BEACH BUM COMICS : FRANKENSTEIN - THE WORLD'S GREATEST & STRANGEST SUPER HERO !!!

The World's Newest, Greatest and Strangest Super Hero!

Page from Frankenstein #1! Bob Jenney art!

Dell Comics took a radical turn with the second issue of Frankenstein. The first issue was a loose adaptation of the motion picture. Great Vic (Magnus) Prezio painted cover! It also even received a second printing. Then came issues #2-#4 in which the Frankenstein monster is transformed into (of all things) a super-hero, created by writer Don Segall & artist Tony Tallarico.

Created in 1866 by a reclusive scientist referred to only as "the Doctor" who endowed him with a superior intellect and the strength of fifty men, Frankenstein lay dormant for over a hundred years under the ruins of an abandoned castle near the large modern American metropolis of Metropole City. Upon awakening thanks to a convenient lightning bolt, he dons a lifelike rubber mask to hide the fact that his white-haired and black-browed head has pale green skin (the rest of his tall, muscular body has a normal Caucasian flesh tone) and takes the name "Frank Stone", a pseudonym inspired by a fallen chunk of masonry with the word "FRANK" engraved in it.

Another Dell super hero - Dracula!

Befriending elderly millionaire philanthropist Henry Knickerbocker after rescuing him from a traffic accident (and who, by an amazing coincidence, is the son of a man who had been his long-dead creator's friend and business partner), when the old man dies from a heart attack he leaves his "nephew" Frank his vast fortune, allowing him the financial freedom to devotes his life to being a scarlet-suited superhero.

Werewolf - my person favorite Dell super hero!

Only his devoted butler William knows his secret, although neighboring blond busybody Miss Ann Thrope suspects that handsome brown-haired playboy Frank Stone is really the secret identity of the crew cut and craggy-faced crimefighter Frankenstein and is constantly trying to prove it. His archenemy is the amazingly "Mini-Me"-like midget mad scientist Mr. Freek who likes to ride around on the shoulders of his huge and extremely powerful pet gorilla Bruto.

Frankenstein #2
"Frankenstein"
Intro of the Frankenstein (Frank N. Stone) monster as a super-hero.

"The Rebirth of Frankenstein"
"The Reward"
Miss Ann Thorpe hints to Frank that she knows his secret.
Written by D. J. Arneson with Tony Tallarico (& Bill Fraccio?) art.

Frankenstein #3
"What is This?"
Frankenstein is hypnotized by a mad computer.
"The Trap"

Written by D. J. Arneson with Tony Tallarico (& Bill Fraccio?) art.

Frankenstein #4
"The Return of Mister Freek"
Frankenstein is captured.
Villainous Mister Freek returns from his first appearance is issue #2.
"Silence is Golden"
Frankenstein returns to the city - to find it completely empty.
Written by D. J. Arneson with Tony Tallarico (& Bill Fraccio?) art.

Here again is what the Silver Age is all about. Off beat superheroes, fun times & cartoonish art. I enjoyed it! There's a lot of Silver Age goodies out there begging for reprints.