From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Nosferatu (1922)

Posted on October 2, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update that is truly going to be one epic and spooky one as we will be taking a look at the 1922 film Nosferatu and the adaptation of the film that is done by Tome Press. Covering one of the world’s most iconic silent horror films to kick off October 2026 is a great way to add a little more scares to this already spooky month. When choosing to cover Nosferatu, there were many different publishers that have done comics based on Count Orlok like Image Comics, Caliber Comics, Blood Scream Comics, Toonhound Studios, Viper Comics and Millennium Comics to name a very few, but to me Tome Press was one of the earliest publishers to do an adaptation so they should be the one to get this Rotten Ink treatment. So if you are ready, let’s get ourselves into the carriage as it’s heading through the deep dark woods, over the old wooden bridges and pass the field that the werewolf stalks to get to Castle Orlok as it’s time to be scared by classic horror!

Let’s start by taking a look at Count Orlok, a twisted vampire that has many ways of tormenting and killing his prey. First off, Count Orlok’s appearance is very ghastly as he is tall and skinny, has a bald head with pointy ears, big eyebrows, long nails and two very sharp front teeth, and this makes people feel very uneasy being around him and some downright scared. Count Orlok being a vampire that has lived for a very long time, can scare people with just the mention of his name as those who grew up near his castle have all heard the terrifying stories. Count Orlok has the power of making those who are around him feel weak and sick, with sometimes death coming to his prey that is often blamed on the rats and plague. He also has a very creepy slow walk but can move among the shadows making him a great stalker of his human prey, and it also allows him to creep up on them without them even knowing they are being targeted by a vampire. His main way of dealing death is with his fangs that he bites into human flash to drink of the blood and this leaves his victim dead. While Count Orlok is very powerful, he does have one weakness that will end his life and that is the sun as its rays turns him into dust. Not much else is known of his weaknesses and this makes Count Orlok a very deadly vampire and creature of the night.

So as you can see, Count Orlok is a very dangerous and deadly vampire who can deal death to so many people very easily, and truly is one of the oldest vampires only behind Count Dracula. And now that we have talked about him, I think we should take a look at the silent horror film he is from, Nosferatu! Like always, I will be taking the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB and then after that I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts. So if you are ready, let’s travel deeper into the castle and see what horrors awaits us.

Nosferatu (1922)

“Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter’s wife.”

Albin Grau and Enrico Dieckmann owned a film production company called Prana Film that was based out of Germany, and they were into making films and shorts centered around the macabre. And it is said that when Grau was in the war, he heard a farmer speak of his father being a vampire and this stuck with him causing him to also want to make a vampire film and along with the novel Dracula they started on creating their film. They hired Henrik Galeen to write the screenplay and based it off the Stoker novel. Galeen had already worked on many silent horror films that included The Golem (1915) and The Golem: How He Came Into The World (1920) showing he understood how to bring the frights in classic German silent horror cinema. The film would be directed by F.W. Murnau and would be filmed in Germany as well as parts of Slovakia including Orava Castle that was used as Count Orlok’s castle. F.W. Murnau was a wise choice to direct as he was already on his way to becoming one of Germany’s top film directors as he had already directed the horror films “Satanas (1919)”, “The Hand Of Janus (1920)”, “The Hunchback And The Dancer (1920)” and “The Haunted Castle (1921)” proving also that he knew how to frighten moviegoers. When casting the film such actors as Greta Schroder, Gustav Von Wangenheim, Alexander Granach, Ruth Landshoff and Georg H. Schenell were brought to fill out the main cast with Max Schreck being hired to play Count Orlok. Once done the films score was written by Hans Erdmann and was said to be a very wonderful soundtrack, as sadly over time most of the score music has been lost with only fragments remaining. The film was released to theaters on March 4, 1922 and was a big hit with both critics and fans as the spooky settings, creepy look of Count Orlok and over all horror of the shadows made it the talk of the town. But trouble was on the way when Florence Balcombe, the widow of Bram Stoker, sued Prana Film as they failed to get the rights to Dracula to make their film and she was mad and wanted this film company to pay. Prana Film claimed that they had made several changes from the novel for their film, but the judge did not accept this and ordered all prints of Nosferatu to be destroyed and this court order was put into effect with many of the prints being destroyed…but thank the Gods that several of the prints survived and made it so that horror fans could see this truly masterful film for themselves. The film over the decades has became one of the top silent horror films of all time and keeps finding new viewers thanks to home media as the film has been released on VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray. Nosferatu in 1922 was released alongside other horror films like Haxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages, The Headless Horseman, A Blind Bargain, The Ghost Breaker, One Exciting Night, Esmeralda and The Dungeon to name a few. I also want to say that Nosferatu has been remade twice: once in 1979 and again in 2024 and even had a horror drama film called “Shadow Of The Vampire” that was released in 2000 and acted as if Max Schreck was a real vampire…showing just how iconic this film really is.

