Frankenstein: Encyclopedia II - Frankenstein - Other adaptations

Frankenstein - Other adaptations

Frankenstein - Radio

In 1938, George Edwards produced a 13-part, 3-hour series for radio. It follows the structure and spirit of novel closely.

Two other versions were made in both 1944 and 1955.

Frankenstein - Books and comic books

The story of Frankenstein, or to be precise, "Frankenstein's Monster", has formed the basis of many original novels over the years, some of which were considered sequels to Shelley's original work, and some of which were based more upon the character as portrayed in the Universal films.

The Monster has also been the subject of many comic book adaptations, ranging from the ridiculous (a 1960s series portraying The Monster as a superhero; see below), to more straightforward interpretations of Shelley's work, such Marvel Comics' The Monster of Frankenstein, the first five issues of which (Jan.-Sept. 1973) contained as a faithful (in spirit at least) retelling of Shelley's tale before transferring The Monster into the present day and pitting him against James Bond-inspired evil organizations. The artist, Mike Ploog, recalled, "I really enjoyed doing Frankenstein because I related to that naive monster wandering around a world he had no knowledge of — an outsider seeing everything through the eyes of a child." [2]

In 1940, cartoonist Dick Briefer wrote and drew a Frankenstein's-monster comic book for Prize Publications' Prize Comics, beginning with a standard horrific version, updated to contemporary America, but then in 1945 crafting an acclaimed and well-remembered comedic version that spun-off into his own title, Frankenstein Comics. The series ended with issue #17 (Jan.-Feb. 1949, but was revived as a horror title from #18-33 (March 1952 - Oct.-Nov. 1954).

Dell Comics published a superhero version of the character in the comic book series Frankenstein #2-4 (Sept. 1966 - March 1967; issue #1, published Oct. 1964, featured a very loose adaptation/update of the 1931 Universal Pictures movie).

2004 saw the debut of Doc Frankenstein, written by the Andy and Larry Wachowski, the writer-director team of The Matrix), and drawn by Steve Skroce. The book tells the continuing adventures of Frankeinstein's monster, who has since adopted his creator's name and became a hero through the ages.

In 2005, Dead Dog Comics produced a sequel to the Frankenstein mythos with Frankenstein: Monster Mayhem, written by R. D. Hall with art by Jerry Beck. In Dead Dog's version, the monster sets out to create his own Necropolis.

DC comics also has made use of the character. He appeared as a backup feature in the Phantom Stranger stories written by Len Wein. Grant Morrison revived the character in his Seven Soldiers of Victory. Here, Frankenstein is a gun-toting assassin battling to prevent the end of the world.

Frankenstein - Videogames

Frankenstein's monster appears in the Konami video game series Castlevania, numerous times, with its name being "The Monster" or "The Creature", often as a major boss, but sometimes as a regular enemy.

Several other video game version are also available, including Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster - A Cinematic Adventure Starring Tim Curry (PC) and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, (Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega CD) based on the 1994 film of the same name. For the original Nintendo (NES) was Frankenstein: The Monster Returns! and for the Atari 2600, Frankenstein's Monster.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Other adaptations", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki