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How to Make a Monster
How to Make a Monster is Casanova Frankenstein's unflinching memoir of growing up as a Black INTJ 13-year-old in 1980. Conveyed as a bleak first-person narrative with darkly humorous overtones, Casanova Frankenstein reveals how real life experience shaped his hard-bitten, survivalist view of life. His was a world of fear and isolation punctuated by bullying thugs, the stifling atmosphere of the Lutheran school on the South Side of Chicago, racial segregation, unapproachable girls, and a home life consisting of an emotionally distant and unsupportive mother and an violent, alcoholic cop father who was not above giving his son a good thrashing now and again while preaching Christian family values. It is a searing portrait of an unbearably painful upbringing. How to Make a Monster is illustrated by Australian outsider artist Glenn Pearce in a rare creative symbiosis in which Pearce captures Frankenstein’s inner turmoil using a variety of stunningly realized artistic approaches from naturalistic portraiture to outrageously inventive phantasmagoric imagery. A seamlessly contrapuntal balancing act between Frankenstein’s raw, unadorned writing and Pearce’s stunningly detailed drawing. Full-color illustrations throughout
- GenresGraphic NovelsBiography
224 pages, Paperback
Published September 6, 2022
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41 people want to read
About the author
Casanova Frankenstein
8books9followersCasanova Frankenstein is an American writer, cartoonist and multimedia artist.
He was born Albert Melvin Frank III (name formally changed in 2013) in 1967 in Chicago. After earned degrees in Fine Art and Metaphysics, Casanova worked for about 25 years in a range of day jobs - till an early retirement in 2016 due to heath issues - while also producing art, poetry, and comics.
He was born Albert Melvin Frank III (name formally changed in 2013) in 1967 in Chicago. After earned degrees in Fine Art and Metaphysics, Casanova worked for about 25 years in a range of day jobs - till an early retirement in 2016 due to heath issues - while also producing art, poetry, and comics.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 25, 2024
3.5 ⭐️
I don’t know how I feel about this. I really like the illustration style, which is why I was drawn to this book in the first place (even if it made me feel gross at times). I don’t really know what point Frankenstein is trying to make here and/or if I agree with it. The ending is also really abrupt.
Overall, I’m glad that I read this but I don’t think I would recommend it.
I don’t know how I feel about this. I really like the illustration style, which is why I was drawn to this book in the first place (even if it made me feel gross at times). I don’t really know what point Frankenstein is trying to make here and/or if I agree with it. The ending is also really abrupt.
Overall, I’m glad that I read this but I don’t think I would recommend it.
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January 29, 2025memoir of a black boy, an only child, growing up in the southside of chicago. relentless middle school bullying, awful living situation (asshole cop father, neglectful mother), navigating a racist asshole world, alienation and isolation. later he was diagnosed with ptsd from these experiences. the art is really fantastic.
July 9, 2023
I loved this. Deep, profound - the writer still in shock, but every page counted.
December 30, 2024
How to Make a Monster is a graphic memoir written in 2022 about being 13 years old in 1980 - so, it was written by a 55-year-old. Yet, incredibly, its voice does not seem to have progressed much past teenagerdom; the tone of the book feels very much like something written by someone who is still in that phase of their life, who is still haunted by 13-year-old bullies, who still sees women as nothing more than sexual trophies, who still has no greater perspective on the social dynamics and interactions of a group of eighth-graders. The author seems to have been encased in amber in 1980, and emerged 40-something years later to write a scathing critique of his tormentors.
The book's title is in reference to the author's assertion that perfectly normal and healthy boys with empathy and a variety of interests are transformed into monsters in adolescence who care only for sex, sports, and social dominance. The author tells us that he avoided such a transformation, but in turn became a target for a clique of four boys who bullied him for being a good student and liking comic books rather than sports. The book details his misadventures as he struggled to deal with these four boys, portrayed in the book as goblins with pointed ears, and ends rather abruptly after a story about skipping school to avoid his bullies.
