SHE’S ALIVE!
Tackling the Bride’s Backstory
Helmed by the excellent “Absolute Wonder Woman” duo, Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis, “The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1” is an abrupt and chaotic entry into the Bride’s new rebirth. Thompson always does a really wonderful job layering thoughtful details into her protagonists’ mindset. We get to know them very easily because she makes them accessible right from the start. She knows how to put us right in their heads, in their shoes, so we can empathize with and root for them before the end of the issue.
That being said, this issue (the first of four) might’ve been too much of a teaser for me. There wasn’t enough meat on its bones, although what we did get was intriguing. The Bride’s internal monologue puts us right in the center of her brutal rebirth. She is skeptical of her surroundings, but immediately understands what her intended purpose is when she first lays eyes on Frankenstein’s Monster. Later in the issue, she is again confronted by men who don’t care about what she actually wants and aim to use her how they please. This particular moment is tense, but cathartic as the Bride rips her way through some would-be rapists. It seems inevitable in these types of reanimation stories centering women, that sexual deviants have to learn a lesson or two.
(Body) Parts Unknown
The main mystery that seems to be driving things forward is the Bride’s absence of memory, but still feeling familiar with certain places and people. She’s haphazardly on the path to figuring out whose parts created her current being. Her stumbling upon a man who knew who her face belonged to originally (“Elise”) sets her on a path away from the Monster and towards self-discovery or at least a sense of self.
The Bride’s doom-and-gloom outlook borders on self-loathing, but is laced in curiosity. The building blocks for the story are there, but the issue was light on plot. This is her story, so I didn’t need to see her intended mate for more than the couple of pages he appeared, but I wonder how much he’ll be a part of her story overall.
One of the Latest Adaptations of the Bride
The Bride has been having a bit of a moment lately with Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” that was released in March of this year. Modern retellings of her story often have her presented as a feminist anti-hero or symbol, which her creator Mary Shelley would appreciate.
There’s so much uncovered and unexplored ground to tackle with the Bride. De Iulis’ art enhances Thompson’s story with a sorrow that almost jumps off the page. This Bride doesn’t feel wonder or awe at her reality, she’s in perpetual pain, finds everything absolutely ugly and horrifying. She’s lost and that makes for a compelling story that’ll play out over 4 parts.
“The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1” arrives in comic book shops and digital platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play on Oct. 28. Issue #2 drops Nov. 25, with #3 coming Dec. 23.
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