Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine

Number 27

Frankenstein Friday: Frankenstein's Wife

This is the third story from Frankenstein Comics #1 from 1945, written and drawn by Dick Briefer.

The first two stories from the issue can be found in Pappy's Number 20 and Number 23.

This is a weird story--well, all of these Briefer Frankenstein stories are pretty weird--but this is weird even for Frankenstein, because sex rears its head. It's not explicit, just implied, but the statuesque, and toothsome Mrs. Frankenstein has some sort of sex appeal. Even more when the society gentlemen think she has $4,000,000.

Briefer was being original when he designed Mrs. Frankenstein (and no, she's not assigned a name except for that…something that Briefer did with supporting characters in many of his stories), because he didn't use the famous Elsa Lanchester Bride Of Frankenstein image to caricature. Rather than the beehive with lightning bolt design on The Bride's coiffure, Briefer put a Bettie Page hairdo on her head. You have to admit, Mrs. Frankenstein is pretty...ugh...unique.


I have read this story a couple of times over the years but I just noticed the note to the owner of the company Mrs. Frankenstein is quitting. The owner's name is W. C. Bowl, which would be Water Closet Bowl, or to us Yanks, Toilet Bowl. OK, it's not much of a joke, and its origin is probably in the experiences American GI's had in Britain during the war, but it must've appealed to Briefer's strange sense of humor.

Next week: Frankenstein and the Manimals!