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‘Universal Monsters: Frankenstein’ – Skybound Entertainment Resurrects Iconic Monster in Comic Form

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Universal Monsters: Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein remains as influential as ever, with numerous notable adaptations and horror movies inspired by the literary classic released in the last year alone. That extends to comics, too, with Skybound Entertainment revealing via IGN today that they’re reviving the horror icon with comic series Universal Monsters: Frankenstein.

Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #1 will be released on August 28, 2024.

The four-issue limited series will be written and drawn by The Silver Coin creator Michael Walsh. The limited series follows up Skybound’s Universal Monsters: Dracula and Universal Monsters: Creature From the Black Lagoon series.

Like its predecessors, Universal Monsters: Frankenstein won’t be a straightforward adaptation. In the comic, “Dr. Henry Frankenstein robs a police officer’s grave to find body parts for his new creation, only to discover that the officer’s son is still yearning for his dead father. How does this discovery impact both creature and creator?”

“The story of Dr. Frankenstein and his poor, misunderstood monster is one of the most recognizable and influential horror tales ever told… It’s also one of my favorites,” said Walsh in a press release. “The original 1931 film from Universal Pictures is a continuing inspiration for my art and storytelling, so, as you can imagine, I was honored to be able to play in that sandbox. Trying to tell an original story while staying true to the canon of that film was an exciting yet daunting prospect. It’s been some of the most fun I’ve had making comic books, and I know that fans of Frankenstein and horror will have a blast experiencing these characters and iconic scenes like never before.”

“Michael Walsh’s take on Frankenstein feels like a comic book classic in the making,” said Alex Antone, Editorial Director at Skybound. “While each issue stands alone as its own vignette, in a way that only he can, Michael has brilliantly sewn together a brand-new perspective which both lovingly adapts the Universal Pictures film and breathes new life into one of the most important horror stories of all-time.”

Check out the cover for issue one below.

Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #1 cover

 

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

Comics

‘The Toxic Avenger’ Returns with Cover Artwork for First Issue of New Comic Book Series [Exclusive]

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With a remake on the way and a new 4K restoration of the original classic now streaming, it’s a good time to be a fan of Troma’s The Toxic Avenger. Additionally, Matt Bors — the founder of The Nib and a political cartoonist who has twice been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist —and acclaimed artist Fred Harper (Snelson) are collaborating on an all-new 5-issue comic book series starring the satirical superhero of the Troma Films cult classic films!

TOXIC AVENGER #1 will land in stores on October 9, 2024.

While you wait, you can exclusively check out the issue #1 cover art from Fred Harper below, along with a set of emojis designed by Harper for the extremely online teens of Tromaville.

“The Toxic Avenger delivers what Troma fans want,” said AHOY Comics Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer. “The series has violent action, gross mutations, bursting pustules, eye-popping visuals, and trenchant humor.” 

“If there was ever a superhuman hero for these toxic, miserable times, Toxie is the one!” said Lloyd Kaufman. “Only AHOY Comics and Bors & Harper could pull this off…er…mop this up! Toxie and the Troma Team can’t wait ‘til you read -no, experience – the art and stories that the Toxic Avenger Comic Book will explode in your brain, your soul, and your heart. Above all, remember – Toxie loves you and so do I.”

This series will combine elements of the original films with the Toxic Crusaders cartoon and characters in familiar ways, updated to tell a story of environmental devastation, corporate control, and social media mutation,” said Bors.The Toxic Avenger is first and foremost an environmental satire, one about a small town and its unremarkable people trapped and transformed by circumstances they don’t control. The story Fred Harper and I are telling is about people frustrated by authorities telling them not to worry about their life, that things are fine, even as their dog mutates in front of their eyes. And at its core it is about a powerless boy, Melvin, who finds out he can be incredibly strong, hideously mutated, well-admired, and incredibly heroic… but still ultimately powerless over human behavior.”

In The Toxic Avengerteenager Melvin Junko helps run his parent’s junkyard in Tromaville, a small town in New Jersey where nothing much ever happens — until an ill-timed train derailment of toxic waste transforms Melvin into a hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength: the Toxic Avenger!

Under a media blackout imposed by Biohazard Solutions (BS) and their PR-spewing Chairwoman Lindsay Flick, Melvin emerges as a hero fighting against BS and the mutated threats that keep popping up around Tromaville.

Eventually Melvin uncovers a vast conspiracy more far-reaching than he could have ever imagined — but he knows if everyone is simply made aware of the crisis, they’ll act to stop it. Right?

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