Ever wondered what happened to Victor Frankenstein’s creation at the end of Mary Shelley’s novel, “Frankenstein”? Well, wonder no more as Steve Niles and Damien Worm have an answer for you! And it might not be what you expect.
Written by Steve Niles
Illustrated by Damien Worm
Contrary to popular belief, the story of the Frankenstein Monster did not end at the end of Mary Shelley’s famous novel. Now, Steve Niles and Damien Worm have uncovered the shocking fact of the time the Monster met… Jack the Ripper. Read if you dare!
You might remember that one of the stories that was part of Rachel Deering’s “In The Dark” was a collaboration between Steve Niles and Damien Worm that was “probably the most effectively scary story of the bunch”. Well, this week has brought us another collaboration between the two in the from of “Monster & Madman” #1 from IDW. The premise is simple: Victor Frankenstein’s creation did not die at the end of the events of Shelley’s novel (spoiler alert for a nearly 200 year old book, by the way) and finds himself travelling a desolate wasteland only to run into the madman of the title, Jack the Ripper. Okay, so more actually happens in the issue itself, but… not by much. This is, in truth, a very simple story told very simply, but with one key factor that makes it worth reading: Damien Worm’s artwork.
As I said in the review of their story in “In The Dark”, you may be forgiven for initially confusing Worm’s art for Ben Templesmith’s. It’s true that they both draw from a similar style and tone, but once you really delve into Worm’s work you’ll find that it is indeed very distinct. Worm works from a point of minimalism in linework, giving the barest of information in the panel, and creating around it a monochrome colourwork built on the tangible texture of filters and a washed out monochrome that instils in the issue a feeling of dread throughout. Between sketchiness of the linework and the frequent use of filters that give the page a crumpled or scarred look, the pages feel almost abrasive to the touch. It’s the kind of style that fully envelopes the book and creates an instant connection to the reader, pulling them into the world and feel of the story through the art style.
Damien Worm’s art seems custom built to be the perfect collaborator for Steve Niles’ writing. While the story is built on a simplicity in the telling, using sparse narration and dialogue and focusing heavily on allowing Worm’s art to tell the story, it’s a simplicity also found in how Worm frames the page. Worm isn’t an artist of style over substance, masking a lack of storytelling technique with flashy colour and texture work. No, Worm does excel as a storyteller, but he does so by creating fragments of the story to tell. Even in the most active and sequential pages, the art feels intentionally sparse and hollow which continues to fuel the sense of dread that permeates the book. Niles has clearly picked up on that quality, too, as he writes entirely to Worm’s strengths as an artist. The story being told in this issue is simple, sure, but it works because of the collaboration of Niles and Worm uses that simplicity to infuse Worm’s into becoming a part of the story. Simply put, this is could not have worked without Damien Worm.
Steve Niles is a true master of writing horror, there’s no other way to describe it. Not only does “Monsters & Madmen” stay true to the events and ideas of Mary Shelley’s novel (with the obvious exception of the fact that the creature is still alive), but it also captures the same feeling of Shelley’s writing. With a sparsity that really allows Worm’s artwork to shine, Niles creates this awful feeling of dread throughout the book of something even worse to come that even works it’s way into the artwork and culminates in the appearance of the other titular character. It’s a moment that brutally punctuates the book and even starts to bring the title into question (namely: which is which?) and I would think it fair to say that without a last page to punctuate the events of the issue in the way it did, the issue really wouldn’t have work. The sparsity of the storytelling would have collapsed in on itself and instead of having a book that ably sets up the tone and style of this series, we would have had an issue which could have felt hollow and pointless. It’s a very tricky line to balance, but Niles and Worm have thankfully made it work.
Overall, this was a surprising read. Sure, their collaboration in “In The Dark” made me actively seek this out to read, wanting more stories told by these two, but the surprise really comes from just how well these two work with each other. They are perfect collaborators with Niles writing to the strengths of Worm’s artwork and Worm being able to bring the sense of dread and foreboding in Niles’ writing to the forefront with his artwork. This is definitely an issue worth checking out, especially for those with a hankering for horror comics, and it shows that Steve Niles has in no way lost his touch and has found an incredibly fitting new collaborator in Damien Worm.
Final Verdict: 7.6 – While it definitely won’t be for everyone, when this issue works, it really works. This is a series to keep an eye on.
