From Publishers Weekly
Based directly on the bestselling novel by Koontz and Kevin J. Anderson, this exuberantly gruesome comic adaptation draws some themes from Mary Shelly's 1818 original but also many images from horror movies, including contemporary slasher flicks. Deucalion, the first Frankenstein's monster, is summoned from meditation in a Tibetan monastery by news that Victor Frankenstein, aka Helios, is alive and thriving in New Orleans. Although Victor poses as a philanthropist, he actually is creating hoards of genetic slaves in an abandoned hospital. His control over his creations is slipping, however, and one has become a bloody serial killer, convinced that he can find what it takes to be human if he looks inside enough people. As this installment concludes, a tough female police detective is beginning to believe Deucalion's story, while the violence increases. Booth's vigorous layout and pencils do an admirable job of keeping characters and action clear. Dixon's adaptation also effectively uses Koontz's greatest skill, his breakneck thriller plotting, so that the story races from one ghastly shock to the next. (Feb.)
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From School Library Journal
Grade 10 UpβDetective O'Connor manages to look seductive and tragic while snacking in parking lots and blindly following the trail of New Orleans's most gruesome murderer. She and her partner, the slightly lackluster Michael Maddison, have discovered corpse after corpse throughout the city, each missing limbs or organs. Meanwhile, life seems easy for Victor Helios, scientist and technology mogul who lives in the lap of Southern luxury with an army of servants and a spouse to rival the most astonishing of Stepford wives. Strangely though, his company, Helios Biovision, housed in the crumbling Hands of Mercy Hospital, features bricked windows, security cameras, steel doors, and a staff that never sees the light of day. Based on the novel by Kevin J. Anderson and Dean Koontz, this graphic novel is one of the more compelling in the recent trend of "classic" adaptations. The story, though familiar, is packed with a satisfying blend of sinister twists and modern supporting characters. Booth's art has enough intensity and detailed creepiness to make any reader squirm. The eyes of the characters convey a sense of doom and inhumanness that adeptly mirror the philosophical darkness of the plotline. Blending questions of the human condition, justice, and revenge with a healthy smattering of gore, this first volume is sure to be snatched up by teens.β_Shannon Peterson, Kitsap Regional Library, WA_
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