COMIC BOOK REVIEW - Frankenstein Agent Of S.H.A.D.E.: Secrets Of The Dead

By The Masked Medic

Having just gotten over the high of watching ‘Frankenstein’, I thought to myself, hang on, isn’t there a DC character by that name? It had been a very long while since I last read Frankenstein’s adventures with S.H.A.D.E., and I figured it was time to return. I have to say, the first novel was not my favourite by any means, but it was still an okay read!

‘Secrets Of The Dead’ is a huge compilation of stories. It starts with a one-shot story about Frankenstein, nicknamed Frank by most of the characters in the novel, and his once-upon-a-time love, Lady Frankenstein. Great names. The next story introduces us to “The Rot”, one of the three ancient forces - this one representing all the death and decay in the world. Whilst the Rot attempts to kill Frank, it realizes that Frank is both immune to its power and also to death. Armed with that knowledge, Frank goes on with his other missions. One of which involves him breaking into a microscopic base which houses several S.H.A.D.E. agents, since he’s been told by Father Time, the weird commander of this agency, that there may be a mole within the Organization. Frank seems a little tired of it all, but goes along with the plan. The final story sees the Rot take over the entire world, and suddenly Frank’s immunity to it becomes the World’s only solution. The problem is, the man who is now leading the Rot is none other than Frank’s creator, Victor Frankenstein. Can Frank find a way to stop his mad creator and save the world? And will he finally get the peace that he so craves?

I have genuinely no idea what the hell was happening in that novel. I mean, as a comic book character, Frankenstein is pretty interesting, but I often wonder if DC know what to do with him. His portrayal in the ‘Creature Commandos’ DCU show was almost the complete opposite of what he is in the comics, and so I think perhaps sticking to one archetype would be best. There were so many stories in that novel, and perhaps it was because it was the last in this series that the writers thought all loose ends needed to be tied up, but it felt all over the place with no coherent structure. The only saving grace was that the other characters were enjoyable to read, including Nina, Velcoro and Khalis. More of that, please!

The artwork was a mixture of artists, and if I’m being honest, I’m not sure I liked much of it. I get that they were probably trying to give off a horror feel to it, but the inconsistency wasn’t great. The covers were okay. I don’t know, I don’t think this was a great novel, and my feelings about it harkened to the time when I had to read those awful Larfleeze novels!

Favourite Panel:

Oof. Doesn’t matter which version of Frankenstein it is, the guy drops bars!

Favourite Character:

Lots of choice in this novel, with the Creature Commandos featuring. Although it should be Frank, I think Velcoro was extremely entertaining!

Rating:

• Story Arc: ★★

• Character Development: ★★½

• Artwork: ★★

• Enjoyability: ★★½

• Re-readability: ★

Level: Impossible