FEATURING
FRANKENSTEIN
Created by: Mary Shelley
Written by: Benoît Becker (pseudonym of Jean-Claude Carrière) (1931- )
 
Jean-Claude CarrièreRenowned film writer Jean-Claude Carrière’s approach to continuing the adventures of Mary Shelley’s immortal Frankenstein Monster character was startingly different from both the Universal and Hammer versions.
 
In six novels written in 1957 and 1958 for "Angoisse", the horror imprint of French publisher, Fleuve Noir, Carrière followed the footsteps of the Monster, christened “Gouroull”, as he made his way back from Iceland, to Scotland, and then Germany and Switzerland, from the late 1800s to the 1920s.
 
Unlike its predecessors, Carrière’s Monster is a ruthless, demoniacal thing, the very incarnation of evil.  His yellow, unblinking eyes hide a cunning, inhuman intelligence.  The Monster barely speaks, but uses his razor-sharp teeth to slit his victims’ throats.  Carrière emphasizes the physical inhumanity of the creature: the Monster does not breathe, its skin is white as chalk but strangely impervious to flames, its strength and speed are prodigious, what runs in is veins is not blood, and it has no normal heartbeat; even its thought process is shown to be alien.
 
The plots have the Monster pursuing his own, evil agenda, generally unafraid of the weaker humanity, and woe to anyone standing in his way.  Even people who try to help or reason with him are just as likely to be killed by the inhuman fiend.
 


The Novels

Carrière wrote six Frankenstein novels for Fleuve Noir under the house pseudonym of "Benoît Becker" (with plotting assistance from Guy Bechtel for the first novel): 
 
1. La Tour de Frankenstein [The Tower Of Frankenstein] (FNA No. 30, 1957) 
2. Le Pas de Frankenstein [The Step Of Frankenstein] (FNA No. 32, 1957) 
3. La Nuit de Frankenstein [The Night Of Frankenstein] (FNA No. 34, 1957) 
4. Le Sceau de Frankenstein [The Seal Of Frankenstein] (FNA No. 36, 1957) 
5. Frankenstein Rôde [Frankenstein Prowls] (FNA No. 41, 1958) 
6. La Cave de Frankenstein [The Cellar Of Frankenstein] (FNA No. 50, 1959)

 
 

THE LOGO OF THE AREDIT
"FRANKENSTEIN" COMICS
  

 

The Comics

In 1972, French comics publisher Aredit (which also published translations of DC and Marvel material, as well as "Atomos" and "Meteor") devoted seven issues of its digest-sized "Hallucinations" horror comic magazine to adapt Carrière's Frankenstein novels. 
  
 
1. Frankenstein (adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel) (HA No. 15, 1972) 
2. La Tour de Frankenstein [The Tower Of Frankenstein] (HA No. 16, 1972)
3. Le Pas de Frankenstein [The Step Of Frankenstein] (HA No. 17, 1972)
4. La Nuit de Frankenstein [The Night Of Frankenstein] (HA No. 18, 1972)
5. Le Sceau de Frankenstein [The Seal Of Frankenstein] (HA No. 19, 1972)
6. Frankenstein Rôde [Frankenstein Prowls] (HA No. 20, 1972)
7. La Cave de Frankenstein [The Cellar Of Frankenstein] (HA No. 21, 1972)

 
 

 
 

 
 

The Author

 
Jean-Claude Carrière is a prolific French writer and screenwriter, who has collaborated with directors Luis Buñuel, Jacques Deray, Jesus "Jess" Franco, Jean-Luc Godard, Louis Malle and Volker Schlondorff, to name but a few.  An incomplete list of his credits (emphasizing science fiction, fantasy and horror projects) include: 

Cartes sur Table [Cards On The Table, Attack Of The Robots] (1962) 
Le Journal d'une Femme de Chambre [Diary Of A Chambermaid] (1963) 
Dans les Griffes du Maniaque [In The Grip Of The Maniac, The Diabolical Dr. Z, Miss Death And Dr. Z, Miss Death] (1965) 
Viva Maria (1965) 
Hotel Paradiso (1966) 
Le Voleur [The Thief] (1967) 
Belle de Jour [Beautiful By Day] (1967) 
La Piscine [The Swimming Pool] (1969) 
La Voie Lactée [The Milky Way] (1969) 
L'Alliance [The Alliance] (1970) 
Borsalino (1970) 
Un Homme est Mort [A Man Is Dead, The Outside Man] (1972) 
Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie [The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie] (1972) 
Le Moine [The Monk] (1972) 
France, Société Anonyme [France, Inc.] (1973) 
La Femme aux Bottes Rouges [The Woman With Red Boots] (1974) 
Le Fantôme de la Liberté [Phantom Of Liberty] (1974) 
Léonor (1975) 
Le Diable dans la Boite [The Devil In The Box] (1977) 
Cet Obscur Objet du Désir [That Obscure Object Of Desire] (1977) 
Photo Souvenir [Souvenir Shots] (TV) (1978) 
Ils Sont Grands Ces Petits [The Kids Have Grown Up] (1979) 
The Tin Drum (1979) 
Sauve qui Peut La Vie [Every Man For Himself] (1980) 
La Double Vie De Théophraste Longuet [The Double Life Of Théophraste Longuet] (TV) (1981) 
Je Tue Il [I Kill He] (TV) (1982) 
Le Retour de Martin Guerre [The Return Of Martin Guerre] (1982) 
Le Jardinier Récalcitrant [The Rebel Gardener] (TV) (1983) 
Danton (1983) 
Un Amour de Swann [Swann In Love] (1984) 
L'Unique [The Only One] (1985) 
Les Étonnements d'un Couple Moderne [The Astonishments Of A Modern Couple] (TV) (1986) 
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) 
Valmont (1989) 
Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)