Comic Review: Reanimator #1- So much more than just another awesome Francavilla B Cover

Writer: Keith Davidsen
Artist: Randy Valiente
Cover B: Francesco Francavilla
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Released: 8th April 2015


I’ve just read a comic book that I really enjoyed, and I want to say some nice things about it and thank everybody involved, so here goes:

I only bought Reanimator #1 because of the typically awesome Francavilla front cover. I read the preview and it didn’t appeal, but when I saw that cover in my comic book store I decided to take a chance on the book. After all, if it turned out to be terrible then at least I’d have a great looking cover for my money.

So what’s the book all about? That’s the problem really. It sounds pretty formulaic on the surface. It’s about a Dr. Frankenstein type, and it has elements of magic and Lovecraftian horror mythology in it as well. The main protagonist is a girl, a scientist, and she’s pretty.

See what I mean?

Sounds unoriginal and uninspired doesn’t it? The strange thing however is that the book is actually a lot of fun and offers a lot more than you might think. The Dr. Frankenstein character is odd, but oddly likeable as well. The magic and Lovecraftian thematic meat of the narrative is interesting because it’s mixed in with elements of contemporary science, new-age ideas and street/thug life. Plus the girl protagonist is believably human and nowhere near as generic or annoying as your usual strong independent female warrior comic book type in 2015. She’s unfulfilled, bored, middle class and stuck in a safe career rut. She is doing daft things and taking unnecessary risks just to inject some much needed drama and sense of danger into the empty routine and meaning free existence in which she has found herself living in.

I read her and I can believe that she exists because she is bored, she has flaws, and she is lonely. In other words, she comes across like a real life flesh and blood human being, and reading that type of character in a comic book is something that really stands out. It shouldn’t. Fictional characters should always feel at least somewhat real, but the fact of the matter is that they don’t, so when you read one that is well written and believable she stands out like a (depressingly rare) truth told on a mainstream television ‘programme.’

The narrative flow of the book is fast, eventful, and fun, and features a final page reveal that makes a lot of sense, bridging the gap between contrivance for the sake of drama and creating a believable scenario that connects the main two protagonists. Did that make sense? Probably not. What I am trying to say is that the writing is good, very good.

The art (which I often neglect to talk about in my reviews) is easy on the eye, and that’s not just a cliché that I’m throwing in here because I don’t know what else to say about it. It’s clear, precise, uncluttered, and easy to follow and exists as good art should exist in a comic book, acting as the perfect companion to an interesting story, servicing that story rather than distracting from it.

Hopefully I’ve convinced everybody reading this review that Reanimator #1 is a comic book that is worth taking a chance on. It’s more than just the awesome Cover B from Francesco Francavilla. That cover is an excellent starter, but the main course of the book itself is just as delicious as well, and I’m happy to recommend it here on my occasionally daft, occasionally pompous, occasionally preachy, occasionally po-faced and serious, but always honest blog.


Rating: 8/10 (A fun filled horror comic book)

Comic review: Frankenstein Underground #1- Average Frankenstein monster book

Writer: Mike Mignola
Artist: Ben Stenbeck
Colours: Dave Stewart
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Released: 18th March 2015


I’ve just read an average comic book about the Frankenstein monster. It’s not horrible, but there isn’t much to it.

The monster is abandoned, as is usual in Frankenstein books. He finds a kindly face, the kindly face dies, monster is alone again. The book concludes with the monster getting a passport to what looks like the HellBoy universe, so if you want to see what he gets up to, buy Frankenstein Underground #2.

As for me, I’m not a Hellboy fanboy (if they even exist) so I don’t see what else this series has to offer for me. The book is set, ‘Somewhere in Mexico, 1956’ so that holds no interest to me. Why is the monster in Mexico? So he can be put in a narrative involving Mayan/Aztec spooky god stuff I guess. Why is it set in 1956, and not the far more interesting present of 2015? I don’t know. I guess it’s just easier and less controversial to set it in that time period, rather than dealing with what is going on in Mexico today.

The artwork has nice colouring by the always very good Dave Stewart, but there’s a lack of detail in the pencilling. The monster looks lanky and generic, and the supporting cast lack enough detail to make them interesting.

Nothing going on here feels new. It feels routine, and ordinary. I’m not very excited about it, and I can’t see any other readers being blown away by it either. It’s okay, but there’s a million okay comics out there and if something’s just okay you ask yourself, what’s the point in it? I don’t know. It seems pretty pointless. I don’t want to be unkind, but it’s just another book with a lonely, persecuted, tormented Frankenstein monster in it, that’s all.

Rating: 4/10