The Modern Prometheus

August 2, 2012 12:08 PM

Comics artist Frazer Irving adapts Mary Shelly's Frankenstein in hauntingly beautiful black and white: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18.
posted by Artw (11 comments total)

These are gorgeous.
posted by onwords at 12:17 PM on August 2, 2012

Reminds me of Jim Blanchard's stuff in 'Hate' ... probably the oversized heads.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 12:27 PM on August 2, 2012

The commentary is worth a read as well. This was actually printed with lettering at some point, with a script being supplied after the fact, but I think if you are vaguely familiar with the story it works far better without.
posted by Artw at 12:30 PM on August 2, 2012

In a weird way the style reminds me of Dr. McNinja? (Not in a pejorative way at all, I love that dude)
posted by Mooseli at 1:46 PM on August 2, 2012

This guy's stuff isn't bad, but I prefer Bernie Wrightson's take on the subject.

Also, 'Hate' was written and drawn by Peter Bagge, not Jim Blanchard. Blanchard drew some backup strips, and inked over Bagge's layouts in the later issues after it went to full color, but that was Peter Bagge's baby, all the way.
posted by KHAAAN! at 8:39 PM on August 2, 2012

I'm partial to the Lynd Ward woodcuts myself, but these are rather good.

BTW, Bernie Wrightson just started a follow up to his seminal Frankenstein, entitled Frankenstein Alive, Alive!
posted by KingEdRa at 9:59 PM on August 2, 2012

When is he gonna finish GUTSVILLE dammit?
posted by Ron Thanagar at 6:45 AM on August 3, 2012

I'm pretty sure I gave Frazer Irving his first professional gig (or if not the absolute first then one of the first), illustrating Pantheon and Other Roleplaying Games by Robin D. Laws, back in 2000. He's an amazing artist and I am really glad he's become such a star because he absolutely deserves it.
posted by Hogshead at 11:05 AM on August 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Could be - he had some Future Shicks that year but wasn't big in 2000AD until the next year when he started collaborating with Gordon Rennie.
posted by Artw at 11:44 AM on August 3, 2012

I'd come across some of his self-published books at a small-press fair a couple of years previously, and had been waiting for the right project to come along that fitted what I thought his style was. It turned out that in the intervening time he'd started using brushes instead of pens and his work looked completely different--though still awesome.

Some sod stole that self-published graphic novel off my bookshelf at the last office I shared. Gutting. It was a beautiful book.
posted by Hogshead at 2:52 PM on August 4, 2012

He's one of those buggers who completly revamps his style every couple of years and still looks really good - so the woodcut style I assosiate with him from first seing him on Necronauts is long gone but he's actually replaced that with styles that are better and more evocative.

Hopefully Someday he'll finish Gutsville. That thing was awesome.
posted by Artw at 3:01 PM on August 4, 2012