The Legend Of Frankenstein Meets Sherlock Holmes In The New Prometheus Graft (Exclusive)
The Frankenstein's Monster has found a new profession: consulting detective, and now he is facing his biggest and most dangerous case yet.
Shaun Corley has been with ScreenRant for over 5 years, and is currently the Coordinator for PR and Outreach for the Comics Team.
The legend of Frankenstein collides with Sherlock Holmes in the new Prometheus Graft, and ScreenRant is pleased to bring fans a first look. As two of the 19th century’s biggest literary sensations, Sherlock Holmes and Frankenstein's Monster have thrilled readers the world over. Now, the two legends are set for an intriguing mash-up courtesy of Oni Press.
Released in 1818, and written by a then-teenage Mary Shelley, Frankenstein can be viewed not only as a horror novel, but as the beginning of modern science fiction. Frankenstein has been adapted numerous times, with everyone from Thomas Edison to Guillermo del Toro checking in with their own version. The various film versions of Frankenstein have ensured the Monster is a pop culture icon. Appearing roughly 70 years later, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has set the gold standard for mystery fiction. Much like the Monster, Holmes is part of the literary and pop culture landscapes.
Sherlock Holmes has seemingly met everyone from Dracula to Batman, and Frankenstein’s Monster has appeared in both Marvel and DC Comics.
As both Frankenstein and the Sherlock Holmes stories are in the public domain, leaving them open for anyone to work with, pastiches on the two characters have appeared. Sherlock Holmes has seemingly met everyone from Dracula to Batman, and Frankenstein’s Monster has appeared in both Marvel and DC Comics. Now, after nearly 200 years of roaming the world, Frankenstein’s Monster has a new profession: private detective.
Frankenstein's Monster Has Become a Consulting Detective in Prometheus Graft
Prometheus Graft Will Be A Good Time For Not only Frankenstein Fans, But Lovers of Mysteries As Well
This December, Oni Press will release Prometheus Graft: The Slayings at Death’s End, written by George Northy and drawn by Caitlin Yarsky, which recasts Frankenstein’s Monster as a consulting detective similar in vain to Holmes or Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. Oni released a synopsis for the book, which reads as follows:
Decades after his creation, the creature once known as Frankenstein’s Monster has reinvented himself as Europe’s most formidable mind. After years underground, his scars have faded and his genius-level intellect has tamed his hulking nature . . . revealing an extraordinary talent for solving the world’s most inexplicable mysteries. Today, he is Prometheus Graft: gentleman detective, expert investigator . . . and something still not quite entirely human.
Now, on the cusp of a new century set to be ruled by science over superstition, Graft believes he his finally conquered his monstrous past . . . until he is summoned to the remote Romanian castle of Death’s End, where an immortal lord has assembled Europe’s most feared supernatural beings to broker a long-lasting peace. But their fragile treaty will soon be shattered when the corpse of one of the prominent guests is found murdered in the castle’s hedge maze . . . turning witch against werewolf and vampire against ghoul as suspicion and bloodshed spiral.
With only his instincts and a bloodstained trail of clues to guide him, can Prometheus Graft solve the slayings at Death’s End before a new day breaks . . . and all hell follows with it?
In addition, Oni has provided ScreenRant with the first batch of covers for Prometheus Graft’s first issue, which are shared here.
Prometheus Graft’s creative team is going all-in for the new series. Writer Northy, who is a big Agatha Christie fan, stated he wanted to do a story in that vein, but was at a loss for whom the hero should be. Northy goes on to say:
But who to cast as the Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes or Benoit Blanc of this monster mash-up mystery? Then it came to me: The Creature in Mary Shelley’s iconic FRANKENSTEIN was brilliant, tortured and a ‘living puzzle’ himself.
Likewise, Prometheus Graft’s Yarsky is also excited to tackle the legend of Frankenstein, telling Oni Press:
It’s been a joy creating a look-and-feel for the world with George, who gave me parameters but then let me run wild with whatever inspiration I came across. It’s a real partnership; we’ve worked hand-in-hand to bring readers a story with a unique blend of classic murder mystery, dark fantasy and gothic horror.
Prometheus Graft promises to be the most unique take on Frankenstein and the “locked room whodunit” style mystery to date.
Prometheus Graft Has the Potential To Be Pop Culture's Best Literary Mashup
Literary mash-ups are common, especially with public domain characters like Frankenstein’s Monster and Sherlock Holmes. As noted earlier, these characters have met many other famous figures from literature and film. Some of these meetings work, such as Holmes teaming up with Batman, but others do not. The trick is to find the common ground between the properties, and Prometheus Graft is doing just that. Speaking with Oni, Northy offered some insight into the Monster’s new occupation:
What if he set out to try to solve the mystery of what he really is—and who exactly makes up his disparate, grafted-together pieces—and, along the way, discovered a talent for solving all manner of occult mysteries? That became our hero detective, Prometheus Graft.
The Monster has, after decades of wandering, found where he fits in.
Prometheus Graft will simply do more than fuse Frankenstein with Sherlock Holmes: it will be a compelling mystery all on its own, in the best traditions of Doyle and Christie. The Monster, who has seen many injustices in his life, is now in a position to help people, proving that, in many ways, he is more human than those around him. Oni Press, George Northy and Caitlin Yarsky are giving the legend of Frankenstein a new sheen, one sure to take its place beside the best mash-ups ever.
Prometheus Graft: The Slayings at Death's End #1 is on sale December 9 from Oni Press! FOC is November 16!
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.