Skybound Entertainment and Image Comics are putting the Bride in the spotlight. In partnership with Universal Products & Experiences, the companies announced Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives, a new four-issue comic book series from writer Kelly Thompson and artist Mattia De Iulis.
Thompson, the Eisner Award-winning writer of Absolute Wonder Woman and Black Widow, teams again with De Iulis, the Eisner Award-nominated artist of Absolute Wonder Woman and The Cull. The series launches in comic book shops on October 28, 2026, just in time for Halloween.
The announcement came during the American Library Association Annual Conference & Exhibition. The new series expands Skybound’s growing Universal Monsters line with a story that centers the Bride’s identity, memory, and fight for agency.
Kelly Thompson Gives The Bride Her Own Story
Thompson wants to explore the question the original film never answered. What does the Bride think about her own creation?
“The original Bride of Frankenstein is a brilliant film exploring the creature’s failed attempts to find friendship and community, and then the desperate act to force others to create that which he cannot find. What it’s not about, however, is how The Bride herself feels about her creation,” mused writer Kelly Thompson. “Through The Bride of Frankenstein Lives we get the opportunity to explore not only her search for who and what she is, but her search for the women that were destroyed to create her — all brought to striking vivid life via Mattia De Iluis’s incredible visuals.”
De Iulis said Thompson’s script immediately showed him the power of the project. He sees the series as a chance to move the Bride from the margins to the center of the story.
“When I first read Kelly’s script, I knew right away this was going to be something special,” added artist Mattia De Iulis. “We are finally giving the Bride the center stage, she’s no longer someone’s property, she is a human being fighting for her own story. And for me, it’s an honor to translate that onto the page.”
The Bride Enters a Dangerous New World
Here comes the Bride. Thompson and De Iulis reunite to deliver a new horror series built around one of Universal’s most iconic monsters.
The Bride rises in the heart of a thunderstorm. Stolen flesh, electricity, and monstrous desperation bring her to life.
She enters the world with no memory of her past. She does not know what she is, where she came from, or who made her.
Danger waits around every corner. To survive, she must uncover the mystery of her creation and discover what makes life worth living.
Skybound Calls the Series “A Reckoning”
Skybound Editorial Director Alex Antone praised the creative team’s approach to the character. He described the series as the Bride story fans have been waiting for.
“Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis have delivered the Bride story you’ve always wanted,” said Alex Antone, Editorial Director, Skybound. “This book is a reckoning. From Kelly’s fearless story, to Mattia’s gorgeous art, you won’t be able to put this comic down. And don’t forget to pick up Ryan Sook’s issue #1 Hairiant Cover! Sorry, we just couldn’t help ourselves.”
The Universal Monsters Line Expands Again
Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives continues Skybound’s nearly decade-long relationship with Universal Products & Experiences. That partnership spans film, video games, and comic book publishing.
The Bride of Frankenstein Lives marks the eighth Universal Monsters series launch from Skybound. The line began with James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds’ Dracula, which earned Simmonds an Eisner Award nomination for BEST PAINTER / MULTIMEDIA ARTIST (INTERIOR ART).
The line also includes Ram V, Dan Watters, and Matthew Roberts’ Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives!, Michael Walsh’s Frankenstein, Faith Erin Hick’s The Mummy, James Tynion IV and DANI’s The Invisible Man, Tyler Boss and Martin Simmonds’ Phantom of the Opera, and Joshua Williamson and Leomacs’ Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man. The Invisible Man recently earned Tynion IV an Eisner Award nomination for BEST WRITER.
Skybound and Universal Products & Experiences will continue the Universal Monsters line with more limited series. Each new project will pair major comics creators with some of pop culture’s most famous monsters.
Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 begins a four-issue limited series. The first issue arrives at comic book shops and digital platforms on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
