After perfecting his secret formula, Dr. Henry Jekyll’s life doesn’t fall apart in the webcomic The Glass Scientists—at least not right away. Rather, he travels the streets of London, rescuing poor mad scientists from angry mobs so that he can give the profession a public relations makeover.
Actually, in Sabrina Cotugno’s webcomic, Jekyll prefers to call mad scientists “rogue scientists.” It has a more dignified ring to it. After a young werewolf finds himself cornered by a group of urbanites wielding pitchforks (pitchforks they have clearly acquired solely for mad scientist and monster-poking), he finds himself swept under the protection of the genteel doctor. But it’s very clear that, for all his kindly bluster, Dr. Jekyll is clearly hiding a secret, and it’s possible that our furry friend isn’t much safer under the socialite’s care.
Cotugno’s dialogue manages to be extraordinarily charming with an undertone of nasty things left unspoken. And her vibrant art is complemented perfectly by Tiina Purin’s colors. It’s one of the prettier (and dare I say cuter?) takes on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde I’ve seen, but I still get the sense that, in the end, things might not turn out so well for our dear Dr. Jekyll.