Creature Commandos Present: Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. Book One

Creature Commandos Presents: Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE #1

by Jeff Lemire, Grant Morrison, Doug Mahnke (cover_art)

Before James Gunn's highly anticipated Creature Commandos animated series debuts, get to know the team's resident undead, sword-swinging power hitter, Frankenstein, in this collection of stories from comics all-stars Grant Morrison, Jeff Lemire, Doug Mahnke, and Alberto Ponticelli! Book one of this two-volume collection reprints the entire Seven Frankenstein limited series plus Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1-7.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels Comics

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 6, 2024

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.

Reviews

[Jon Von · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thick tome of badass action. This is really more of a Grant Morrison and Jeff Lemire two-hander, and each of them brings their own style to the unstoppable character. I love it when Morrison is a little weird but keeps it relatively reigned in. And it's great when Lemire gets to go weird, this is probably my favorite thing he's done since the Valiant days. The second half of this book is a real trip, and that's WITHOUT the Grant Morrison. Big recommend.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Jeff Lemire. And him taking over DC’s Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos? Yes please. This series happened during New 52. And this collection also includes Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers Frankenstein mini from a few years before.

I didn’t love the Morrison mini. And at first I didn’t love the Lemire ongoing. It’s a rough start. But it worked itself out by the end. I like Frankie and his Bride, and I like the buddy cop relationship between Velcoro the vampire and Griffith the werewolf.

There’s some fun stuff here, particularly towards the end when the automaton humanids gain sentience and try to take over SHADE. but getting there is kind of a dull, obtuse ride.

[Ric Croxton]

Horror

Fantastic! One of the best! I love it! There should be more horror books like this one. I can't wait to read more!

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Morrison issues hold up very well. Those were some of my favorite bits from Seven Soldiers of Victory. And I love the idea of a fan of the Creature Commandos show picking this up and getting hit first with Grant’s insane, compressed stories with an bizarrely articulate version of the character that is much different than the one in the show. It wouldn’t be much different from when I picked up New X Men after the original movie came out. And of course Doug’s Mahnke’s artwork is sublime and apocalyptic and elevates it all.

The Lemire issues are not nearly as good. They feel a bit like an off-brand Hellboy and BPRD comic that’s more Saturday Morning Cartoon than James Gunn’s show is. The art here by Alberto Ponticelli is serviceable, but it’s a major step down in scale and style from the previous issues.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grant Morrison and Jeff Lemire respectively develop the Creature Commandos mythos across the stories collected here, making for an immersive read that made me feel the way I did the first time I read the Invisibles as a 20 something.

[Tommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely read this with David Harbour's voice as Frankenstein, and probably will from now on. Really liked the art and the writing. Lady Frankenstein starts looking like Gamora for some reason in the second half? Overall really enjoyed this!

[Kauriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

True rating: three and a half stars. Three stars for the first half (only Frankenstein/Frankenstein and the Bride), four stars for the second half once all the creatures are introduced.

[JP Lumley · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. The art was mediocre, and the writing wasn't great. Kinda disappointed, because I love the Creature Commandos and I feel like this had a lot more potential it didn't live up to.

[Jack T · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5