Dick Briefer is one of my absolute favourite cartoonists of all time, and it's a shame there isn't more of a tribute to his work in print or online. Even the few links I found to his art when I wrote about him back in the spring are dead. It's a cryin' shame, because the guy was a pioneer. His version of Frankenstein that debuted in Prize Comics #7 (1940) qualifies as the first comic book 
series in the Horror genre, period! And, as far as I and most of my collegues are concerned, it got even better in 1945 when Briefer decided to make the series a comedy! The stuff with 'The Merry Monster' is just great... wacky, sick, and wayyyy ahead of it's time. And the brush line is just luscious. One of my favourite issues is where the monster meets my hero Boris 'Karload'... Scott Shaw! has a great write up on that particular issue here, and I've included a scan of the splash page with Boris climbing out of a grave. 
And here's a really cool bit of news. Dick Briefer's granddaughter, Alicia Jo Rabins, plays violin for the Klezmer/Rock band, Golem, and reflects on her memories at the Golem website . How cool is that? Anyway, I feel lucky to have found one, last place to read some online Frankenstein, including the monsters' 'Birthday'... enjoy!UPDATE! 10/25/05
Monsterama reader John Platt has dug us up some more Dick Briefer comics online, here, here, and here.
8 comments:
Wowee Zowee!
I'm with you, Dick Briefer's Frankenstien was rediculously fun stuff! I remember stumbling across some stuff on the web awhile ago...the first time I saw it. Wild, wild, and sooo silly. He's also featured in this mag...
http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=254
Reprints of his stuff along with a few other zany incarnations of Frankenstein...second only to Briefer's was Dell comic's version of him in 1966...as a superhero with tights and a big yellow "F" on his belt. Zippee!
Oh yeah, Hans. I'll be posting a bit on those Dell 'monster heroes' sometime soon. That stuff is unbelievable!
Three Briefer Frankenstein stories are online here:
http://www.americancomicarchive.com/feature.html
One more story online!
http://pecomics.tripod.com/23one1.html
Okay, one more link:
http://members.fortunecity.com/srca1943/AAC22-4-1.html
I had no idea anything like this was online!
OK, John. You are officially a deputy Monster! Thanks!I think I'd better add those new links to the post...
I love Briefer's range! Some of those panels from the 'scary' Frankenstien are pretty brutal images. Plus, a wide diversity of faces/builds on the victims...the man could draw a suit, that's for sure. What a dapper bunch.
There's a new Briefer tribute site at
http://briefers_frankenstein.webs.com/
that has stories from both postwar incarnations
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