It cannot be understated just how influential Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is to our pop culture. Not only has it inspired a metric crap-ton of writers and artists but it is also credited by some scholars to being the first official science fiction novel. Not bad for something written for a bet almost 200 years ago.

While I do enjoy the story and some of the adaptations that it has spawned, I notice that modern creators have a fascination with trying to add “more” to it, particularly with the monster. You know, those retellings of the novel that try to add more action or try to make it more violent or more philosophical to appeal to the target audience of the month. I’m not saying this is the “wrong” approach, it’s just not that original. In my opinion, the best stuff that comes out of the Frankenstein franchise are the “what if” stories that either try to connect the original book to a modern-day example, insert your “scientists create a robot so advanced that it tries to destroy us or enslave us” movie, or build off the book in the form of a midquel or sequel. The comic that I want to talk about today is in the latter category.

Monster & Madman is a three-issue mini-series that started publication in 2014 by IDW. It was written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Damien (D) Worm. You might be thinking that those names sound kind of familiar and the cover art above looks very familiar. That’s because this is the same duo that brought us 30…