I am a massive fan of silent horror films, and one of the best and most iconic hands down is Nosferatu from 1922 as it has such a legacy as well as one of the world’s most creepy vampires to haunt the silver screen. The film has a very special way of creeping you out as you watch Count Orlok glide through the shadows stalking his prey and with the right score music playing, the lights turned off in your house and a thunderstorm raging outside can truly mark one hell of a spooky viewing. Growing up, I remember truly being terrified of Count Orlok as when I was in kindergarten, I would have several of the same nightmare about him coming up from my family’s basement to get me, all the while walking up the stairs and scratching his fingernails on the wall it would make this scrapping noise, the strangest part about this nightmare is that I had not even seen the film yet! I do also remember seeing clips of the film on episodes of the cartoon Muppet Babies as I used to love that show and when they would open a closet door, a clip from an old silent film would play. The first time I got to see the full film of Nosferatu was when I bought a copy of it on VHS from a Dollar Tree as that place use to have all types of silent horror films on VHS and is how I first built my collection up, and it lived up to the hype I had created in my head as well as all the praise I had read about it in the horror books and magazines I was reading at the time. I can remember that I watched the film the moment I got home as I made myself a baked potato for lunch and popped it into the family VCR and was drawn into the dark creepy world it was showing me and it was great to finally see the vampire of my nightmares in the film that spawned him. Nosferatu really is one of those special films as I feel that it still to this day is considered one of the world’s scariest movies and the mystic and mystery around the film is still very strong. If you have not seen this film and enjoy silent horror films as much as I do, make sure to do yourself a favor and give it a watch as I truly think that this film and the 1925 version of Phantom Of The Opera are two of the best films of this era.

So now that we have talked about Nosferatu and the film’s deadly vampire Count Orlok and we find that we have been chilled to the bones by his spooky nature, I think that it’s time we take a look and review the comic adaptation by Tome Press. I want to thank Lone Star Comics for having these comics in stock and making this update possible. I would like to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. When looking back at Tome Press, they were a very strange comic publisher as they really enjoyed making comics based on classic mythology, art books and Sherlock Holmes, but also did do a few horror themed ones like H.P Lovecraft and Jack The Ripper. But with that, let’s head into Castle Orlok and see what terrors await us on these comic pages.

Nosferatu # 1 **1/2
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.95 Tome Press # 1 of 2

The year is 1838 and the newly married Johann and Ellen Hutter are enjoying their new life together, but his job and boss Knock has been a bit of a burden by keeping him late at work and is now sending him to Transylvania to meet a Count Orlok who wants to buy the Montague Home in Germany. Before Johann starts his journey, he sets it up that his wife Ellen will stay with her best friend Annie while he is away. Once near the castle of Count Orlok, he stops at an inn for a quick meal and drink, only to be spooked by the villagers who beg him to stay there the night as they claim the area he is headed is haunted at night, and he does just that. In the morning a carriage takes Johann close to the castle but refuse to go any further, leaving him at the side of the road next to a bridge. Johann sits at the side of the road wishing another carriage would come by…and when the sun is down one does and takes him to the castle where he meets Count Orlok who has been waiting for him. While Orlok looks over the deed to his soon to be new home, Johann has a quick bite to eat and by accident cuts himself and the sight of blood causes Orlok to act super weird and keeps talking to Johann late into the night, and even gets weirder when he sees a picture of Ellen and is taken by her beauty.

