Speaking of Monsters

Gris Grimly has been breathing fully-illustrated life into Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for the past three years, allowing the public to observe the resurrection of this horror classic as he blogs about its progress.

Grimly chose to work from Shelley's original 1818 Frankenstein, rather than the 1831 version that's been popularized. His explanation makes me admire him even more, as he gets at the heart of Frankenstein's folly—the hubris of man run amok.

Not only is it rarely published anymore; it is also the more raw version of the two. Much like when a band does a rough recording of a song. It may have some imperfections but it has soul. Usually then, a producer comes in and adds the bells and whistles and the song is recorded over and over and over. It may be tighter and polished, but it looses something. This early 1818 version feels like that raw punk version (untainted and untouched). It is like discovering a lost manuscript. There are a few other differences. The 1818 version is absent of Mary Shelley’s introduction, which exposes how she came to write the story. I want to make this version my own: take away the story of a story of a story, and just tell THE STORY. There are also a few additions that change the theme of the story. In the 1818 version, Victor loses control of the monster due to his own arrogance and neglect. In the 1831 version, he is made to be more of a victim of fate and therefore holds no responsibility to the outcome. Being a huge fan of Heinrich Hoffmann’s Struwwelpeter and parodying this theme myself in the Wicked Nursery Rhymes series, I of course am more attracted to the concept of individual consequence.

For anyone interested in the anatomy of a story, visit Gris Grimly's Frankenstein for a rare peek into the making of this seminal monster.