In “An Alternate Timeline to Frankenstein,” Hiroyuki Uokawa imagines a version of Mary Shelley’s classic novel in which Victor Frankenstein does not abandon his creation, but instead teaches him and protects him from the world. Using a comic book form, Uokawa is able to draw on visual details from the novel, like the rain that poured down on the night of the Creature’s creation, as well as from the later visual tradition of Frankenstein, such as the neck bolts reminiscent of Boris Karloff’s Creature in James Whale’s 1931 film adaptation of the novel.

While the comic lacks the nuanced conflict of the novel, the comparison forces readers to question our judgment of the novel’s Victor Frankenstein. Even if the Creature (Tom in Uokawa’s version) had been raised by his creator, Uokawa suggests, the prejudices of society would make him a virtual prisoner in his own laboratory. In this version, a family (possibly a reference to the De Laceys), cast stones at Tom the first time he tries to explore the world outside. The concluding panels — in which Victor laments that he did not make Tom “normal,” and offers to one day give him a makeover — draw our attention to the enforced normativity (and capitulation to normative values) that uphold a prejudiced society.

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