The spooky 1922 film comes to the pages of a 1991 comic book and for the most part is really well done. The plot this far is newly married Johann Hutter is sent to Transylvania by his creepy boss Knock in order to have a Count sign a deed on a old rundown home in Germany, but things get strange for Johann on his journey as the town people are afraid of the land near the Count’s home and this spooks him. Plus once he is around The Count, he finds him to be very creepy as he is very much into the sight of blood as well as the sight of Ellen his new bride. Johann Hutter is man trying to move up in the real estate company he works for and even takes a very strange and far away job in order to lock a sale and get a nice commission that he can use to better the life of his new wife and himself. While Johann is brave and smart, he also seems to be a little spooked by the tales he is hearing from the locals about the area near his new client’s home. Ellen seems like a good wife who is waiting for her husband to return, she also seems to like to read books about vampires while she waits. Knock is the owner of the business Johann works for he is very untrustworthy and is clearly setting up his young worker by sending him to lock this sale, as he is very mean spirited and seems to almost get joy out of bullying his employee. Count Orlok is a very strange man and while we know that he is a vampire his real estate agent Jonathan does not. The Count is very much getting information out of Johann who has made the mistake of showing him a picture of his wife as it’s clear the vampire is now in love and really likes what he sees. So far the comic is doing it’s best to stay true to the film but is making some very odd choices as for one they are misspelling Count Orlok’s name as they have it Orloc and at the start they are oddly talking about Johann using the toilet twice during his journey to Orlok’s castle. While so far the comic is pretty bloodless, the horror is coming from the atmosphere as well as just the strange look of Count Orlok himself. The cover for this comic is pretty cool and eye catching if you’re a fan of the film as it showcases Count Orlok, and the interior art is done by Ken Holewczynski. While it is not a style I like at all, it some how fits for this adaptation. So to sum it up a solid spooky read that is making me look forward to reading the second issue.

Nosferatu # 2 **1/2
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.95 Tome Press # 2 of 2

Johann Hutter is stuck at Castle Orlok and is feeling very weak and watches as this monster is loading up coffins into carriages for his voyage to his new home, as Johann himself caught Orlok asleep in one of them and he now knows that his host is a vampire and once Orlok leaves to set sail for his new place Jonathan escapes the castle to try and get home to warn Ellen of this monster. While back in Germany Ellen herself has fallen ill and was being taken care of by Doctor Van Helsing while his old boss Knock has lost his mind and is locked up in an asylum as he is eating flies and spiders and now has a craving for blood. Johann pushes himself hard and gets back home and warns Ellen of Count Orlok, and both share that they have been having terrible nightmares. But also now in Germany is Count Orlok who has moved into the old Montague Home, and this also gets Knock all worked up who is now calling Orlok his master and he escapes the asylum and causes panic in the town as they think that a plague is around when the ship that Orlok was on is found with all the crew onboard dead. Meanwhile Johann is trying to bounce back from his journey home as Ellen thinks she is the only one who can stop Count Orlok as that is what the vampire book she is reading says. Johann meets with Van Helsing and after a long talk the Doctor believes the tales of a vampire and they make plans the next morning to enter the Montague Home and find were Orlok sleeps. Later that night Ellen has fallen ill and Johann rushes to get Doctor Van Helsing for help…but it was a trick as Ellen lures Count Orlok to her and keeps him busy until the morning sun comes up and the rays burn him up into dust. Poor Johann and Doctor Van Helsing don’t make it in time and find the dust that was once Count Orlok as well as the body of Ellen who gave her life to save her city.

In this final issue of this adaptation of Nosferatu the plot becomes a race for time as Count Orlok is making his was to Germany and is spreading death and sickness while Johann himself has escaped the vampires castle and is racing back to Germany in order to warn his wife about the vampire that has just moved in next door! All the while its Ellen who finds that she must give her life in order to stop the creatures path of destruction and she does just that to end all the madness. Poor Johann he goes from getting high hopes of making enough money to help he and his new wife to live comfortably, to being stuck in a vampires castle plagued with terrible nightmares and rushing back home worn out in order to try and warn his village of the horrors that re coming. But in the end he looses it all as his true love is gone forever. Ellen Hutter is a woman who loves her husband deeply as well as the village she lives in and when she finds out that she must die to stop the evil, she makes the ultimate sacrifice and saves everyone from a slow and painful death. Doctor Van Helsing is around and is helpful trying to do medical stuff but is pretty useless when it comes to stopping the vampire. Knock is around and breaks free from the asylum for a moment to torment the villagers, only to be locked back up and never be spoken about again. While Count Orlok is wondering around Germany spreading death and fear, but he falls for a pretty ladies trick and ends up dying by the rising sun. This is a pretty good adaptation of a classic film, but some changes and even mood has been changed in order to fit the story into only two issues. And I do feel that Knock is really downplayed, the boat scenes is cut down to hardly nothing as is some of the dread that Ellen Hutter feels about her husband’s trip. The mini series is bloodless and really only shows two deaths in panels with that being of Ellen and Count Orlok, and like I said before it’s the atmosphere and dark brooding mood of the comic were the horror comes from…and yes of course the vampire Count Orlok. The cover for this issue showcases Count Orlok again this time its close on his twisted face, and the interior art once more is done by Ken Holewczynski and as I stated this is not my style of art as at times to me it seemed more like sketches and not finished panels. Over all if you love the story of Nosferatu, then make sure to check out this comic series by Tome Press as it really does make for a great read late at night and both issues would have gotten three stars if not for the art as I really was not a fan. Check out the art below to see the style of Ken Holewczynski used in this adaptation series.

