Frankenstein Event of 2019

As a new year rushes in, full of promise, we glance back at the year just spent and note that Frankenstein truly is forever. Two centuries into its career, The Monster is as busy as ever on film and TV screens, on stages, in comics and graphic novels, in fiction, cultural histories, and all manners of manifestations. 

The date I choose to remember for 2019 is December 12, when the gavel came down and Bernie Wrightson’s astonishing wraparound cover art for his illustrated Frankenstein book of 1983 was sold at auction. The price was 1.2 million dollars.

This appraisal speaks to the excellence of Wrightson’s art, his passion. It also speaks to the enduring fascination with Mary Shelley’s singular vision. Brought together across time, Mary Shelley and Bernie Wrightson achieved something profoundly original and extraordinary. 

Happy New Year.

Download a pdf copy of the Profiles in History auction catalog.

Bernie Wrightson, 1948-2017

Bernie Wrightson passed away on Saturday, March 18, 2017. He was 68 years old. Wrightson had been ill for some time and had only recently announced that he was effectively retired, not to produce new art or attend conventions. You can read his obituary on his website: http://berniewrightson.com.

Bernie Wrightson’s work in comics is legendary. As an illustrator, he was truly a giant of his field, one of the best ever. Witness his contribution to the history of Frankenstein as perhaps — and for many of us, undoubtedly — the finest illustrator yet to grace Mary Shelley’s novel.

Working on and off for almost seven years, Wrightson produced forty-seven incredibly detailed illustrations. The 1831 version of the novel, illuminated with Wrightson’s art, was first published in 1983.

Bernie Wrightson was a master of his art and his interpretation of Frankenstein will endure as his masterpiece.

Photo by Tim Bradstreet.