Book of the Dead Vol 1 2

Book of the Dead #2
Previous Issue	Comics:Book of the Dead #1
Next Issue	Comics:Book of the Dead #3
Cover Date	January, 1994
Issue Details
Editor-in-Chief	Tom DeFalco

1. ""And Slowly He Begins to Remember... ""
Appearances · Synopsis
Writer(s)	Gerry Conway
Penciler(s)	Gray Morrow Howard Chaykin
Inker(s)	Gray Morrow Howard Chaykin
Editor(s)	Mort Todd Stan Lee
2. ""The Warning""
Appearances · Synopsis
Penciler(s)	Bernard Krigstein
Inker(s)	Bernard Krigstein
Editor(s)	Mort Todd Stan Lee
3. ""Bride of the Monster""
Appearances · Synopsis
Writer(s)	Mary Shelley Gary Friedrich
Penciler(s)	Mike Ploog
Inker(s)	Mike Ploog
Letterer(s)	John Costanza
Editor(s)	Mort Todd Roy Thomas
4. ""The Evil Eye""
Appearances · Synopsis
Penciler(s)	Pablo Ferro
Inker(s)	Pablo Ferro
Editor(s)	Stan Lee

 You dare to feel sorry for yourself, Frankenstein... when what I, through your doing, have suffered has been a thousand times greater?! 

—The Frankenstein Monster

Appearing in ""And Slowly He Begins to Remember... ""

Featured Characters:

• Man-Thing

Supporting Characters:

• None

Villains:

• Unknown

Other Characters:

• Ellen Brandt (Main story and flashback)
• Billy-Jo Drummond
• Bobby Drummond
• Hank Drummond
• Hamilton (Main story and flashback)
• Margaret Thompson
• Warren B. Thompson

Locations:

• Florida

• Everglades
• Man-Thing's Swamp

Items:

• None

Vehicles:

• None

Synopsis for ""And Slowly He Begins to Remember... ""

A man named Hank Drummond takes his infant son, Bobby, and tosses over the edge of a bridge. Little does he realize that the Man-Thing is stationed beneath the bridge, and catches the child. The sensation sparks images of his final moments as Ted Sallis, and some humanitarian element of the Man-Thing's psyche brings the child to the doorstep of Dr. Warren B. Thompson.

Hank meanwhile, returns to his home where he argues with his wife, Billie-Jo. He lies to Billie-Jo and tells her that little Bobby fell ill, so he brought him to Doc Thompson. Suddenly, Hank hears a ruckus taking place outside.

In the swamps outside the Drummond cabin, the Man-Thing is embroiled in a struggle with a hungry crocodile. He quickly crushes the animal, and then lumbers onward towards the cabin. Hank sees the creature and grabs a shotgun. He tells Billy-Jo to run for her life.

The Man-Thing clamps his hand across Hank's face, and begins to burn him slowly. Billy-Jo begs the Man-Thing to release him, and miraculously he does. Hank’s body slumps down to the ground, barely conscious. The Man-Thing turns and walks back out into the swamp.

Appearing in ""The Warning""

Featured Characters:

• Leo Bishop

Supporting Characters:

• Unknown

Villains:

• Unknown

Other Characters:

• Unknown

Locations:

• Unknown

Items:

• None

Vehicles:

• None

Synopsis for ""The Warning""

On December 13th, 2157, two men walk together on a moonless night. One man tells the other the tale of Dr. Leo Bishop.

Flashback

Dr. Bishop was one of the brightest and most selfless scientific minds of all time. One of his mentors discovered that Bishop was researching the old legends of King Midas, and believed that he could scientifically duplicate the fabled "Midas Touch". Bishop succeeded in his task, and created a serum, which he then injected into his dog. Anything that made physical contact with the animal turned into gold. Bishop donated all of his gold to the National Treasury, and the economy prospered greatly.

Years passed until one day a greedy opportunist broke into Bishop's laboratory seeking to steal the formula. Bishop and the thief grappled with one another, until they both accidentally touched the dog. The contact instantly transformed both men into gold.

Concluding the tale, the two older men finish their walk. They observe the golden statue of Bishop struggling with the other man – a permanent reminder of the ultimate price of greed.

Appearing in ""Bride of the Monster""

Featured Characters:

• Frankenstein's Monster

Supporting Characters:

• Victor Frankenstein (Main story and flashback)

Villains:

• None

Other Characters:

• Bride of Frankenstein (Main story and flashback)
• Canute
• De Lacy (Main story and flashback)
• Felix De Lacy (Main story and flashback)
• Henry Clerval (Main story and flashback)
• Robert Walton IV
• Saphie (Main story and flashback)
• Sean Farrell

Locations:

• North Pole
• Switzerland

Items:

• None

Vehicles:

• Captain Walton's ship

Synopsis for ""Bride of the Monster""

January, 1898
The Frankenstein Monster revives and walks through the flames that now consume the lower hold of the ship. Sean the cabin boy runs in, but turns in terror at the face of the monster. The boy stumbles and falls over unconscious. The monster picks him up and brings him out of the burning room.