Nosferatu is one of those very special films that has scared viewers for over 100 years and truly showed that in the silent film era they knew how to bring the frights without the use of blood, guts, gore and jump scares. And for me it was great to work alongside artist Damien Brunk as we at Blood Scream Comics released a comic based on this iconic film and have became a very small part of its legacy. I would also like to dedicate this update to the memory of F.W. Murnau, Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Greta Schroder, Gustav von Wangenheim and the rest of the cast and crew that made Nosferatu. For our next update we of course will be staying in the world of horror and will be taking a look at Warlock the film from 1989 that starred the late great Julian Sands as the title character. So until next time read a horror comic or three, watch a horror movie or two and as always support your local horror host. See you next update for a spooky great time.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

Posted on September 23, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to another very terrifying “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update here on Rotten Ink. As we are getting closer to Halloween 2026, I think that we should really up the scares here as the topic of this update is the 1984 slasher classic “A Nightmare On Elm Street,” one of the most iconic horror films of all time that has sparked many sequels, a remake, merchandise, comic series, video games and its main baddie Freddy Krueger has been the source of many sleepless nights for viewers. And when choosing the first year line up for this themed update marathon, I knew that I needed to cover Freddy and I had lots of comic series to choose from as such publishers as Marvel, Avatar, Wildstorm and even Eternity Comics had a Freddy issue of Fright…but for me I had to choose the Innovation series as it’s the one I grew up reading and is one that I have really been looking forward to rereading as it’s been way too long since I have. And I know that A Nightmare On Elm Street and its killer Freddy Krueger is truly perfect way to give you the shivers down your spine as for generations they have brought fear to many worldwide. So with that said, let’s dive into this nightmare brought to you by Innovasion Comics and the one and only razor gloved killer Freddy!

Let’s start by taking a look at Freddy Kruger, the nightmare slasher of Springwood, Ohio that haunts and stalks peoples dreams and brings fear and death along with him. Freddy Krueger was a boiler technician for a power planet located in Springwood, Ohio and in his boiler room workshop he created a glove that had blades on the fingers that he would use to kill children that he would lure there as he was a cold blooded child killer who got away with over 20 killings, but after being caught and his trial being thrown out due to a technicality over a botched search warrant, he was set free and was then hunted down by the town’s parents who ended up setting him on fire and ending his terror once and for all…or so they thought. Freddy Krueger was somehow able to return to haunt the teens that live in Springwood via their dreams and they are the kids of those parents who killed him. He now has a burnt up face, wears a hat and a red and green sweater and his appearance alone is enough to scare a person to death. He has a gravely sounding voice and loves to taunt and play games with his victims in their nightmares; he is also very mean spirited and enjoys killing young kids as well as watching them be stricken with fear. Freddy in the nightmares cannot be hurt as he is able to have his face ripped off and his fingers cut off and he just bounces right back, if he is able to kill you in your nightmare then you die in the real world and the wounds you get are what kills you in reality. He can also appear and disappear in order to stalk his victims in their nightmare. Freddy can also distort his body in the nightmares including making his arms stretch out to add more scares to his victims. His main tool of dealing death is his custom made glove that has sharp knives on the fingers that he uses to slash, cut and rip apart his victims with. While Freddy is super powerful in the nightmare world, he can be hurt and defeated in the real world as if Freddy is grabbed by his victim in the nightmare and is woken up he will be in the real world where he can be hurt like any normal person. He can fully be defeated by a person turning their back on him in the real world and no longer fearing him causing him to just disappear, as with out the fear he has no power. Freddy Krueger is a dangerous supernatural killer who has no trouble killing and even when defeated seems to always come back for more.

Now that we have taken a look at Freddy Krueger and his killing ways, I think we should now take a look at the 1984 film he is from, A Nightmare On Elm Street. And like always, I will be getting the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB and then I will be writing about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s take a big drink of coffee or soda and dive into the Nightmare that plagued Elm Street.

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

“Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.”

