Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE #1

The relaunch of the DC universe has given me, like many other Marvel readers, an ultimatum to finally stop hiding within my comfort zone and try something new. It's the kind of excitement I remember from being an eleven-year-old discovering that there are comics out there for virtually every genre and having a thirst for new books. Since I have very rudimentary knowledge of even the big name DC characters, this is all new for me.

Case in point, Frankenstein:AoS is another book that sounded outside of the mainstream DCU and right up my alley. It's another Jeff Lemire book, so I had high hopes since he blew me away with Animal Man. I've seen Alberto Ponticelli's artwork in Unknown Soldier and looked forward to the high-energy, gestural quality of his work, and he doesn't disappoint.

Basically, the plot is this. Frankenstein is an agent in a clandestine government agency that deals with threats of the super powered kind that seem to be infernal in nature. He is assisted by a vampire, a werewolf, a mummy, and a fish creature. Now, you may be thinking that this sounds slightly like Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. Well, it's exactly like that. I don't think that's a bad thing. I love Hellboy and I love the genre that it falls into, So we make Hellboy green and call him Frankenstein. So what? It's fun!

It's monsters being recruited to fight monsters. I don't need to defend it. Now, if any of you know of some titles that might tie into this one, let me know. Personally, I prefer books that are stand-alone tales, but I have Daredevil and X-Factor in case this doesn't pan out.

I give Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE #1 two broken horns of Anung un Rama up for enjoyability, and one rocky red thumb to the side for creativity.