Joe Frankenstein #4 - IDW Publishing

JOE FRANKENSTEIN No. 4, May 2015

Anyone buying this final instalment of the “Joe Frankenstein” mini-series will soon realise why the comic book’s creators’ post-publication announcement that “there will be more to come” was so apt. For whilst this lengthy twenty-seven page fright-fest sees the machinations of “The Mistress” finally come to a rather fitting end, literally at the hands of the equally evil Lord Golgatha, co-writer Chuck Nixon’s narrative hardly provides the most satisfactory of conclusions.

Indeed it is hard to imagine another story ending with quite so many unresolved plot threads as within this magazine’s final few pages the mysterious vampiric “Master” successfully retrieves “the blood of the monster” for some undisclosed purpose, Joe embarks upon a quest to find the one with “the power of life and death” in order to resurrect his dead beloved Skye, and the villainous Saxton boards an aeroplane carrying the “human remains” of Frankenstein’s Bride presumably intent on somehow restoring her ashes back to life.

Fortunately however, such an annoying shortcoming is easily overlooked as a result of the numerous funny fast-paced tongue-in-cheek shenanigans which populate the rest of this publication. The witty banter between the orphaned teenager and diminutive Enoch is extremely amusing and instances such as when the pizza delivery boy ‘buys the duo a few seconds’ by throwing a handful of back-pocket change at the pointy-eared fiends because “legacy bloodsuckers are obsessive counters…” provides Graham Nolan an endearing opportunity to really tap into his source material concerning the weaknesses of vampires. Finnabar the werewolf chauffeur is similarly entertaining throughout as he claws his way past the Bride’s human guards in accordance with his fellow employee’s wolf-whistles; “Sic ‘em Finnabar! And start with this guy!” 

Sadly despite such an energetic and ‘lively’ storyline Nolan’s artwork appears to be simply competent at best and at times actually appears to be rather rushed. Such disappointing pencils are especially evident towards the end of the comic when all attention finally refocus’ upon the precarious predicament of Frankenstein’s Monster. Admittedly the ‘modern Prometheus’ is significantly weakened as a result of having several large phials of blood drained out of him. But that doesn’t necessarily explain why the American artist suddenly depicts the muscular brute as little more than an overly scrawny giant. Especially after Enoch gives the creature a massive electrical “pick-me-up.”

The regular cover art of "JOE FRANKENSTEIN" No. 4 by Graham Nolan

Joe Frankenstein #3 - IDW Publishing

JOE FRANKENSTEIN No. 3, April 2015

Delayed and “late arriving in the stores” as a result of the Long Beach Dock Strike, co-writer Graham Nolan was not lying when he stated that “the wait will be worth it!” For Issue Three of “Joe Frankenstein” is a furiously fast-paced comic, whose energic action-packed narrative starts with an all-out frontal assault upon the monster’s secret windmill hideout by Lord Golgatha and an army of pointy-eared vampires, and doesn’t stop until the book ends with Mary Shelley’s creation helplessly manacled before the Bride with the ominous words “to be continued!” emblazoned upon the foot of the final panel.

Equally as entertaining is the fact that despite the intensity of the plot, Nolan and “frequent collaborator” Chuck Dixon still somehow manage to include plenty of backstory to the likes of “the Big Guy”, Enoch and the werewolf chauffeur Finnabar. Indeed these ‘insights’ into some of the creative duo’s supporting cast provides some seriously laugh out loud moments amidst a genuinely tense pulse-pounding read. With Frankenstein’s diminutive manservant, “and… tasty little morsel”, proving especially humorous once armed with the “vampire-tested, National Rifle Association-approved” ultra-violent pulse rifle; “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”

These fun quips and gags however are not exclusively the province of Joe’s companions with even some of the ghoulish grey-skinned blood-drinkers themselves having a few comedic one-liners. Fortunately though such a wealth of amusing moments doesn’t distract from the sheer pace of events as they unfold. In fact if anything they enhance them by momentarily giving the reader a brief pause to smile before being flung headfirst back into the ‘chaotic melee’ as the mummified Egyptian horror’s minions desperately try in vain to capture “the Boy.”

The quality of Graham Nolan’s illustrations also seems to be somewhat invigorated by the upbeat tempo of this magazine’s storyline, with the former “Knightfall” artist creating some extremely well-detailed drawings, most notably that of the monster slaying his creator in a flash-back single-page splash. Disappointingly though there are still more than a few panels where “The Phantom” penciller’s work appears rushed and inconsistent, and dishearteningly these seem to increase in number as the book progresses, almost as if Nolan was rushed for time towards the end.

The regular cover art of "JOE FRANKENSTEIN" No. 3 by Graham Nolan

Joe Frankenstein #2 - IDW Publishing

JOE FRANKENSTEIN No. 2, March 2015

Despite apparently having agreed for “IDW Publishing” to initially produce this comic as a four-issue mini-series way back in April 2013. At least according to the official “Joe Frankenstein” project blog. There is a decidedly rushed feeling to this title’s second instalment, which is most likely due to it containing some rather erratic and disappointingly dire artwork by Graham Nolan.

