"Mister Grinning Soul!"

This story in Madman is reminiscent of the Silver Age output from such luminaries as Gardner Fox and Julie Schwartz. In these tales, a hero such as Adam Strange would be presented with a puzzle and he would have to work it out, along with the reader, from the clues left for him to find.

Frank Einstein awakens in a strange white land. He does not know how he arrived there. He does not know where here is. He examines his surroundings, feels the environment out and in the end fails to come up with a conclusion. With the monster's appearance, one naturally deduces that Frank has been transported to an alien planet, but the enigma's not that easy to solve.

Mike Allred is as fair to the reader. If you pay attention to the evidence, you can work out where Frank has gone. I didn't, but it's possible. I like being surprised, but it's even better if the surprise makes some kind of sense. Allred's surprise does have a rationale. What's even more impressive is that once you discover Frank's whereabouts the story still pumps out steam.

Madman is eye-catching even before the story begins. Allred illustrates Joe as an unusual pin-up for the frontispiece. The rendering has nothing to do with the story, unless he's suggesting that Joe is fading into the white of Frank's mystery tour should he fail to return. Regardless, that is one mightily sexy drawing.

The multi-talent opens the story proper with a two page spread of Frank fighting the monster. Frank's frenetic fighting technique enhances the kinetic weirdness of Allred's art. Laura Allred's Kid Flash colors for Frank’s uniform distinguish him from the snowy background and immediately generate striking imagery.

After this glimpse at the midpoint of the story, Allred turns the clock back to the start of Frank's problems. Here, the reader can gather data about Frank's current location. Then we get back to Frank’s respective present. He fights furiously, like a madman. At one point he even takes a bite out of his unearthly opponent.

As Frank's memory comes back, the beginning of the story unfolds. The flux in narrative makes what could have been a linear tale more attractive and more engrossing. The monster-fighting is the hook. The events set before the battle explain the whys and give clues to the where. The resolution of the melee allows Frank breathing room to piece together the beginning of the story. The problems multiply. As the reader follows the tale toward the ending, the story becomes not just one of survival as originally voiced but one of Frank fighting for his beloved Joe.

This ginchy issue of Madman Atomic Comics exemplifies the depth of drama one can draw from a narrative that when reduced is really quite simple.

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