Bones Coffee's Frankenbones

Halloween is two weeks away... so it seems like a great time to review one more coffee blend with marketing inspired by a classic literary horror character and a whole slew of movies: Frankenstein's Monster.

 

 

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: FRANKENBONES

Some of the flavored Bones Coffee blends I've tried over the past few months filled my home with delightful aromas as they brewed. Sometimes that aroma matched the expected and/or advertised flavor,  other times it was something of a misdirect. Sometimes the tastes of the blends are subtle, sometimes they're so overwhelming so has to barely be drinkable.

With Frankenbones--a blend that, according to Bones' sell-copy is "here to delight your taste buds in ways that science never thought possible"--the Florida-based company delivered medium-roast with flavors so subtle I had to look them up, because the "Frankenstein"-inspired cartoon and text on the packaging didn't give any hints as to what I was to expect, nor did the aroma as the coffee brewed.

The flavor of Frankenbones, according to the Bones Coffee website, is hazelnut and chocolate. I picked up on the hints of chocolate and perhaps a faint hint of nuts, but the overall effect was of coffee that goes down so smooth that it was as if I'd already added some milk or creamer to it. Once I added unsweetened almond milk, the nutty flavor came out a bit stronger (maybe hazelnut plus almond... even if almond milk doesn't really taste like almonds to me?), but when I tried the blend with the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, the chocolate flavor seemed like it was more noticeable. 

In all three cases--whether I drank Frankenbones straight, with unsweetened almond milk, or with the creamer--the coffee flavor was at fore with the other tastes mixing in and adding smoothness. Even as the coffee cooled to room temperature (which it almost always does for me, as I drink slowly), the tastes remain consistent and stable. Hot or at room temperature, this is a fabulous tasting coffee.

Cold and over ice, the hazelnut flavor seems to come out a bit stronger whether unsweetened almond milk or sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer is added--although the chocolate once again popped with the Italian Sweet Cream in the mix. I also tried it iced with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, which mixed nicely with the chocolate and brought to mind something you might get at a place like Starbucks (only far cheaper and far more convenient).

Whether you drink Frankenbones hot or cold, or somewhere in between; whether you drink it with milk or creamer added, this is another offering from the Bones Coffee Company that I think you'll like. I certainly did!

Musical Monday with Sheena Easton

We continue our Halloween-themed music videos with a great tribute to the classic Universal monster movies that has little to no connection with the subject matter of the song. Nonetheless, it's fun to watch Sheena Easton sing her heart out while squaring off against (or being absolutely unphased by)  Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and even King Kong! (Although... one does have to wonder if she's brave, doesn't have anymore more damns to give, or is stone-deaf when it comes to her reaction to the Frankstein's Monster!

I hope you enjoy this classic music video, which was directed by the Steve Barron, who helmed some of the greatest music videos of the 1980s... and this neat little gothic romance in the style of great horror movie classics is certainly counted among those!


Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair) (1983)
Starring: Sheena Easton and the Universal Monsters
Director: Steve Barron
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Mort Drucker passes away at 91

The great cartoonist and caricaturist Mort Drucker died on April 9, 2020, at the age of 91. Although best known for his strips and cartoons in MAD Magazine, he also illustrated children's books, drew a couple coloring books, did cartoons for a host of publishers and purposes ranging from advertising to T-shits... and he even did some "serious" comic book artwork and covers along the way.

In honor of Drucker's great talent, and in memory of all the joy and amusement he brought to readers over the years, here's a small selection of cartoons that are especially relevant to the topics touched on here at Shades of Gray. (Click on the drawings to see larger versions.)

Picture Perfect Halloween with Vampirella

Vampirella has made a new friend, and she's bringing him with her to a Halloween party near you!

By Art Adams

Christmas with the Monsters!

The moment before Frankenstein's Monster kicks Dracula's ass for opening his Christmas present early... again!

'Essential Monster of Frankenstein' ranges from excellent to excrement

The Essential Monster of Frankenstein (Marvel Comics, 2005)
Writers: Gary Friedrich, Doug Moench and Bill Mantlo
Artists: Mike Ploog, John Buscema, Val Mayerik, et.al.
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

I suspect that most people reading this first came to Frankenstein's Monster through the movies, be they the Hammer films or the ones from Universal Pictures. Myself, my first exposure to Frankenstein's Monster was in the pages of a comic books where in one issue I read about him fighting a giant spider while looking for the man who created him, and then later fought vampires and ultimately did come face-to-face with his maker.

These two issues helped fuel my love of comics, as random as they were in the overall placement of the Marvel Comics' version of Frankenstein's Monster, so when I saw Marvel was collection ALL the stories in one big fat book, I had to have it, so I could read the rest of the story, even if it was three decades later.

This mammoth black-and-white reprint volume features some of very best comics published by Marvel... and some of the very worst. It collects all the early of Frankenstein's Monster as seen through the prism of the House of Ideas, presenting material that original appeared in "Monster of Frankenstein," "The Frankenstein Monster," Legion of Monsters," and "Monsters Unleashed."


The tales within its pages that have Gary Friedrich credited as writer are true gems of comic story-telling. From the fabulous adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel, to the inevitable battle between gothic horror titans Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster, through the tragic conclusion of the monster's quest to find the Last Frankenstein, the first 11 issues of the Monster of Frankenstein comic book are indeed "essential" reading. Friedrich's stories are well-crafted, the 19th century setting refreshing, the characters all interesting, and the illustrations for those tales, primarily by Mike Ploog and John Buscema, are also among some of the finest work those artists ever did.

The same is true of the first few reprints featuring Frankenstein's Monster from the pages of Monsters Unleashed. The saga of Frankenstien's Monster is moved into the modern day as an obsessive mad scientist discovers the inert creature in a traveling sideshow and revives him with bizarre and tragic consequences. The first few of these stories were written by Gary Friedrich and illustrated by John Buscema, and these, again, are true comic-book classics. But once Friedrich leaves as writer, the quality goes down the drain.

With the exception of the final story in the collection, the episodes penned by Doug Moench are just plain awful, with Frankenstien's Monster facing off against a silly secret criminal organization and even sillier by-products of the efforts of modern-day monster-builders. I hate to say that Moench turned in bad work for the series, as he has written some of my favorite comics ("Master of Kung-Fu," "Six From Sirius," his run on "Catwoman"), but there is just nothing redeeming about his efforts on the Frankenstien series. (Except the very last story reprinted from "Legion of Monsters". Moench and the artist he was teamed with on the strip, Val Mayerik, do their only decent work for the entire series on that one.)

In the final anaylsis, about 1/3rd of this book is trash, but the good parts are really good and this makes "Essential Monster of Frankenstein" a worthy addition to any fan of horror comics' bookshelf. Just skip the material that originally appeared in The Frankenstein Monster issues 12-18 and Monsters Unleashed issues 6-9.

Unfortunately, Marvel Comics has chosen not to keep the book in print. It's too bad, because, although flawed, It's worth seeking out, and I recommend getting a copy from some source before "collector prices" truly start kicking in.