Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #2 // Review
The gentleman and question had jumped out of a window. He had been on the run from the police. He had been a murderer. And then things got weird. His brain was extracted from his body. It was given the designation of being abnormal. And it was only natural that things were going to get, more than a bit strange from there as is witnessed in Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #2. Writer/artist Michael Walsh continues an interesting postmortem on the Universal adaptation of Mary Shelley's sci-fi classic.with the aid of colorist Toni-Marie Griffin.
Dr. Frankenstein has some ethical concerns with regard to providing a brain for the creation that he's developing. And though neuroscience has yet to figure out a way to create the proper conditions for a brain transplant, Dr. Frankenstein had it worked out quite a while ago. However, some of the smaller ethical questions remained intact, even as the brain was probably ever so slightly damaged from , small matter of death. Dr. Frankenstein is confronted with some of the realities of what he is doing. And perhaps he will begin to understand. It's really only a matter of time.
The first issue focused on the hands. The second issue focuses on the brain. it's an interesting autopsy on a patchwork man. Walsh deftly extends the study of the intellectual side of the Universal horror adaptation with interesting results. More than just a fascinating look at the nature of intellect in the adaptation, Walsh manages to explore the nature of intellect and human curiosity on a variety of different levels in a variety of different ways. There's clearly been a lot of thought and planning that goes into Walsh's overall pacing for the series. It's been really fascinating to see the first couple of issues play out.
There are some very vivid visuals that Walsh manages to pull out of the cinematic ether. The original film was only able to suggest certain things that Walsh is able to show quite explicitly. And it's really satisfying to see images that had only been circulating around imagination in an amidst to the old celluloid. The image of Frankenstein actually putting a brain into the monster is quite intense. As so, many other things that are going in and around the lab. Griffin colors saturate the areas not dominated by the oppressive inks that Walsh commits to the page. It looks gorgeous.
While it's quite clear that this is going to be a limited series, walls could theoretically continue this on for quite some time. There are so many aspects of the story that the Universal picture just didn't have a chance to explore. It would be really interesting to see a full and exhausted exploration that could run decades with the way Walsh is putting things together. Sadly, he only has a limited space in which to explore the nature of the monster. And it's really cool that he's going to be able to do so with the kind of thought, poise, and pacing that he managed in the first couple of issues.
