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Harnett, John. "Shelley’s Progeny: Using the Comic to Re-Animate Frankenstein’s Vision." Sequential Art. Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Graphic Novel. Eds. Kathrin Muschalik and Florian Fiddrich. Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Pr. 2016. 11–21. Added by: joachim (8/25/21, 8:23 PM) Last edited by: joachim (8/25/21, 8:28 PM) |
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| Resource type: Book Chapter Language: en: English DOI: 10.1163/9781848884472_003 BibTeX citation key: Harnett2016a Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: "Frankenstein", "Swamp Thing", Bissette. Stephen R., Literature, Monster, Moore. Alan, Shelley. Mary, Totleben. John, United Kingdom, USA Creators: Fiddrich, Harnett, Muschalik Publisher: Inter-Disciplinary Pr. (Oxford) Collection: Sequential Art. Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Graphic Novel |
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Given the high cost of life incurred by Victor Frankenstein’s maniacal conviction to penetrate the secrets of nature, it seems almost inconceivable that his dying wish, at the end of the novel is that, ‘yet another may succeed’, where he failed. This chapter will argue that that gauntlet has been taken up by the medium of sequential narrative in the guise of Alan Moore’s run on Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson’s Swamp Thing. The unique narrative structure embodied within the page of the,comic represents the ideal evolutionary next step for a new generation of,readers/students to confront the issues raised in Shelley’s novel. Two of the dominant themes in Frankenstein are the quest for identity and man’s relationship to nature. Victor Frankenstein and his savage doppelganger are in awe of the power of nature, yet one abuses it through irresponsible scientific experimentation and the other views it as his only hope for salvation. In Alan Moore’s run on Swamp Thing, the significance of a communion with nature reaches its apotheosis with the Swamp Thing representing the evolutionary next step in this line of thinking as he actually becomes nature itself. When the stability of this interdependent relationship with nature and their respective desires to belong are threatened, however, both monsters begin to perceive themselves in a godlike light that justifies their eventual paths towards vengeance, paths that lead to ruin for them both. Thus, by comparing Shelley’s Creature with Moore’s Thing it shall be explored how Frankenstein’s dying wish did not fall on deaf ears, and that it is alive and well within the multimodal creature known as the comic.
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