Wes Craven had already made some films that had made a splash in the world of horror that included The Last House On The Left (1972), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), Summer Of Fear (1978), Deadly Blessing (1981) and Swamp Thing (1982), and around 1981, Craven started working on the script for A Nightmare On Elm Street where he took elements from his childhood as well as strange deaths that took place while people slept with the killer of the film being based on a old man Craven as a kid seen out his bedroom window at night who looked back at him causing quite a scare. And while trying to pitch the film around Hollywood, he could not find a studio willing to back it as Disney was the only one who liked the idea but wanted it to be turned into a family friendly fight film…and Craven turned down the offer and he was rejected by Universal and Paramount as well leaving the film without a home that was until New Line Cinema stepped in and was willing to produce the film and gave it a budget of around $1.8 million. When it came to casting Freddy Krueger, the film’s dream slasher, they talked to many actors like David Warner, Kane Hodder and Robert Englund with it going to Englund in the end. Other cast members include Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Johnny Depp, Amanda Wyss, Nick Corri, Ronee Blakley and Lin Shaye in big and featured roles. The film started filming on June 11, 1984 and was a fast shoot only lasting 32 days and took place in California and they were able to pull off some amazing effects on a budget and time strain. Once the film was done, Charles Bernstein handled the film’s score and it would be released in theaters limitedly on November 9, 1984 and then wide on November 16, 1984 and was a big hit at the box office going on to bring in $57.1 million and was well received by both fans and critics who enjoyed its creepy and spooky story and villain. And when released on home media the film would go on to gain even more of a fan base, and this film is what made New Line Cinema a player in Hollywood and they would call themselves “The House That Freddy Built”. The film would be so popular that it would spark a franchise that include the sequels “A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)”, “A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)”, “A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)”, A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)”, “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)”, “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)” and “Freddy vs. Jason (2003)” and was even remade in 2010. The film would get the Bollywood treatment with “Khooni Murda (1989)” and “Mahakaal (1993)” and would inspire many horror films that would follow worldwide and would even have many fan films made based on it. The film and its slasher Freddy Krueger would also have tons of merchandise made around them like shirts, posters, toys, comics, books, trading cards, buttons and so much more. The film in 1984 was released alongside such other horror films as Friday The 13^th Part 4: The Final Chapter, The Terminator, The Toxic Avenger, The Hills Have Eyes Part 2, C.H.U.D., Children Of The Corn, Gremlins, Night Of The Comet, Splatter University, Razorback, Ghostbusters, Boggy Creek II, The Return Of Godzilla and Rats: Night Of Terror among many others.

I was that perfect age in 1984 when A Nightmare On Elm Street was released as I was five years old and the image of Freddy Krueger as well as people talking about him freaked out all the kids my age and made many of us afraid to go to sleep, worried that Freddy was going to enter our dreams and end our lives, just like what Jaws was for kids of the 70’s making them afraid to go swimming, Freddy was that in the 80’s as the youth became afraid to sleep. There is a funny story from my friend and comic artist Matt Maslow tells of the night my father allowed him and my brother to watch it when they both were young during a sleepover and the response he got from his mom when he got home…that is one thing that was so cool about my parents as they did allow us to watch horror films as they always explained that it was not real and that harming other people was a very bad thing. When I first saw A Nightmare On Elm Street I can remember being really creeped out by Freddy as his strange voice, burnt face, razor knifed glove hand and the fact he was killing kids and teens in their dreams made him down right frightening. The one thing that did set my young mind at ease was that he could only get those people in their dreams that lived in Springwood, Ohio, a fake town in the state. After viewing it I was hooked on all things Freddy as it was like a badge of honor going to school and telling my fellow classmates that I seen it. And to be honest, I am pretty much a fan of most of the films in the Nightmare On Elm Street series with my least favorite being the 2010 remake followed by 1989’s A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. A couple of other things I would like to point out is that I loved playing the old NES game based on the series and when at my grandparents’ home I use to play with a cool LJN figure of Freddy Krueger, not to even mention reading the Innovation Comics series. A Nightmare On Elm Street really is a horror classic that is on the Top 10 list of many fans of all time greats and is what truly made actor Robert Englund a household name and made Wes Craven one of the most respected directors in the horror genre.

One thing that I would like to very briefly talk about is that back in the late 80’s indie publisher Blackthorne Publishing, who was known for making comics based on movies, cartoons, toys and mascots that would be in 3-D and during this time, they were working on adapting A Nightmare On Elm Street into a 3-D comic…but sadly the company would close up in 1990 and many of the planned titles were being cancelled before the closure and A Nightmare On Elm Street was caught up in this as the comic would never be released with only an ad and some pages seeing the light of day. I really wished that this comic would have been made as it would have been awesome to have covered here on Rotten Ink and also would have been a comic that I was obsessed with as a kid. Check out the 3-D ad below to see what this comic could have been if it was completed.

