What happens when you take some of the best horror comic creators today and have them take a shot at a classic horror story. Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man is what happens, and horror fans may be in for one hell of a ride.

Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man #1

Written By James Tynion IV – Art By Dani

Colors By Brad Simpson

Published By Skybound Entertainment/Image Comics

***Minor Spoilers Possible***

A Classic Story Returns

Dr. Jack Griffin is a misunderstood yet brilliant scientist. Although, his colleagues and boss wouldn’t tell you he is brilliant. This creates a bit of anger and bad blood between the parties. While ordering some chemicals for their research he orders an exotic and rare chemical. He proceeds to give this chemical cocktail to a lab rat which makes the rat smarter but also makes the rat invisible. This breakthrough makes Jack think about all the ways this could give him power. So, he puts plans in motion to develop this cocktail for himself, no matter what the cost will be.

Man the Most Horrible Monster

This first issue tackles the very beginnings of one of the most famous movie monsters. James Tynion IV keeps the origins mostly the same well adding his touch to the character. The fact that issue one is a backstory origin of a famous monster with over 100 years of linage is an odd choice. It feels almost pointless and a waste of an issue as the origin story has been told thousands of times. Also, the choice of making Jack Griffin almost strictly an asshole, rather then a flawed, bullied, and tragic character seems like another odd choice. Granted this is issue one, so plenty of time to change course.

The art in this issue is beautiful and really gives the reader a classic old time feel. Dani does an awesome job of not only capturing the story but also making it feel like it’s the period it should be. The backgrounds and sets are stunning; well, the characters look amazing and accurate to the timeframe of the story. Brad Simpson enhances the artwork’s style by utilizing well-chosen tonal colors.

Check Out My Review of Ghost Pepper #2

Final Thoughts

Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man #1 is a rocky start for this classic tale. The choices of giving full-origin story as well as the tone of the main character are odd choices that could pay off down the road but make this first issue drag. It will be interesting to see where they go from here, and with the all-star creative team involved, it should be good. However, outside of the art this first issue is not very impressive, and a bit of a letdown.

Overall Grade: 5/10

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