Bullying is a serious problem, and one that affects a great number of children and teenagers. But I didn't feel as though this book's treatment of the subject was especially nuanced or interesting. I was repeatedly frustrated and dumbstruck by the simplistic tone taken by the book on many subjects, again especially in light of its publication date as compared to the date of the events in the book. The greatest asset this book has is its art, which is at times somewhat crude and simple itself - again adolescent in nature - but is also at times legitimately elaborate, interesting, and surprising. The creativity and unpredictability of the art elevates the book into something a bit more compelling than the mere narrative presents to us.
If this was a book written by a 1980s teenager about 1980s teenagers, it would be an impressive achievement by a promising pair of young artists. But as a book written by a man in his late middle age, it is just kind of baffling.
The book's title is in reference to the author's assertion that perfectly normal and healthy boys with empathy and a variety of interests are transformed into monsters in adolescence who care only for sex, sports, and social dominance. The author tells us that he avoided such a transformation, but in turn became a target for a clique of four boys who bullied him for being a good student and liking comic books rather than sports. The book details his misadventures as he struggled to deal with these four boys, portrayed in the book as goblins with pointed ears, and ends rather abruptly after a story about skipping school to avoid his bullies.
Bullying is a serious problem, and one that affects a great number of children and teenagers. But I didn't feel as though this book's treatment of the subject was especially nuanced or interesting. I was repeatedly frustrated and dumbstruck by the simplistic tone taken by the book on many subjects, again especially in light of its publication date as compared to the date of the events in the book. The greatest asset this book has is its art, which is at times somewhat crude and simple itself - again adolescent in nature - but is also at times legitimately elaborate, interesting, and surprising. The creativity and unpredictability of the art elevates the book into something a bit more compelling than the mere narrative presents to us.
If this was a book written by a 1980s teenager about 1980s teenagers, it would be an impressive achievement by a promising pair of young artists. But as a book written by a man in his late middle age, it is just kind of baffling.
January 14, 2023
Despite this graphic autobiography's title, there are no monsters in this book. Well, maybe the bullies. It's a coming of age story about being a bullied black nerd. I felt for him. Him being both black and a nerd meant the harassment that always comes with being different was piled on top of the accusation that he was "acting white." The book ends right after he tries playing hooky a few times and discovers punk rock, which if you ask me would have been the part where the story gets interesting.
I liked the art, but it could have used an editor. I noticed a handful of spelling errors and some questionable word choices.
I liked the art, but it could have used an editor. I noticed a handful of spelling errors and some questionable word choices.
March 18, 2024
This is the story of a year in the life of a thirteen year old black teen, living on the south side of Chicago, and his day to day life as he navigates the trials of 8th grade. This quiet, artistic, "weird" kid is bullied by his peers, has an uncomfortable home life, and has to deal with racism and bigotry. This is a true story; a memoir of life as it was for this amazing boy, and his rise above it all. The art is phenomenal, and perfectly illustrates...everything. It's raw and very real. I found myself getting lost in it.
This is one of the best graphic novels I have ever read. Very highly recommended.
This is one of the best graphic novels I have ever read. Very highly recommended.
February 7, 2025
I picked this up on a whim at the library because I was intrigued by the premise about a retrospective from a Black man who grew up bullied for being a nerd in the early 80s in Chicago. The art style was interesting, although I overall didn't love the sort of self-hating Black man stereotype that runs through the story and I just didn't really feel like the author said much with it. Bullying sucks, and it makes us go through a lot, but I don't really think Frankenstein was able to make much point here beyond that.
March 19, 2023
By the end all I could think of was to say "Thank you for sharing" It felt like I had just heard the AA "why I drink" explanation from someone, who thought they were more interesting than they are. The art and presentation were great. The story was just pointless. Glad they got it off their chest. I guess.
May 28, 2023
Pearce’s fantastic art and Frankenstein’s simple, effective writing pair well here. It’s a but short for my liking, but I’ll definitely read this again.
September 11, 2024
Is the "monster" part when he referred to school shootings as "the deaths of a bunch of white high school bullies" or the multitude of times he called people "retarded"? And this isn't the 13 year old him speaking since it's written in the voice of the adult, and he refers to Columbine, which hadn't happened in 1981. I loved the art, and I empathize with any child who lives the way he did, but if you've shown no growth as an adult, you should probably not put that on display in your memoir.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
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