So now that we have talked about the 1984 film “A Nightmare On Elm Street” as well as its slasher killer Freddy Krueger, we should now take a look at one of the many comic series based around them, and like I stated before I chose the Innovation Comics series as it’s the one I grew up reading. I am really looking forward to reading this series again as I have a lot of good memories as a youngster reading these comics in my room during storms as well as late nights trying to spook myself before going to bed. I would like to thank Game Swap, Lone Star and Bell Book And Comic for having these issues in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. With that, let’s climb into bed, drink a glass of warm milk or sleepy time tea and fade into a nightmare world filled with Innovation Comics and Freddy Krueger.

Nightmares On Elm Street # 1 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.50 Innovation # 1 of 6

Cybil Houch is having a nightmare about Jack The Ripper as she finds herself as a lady of the night and in the sight of the killer, but things turn even darker as she is getting taunted by Freddy Krueger who starts to chase her as she panics and is looking for help from Nancy Thompson who she calling out to, just as Freddy leaps at her she wakes up safe in her home as her husband James tries to comfort her. Cybil has been reading lots of books about Jack The Ripper and is confused why her old collage roommate Nancy is in her nightmares and the root of getting help from the clawed killer after her. Cybil ends up deciding to try and call Nancy who she has not spoke to in years and notices that finding a phone # or address for her has been hard, but does end up talking to her other college roommate Priscilla Martin and her girlfriend Max and mentions weird dreams, and she finds out that Nancy use to work for Fairview. Cybil calls and ends up talking to Dr. Elizabeth Simms who informs her that Nancy passed away and that she needs to talk to a Dr. Neil Gordon as he might nave the answers to how it all happened. Meanwhile poor Priscilla has fallen asleep and finds herself in a nightmare where she is killed by Freddy who uses his glove and a sewing machine to end her life as it appears Freddy is also looking for Nancy who is somewhere in the dream world. Meanwhile Cybil gets ahold of Dr. Gordon and fills him in on her nightmares as well as that Nancy is present in them, he is not shocked and wants to hear more and is going to come pick her up, but Cybil passes out and ends up in the boiler room and is being chased by Freddy who ends up killing James who has fallen asleep at work by knocking him down a ladder. Freddy then goes after Cybil who is woken up by the phone ringer and finds that in her home is Nancy Thompson!

The first issue does a great job of bring Freddy Krueger to the world of comics and this story so far really does do a good job of staying true to the films it’s based on as the story is taking place after the events of the third film “A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors” as characters from that film are appearing and our hero Nancy Thompson is dead, well sort of dead. The plot has one of Nancy’s old college roommates being plagued by terrible nightmares that involved her as well as Freddy Krueger and this causes her to go down a rabbit hole that is pitting Freddy and Nancy against each other and she finds herself stuck in the middle of this good vs. evil battle. Cybil Houch is a woman who is a historian of the crimes of Jack The Ripper and has been having strange and wild nightmares about the killer that turns into Freddy Krueger who she has no clue who he is, she also seems to be thinking about her old collage roommate Nancy Thompson who also appears to be connected to her nightmares as Nancy Thompson has died unknown to her and this causes Cybil to be on the hit list of Freddy who needs her to be the key to find Nancy who is around in the Dream World or even just hiding from him in the real one. Freddy Krueger that knife gloved nightmare boogeyman is back on the loose running wild in peoples dreams bring death and fear as he seems to really want to find Nancy who is his biggest threat and someone he wants gone forever, and he even kills three people just in this issue gutting one, slice and dicing another and the last he flings down a very long ladder. And because it’s Freddy the comic of course has some blood being spilt on the panels and he as well is the main source of the horror. Also I like how the issue makes you wonder if Nancy is still alive or if she really is just roaming around the dream world staying out of reach of Freddy and trying to help people survive his attacks. When it comes to the cover for this first issue I have to say it is one of those iconic ones from my childhood as it was one that you would show your friends as having a comic based around Freddy made you cool, plus its just such a great cover as it showcases Freddy chasing a woman through the streets of London, just a very eye catching cover for fans of the film series as well as Horror Comics in general. The interior artwork is done by artist Tony Harris and is style is really good and creepy as it almost has a painting style look mixed with 80’s indie horror comic look. I really like the way he drew Freddy Krueger and his depiction of the Nightmare Worlds is also really well done. This is a really good start to this mini series as it gets you hooked with it not only having Freddy on the loose but also teases that Nancy is back and that just maybe other characters from the film series might appear as he has also seen both Dr. Neil Gordon and Dr. Elizabeth Simms from Fairview already! So with that, let’s jump into issue two and see what terrors Freddy has in store for not only use but also Cybil.

