Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Vol. 1: War of the MonstersFrankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Vol. 1: War of the Monsters

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Vol. 1: War of the Monsters by Jeff Lemire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Armed with the sword of the Archangel Gabriel, Frankenstein protects mankind from dark menaces as an agent of SHADE!

Whenever I talk about comics, I normally latch on to the ones that are more than just guys in spandex punching each other. Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE, is two guys punching each other with the volume turned up to eleven.

Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE, combines the best parts of Hellboy and Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD with a helping of the Fantastic Four. Cool ideas are spilling off the page, as are the nearly mindless slugfests when Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos go into action, battling entire planets full of monsters, thinly disguised analogs of Dr. Manhattan, and various menaces contained within Shade City.

Frankenstein reminds me of Hellboy quite a bit. He's a hundred years old and fairly pissed off. The rest of the Creature Commandos are takeoffs of established monster characters like the wolfman and the creature from the black lagoon. It's a whole lot of fun.

Like I said earlier, the background concepts are what make the book, like the Ant Farm, a one inch diameter globe that floats above the earth's surface and serves as SHADE headquarters. Ray Palmer as the head scientist of SHADE, complete with his Atom powers, was one of my favorite parts.

Any gripes? Not really. Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE, is a hell of a lot of fun. It's not going to make you forget about Watchmen or Starman but it's not meant to.

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