Review — ‘Universal Monsters: The Bride Of Frankenstein Lives’ #1 Rises From The Grave
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
The Bride returns from the grave — twice — much to the delight of readers of this limited series. It’s a thoughtful and thought-provoking take on the classic horror character — and one that is beautifully illustrated.
Overall
9/10If you’ve ever seen the 1935 film The Bride of Frankenstein, you realize there’s not much hope for a sequel. Yet the sequel you never knew you needed is here.
In the closing minutes of the film, the monster thinks his newly created bride has rejected him and blows up the castle, supposedly killing them both, among others. The new limited series Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives reinterprets that ending and saves the Bride.
Written by Kelly Thompson, the Bride’s journey is one of self-discovery. While she is capable of thinking, her ability to speak is limited. This newly assembled and reanimated Bride is still piecing together how she got to where she is, even as she is dealing with the world of men.
Thompson makes the Bride intelligent but confused. As you would expect, this Bride has superhuman strength like her would-be husband. Thompson also gives her a name and a past — or rather several of each as she was put together from multiple women.
As entertaining and compelling as the story is, it’s Mattia De Iulis’s illustrations that are the star here. While she cannot speak, we often understand what she is thinking just by looking at her. And De Iulis imbues the Bride with a strength that is quiet until it is unleashed on those attacking her.
De Iulis depicts the closing scenes from the film with the Bride’s characteristic beehive hairdo, once the main character falls into a nearby lake, her hair surrenders to gravity. You realize at that point that she’s stunningly beautiful, despite her many scars.
Making the Bride attractive is an interesting choice. On one hand it seems to fly in the face of the story message, on the other, it perhaps shows that we can find beauty anywhere if we look past the superficial.
This strong start to the four-part series is a good omen of things to come. If not for the Bride, at least for us readers.
Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 — written by Kelly Thompson, illustrated by Mattia De Iulis, and lettered by Becca Carey — is available now in comic book stores and on digital platforms from Image Comics.
