Following its previous sold-out releases starring Dracula and the Creature of the Black Lagoon, Skybound Entertainment is revealing a first look at the latest series in its partnership with Universal Studios to do new comic book takes on the classic stories of the Universal Studios monster films. The current monster to get the spotlight is Frankenstein’s monster, in Michael Walsh’s upcoming Universal Monsters: Frankenstein, the first issue (which these first look pages are from) is due out on August 24th.

When the project was first announced, Walsh (who will be writing and drawing the series, with colors by Toni Marie Griffin) noted, “The story of Dr. Frankenstein and his poor, misunderstood monster is one of the most recognizable and influential horror tales ever told… It’s also one of my favorites. The original 1931 film from Universal Pictures is a continuing inspiration for my art and storytelling, so, as you can imagine, I was honored to be able to play in that sandbox. Trying to tell an original story while staying true to the canon of that film was an exciting yet daunting prospect. It’s been some of the most fun I’ve had making comic books, and I know that fans of Frankenstein and horror will have a blast experiencing these characters and iconic scenes like never before.”

What happens in the first look pages of Universal Monsters: Frankenstein?

The first look pages show Walsh’s new angle on the series is to really delve deeper into Dr. Frankenstein’s time before he creates his famous monster, and specifically the way that he would dig for corpses in graveyards to get the body parts that he needs. As it turned out, he steals the body of a man whose young son is still very much mourning his lost father, and that boy will turn out to be a problem for Dr. Frankenstein in the future.

Alex Antone, Editorial Director of Skybound, noted about Walsh’s approach when the project was first announced, “Michael Walsh’s take on Frankenstein feels like a comic book classic in the making. While each issue stands alone as its own vignette, in a way that only he can, Michael has brilliantly sewn together a brand-new perspective which both lovingly adapts the Universal Pictures film and breathes new life into one of the most important horror stories of all-time.”

Who are drawing the covers for Universal Monsters: Frankenstein?

Michael Walsh is doing the main cover for the series, but the variant covers for the first issue are done by an all-star lineup of comic book star artists.

The main variant cover is by Joshua Middleton (there will also be a black and white variant edition of Middleton’s cover, to evoke the classic black and white look of the original film).

There will be a connecting variant by Francesco Francavilla that ties in with the other Universal Monster titles.

There is a variant cover by David Talaksi that hearkens to the iconic moment where the monster sees its reflection for the first time in water.

Finally, Christian Ward will be doing a foil variant cover.

Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #1 is set to be released on August 24th.

Source: Skybound