Frankenstein (Dell Comics)
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Frankenstein is a superhero comic book series published by Dell Comics, based on the literary and movie character Frankenstein's monster. The book was part of a line of three superhero comics based on the Universal Monsters characters; the other two were Dracula and Werewolf.[1]
Frankenstein lasted three issues, numbered 2-4 (Sept. 1966- March 1967).[2] Issue #1 was a 1964 adaptation of the 1931 film. Art was by Tony Tallarico and Bill Fracchio.
Created in 1866 by a reclusive scientist referred to only as "the Doctor" who endowed him with a superior intellect and the strength of fifty men, Frankenstein lay dormant for over a hundred years under the ruins of an abandoned castle near the large modern American metropolis of Metropole City. Upon awakening thanks to a convenient lightning bolt, he dons a lifelike rubber mask to hide the fact that his white-haired and black-browed head has pale green skin (the rest of his tall, muscular body has a Caucasian flesh tone) and takes the name "Frank Stone", a pseudonym inspired by a fallen chunk of masonry with the word "FRANK" engraved in it.[3]
Befriending elderly millionaire philanthropist Henry Knickerbocker after rescuing him from a traffic accident (and who, by an amazing coincidence, is the son of a man who had been his long-dead creator's friend and business partner), when the old man dies from a heart attack he leaves his "nephew" Frank his vast fortune, allowing him the financial freedom to devotes his life to being a scarlet-suited superhero.
Only his devoted butler William knows his secret, although neighboring blond busybody (and journalist) Miss Ann Thrope suspects that handsome brown-haired playboy Frank Stone is really the secret identity of the crew cut and craggy-faced crimefighter Frankenstein and is constantly trying to prove it. His archenemy is the amazingly "Mini-Me"-like midget mad scientist Mr. Freek who likes to ride around on the shoulders of his huge and extremely powerful pet gorilla Bruto. Another enemy was a sentient computer that brainwashed Frankenstein by turning him into a super-criminal. He only broke out of his trance when his butler William hit him over the head with a large spanner.
The series was lampooned by Big Bang Comics with their own superhero character, Super Frankenstein.
References
- ↑ Fischer, Stuart (March 2018). "Those Unforgettable Super-Heroes of Dell & Gold Key". Alter Ego (151). TwoMorrows Publishing: 42.
- ↑ Eury, Michael (2017). Hero-a-go-go! Campy Comic Books, Crimefighters & Culture of the Swinging Sixties. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 36. ISBN 9781605490731. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ↑ Hitchcock, Susan Tyler (2007). Frankenstein: A Cultural History. W.W. Norton. p. 222. ISBN 9780393061444. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
External links
- Frankenstein's entry at International Catalog of Superheroes
- Frankenstein (1966) at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016.