Recommendation Station: Gris Grimly’s Frankenstein

For the season of Valentine’s, I’m here to recommend something that has absolutely nothing to do with romance or happy endings! This one is for those of you who, like me, celebrate Halloween all year round.
By Aubren Kubicki

I’ve read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein more times than I can count by now, although the first time I truly read it all the way through was my senior year of high school. It has since become one of my favorite books of all time (just in case you don’t believe me, I have a Frankenstein tattoo and plans to get more). But before that there was Gris Grimly’s Frankenstein. A beautifully illustrated combination of graphic novelization and original text, this book sews together the words of the novel with a timeless, dynamic, steampunk-Gothic-Victorian art style. The result is a gorgeous retelling that breathes new life into the story, arguably with just as much if not more success than Victor Frankenstein’s experiment.

I picked this book up off the shelf in my high school library for the first time and immediately fell in love. Some of the most effective parts of the book happen where there are no words on the page: the entire flashback sequence the creature relays to Victor, from his unfortunate birth to their reunion in the cave, is told through black-and-white comic panels. At first they are wordless and much more simplistically drawn than the rest of the illustrations in the book, but as the creature grows and learns the images gain detail and the world around him comes into sharper focus. Words are re-integrated into the page as he begins to understand language and read books. It’s a beautifully done take on that segment of the book, one that I feel adapts the story perfectly to a graphic novel context.

For fans of Frankenstein, graphic novels, and/or just nerdy goths like me, this specific take on Mary Shelley’s original work is a must-read. Gris Grimly has also illustrated a number of other macabre works, like a collection of Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories and Grimm fairy tales. My personal favorite is Frankenstein, of course, but the others are equally as beautiful and worth the read!