On the deck of the ship, the monster, with Sean's limp body in his arms, scales the ship's rigging as mutinous crewmen gather round. Several of the men prepare to open fire on the monster, but Captain Walton orders them to stand down. He doesn't want to risk undue injury to the cabin boy, but he also knows that the monster is more than just a savage brute.

Walton explains to his men the sad tale of the monster as it was handed down to him by his grandfather.

The origin of Frankenstein continued:

The monster corners his hated creator inside of a cave. Victor is horrified by the notion that this creature is responsible for the death of his beloved brother, William. Sitting down before a fire, the monster details all of the things that happened to him since the night Victor created him.

The Monster's tale

Days after his gruesome creation, the monster wandered the cold forests of Switzerland. He nearly starved to death until he disrupted the territory of a grizzly bear. The Monster battled with the bear, ultimately killing it by snapping its neck. He skinned the creature, forging a shawl out of the dead animal's pelt then consuming the rest.

Months passed and the monster eventually came upon a family living in a small cabin. Aware that his physical visage would terrify them, he hid inside of a woodshed attached to the cabin and observed them for weeks. Knowing that the patriarch of the family, De Lacey, was blind, the monster hoped to one day befriend him, confident that the old man would not fear him. One day, when the old man was alone, a wolf entered the cabin and attacked him. The monster came out of hiding and killed the wolf, saving De Lacey's life. He nursed the old man back to health and the two become close friends. Soon however, De Lacey's children returned home and mistakenly believed that the monster was attacking their father. They drove him away from the cabin, and the monster fled into the forest.

A hunting party became aware of his presence and tracked him through the woods. One of them fired a gunshot into the creature's shoulder, and the monster responded by hurling a large boulder at the hunters, sending them scattering. It was only a short time after this incident that the monster came to Geneva and killed William.

The monster finishes his tale, and tells Victor that the only way he can redeem himself is by creating a mate for him. Victor is repulsed at the idea, but feels that he has no choice but to comply. He spends the next several nights roaming cemeteries, digging up bodies for any vital organ he can find. The monster assists in the project by murdering a young woman and stealing her still-beating heart. Victor sews the body parts together and brings the hideous "she-thing" to life. Watching it shamble across the floor, Victor realizes that he cannot possibly allow two such creatures to exist. He flies at the monster, stabbing her repeatedly with his knife until she falls over dead. When the monster learns what Victor has done, he flies into a rage and murders Victor’s close friend Henry Clerval. The authorities learn of the matter and arrest Victor for Henry’s death.

Captain Walton concludes his story, but his crewmen still eye the monster as he holds onto Sean Farrell on top of the ship's mast. Suddenly, the ship strikes an iceberg and pitches over.

Appearing in ""The Evil Eye""

Featured Characters:

• Unnamed hag

Supporting Characters:

• Unknown

Villains:

• Unknown

Other Characters:

• Unknown

Locations:

• Italy

• Sicily

Items:

• Unknown

Vehicles:

• Unknown

Synopsis for ""The Evil Eye""

An old hag wanders through the streets of a village in Sicily. People run in terror, shouting to beware of the Evil Eye. Everywhere she goes, the reaction is the same. Crops wither and die in her presence, and drought grips the countryside. She eventually leaves the village and finds shelter in a small abandoned cabin. Inside the cabin, she finds a mirror and gazes upon her own reflection for the very first time. Upon seeing the image of her own Evil Eye, she curses herself, and falls over dead.

Notes

• "And Slowly He Begins to Remember... " was originally printed in Adventure into Fear #10.

• "The Warning" was originally printed in Uncanny Tales #54.

• "Bride of the Monster" was originally printed in The Monster of Frankenstein #2.

• "The Evil Eye" was originally printed in Astonishing #33.

• A more faithful adaptation of the Frankenstein story is provided in Marvel Classics Comics #20.

• The names of several of the supporting characters seen in this issue are taken from Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus.

Trivia

• This issue was partially reprinted and repackaged in the 1974 Frankenstein read-along book-n-record set by Power Records.

See Also

• 4 image(s) from Book of the Dead Vol 1 2

Recommended Reading

• Bloodstone #1-4
• Book of the Dead #1-4
• Man-Thing (Volume 1) #1-22
• Man-Thing (Volume 2) #1-22
• Man-Thing (Volume 3) #1-8
• Man-Thing (Volume 4) #1-3
• Marvel Classics Comics #20
• Monster of Frankenstein #1-18
• Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #4

Links and References

• Frankenstein article at Wikipedia
• Frankenstein (Universal movie) article at Wikipedia
• Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus; Mary Shelly, 1818
• Frankenstein's Monster article at Wikipedia
• Monster of Frankenstein series index at the Grand Comics Database
• Man-Thing profile at Wikipedia
• Man-Thing profile at the Marvel Directory
• Man-Thing profile at Toonopedia
• Man-Thing movie entry at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)