Friday, October 16, 2009

Dick Briefer's Frankenstein





Well, I am excited and feel stupid, both at the same time. I've written in the past about my love for the Briefer FRANKENSTEIN books from the early 50s. Between 1952 and 1954, they were 26 issues of pretty gruesome stuff. In the late 50s, after the original comic had been canceled after being used as an example in THE SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT, later issues from 1856-1958 made him fairly silly, like a monster Archie Andrews. Only without any friends. The last time I wrote here about Briefer, I used a cover from the later, sillier comics, one called "Death O'Clock." On looking for other covers (my sorry few issues are in Mylar and I don't want to scan them), I discovered this illo from THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME he did back in 1939.

Well, I learned today that a company called Idea Men had reprinted the original horror issues, all 26, only in B&W, which is still fine by me. Tomorrow, I am buying one. Oddly Amazon has them new at $23.00 and used starting at $46.00. Goofy dealers, pricing as weird as they do. Not as weird as those comics, man. I have just decided on my Hallowe'en present to myself...