Japanese Frankenstein Sketchbook

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(this one from Matt tasks me a little as i seriously want it!)


This fabulous sketchbook from Japan was made in the 1970s. It features a Karloff Frankenstein from 1939's "Son of Frankenstein".

There's interesting artwork on the inside cover as well. Rather disappointingly, the sketch pages are completely blank, with no artwork in the margins. I can't read Japanese, so I don't know with the lettering on the inside of the book says.

The building that Frankenstein is looming over on the cover with the jet flying out of it looks familiar, but I can't for the life of me figure out what it's from.

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[Confessional]

Supergiantfranktastic goodness! Another great east/west crossover from this era… likely a manga tie-in and head exploding joy abounds!

[B-Lister]

Google translate could decipher the text.

[MysteryWho]

Amazing!

[cjefferys]

Holy crap, want!! I've always loved the paintings on Japanese toy packaging, this one is in the same style but with the added huge bonus of the Karloff monster. Wonderful!

The big box in the top right says "Frankenstein" in katakana, but it's hard for me to make out much of the smaller print (one of the small boxes at the bottom says "Dr. Frankenstein" but I can't make out everything in the box underneath the monster).

[palitoy]

We've established that the plane is a take on "Mighty Jack" but unsure of the building.

[B-Lister]

If you can get me a clear up close shot of the text, I can translate it into something remotely comprehensible.

[Megotastrophe]

Well the Frankenstein Monster looks to be similarly sized to the monster from Frankenstein conquers the world, could it be a double knockoff of that?

[Mikey]

We've established that the plane is a take on "Mighty Jack" but unsure of the building.

Even though it's design is very different the building reminds me of the Kennedy Memorial in Israel (cut off tree stump)

[Earth 2 Chris]

That's really cool! Giant Boris!!!

[TrekStar]

Not to sound like an idiot, but I just want to get this straight, what's the difference between Frankenstein and Gargantuas?.
don't the Japanese say Frankenstein and we say Gargantuans.

So the War of the Gargantuas is actually called, the War of the Frankenstein's in Japan? this Japanese sketchbook cover art
has the Karloff Frankenstein pictured, but he's giant monster size? so do they in Japan consider this American Frankenstein?
and their version of Frankenstein is what we see in the movie, Frankenstein Conquers the Universe and War of the Gargantuas? It's just a bit confusing to me, so could somebody explain how this works? Thanks.

[vintage spideyfan]

This is incredible!

[Megotastrophe]

Fcow was where the monsters skull had been found in Europe and taken to Japan to study. Iirc, the atomic bomb caused the skull to regenerate into a young Japanese boy wearing a monster headpiece. For reasons I never fully grasped he became a super giant. And then was defeated because, science. The sequel, War of the Gargantuas involved accidental clones. Little bits of him somehow fell off and one grew in the ocean and one in the mountains and they were not fond of each other. It has been a few decades since I saw these btw.

[MysteryWho]

I think it was his heart actually. He "died" battling Baragon. Then bits of him became the gargantuas. It's all weird and icky, which is great.

Fcow was where the monsters skull had been found in Europe and taken to Japan to study. Iirc, the atomic bomb caused the skull to regenerate into a young Japanese boy wearing a monster headpiece. For reasons I never fully grasped he became a super giant. And then was defeated because, science. The sequel, War of the Gargantuas involved accidental clones. Little bits of him somehow fell off and one grew in the ocean and one in the mountains and they were not fond of each other. It has been a few decades since I saw these btw.