Interesting but not consistent by any means. - Rated 
These tales gathered here are neatly broken into three separate parts.
The first few tales are pretty decent. Set in the 18th century as the origin of the creature is re-told, most of this part will be familiar to anyone with any knowledge of the Frankenstein story from its creation, the bride and the slaying of its creator's new wife. The journey to the Arctic and the consequent falling into the ice sets the scene to move the story forward into the 19th century.
The second section features a great start as the creature is thawed from the ice aboard a ship and makes his way back from the frozen wastes to his home searching for the descendants of his creator. Along the way he meets strange tribes, a werewolf woman and a meeting with Count Dracula himself. This part of the volume is the weakest and contains a continuity error of magnificent proportions as the creature is dragged into a cellar in a London townhouse and after a fight with a large hunchback and the creature being shot it staggers out of Castle Frankenstein into the shadow of the Alps and to another fall from a glacier into another century long sleep.
The final part brings the creature into the 20th century and a meeting with another Marvel regular Jack Russell, the Werewolf. The stories are presented slightly out of sync and reading a few issues of the Monsters Unleashed section from the back at the book helps.
This part has some great tales of pathos, some humour and a real oddity with a brainswap tale involving three men, the monster and a mouse that does not quite meet the standard of some of the other tales.
The volume as a whole just about scrapes 4 stars but mainly due to some of the later tales featuring ICON, the Berserker and the freaks from the later Monsters Unleashed tales. There is some solid artwork firstly by Mike Ploog which fits well with Gary Friedrich's early storylines and later by John Buscema and Val Mayerick.
It is pretty easy to see as you read this why there were only 18 issues of the original comic series, it had plainly run its course and it was a wise editorial decision to discontinue the run.
A patchwork monstrosity - the comic not the monster - Rated 
Trying to cash in on the monster boom of the sixties and seventies, as well as the success of Warren's black and white horror comic magazines CREEPY and EERIE, Marvel Comics launched a wave of monster titles in both comic and magazine form. Mummies, werewolves, zombies, vampires and even Satan's son mingled with Spider-man and the Hulk at the newsstand.
THE MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN starts off as a worthwhile endeavor, but because of the frequent rotation of writers, artists and inkers, the comic, like the monster himself, quickly morphs into a slow-moving, lifeless patchwork mess. The persona of the monster rapidly looses focus simply because the writers cannot decide weather he is a sympatric hero or vindictive villain. Devoid of personality and purpose, Frankenstein is relegated as a second rate character in his own book.
Most of the narrative for the comic series is supplied by those who come in contact with the monster, weather it be a Satanic cult, killer robot, or a troupe of circus freaks. Their motivations shape the storylines as an unaware Frankenstein, mute and directionless, is eventually usurped thematically by the flamboyant supporting characters around him.
In the fifties, Dick Briefer created the ultimate Frankenstein comic,The Monster of Frankenstein. Because the Comic Code Authority was not in effect, Briefer was free to portray Frankenstein as a sadistic brute with animal cunning ever vengeful at the world that feared him. He was a force of nature with his own sinister desires, which usually led him into conflict with the police, Russian spies, mad scientists, the military, werewolves, mummies, zombies and ghouls, all with devastating results. It is a pity that the stable of Marvel Comic writers never saw Dick Briefer's comic, they would have learned a great deal from it.
Classic horror in the form of Frankenstein's Monster - Rated 
If you have ever read any of Marvel's Frankenstein comics or Monsters Unleashed magazines from the mid-1970s, then you'll know that you are in for a major treat. This Essential book collects the comics and magazines featuring Frankenstein's Monster and re-produces them in fabulous black and white. The original comics were in colour but seeing the stories in black ink works very well. The reproduced black and white magazine stories are a delight to the eyes and every story is told with feeling for the Monster and the hardship he faces with humanity, his only wish is to have a friend and not be misunderstood. To any horror buffs out there, whether your interests lie with comics or movies, I highly recommend this book and strongly suggest you keep an eye out for the forthcoming Essential Tales of the Zombie, late 2006.
Frankenstein Vs.The '70's - Rated
In January 1973, Marvel followed up the success of 'Tomb With Dracula' with ( what else? ) a comic based on 'Frankenstein'. The first four issues are a faithful retelling of Mary Shelley's classic novel, containing moody, evocative images such as the Monster's birth, Robert Walton's ship crashing into an iceberg and an encounter with a bear. Great artwork by Mike Ploog. An ongoing saga of fear and revenge develops as the Monster scours the globe, searching for its creator. After battling a giant spider and ( you guessed it ) Dracula, the Monster is encased in ice and thaws out in the age of Evel Knievel, Disco and Richard Nixon where, unsurprisingly, he fails to fit in.
Here the quality of the tales goes into a slight decline as the Monster loses the power of speech and degenerates into a grunting automaton, pals up with a streetwise kid and is captured by agents of a HYDRA-like outfit called I.C.O.N.
Its impossible to ignore the similiarities between the Monster and 'The Incredible Hulk', both are brutish, misshapen ogres who want only to be loved. To the credit of the writers and artists, they have created just enough contrast between the characters, and the rest of the Marvel Universe is barely alluded to ( barring a one-off skirmish with the Werewolf By Night ). The last batch of tales in this collection hail from various black-and-white titles, and being free of Comics Code Authority restrictions are slightly more violent. In the best of these - The 11.10 To Murder' - the Monster helps an unnnamed girl hobo prevent the assassination of the American President aboard his private train. The ending is both unexpected and moving.
In the U.K., these and other supernatural strips were reprinted in Marvel's 'Dracula Lives!' weekly. If you fondly remember that comic, you should enjoy this book.
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