Sunday Morning FrankenFunnies or Leave It To Briefer

As some know, i have a fondness for artists inserting themselves into their comics. Not too long after when we left off last time, Dick Briefer had fun with the notion, going for considerably more than the average cameo appearance in his Frankenstein series while the creature does his impression of Scott Carey -

(That's John Reese - Editor of Prize Comics)

(Milt is credited as Milt Turet. But who was Milt Turet?)

This wasn't the only time he showed up in his comics. The first is so old (actually, the same year as above, and a year prior to below - but i didn't want to hurt its feelings and say that nobody loved it and saved it) that the only copy i've ever seen is on microfiche, so the image quality is going to suck. It's worth looking at while we're here, but we'll stick to just the appearance panels -

...and he was off with Hercules to grab a fresh girdle...

There was one other instance of which i'm aware. Just a year later in Crime Does Not Pay,  we got an inside look at Briefer's work methods...

Curious? Let's follow along to the next page and see what the series was like -

I don't wan to spoil things, so i'm putting the solution after the break below. You'll have to follow the link if you want to see how Dick Briefer totally twisted the conventions of the form to create what is likely the most oddly unique who-dunnit type comic.

Go ahead - take as long as you like. But unless you've got a very odd mind, it's unlikely you'll guess the solution.

page art by Dick Briefer for Prize Comics #30, Boy Comics #9, and Crime Does Not Pay #38 (1943, 1944)

For The Solution-

Frankenstein - The Supervillain

With the fourth chapter of Dick Briefer's Frankenstein comic, things took a little twist and the strip changed direction with the addition of a new element...

And so it began - an ongoing superhero series with Frankenstein as the Big Bad (and titular star), and Bulldog Denny as "the only human he fears". For over a year Bulldog battled to stop the monster...

Sometimes Bulldog even got to share billing...

The big problem, however, was that Bulldog Denny was - as Nick phrased it - Hopelessly...Hilariously...Outgunned. He succeeded (or survived) primarily by luck against the overwhelming power of Frankenstein. Here's a good example from close to the end of this phase, in which Frankenstein teams with another villain - Doctor Devil...

The creature, of course, routinely did not die.
A new plan was needed...

The addition of a superhero to the mix might seem strange at first glance, but it should be remembered that Frankenstein was appearing in Prize Comics, which was primarily a superhero title with features like The Black Owl having been around since issue one...

Other regulars included Doctor Frost...

...The Green Lama...

...and Yank and Doodle...

There was the occasional humour comic before later Frankenstein strips, too, such as The General and The Corporal...

Adding a superhero in that environment wasn't really that strange of an idea.

Coming up - The New Plan...

Frankenstein page art by Dick Briefer for Prize Comics #s 11-15, 21 & 22 (1941, 1942)

Frankenstein - In The Beginning

We've looked briefly at the most famous incarnation of Dick Briefer's classic Frankenstein comics - the comedy period. As noted however, the series didn't start that way. Not even close.
In fact, this is how it started:

"Born out of Death, a hideous monster stalks the Earth, wreaking havoc on the Human race..."

Note quite a comedy there, eh?

As odd as the humour comics were in and of themselves, the thing that made Briefer's Frankenstein truly odd in my eyes was the ongoing evolution of the book. Briefer's art shifted to match each change in tone, keeping his unique feel regardless of the differences in each version.

So, let's go back to the beginning - to the first three stories which established the series...

With the 4th tale, the series took it's first odd turn...

page art by Dick Briefer for Prize Comics #s 7-9 (1940, 1941)