I FOUND MYSELF AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE CEMETERY...

I found this moment in the story of Frankenstein very powerful. After Victor's wife Elizabeth is murdered by the monster, he returns home only to find his father dying in his arms. He visits the cemetery where his family plot exists. He visits the graves of his brother William, Elizabeth and his father. He snaps. It is here that he pledges vengeance against the wretched fiend he created.

The text for this page is as follows:

The deep grief which this scene had at first excited quickly gave way to rage and despair. They were dead, and I lived; their murderer also lived, and to destroy him I must drag out my weary existence. I knelt on the grass, and kissed the earth, and with quivering lips exclaimed, "By the sacred earth on which I kneel, by the shades that wander near me, by the deep and eternal grief that I feel, I swear; and by thee, O Night, and by the spirits that preside over thee, I swear to pursue the demon, who caused this misery, until he or I shall perish in mortal conflict. For this purpose I will preserve my life: to execute this dear revenge, will I again behold the sun, and tread the green herbage of earth, which otherwise should vanish from my eyes for ever. And I call on you, spirits of the dead; and on you, wandering ministers of vengeance, to aid and conduct me in my work. Let the cursed and hellish monster drink deep of agony; let him feel the despair that now torments me."

I SAW YOUR VESSEL RIDING AT ANCHOR...

Here's your page of the week. This illustration reflects the fantastical and timeless style that I am bringing to the book in a way that no other telling of Frankenstein has been done. Known to those familiar with the tale of Frankenstein (yet not addressed in my blog yet) is the explorer Walton and his crew whose story of obsession parallels that of Victor's. The two meet in the beginning of the book when Walton discovers Victor weak and on the verge of death in the far uncharted north. Walton's ship is embedded in ice and the crew's life is endangered if they press one. This is a choice that their Captain Walton has to make.

The ship in my story, like all the other forms of transportation in this world, is covered in rivets and rusty metal. Exhaust pipes, indicating a fantastical and unfamiliar origin of power, jut out from all around. The main cabin is illuminated with the same bright green as the fluid that sparks Victor's creations to life, mirroring the two obsessions and their similar fate...DEATH.

The text for this page is as follows:

In this manner many appalling hours passed; several of my dogs died; and I myself was about to sink under the accumulation of distress, when I saw your vessel riding at anchor, and holding forth to me hopes of succour and life. I had no conception that vessels ever came so far north, and was astounded at the sight. I quickly destroyed part of my sledge to construct oars; and by these means was enabled, with infinite fatigue, to move my ice-raft in the direction of your ship. I had determined, if you were going southward, still to trust myself to the mercy of the seas, rather than abandon my purpose. I hoped to induce you to grant me a boat with which I could still pursue my enemy. But your direction was northward. You took me on board when my vigour was exhausted, and I should soon have sunk under my multiplied hardships into a death, which I still dread, - for my task is unfulfilled.

Oh! when will my guiding spirit, in conducting me to the demon, allow me the rest I so much desire; or must I die, and he yet live? If I do, Walton, satisfy my vengeance in his death. When I am dead, if he should appear, swear that he shall not live - swear that he shall not triumph over my accumulated woes, and live to make another such a wretch as I am. He is eloquent and persuasive; and once his words had even power over my heart: but trust him not. His soul is as hellish as his form.

THE OTHER BRIDE...

In my previous post, you were introduced to "The Bride" to the Monster. But Victor, like many creators, is obsessed with his work, and in this way he is married to his work. You could say that the creation of the bride is his affair.

His "other" bride awaits his return home so that they can get married. But Victor is out two-timing with his diabolical dabbles. Things don't go so well for him (like with most cheaters) and Victor finds himself loosing his best friend, getting nailed by the fuzz and framed for a crime he didn't commit. So it goes.

But lucky for Victor, he has a very rich and powerful father who gets him out on bail. On his return home, it is decided to wait no longer and get hitched to his cousin Elizabeth. And so they do.

I PASSED WHOLE DAYS...

I can't believe it is time to post another page of the week. Days are passing by quickly like those days of Victor after his return home from the valley of Chamounix. With a blackened conscience and the pressure of commitment, I can relate to the troubled Victor.

Speaking of which, here is the page of the week, illustrating the following text from the book Mary Shelley's Frankenstein:

At these moments I took refuge in the most perfect solitude. I passed whole days on the lake alone in a little boat, watching the clouds, and listening to the rippling of the waves, silent and listless. But the fresh air and bright sun seldom failed to restore me to some degree of composure; and, on my return, I met the salutations of my friends with a readier smile and a more cheerful heart.

It was after my return from one of these rambles that my father, calling me aside, thus addressed me:-

"I am happy to remark, my dear son, that you have resumed your former pleasures, and seem to be returning to yourself. And yet you are still unhappy, and still avoid our society. For some time I was lost in conjecture as to the cause of this; but yesterday an idea struck me, and if it is well founded, I conjure you to avow it. Reserve on such a point would be not only useless, but draw down treble misery on us all."

I trembled violently at this exordium, and my father continued -

"I confess, my son, that I have always looked forward to your marriage with your cousin as the tie of our domestic comfort, and the stay of my declining years. You were attached to each other from your earliest infancy; you studied together, and appeared, in dispositions and tastes, entirely suited to one another. But so blind is the experience of man, that what I conceived to be the best assistants to my plan may have entirely destroyed it. You, perhaps, regard her as your sister, without any wish that she might become your wife. Nay, you may have met with another whom you may love; and, considering yourself as bound in honour to your cousin, this struggle may occasion the poignant misery which you appear to feel."

THE WICKEDNESS OF MY PROMISE...

I almost forgot to post the page of the week for you. I've been so busy and time has been sped up by some alien technology that I was shocked to find it was already Friday and naught a page posted.

So I give you two! I've been sharing my works in progress on Facebook and Twitter and these bride images got a great response. So I thought I would present to you the full spread in all it's finished monstrosity.

Enjoy!

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN...

Finally, riding through the vast eerie mountains of Frankenstein once again. This should be the last grueling waiting period. With the final chapter mapped out and laid down on a template, I've embarked once more on my journey into wretchedness.

Here is the first page of Volume III and the first page in almost three months. With all the details figured out, I will be back on my schedule of producing a page almost daily. And I will be back to my regular updates on this blog with news, progress, workshops, insights and the "page of the week".

In this page, the contrast between Victor and his best friend Clerval are evident. Clerval is alive, joyful and happy while Victor is...well...his usual emo self. But don't take it from me. In Clerval's own words, "But you, my dear Frankenstein, wherefore are you desponding and sorrowful?"

Why do you think, Clerval? He's just come back from a trip to the mountains where he was kidnapped, against his will, by his rejected child who just happens to be a hulking reanimated corpse. He was blackmailed and left with a dire proposition. He is to create another diabolical anomaly of the female gender or death will come to everyone he loves. On top of this, his father arranges his marriage with cousin Elizabeth. This is great and all because they are in love (in an insestual kind of way). But it's bad timing to plan a wedding.

So Clerval decides to take him on a trip to London.

What a good start into Volume III! Enjoy your page of the week and look for more to come.

FINAL PAGE OF VOLUME 2

I have some exciting news (at least I think it's exciting). I have just finished the last page of volume 2 in the mega Gris Grimly Opus Frankenstein. Weighing in at around 200 pages (and volume 2 finishes on page 131) I'm feeling pretty accomplished. My publisher will be receiving a surprise this holiday...the 50 painted pages that makes up volume 2. Here is the final page for you to partake in this joyous moment.

Now...onto volume 3.