Universal Monsters: The Phantom of the Opera #1 Is Gothic Horror At Its Best (Review)

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Universal Monsters: Phantom of the Opera #1 comes to readers from the team of Tyler Boss and Martin Simmonds. The two of them combine their considerable talent to give readers a breathtaking new version of this classic tale. Horror comics have hit some major highs over the years, and this book feels like a worthy entry into the pantheon of great horror stories.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Pros	Cons
Beautifully captures the gothic horror feel of the story	If you’re not already in love with the story, this isn’t going to appeal to you very much
The art is fantastic, the visual storytelling of the piece truly driving the story
There’s something different about this Phantom and it gives the story a new vibe

This Is Phantom of the Opera By Way of Vertigo Comics

Phantom of the Opera is both one of the most popular of the old Universal movies, but also not exactly the most beloved of horror fans. It’s a gothic romance as much as anything else and it’s something of a tough sell for fans of monster movies; the Phantom has never been that much of a monster. However, Boss is up to the challenge of bringing out the horror in this book, and he does so by giving the book a lot of Vertigo feel; this feels like something from the mid ’90s horror comics of that imprint, and it hooks you right away. Phantom of the Opera is a story about love and horror, and Boss is able to get across the right gothic feel with this first chapter of the story.

The dialogue does a great job of putting right into the type of gothic horror mindset the book needs you to be in. Your dropped into this world expertly and guided through it, Boss doing a tremendous job of adapting this story to the page. There are a lot of interesting storytelling choices made throughout the book to keep it all moving, especially once the investigation starts. Boss plays up the tension as the story goes on, and is able to nail the relationship between both the inspector and Christine, as well as the Phantom and the ingenue. Boss’s dialogue and script did a great job of drawing me into the book, so that the art could knock it out of the park.

Martin Simmond’s Art Is Perfect for This Issue

Image Courtesy of Image Comics

So, as good as the writing is, Boss is following the story to the letter. It’s the art that really makes this comic sing. Martin Simmonds’ art grabs you right away. You can see every brushstroke in the art, and there’s something about the images that takes you there, into the theater, into those long ago Paris nights. Gothic horror has a certain visual identity and this issue captures that to a tee. The page layouts, the way they concentrate on the character, allowing Simmonds’s superb character acting to get across the feel of the scene, is the one the keys to why this book works so well, the panels giving the story the right momentum.

There’s something about the way the words and the pictures work together in this book. That’s really the key to the whole thing. The Phantom of the Opera is a story about love and obsession, and for it to work, the visuals need to capture the world perfectly. The panels of this issue do that in the best way you can imagine. When you get to the end of the book and you get your first glimpses of the Phantom, there’s an eerie-ness to it that really comes through. This is a gorgeous re-imagining, and the art is the key to making it all work.

Universal Monsters: The Phantom of the Opera #1 takes one of the lesser-loved Universal classics (people love The Phantom of the Opera, but the horror version doesn’t get the love the musical does) and adapts it brilliantly. Boss and Simmonds are able to find a way to make this story work in new ways on the printed page, and it’ll be cool to see where they take the book. I wasn’t super sure about this one at first, but the art hooked me right from the start and never let go.

Universal Monsters: The Phantom of the Opera #1 is on sale now.

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