Issue(s): Monsters Unleashed #2
Cover Date: Sep 73
Title: "Frankenstein 1973"
Credits:
Gary Friedrich - Writer
John Buscema - Penciler
Syd Shores - Inker

Review/plot:
When i bought Frankenstein #12, the first issue of the color series to show Marvel's Frankenstein in the modern era, i was pretty annoyed to find that the majority of the issue had him on ice and then the moment of his awakening was actually covered in a quick montage covering the events of these black & white stories from the Monsters Unleashed magazine. I also didn't realize at the time that the Monsters Unleashed stories were published prior to Frankenstein #12.

The stories do turn out to be pretty important to the story of the Monster, since it explains the change in his intellect between the pre-Modern era issues (where he was intelligent, like in the Mary Shelly novel) and the later issues of his color comics. But on the other hand, they are pretty awful and maybe i should have left well enough alone after getting issue #12.

The fact that it's just dawning on me now that these Monsters Unleashed stories were published prior to Frankenstein #12 (and, in my defense, the Essentials trade tucks these issues in the back instead of ordering them by either publication date or in-story chronology) means that i originally missed the fact that these stories start with a neuroscientist discovering that a traveling circus had somehow stumbled upon the Frankenstein Monster, with no explanation given as to how they found it. I'm now realizing that the reason for the weird structure of Frankenstein #12 is because they were backing into the already established revival of the Monster.

In any event, the main thing you need to know about this issue is that neurosurgeon Derek McDowell and his wife Tisha are horrible people. Tisha is horrible in the standard "I hate my husband's/boyfriend's career choice" way.

On her plus side, she'd be willing to get some tattoos if that's what Derek was into.

Derek is more unorthodox in his horribleness.

     

But they are both horrible people, in a weird codependent relationship.

While Derek is sleeping, Tisha sleeps off and tries to burn the monster, so that Derek will stop thinking about it and go back to his mundane day job.

But in addition to being horrible, she's also incompetent, and she winds up setting herself on fire.

She's horribly burned and is taken to the hospital.

Meanwhile, the fire revives the Monster...

...who climbs the Ferris wheel and gets hit by a bazooka.

By this point, Derek has woken up, dismissed Tisha's absence as "Just like her to walk out on me when I need her most!", and then goes to try to buy the Monster again, ironically unaware of everything that's happened.

Next: Derek continues to be a horrible person.

Monsters Unleashed looks like it should really have been called Reprints and Adaptations Unleashed. Issue #1 did not have any Marvel universe content, and the rest of this issue (not included in my Essentials trade, in contrast to the Tales of the Zombie Essentials) looks similar. Issue #3 has a Man-Thing feature but no Frankenstein, so the Monster (and Horrible Derek) will next appear in issue #4.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The Frankenstein Monster's appearances in the entire Monsters Unleashed series take place during Frankenstein #12. The footnote in Frankenstein #12 only lists issues #2,4, and 6, which i realize now is because those were the only issues that had been published so far (#3 didn't have a Frankenstein story; not sure why they didn't list issue #5). Issue #4 will pick up soon after the end of this issue, but with enough time having passed that i'm placing it in a separate entry.

References:

• There's a recap of the origin of the Frankenstein Monster, with a footnote for Frankenstein #1-4 (or, you know, Mary Shelley's novel).

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Essential Monster of Frankenstein vol. 1

Tisha and Derek look like a dysfunctional Gloria and Mike "Meathead" Stivic from the classic CBS sitcom "All in the Family". And the end result (pun intended) of her attempted monster arson gives new meaning to the term "chick with a hot ass"! :-)