Whale, one of the most successful directors of the 1920s and ‘30s, also directed a slew of other Universal Pictures monster movies, including Frankenstein (1931) and The Invisible Man (1933), films which have been the source for the Skybound and Image Comics adaptations. He was known for his expressionist sensibilities, prioritizing extremely expressive performances and a visual style that rejected realism. Whale was also openly gay throughout his career, and many of his films have been revisited by scholars and fans alike with this in mind.
Bride of Frankenstein is the most revisited in this way, and film scholars have been applying a gay viewing of the film routinely for decades. Its campiness, themes of procreation and religion, and intentional use of gendered and sexually ambiguous language surrounding certain characters have all spawned academia and new readings.
In the Absolute Universe, Diana was raised in Hell instead of her typical home of Themyscira, the mythological home of the Amazonians. Absolute Wonder Woman, similar to Bride of Frankenstein, is similarly defined by thematic complexities. Diana’s existence is a sin against the gods, and the tension of her existence pulls between her role as a violent warrior princess and her innate goodness.
Thompson and De Iulis’ experience on Absolute Wonder Woman make them the perfect pair for bringing a story with such a captivating history to the page. Early looks at their first issue hint at a take on the character that captures the same thematically complex energy of Whale’s masterpiece from a new perspective, in which we finally get to hear the Bride’s thoughts and feelings.
Both Bride of Frankenstein and Absolute Wonder Woman share narrative depth and tap into a mythos of powerful stories that define their success, and the comic will almost certainly be a must-read.