Dick Briefer's Frankenstein

by Robert Greenberger

Your image of Frankenstein’s monster all depends upon when you were born and first were introduced to the creature. After all, some generations know him from Boris Karloff’s marvelous performance in the first few Universal horror films, adapting the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley novel. Others may know him from the more refined makeup sported by Glenn Strange for over a decade, which became the template forever after, as seen by Fred Gwynne’s comedic turn in The Munsters.

Today, it’s hard to say what people’s image might be of the creature made up of many dead parts. What’s safe to say is that all too few comic book readers conjure up images of Dick Briefer’s wonderful Frankenstein and that’s a shame. Fortunately, that’s about to change thanks to Yoe Books forthcoming volume Dick Briefer’s Frankenstein, kicking off IDW’s new The Masters of Horror Comic Book Library.

Those who do know Briefer’s work usually think of two distinct eras, the more dramatic effort of the early 1940s and then his more humorous post-World War II incarnation dubbed The Merry Monster. For book editor Craig Yoe, though, there’s more than that.

“There are three periods in Dick Briefer’s Frankenstein as I see it,” he told me recently. “The beginning stories in Prize Comics were realistic but strong, graphic, powerful, direct storytelling images like the best comics from the Golden Age of comics. Then Briefer later switched to a comedic approach way before TV’s Addams Family or The Munsters. This was Briefer’s personal favorite period—he obviously had terrific fun with it—and readers then did and will now do the same. Then the last evolution was when Briefer and his publisher wanted to appeal to the same comic readers that were eating up EC comics and horror comics in the early 1950s before attacks on such comics were nailed in a coffin. Briefer’s Frankenstein at this stage was gritty, violent and very grimly dark—it’s amazing scary work, not recommended for people with a heart condition or for pregnant women.”

Readers will be exposed to samples from across the years in the 112 page hardcover. “I’m choosing the absolute finest from all these periods. All of Briefer’s work is interesting but this book will be the very best. In light of the subject I can certainly say, ‘all killer no filler’.”

Briefer (1915 – 1980) was a talented illustrator and storyteller who first drew the monster in 1940, signing the story “Frank N. Stein”. Most historians consider this the first continuing comics feature to star a horror character and it was an immediate ht. Within a year, Briefer dropped the pseudonym and added Denny “Bulldog” Dunsan as a recurring antagonist. In 1945, the strip altered its tone as a war-weary America sought sunnier entertainment. Today, Briefer is often overlooked and was deservedly spotlighted in Art Out of Time: Unknown Comics Visionaries 1900-1969. After his final revival of the series ended in the early 1950s, Briefer was gone from comics and entered the world of advertising until his death.

“Briefer was an auteur in the same way cartoonists Fletcher Hanks, Basil Wolverton and Boody Rogers were. The fact that this brilliant comics genius was coupled with the most iconic monster of all time, Frankenstein, created one of the great treasures of comics. This rare and rich material has been a buried treasure. There has not been a beautiful colored hardback book devoted to collecting Briefer’s best work. I’m thrilled to be editing and designing Dick Briefer’s Frankenstein–I’m getting chills up my spine as I speak,” he added.

Complete Milt Gross

“These brilliant stories will be carefully reproduced from the actual comics each page faithfully re-creating the feel of the original experience of reading these classics,” promised Yoe. “This is the same process I have used in The Complete Milt Gross Comic Books and Life Story, The Art of Ditko, and Dan DeCarlo’s Jetta that rightfully finicky fans have greatly positively responded to. Again, in regards to the horror comics subject matter, I do suggest that Dick Briefer’s Frankenstein be read with a flashlight under the covers!”

Considering Briefer’s work has been collected previously, most recently in 2006, fans have already begun clamoring for a definitive collection unlike this sampler. Yoe, though, does not disagree with the small, but rabid audience.

To them, he said, “Whether we reproduce more Frankenstein stories in this new book series The Chilling Archives of Horror ComicsFrankenstein will depend on fan response. But, the buyers of this book will now be getting the greatest of Briefer’s vision. Briefer did paintings of Frankenstein, some rare original art exists, I have a revealing letter from Briefer and samples of his strip and his Communist Pinky Rankin strip in the book. Lot’s of unseen goodies will be in the introduction. The intro and the comics will all be behind a very special cover you’ll have to see, it can’t be described here.”