Nightmares On Elm Street # 2 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.50 Innovation # 2 of 6

Cybil is happy to see her old friend Nancy Thompson and she finds out that she is in a happier dream world and that Nancy is only sort of dead and that its been Freddy Krueger that has for over 20 years haunted the nightmares of the towns people, just then a knock at the door has Priscilla who is really Freddy Krueger appears and is able to drag Cybil out of the safe house causing Nancy to have to go after her, but Cybil wakes up and finds Dr. Neil Gordon in her home as he has found her after she passed out while talking to him on the phone. Dr. Gordon tells her the story of Freddy Krueger who was a child killer that was burned alive by the town’s parents and how he somehow got powers to enter peoples nightmares and if he kills you in the dream you die in the real world, and by using hypnosis Dr. Gordon and Cybil travel to the dream world to meet with Nancy as he wants to see if he can save her a bring her back, but she explains that she is the representation of good dreams now and that together they must find a way to make Freddy weak so that it takes him a very long time to return, so together the enter a nightmare of someone at Fairview and its bloody and chaotic, and while there he kills Dr. Elizabeth Simms by removing the top of her head and messing with her brain…causing our heroes to flee and into a place were Cybil meets her soon to be daughter as she just then finds out she is pregnant and as Freddy appears he is confronted and ripped apart by the spirits of the unborn children as Nancy sends Cybil and Dr. Gordon back to the real world. Cybil feels sick and runs to the restroom only to find herself trapped in White Chapel and Jack The Ripper is there with his razor ready to strike her down.

This second issue has Nancy Thompson and Freddy Krueger once more having a showdown of sorts as they are in the dream world with each of them having their own functions in nightmares and dreams. Cybil Houch is a woman who has been used as a pawn by Freddy as he is tormenting her in order to get to Nancy, she also during all this madness loses her husband to Freddy who kills him in his sleep. She also finds out that she is with child, that two of her collage roommate friends are dead, that she is on the hit list of a dream slasher and that in the end she might just end up becoming the victim of the old school serial killer she has spent her life studding. And while Cybil is sort of a final girl she really has nothing that can stop Freddy and his killing ways. Nancy Thompson had been sent to a very beautiful part of the dream world by the Dream Warrior known as Kristen Parker and she is now sort of in charge of making sure that when people sleep they have good dreams, she has been dodging Freddy in this landscape and is trying to get strong enough to defeat him, but she is not yet ready to bring down this knife gloved slasher. Dr. Neil Gordon tries to help Cybil as well as is so happy to see Nancy again who has been blocking his dreams from Freddy to keep him safe, meanwhile Dr. Elizabeth Simms finds herself having her brains exposed in a nightmare. Freddy Krueger is as vicious as ever as he slashes his way through victims killing them in painful ways and is still trying to play cat and mouse games with Nancy as he really wants to end her existence once and for all and is willing to use people she cares about to draw her out of hiding. While Freddy is on another nightmare slaughter he ends up being defeated by the “spirits” of unborn children that are so angry with him that they rip him apart and drag him into flames. The story done by Andy Mangels is great as he is able to bring several of the films stories together as well as leaves us with an ending that could mean of course that Freddy was not defeated as Cybil is becoming a victim of Jack The Ripper. This issue has some great bloody moments with the exposing of Dr. Simms brain being a highlight and the horror is turned up a notch as Freddy really is on a rampage of carnage here to try and get to Nancy. This is another iconic cover for me and should be super eye catching for the fans of the films as it shows both Nancy and Freddy. The interior artwork by Tony Harris is just as solid as it was in the last issue and he brings a creepy charm to the way he draws Freddy. This is another solid issue and makes me truly miss the days of indie publishers like Innovation making comic series based on popular horror films. Well let’s see what issue three has in store for us.