Indeed some of the illustrations, especially those pages depicting Frankenstein’s monster reuniting his young namesake with the teenager’s foster family, are so bad that it makes one wonder whether the task of being co-writer and artist, as well as Indiegogo fundraiser, possibly overwhelmed the former “Batman” penciller? Certainly the American’s character concept sketchings from 2009 and 2012 are of an infinitely higher standard than the discouraging drawings found within this book’s twenty-seven pages…

Sadly the disheartening quality of Nolan’s pictures are not the only problem with the Inkpot Award-winners’ creation, as the rather inconsistent storyline, co-written by Chuck Nixon, generates far more bewildering questions than answers. Victor’s creature has already made it clear that his primary purpose in ‘life’ is to protect his descendants from the undead and Joe is “too important to lose to them.” So why then does the monster allow the pizza-delivery boy to travel with him and leave the relative safety of his secret silo base, when it becomes clear that the vampires will attack the youth’s guardians? All this does is provide the authors the opportunity to place Frankenstein’s ‘ward’ in deadly danger and depict, an admittedly tense, action sequence where Joe has to single-handedly fight for his life.

In addition, considering the way Mary Shelley’s ‘Modern Prometheus’ easily dispatches not only several of the blood-drinkers but the sinisterly enigmatic Mister Saxton with his bare hands, why is he the one doing all the running? Surely the minions of his mate, the Bride, should be the ones fearful of him; especially when Frankenstein is armed with his pistol-shaped Ultraviolet flashlight?

Fortunately this issue does still contain the odd glimmer of interest, especially as the plot progresses and Joe’s flight from his vampiric assassins increases in grandeur. Igor is revealed to be “the ultimate super computer” Intelligence Gathering for Offensive Response, as opposed to the monster’s diminutive manservant. Whilst it also becomes clear that the ever-threatening Bride is not actually at the top of the food chain herself, as the mysteriously mummified Lord Golgatha, himself introduced at the very end of the book, makes mention of “The Master”…

The variant cover art of "JOE FRANKENSTEIN" No. 2 by Graham Nolan

Joe Frankenstein #1 - IDW Publishing

JOE FRANKENSTEIN No. 1, February 2015

In many ways it must have been quite hard for co-creators Graham Nolan and Chuck Dixon to envisage a fresh new take on Mary Shelley’s fictional behemoth. “Marvel Comics” have been publishing the creature’s horror-filled escapades since September 1953, when the ‘Adam of Victor’s labours’ first appeared in Issue Seven of “Menace”. Whilst “DC Comics” initially employed Frankenstein’s Monster during 1948 in a “Batman Detective Comics” story and have since had the ‘ogre’ battle both Superman and The Phantom Stranger on several occasions. Fortunately the co-writers of “Joe Frankenstein” have not only done so, but one Indiegogo fundraising campaign later, and they have had their rather uniquely fun concept for the towering ‘devil’ see print as a four-issue mini-series by ”IDW Publishing”… and a highly amusing and entertaining serialized story it promises to be as well.

To begin with the mad scientist’s monster is not actually the central character of the book. That role falls to pizza delivery boy Joe Pratt, who soon learns that his dead parents’ lineage harks back to a certain Victor Von Frankenstein. Instead the baron’s creature is actually an immortal bodyguard of said bloodline, a man of immense wealth, property, limousines and a body-warmer. Indeed, secretly housed within a derelict grain elevator close to Lake Erie, and a dab-hand with a garlic-pizza when blood-thirsty vampires come calling, the ‘Modern Prometheus’ “…is awesome!”.

“The big dead guy” is also all that stands between his young name-sake and the obviously evil machinations of The Mistress and her hitman Saxton. Though precisely what the sinister duo have in store for either the seventeen year-old or his large new ‘friend’ is pure conjecture at this stage within the storyline. But bearing in mind the grim-faced assassin casually dispatches a number of parasites with wooden bullets without a moment’s hesitation, it certainly is not going to be pleasant.

Perhaps this book’s greatest strength however is in the actual artwork of Graham Nolan, as his illustrations not only competently portray events as they happen, but the Inkpot Award-winning creator also manages to incorporate a plethora of visual gags into his well-drawn panels at the same time. As a result it is well worth paying slightly more attention to his pencils, richly coloured by Gregory Wright, than perhaps a reader might ordinarily do. Otherwise clever touches such as the vampires all holding their noses as the aroma of baked garlic bread innocently wafts past them, Frankenstein’s Monster wearing blue-tinted shades whilst holding a simmering cigar, or Joe's action figure of “DC Comics” super-villain Bane (created by Nolan and Dixon), will all shamefully be missed.

The variant cover art of "JOE FRANKENSTEIN" No. 1 by Graham Nolan