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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Victor LaValle’s six-issue comic Destroyer brings Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein story into the present to examine grief, police violence, and the desire to bring back someone who has died. In a 2017 interview with James Whitbrook, LaValle described the comic as both a story about contemporary loss and a continuation of the classic horror tale.
What is Victor LaValle’s Destroyer about?
Published by BOOM! Studios, Destroyer follows Dr. Josephine Baker, a Black scientist descended from Victor Frankenstein. After her 12-year-old son, Akai, is killed by Chicago police, she uses modern technology to bring him back. At the same time, Frankenstein’s Monster has survived into the modern era and returns to a confrontation with humanity.
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Victor LaValle's Destroyer | $11.65 | Buy on Amazon |
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Victor LaValle's Destroyer #1 | $1.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Destroyer (Victor LaValle's) #2 Boom! | $6.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Victor LaValle's Destroyer #4 | $1.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Victor LaValle's Destroyer #2 | $1.99 | Buy on Amazon |
The premise joins Shelley’s legacy of creation and consequence to a present-day family tragedy. LaValle’s interview identifies the story as fiction; it should not be read as a report about a particular real case. The series runs for six parts, and BOOM!’s preview identifies its third issue as Victor LaValle’s Destroyer No. 3 (of 6), published in July 2017. Read LaValle’s interview with James Whitbrook at io9/Gizmodo and see BOOM! Studios’ issue preview.
Why did LaValle connect Frankenstein to grief?
LaValle said the project began with news and footage of Black men, women, and children being killed, and with the grief of their loved ones—particularly parents who had lost children. He saw Frankenstein as a way to approach that modern grief through an older story, while also exploring the power and risks of science and technology.
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“The Frankenstein story popped into my head as a perfect way to talk about this very modern type of grief, through the lens of an older version.”
In another 2017 interview, LaValle also connected the premise to the wish to bring back a loved one and to the grief he saw among Black parents whose children had been murdered. That is his stated artistic starting point, not a claim that the comic adapts one specific family’s experience. Read the separate 2017 interview at Tor.com.
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How does Destroyer continue Frankenstein?
The comic carries Shelley’s Monster into the present rather than simply retelling the original novel. It also places a new scientist and her son at the center of the story, making the question of creation personal: Josephine’s attempt to reverse a death unfolds alongside the Monster’s enduring conflict with humanity.
LaValle described the central relationship as a triangle:
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- Written by Victor Lavalle
- Illustrated by Dietrich Smith
“This comic is a triangle between Dr. Baker, the Monster, and Akai.”
In his account, the Monster embodies rejection of humanity and a pull toward destruction. Akai tries to remind his mother of love and forgiveness. Josephine stands between these forces, carrying both her grief and the consequences of her scientific power.
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What tone did LaValle want for the comic?
LaValle did not describe Destroyer as solemn drama alone. He wanted its serious themes to coexist with the pleasures of horror and spectacle, imagining a blend of Alan Moore’s From Hell and Toho monster films in which Godzilla fights other monsters.
His hope for readers was straightforward: “First, I hope they have so much fun reading this comic.” The mix of intimate loss, classic-monster conflict, and entertainment is part of the premise rather than a departure from it.
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Who created the six-issue series?
Victor LaValle wrote Destroyer. BOOM! Studios’ preview for issue No. 3 credits Dietrich Smith with illustration, Joana Lafuente with coloring, and Jim Campbell with lettering. A contemporary interview describes LaValle pitching the project to BOOM! and developing an outline for its first six-issue arc. Read the contemporary interview about the project’s development.
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