The Bride of Frankenstein Lives in new Image Comic

The Bride of Frankenstein Lives is a new mini-series in the ongoing line of Universal Monsters releases from Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment. Plus, Frankenstein, an earlier mini-series, gets a black-and-white release while the tale of a new Wolf Man continues.

The most interesting of the forthcoming releases is The Bride of Frankenstein Lives. Penned by Absolute Wonder Woman's Kelly Thompson, the story is said to see the Bride awaken, unsure of her past and exploring the lives of those who literally make her up. Unlike its predecessor, Bride didn't spend a lot of time clarifying where the body or parts of the body came from. Presumably, Dr. Pretorius "grew her brain" and the heart came from a woman killed by Pretorius' henchman (iconically again played by Dwight Frye, Henry Frankenstein's own parts gatherer in the the first outing). The Universal Monsters comics seem to either tell an all-new tale set outside of the events of the movies or they interwene themselves into the classic movie that originated them. Since there wasn't much time between the "birth" of the Bride and the Frankenstein monster's destruction of Frankenstein's lab, this story presumably takes place after those events.

The book hits stands just in time for Halloween, Oct. 28, and promises to introduce another exciting entry in the horrifically entertaining world of the Universal Monsters.

The Bride isn't the only Frankenstein creation getting a showcase this fall. Readers can also look for the 2-issue black-and-white printings of the Frankenstein mini-series appropriately title Universal Monsters: Frankenstein Black and White Special. Following Dracula and Creature from the Black Lagoon, Image is publishing the black-and-white tales in two extra-length comics, giving readers the experience of seeing the monsters in their true, 1930s silver screen visage. While it may appear Image is just going back to the well with a gimmick to cash in, the comics do give hardcore fans like yours truly to opportunity to see the classic characters as they originally appeared--something Universal certainly doesn't seem to have any desire to do on the big screen. The first issue is out Oct. 17 and the second is scheduled for Nov. 11. Both are $6.99 each.

The collected release of The Phantom of the Opera is also available this fall hitting store shelves in late September.

Our final entry for today's preview is the second issue of Blood of the Wolf Man coming out July 22 and continues the creepy tale of a boy who likely just turned into a werewolf and slaughtered a bunch of college students. The best part though is that the story (and back-of-the-book matter) certainly hints a Larry Talbot twist is coming! The Blood of the Wolf Man mini runs through September and each issue is $4.99.

More cover and interior artwork. Provided by Image Comics.