Customer Reviews

Bernie Wrightsons Frankenstein

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Frankenstein is by far one of the greatest books ever written. Few other novels measure up to it. I did not realize this the first time I read it, when it was required reading for high school. At that time, I hated it. But, as was usual in my high school experience, the life was sucked out of it and it was greatly misinterpreted by the teacher. So, if you have had such a reading experience with this book, please do not judge it based on that.

If you are not familiar with the actual tale presented in this work of literary brilliance, please pay NO attention to Hollywood's portrayal of the story. This is not a tale about a scary, soulless, killing machine that goes on a rampage whilst the poor, defenseless creator sits back helplessly and innocently. It is a sad, touching tale about abandonment, prejudice, acceptance, and much more. In reading it, you will discover who the true monster of the tale is - and it isn't the poor creature.

As for this edition of the novel, I think that it is fantastic. I love this books so much that I really felt that I needed to have a hardcover edition. I'm very happy that I selected this one. The illustrations are excellent and plentiful. I am easily amused, so I was delighted to discover that the book has a ribbon attached to the spine so you can easily mark your pages. This is by far one of the most unique books in my collection. I love it. Buy it!

I bought Bernie Wrightson's trade paperback edition when Marvel published the title in 1983. I hesitated picking up Dark Horse's reprint until I chanced upon a copy at Border's. This is a gorgeous edition that every horror fan must have on their shelf. Dark Horse pulled out all the stops to make this an event publication. Cloth bound with slick pages. This book is a true work of art and an amazing bargain given Amazon's pricing. Worth every penny. This is the only edition of Mary Shelley's book you'll ever need. Bernie Wrightson's artwork is stunning and Dark Horse Books proves once again why they are the best in the business.

I just gave this version as a gift and it is magnificent. Beautiful accents on various pages as well as full page drawings. The story itself is of course a classic in a class of it's own for many, many reasons including, the extraordinary life of the writer, her parents, their friends and Mary's lover and their friends; having written the book at the age of 19, nearly 200 years ago, and the night that served as a catalyst for the book itself, which is considered the first work of Science Fiction ever. Brilliant, bold, epic, painful and beautiful.

I am devoting this review to the Bernie Wrightson edition of Frankenstein. I wrote another review of the book itself, which readers can find on amazon and lunch.com. Stephen King wrote the introduction to this edition. He points out, among other things, that readers who only saw the movie versions of this classic will be surprised how different the original is from the screen versions. He also tells us that he recognizes that many people started the book and never finished it. This is deplorable, because the book is excellent and should be read. He himself first started it when he was 13 and did not finish it. However, later when he taught a literature class, he read it again and discovered how marvelous it is, and made it part of his course.

King tells us that Bernie Wrightson's forty-some pen and ink portrayals of the book are excellent. They are "filled with a clear and feverish energy.... There has never been a finer exhibition of black and white work than the one you will find here." His artistic studies "enhanced Mary Shelly's story."

I agree. Wrightson portrays Dr. Frankenstein as a handsome man with a face expressing strength and determination, perfectly appropriate to the Shelly story. His creature is shown to be muscular, as we would expect, for Dr. Frankenstein must have given him, at least at the beginning, before he changed his mind and became disgusted at his creation, the best body possible. When he stands next to his creator, he is a quarter taller. But his face is distorted. It seems to be unfinished, as if it still needs to be smoothed out. Most significantly - and this is the marked difference between the novel and its screen depictions - Wrightson captures the being's sad and yearning look.

This is the most beautiful edition of this extraordinary piece of work you will ever see.

First, the tale itself, if you have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing it, is a masterpiece. If you are only familiar with Frankenstein through the Universal or Hammer films, trust me, you are in for a BIG, most pleasant, surprise.

Second, if you experience Frankenstein for the first time here accompanied by Mr. Wrightson's exquisite illustrations, you have no idea how lucky you are. Novels are not illustrated like this anymore. "In the old days" it was not unusual for a Dickens classic or a Melville doorstop to have any number of woodcuts or drawings amplifying the text. Now it seems there are novels, and there are graphic novels.

