Afraid I'm something of a traditionalist when it comes to Frankie--a Universal Studios'
Frankenstein-style traditionalist, that is. I've read the Shelley, of course--and seen the various versions, from the Branagh to the Hammer--but it's the monster of Boris Karloff and James Whale that haunts my memory. So, back in '72, while I was thrilled to have Marvel's Monster of Frankenstein , I was also a little disappointed it wasn't the image of Karloff on the cover of MoF no.1, that the scene wasn't in a gothic castle and Frankie was gray, not green! (Where did that green come from, anyway? The movies were b & W! Ah, yes--the green came from the original movie posters!)
Well-Marvel had The Hulk, of course, and probably didn't want to confuse readers with another green-skinned monster, --and there'd probably be some copyright issue with Universal if the monster on MoF no.1 was chartreuse--so, gray monster. Still, I would've made him purple--or something.
So--I tweaked Mike Ploog's manic cover a bit--(isn't it wonderfully manic? -the compressed space gives it a bit of that chaotic feeling of '40's Timely covers), moved the scene from the laboratory to the castle, and ---colored the big guy green! (have I been doing that all along?--I think I have, upon reflection.)
So, for my last Frankenstein of February, here's Mike Ploog's Monster of Frankenstein no.1, with a little Karloff/Whale for good measure!
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