comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
adaptations of the monster story created by
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
Prize Comics
A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.
' successive series ''Prize Comics'' and ''Frankenstein'' from 1940 to 1954. The first version represents what comics historians call
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
"Frank N. Stein" in the latter role) introduced the eight-page feature "New Adventures of Frankenstein", an updated version of 19th-century novelist
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
's much-adapted
Frankenstein monster
Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's ...
. Considered by comics historians to be "America's first ongoing comic book series to fall squarely within the horror genre",Frankenstein (1940) at
Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...
Archived from the original November 7, 2011. the feature, set in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
circa 1930, starred a guttural, rampaging creature actually dubbed "Frankenstein" (unlike Shelley's nameless original monster).
In ''Prize Comics'' #11 (June 1941), Briefer dropped the "Frank N. Stein" pen name of the previous three stories and introduced the doctor's adopted son Denny "Bulldog" Dunsan as Frankenstein's ongoing
antagonist
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.superheroes the Black Owl, the Green Lama, and Dr. Frost; the non-superpowered teens Yank and Doodle ("America's Fighting Twins"); and the namesake characters from the
humor
Humour ( Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids i ...
feature "General and the Corporal". In some stories, the monster also teamed up with two other occult menaces, the Witch and the Mummy.
As with many comics characters of the time, the monster found himself in the
European theater of World War II
The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allies of World War II, Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the ...
fighting
Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
. In 1942, scientist Dr. Ullrich offers a bride for Frankenstein, in exchange for the monster resolving to aid humans instead of fighting them, but an angry mob burns down the lab, killing both Ullrich and the bride.
Horror to humor
''Prize Comics'' #33 (Aug 1943) brought an abrupt change to the strip. Another scientist, Professor Carroll, performs another experiment that makes Frankenstein look and act more human. A caption explains, "Frankenstein has left behind him a trail of wrecks, disaster, tragedy and murder – but, as we said, he has left it behind him, for thanks to the miraculous work of a great scientist, Frankenstein is a changed person! With a new suit of clothes, a haircut and a facial, he goes out to become a part of human society!" The humanized monster spends a few issues helping with national defense, and then enrolls in grade school.
The character shifted back to horror for a brief period in 1944, beginning with February's ''Prize Comics'' #39. The monster was brainwashed by the Nazis to destroy the resistance in occupied territory. The character managed to break free of his conditioning and destroy the Germans' hypnosis machine, but then rampaged through Europe for a while with a female vampire, Zora, and a male zombie, Rollo. After a while, the three characters moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and opened a hotel for monsters.
Eight-page Frankenstein stories by Briefer appeared in every issue of ''Prize Comics'' from #7-68 a.k.a. vol. 7, #1 (Dec. 1940 - March 1948), with the exception of issues #10 and #55.
Solo comic
Briefer's better-known version of the Frankenstein monster, however, developed upon the monster's return from the war. The character was so popular at that point that they gave him his own series, with ''Frankenstein'' #1 (1945).
Like many returning veterans, Frankenstein settled into small-town life, becoming a genial neighbor who "began having delightful adventures with
Dracula
''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
, the Wolfman and other horrific creatures. The only two times he was featured on the ''Prize Comics'' cover (both in 1947), he was referred to as 'The Merry Monster'". Briefer, with his trademark "loose and smooth ink and brush skills" began telling stories that would "straddle some amorphous line between pure children's humor and adventure and an adult sensibility about the world".
In his book ''Art Out of Time: Unknown Comics Visionaries 1900-1969'', author Dan Nadel described Briefer as
Briefer's humorous Frankenstein ran through ''Prize Comics'' #68 (March 1948), and his humorous ''Frankenstein'' ran through issue #17 (Feb. 1949). Three years later, Briefer (1915–1980) revived the series with his original, horrific Frankenstein from #18-33 (March 1952 - Nov. 1954).
Following the cancellation of ''Frankenstein'' during an era that put much pressure on
horror comics
Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...
and other violent comic books, leading to the creation of the Comics Code,Hajdu, David. ''The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America'' (
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...
Lambiek Comiclopedia
Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ). His son Boris Kousemaker has been the owner since 2007. From 1968 to 2015, it was located in the Ke ...
. Source erroneously lists death date as 1982.
Reprint collections
* Briefer, Dick. ''The Monster of Frankenstein'' (Idea Men Productions, 2006) ,
* Briefer, Dick. ''Dick Briefer's Frankenstein'' (Library of Horror Comics' Masters, IDW/Yoe Books, 2010)