PUFFIN GRAPHIC CLASSIC SERIES FROM PENGUIN BOOKS

Art by Frazer Irving

This adaptation is one of a  series of graphic novels from Puffin Classics, a division of Penguin Books.  Puffin is geared towards younger audiences and these graphic novels are about 170 pages long and "manga" format in that they're slightly smaller than normal trades.  

The line was edited by Byron Preiss and launched a number of titles that were to cover the spectrum of classic literature.  Offered in display "dumps" at bookstores in the initial shipments, the line was abandoned when Byron Preiss tragically died in a car accident.

GARY REED'S THOUGHTS AND NOTES ON WRITING FRANKENSTEIN.
This was probably the hardest project that I have ever worked on.  When I was asked to write this, I approached it in the usual way and wrote a page by page, panel by panel description of events, scenes, and dialogue.  However, right towards the end of my script (somewhere around 120 pages), I was informed that I would have to work off of Frazer's breakdowns.  Apparently, when he first was contracted for the work,  he assumed he was also writing it so he broke down each page, panel by panel.  Because of time constraints and the fact he already broke the story down once, it would have to be written using his breakdowns.  I dropped myself from the project as I didn't just want to be writing word balloons.  However, that was putting the publisher in a bind on a book already running a bit behind so I came back aboard.  But after writing the full script previously, it was hard to get motivated but by approaching it in a new way, I solved my problem.  Frazer approached the story differently than I so it required a major adjustment of things.  And because I couldn't see enough from the breakdowns, I couldn't really do a lot of some pages until Frazer finished the inks.  When I saw the printed book, overall I was pleased with it.  I got a chance to see Frazer's finished art and while it is all good, some of the pages are just absolutely stunning.