Aftershock Comics 2019
Written & Created by Adam Glass & Olivia Cuartero-Briggs
Illustrated by Hayden Sherman
Lettered by Sal Cipriano
For nearly two centuries, scholars have wondered how on earth Mary Shelley, a nineteen-year-old girl, was able to conjure one of the most frightening and enduring horror stories of all-time: Frankenstein. But with the recent discovery of Mary Shelley’s secret memoir, the truth is finally revealed: Mary Shelley didn’t just write Frankenstein, she lived it. Travelling back to that historic Geneva winter of 1816, Mary, her fiancé Percy, sisters Claire and Fanny, and the celebrated poet Lord Byron, find themselves guests of the eerie Frankenstein Estate.
A couple of months back I saw this in Previews while I was at my comic shop looking for titles I didn’t want to miss (usually from companies I don’t work with) when I came across this title. I am always a fan of the familiar yet unexpected so the company and title intrigued me. Then I noticed Adam attached to the book and that sealed the deal as it were, I added this to my pull. Honestly I forgot about doing that so when I saw it today I got excited again. Of course then I read it and wow okay yeah see folks this is why I am such a huge fan, supporter and vocal speaker, see reviewer, of Aftershock’s books because they take concepts and push them to their limits while exciting the reader.
I like how this is structured. The opening is totally awesome and I wasn’t where it was going and it made me want to find out if this really is what they said it was. I like the way that scene was cut from the original so yeah. From there I think it is an interesting choice to go the route that this was taken. Now I am all for this style of storytelling and that whole finding something lost that no one knew about is an exciting thing to have happen to someone. I am a tad surprised however that we never learn her name and if she’s coming back to stake her claim to fame then I guess we’ll learn it eventually me I’d rather we stay in the past for the entire run but then again that’s just me.
At first I wasn’t so sure about Hayden being the illustrator on this, I am not the biggest fan of his style and first impression wasn’t that favourable. I found the black and white opening to be stunning and then I dunno what happened but there’s an awful lot of lines going across the face here and then in some panels nothing in the face is filled in at all. Then something clicked and I found myself enjoying what he was doing. Maybe it’s because I was caught up in the story or I just got used to his own unique style either way it happened.
The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show us a solid eye for storytelling. Being the stickler for detail that I am I would very much like to see more of that in the backgrounds, and there are some truly beautiful moments too, specially when we see the estate up that mountainside and inside. The colour work is interesting and the darkness creates this exceptional mood for the story. The moment we see that lab it’s all over for me that was a total wow moment.
I cannot wait to see what’s going to happen next and how we see Mary’s life and experiences unfold before us. Intrigue, danger and all kinds of mystery surround the origin of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein so let’s see what these folks have in store for us with some amazing characterisation, story & plot development, pacing and interior artwork.