the book that really
caught my eye or made me study the panels. What can we expect though?
Until people really appreciate the so-called ‘smaller contributions’
such as colourist or letterer, can we really expect them to push the envelope,
so to speak? I suppose it’s a two-way street, to be fair…
Ahem…
On the subject of lettering, Phil Balsman does a great job with the words
of Frankenstein himself. The font choice is perfect, and hey – at
least it isn’t ‘sand’ right?
On a slight tangent here, but can I just say how much I hate the font
‘sand’?
It is the laziest choice for a letterer. If you need a spooky or ‘krazy’
font, and you can’t be arsed looking up one that looks good, choose
sand! I swear to god, in design school when we were asked to design something
in a horror theme, 99% of students used sand. In conclusion I HATE SAND!
So yeah, even with this issue tying in with the Seven Soldiers series,
this book is quite dispensable and not really worth the asking price.
It certainly wasn’t worth putting on the credit card.
But you’re worth it, o’ loyal readership! Oh yes, you are
my bread and butter, the lemon for my steak and the steak in my pie. You
are a three-course-meal of purity and never-ending stupendous-ness-ness.
Until next time,
Gav
NuMbEr 1 sPaWn fAn 666
Note: Any questions you’d like to pose? Perhaps you need an answer
to a single unifying question, or just want to know where your wife put
the deodorising spray… email your questions to: bastard-of_science@yahoo.com
Anything goes people! Fire those questions in!
Talk about It came from GAV! Volume 2 here. |
