Terrific Horrific Perspectives in Junji Ito’s “Frankenstein”

In any medium, creating effective horror stories requires more than visualizing scary monsters. It also requires careful attention to atmosphere, symbolism, pacing, and perspective. In his adaptation of #Frankenstein, Junji Ito showcases his mastery of horror within the comics form. 1/9

Ito’s Frankenstein creates a horrific atmosphere through the use of dark shadows and obsessively detailed linework that, in key moments, forces the reader into close, claustrophobic proximity with the detailed architecture of monstrosity, making it hard to look away. 2/9

This hyper-detailed linework evokes Jack Halberstam’s definition of Gothic horror: “The production of fear in a literary text… emanates from a vertiginous excess of meaning. Gothic, in a way, refers to an ornamental excess… a rhetorical extravagance that produces, quite simply, too much.” 3/9

Symbolism contributes to this horrific atmosphere. In this opening sequence, close-ups on the Creature’s monstrously gooey eyes are juxtaposed with views of the lonely Arctic where Victor will die. Connecting these seemingly disparate images involves us in Victor’s journey–and his nightmare. 4/9

Ito also exploits the symbolism of haunting in how he positions Victor in relation to the Creature. The enormous Creature often looms over Victor, a monstrous weight casting dark shadows across Victor’s body & mind, evoking both physical & psychological threats and the impossibility of escape. 5/9

Because comics are static and make multiple moments visible at once, horror comics are, in some ways, at a disadvantage in terms of pacing. Compared to horror movies, it’s more difficult to produce “jump scares”–sudden, unexpected cuts & sound cues meant to physically startle the audience. 6/9

But comics do have their own version of the jump scare, in the form of page turns: creators will force you to turn the page to witness the monstrous climax of a spooky set-up. Page turns add a visceral quality to static images, physically involving the reader in revealing a shocking tableau. 7/9

Comics can also create tension by influencing the reader’s perspective through judicious framing & juxtaposition. Here, Ito presents restricted close-ups of the Creature’s awakening body, teasing but deferring a full reveal. This involves us in the birth of the Creature–& its horrific affects. 8/9

Ultimately, the most effective horror comics embrace the supposed limits of the comics form as its fundamental strengths–things that make comics capable of doing things no other form can do. And Junji Ito’s adaptation of #Frankenstein masterfully showcases these strengths. 9/9