Not here. This is a seamless match between the evocative prose and these haunting windows into the story. Wrightson's delicate linework, dramatic use of black, and impossible detail capture the macabre, chilling and often sad moments of Shelley's story perfectly, in a way that would not have seemed out of place two hundred years ago.

Third, the construction of this book is one of the nicest productions I've ever had the pleasure to own. It's BIG...like 9" by 12". It's heavy...the paper stock is solid. The fabric covered boards with the inlaid image on the cover. Sewn in bookmark. Each plate reproduced with startling clarity.

Full disclosure: I have the original book from 25 years ago, and the original portfolio as well.

This blows them ALL away. It's not even close.

The price is ridiculously low. This would be a bargain at twice the price.

This book will be one of the proud centerpieces of your library. It now is of mine.

I got this hearing about how it was Wrightson's Magnum Opus. I figured it was a graphic novel. I don't have 10,000 years of life to read all the books I'd like to, so I read graphic novels. I had never read Frankenstein and was happy to get this and see all the art. I was taken aback first by the beautiful book and the condition and quality it was in. Then I was bummed while thumming through it to see it wasn't a graphic novel but the actual novel, illustrated. I set upon reading it and was blown away. It's one of the best books I've ever read. The large pages with double spaced paragraph's make for an easy and pleasurable read. What a tactical failure turned strategic success for me! It's so much better than all the movies I've ever seen. Also, Kings intro is kind of mundane as one reader had indicated but it was the original intro done for the first pub years and years ago. If you miss out on this you will be bummed and it's a bargain at 30 bucks.

We belong to a Book Club with eclectic tastes. Books we choose range from recent best-sellers to classics that would not seem out of place in a high school English class. And so someone suggested Frankenstein, not the story of the monster played by Boris Karloff in 1930s films, but the original work by Mary Shelley written when she was a teenage girl hanging out with English poets in Swiss chalets. Fast forward, because I don't need to review that Victorian novel, which is both dated and charming. Let me praise instead the work of artist Bernie Wrightson, the genius who created more than 50 illustrations for this elegant edition of a classic work. Yes, you can pick up a paperback copy of Frankenstein with tiny type that will allow you to get an A in that high school English class. The work of Wrightson is different. It will forever erase from your mind Boris Karloff's version of how the monster looked and acted. 'Nuff said.

Hal Higdon, Author: Marathon

Contributing Editor, Runner's World

I've loved Bernie Wrightsons art for a long time and as an illustration teacher I have shown his work to my classes. The book I've shown is "A Look Back", which is an art retrospective of most of his work. Near the end it shows a couple of plates from this amazing book. I'm glad I got a good deal on this book, but would have paid more knowing what I know now. If dark horse is listening they need to get Bernie to take the helm once more and do a Bram Stoker's Dracula in the way only Bernie could do it. This book is one of my favorite purchases this year. Also, lets face it, art books need to be books and not on electronic devices so by the book. Buy it before it goes out of print.

I owned this book back in the early '90's, having found it in a bargain bin at a comic convention.

It was then, and is now, the most beautiful edition of this novel I've ever seen. Shelley's novel is given the all-star treatment here, a fine reproduction, heavy stock paper, the cloth binding, and, of course, the added bonus of Wrightson's artwork. The people at Dark Horse have outdone themselves with this.

I won't bother to review the novel; either you've read it and love it, or not. The art is the main attraction in this edition, and it does NOT disappoint.

This book should be on the shelf on anyone who considers themselves and lover of illustrative art and great literature! The story of Frankenstein as crafted by Mary Shelly is a work of literary genius and then add to it Bernie Wrightson's fantastic art and you have a MASTERPIECE in your hands! Though it should be noted that this book is quite dense and is not by any means a comic 'picture book'. This has more the feel of an old illustrated classic from the late 1800's. But, very well done and beautifully presented in this handsome hard cover edition. A MUST HAVE!!!