Nightmares On Elm Street # 3 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.50 Innovation # 3 of 6

Alice Johnson and her son Jacob are heading to Springwood so that she can settle her father’s estate. She does not want to come back after all her friends had been killed by Freddy Krueger and she herself had to battle the dream slasher several times as she was the Dream Master and even had to face him to save her own son’s soul while he was still in her womb. One they arrive at the old family home Alice and Jacob meet a strange woman named Devonne before they enter the home where Alice remembers back to some good memories in the house and it’s shown that Jacob as well can share her memories and asks who some of the people were, and she lectures her son to not do that as it’s rude to people to read their minds. Alice and Jacob head to the hospital to visit Yvonne Miller who is a nurse there and is one of Alice’s best friends as they faced Freddy together back in the day to save Jacob’s soul, but also in the room but in a coma is Dr. Neil Gordon who had a terrible car wreck after the death of Cybil Houch who just barely escaped a nightmare were Freddy was going to gut him on a hospital bed. Devonne picks up a hitchhiker at the side of the road and uses a hammer to bash his skull in, as she is doing so to please Freddy Krueger as she wants to have control over her dreams and offers her victim’s souls to him. Back home Alice puts Jacob to bed and she and Yvonne talk about all the stuff going on like preparing for her fathers funeral, selling the home, Jacob’s weird behavior, a serial killer going around town killing teenagers and Yvonne wonders if Jacob could use his powers to help find the killer. Devonne visits Freddy in the boiler room and asks if he is enjoying the soul food, but Freddy torments her for a moment and says her work is not done as he needs one more soul one of his choosing. Alice is having a dream about Dan her husband who passed away and it quickly turns into a nightmare as he becomes a twisted creature the merges with his motorcycle and Freddy appears to taunt her, but Jacob stops its really quick by blasting away Freddy and his monstrous father. As Alice falls into a deeper sleep Devonne shows up and she and Jacob leave the house and he tells her he wants to show her were his father is.

This issue takes us from Nancy Thompson to Alice Johnson as she finds herself as well once more at odds with the dream demon himself Freddy Krueger when she is forced to return to Springwood after her father passes away, but while in town as well she learns that a serial killer is on the loose targeting teenagers and killing them in brutal ways. Alice Johnson who is the Dream Master and has battled Freddy Krueger twice and won finds herself once more in Springwood and this will lead to her having to face him down once again! When you think of it poor Alice has had a very rough life in Springwood as she has lost her husband, brother and close friends to Freddy and now her father has passed away and her young son has freaky powers and is like a magnet for Freddy! Jacob Johnson is around five years old and is very strange as he is sort of psychic and can even see the memories of others, but be also has become a target of a serial killer who is working for Freddy Krueger that needs more souls to regain power. Yvonne Miller is one of Alice’s old friends who went through the Freddy stuff with her, she is still working in the medial field and is beside her while she is dealing with the death of her dad and even has an idea of using Jacob and his powers to help them find the serial killer that is stalking their home town. That serial killer is Devonne who goes around killing teenagers to send their souls to Freddy, and she also sees people are creepy skinless monsters and is doing all her bad deeds so that she can control her own dreams. We also find that Dr. Neil Gordon is in a coma at the hospital after having a very nasty car crash, and he is being tormented by Freddy and still also being protected by Nancy Thompson who saves him in his nightmares from the slasher…will he wake up and help Alice, only time will tell. It ends on a big cliffhanger as Devonne is leading Jacob to the cemetery as Alice is in a deep sleep after having a run in with Freddy. And the biggest most bloody moment in this issue has Devonne bashing a teens face in with a hammer. The cover is great and shows Freddy with a mirror and the interior art is done by Patrick Rolo and its good as its has that pure 90’s indie comic look. Over all another great issue that this time is focusing on the characters of “A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child” and we are getting to see Alice once more face Freddy with the fate of Jacob on the line again.

Nightmares On Elm Street # 4 ***
Released in 1992 Cover Price $2.50 Innovation # 4 of 6

Jacob and Devonne arrive at the cemetery and they head toward the grave of Dan who is the father of Jacob and as he pays his respects he also alerts her that he knows who she really is and that Freddy needs him and that she as well as family buried here and that she had a rough life thanks to her abusive father and enters her mind and learns that she blew up her old home as a kid to kill her family via a gas leak. Meanwhile Alice wakes up to find her son missing and calls the police to try and help find him and they are overwhelmed by all the killings as well as missing kids in town. Freddy enters the mind of Devonne and takes Jacob away and tells him that he needs his help and if he does so he will bring back his father Dan from the dead…and as father and son talk Freddy tells Devonne to kill Alice and Yvonne and she agrees to do so and returns to her van and grabs a Uzi as she wants to do the deed fast. Alice and Yvonne head out and decide that they need the help of Dr. Neil Gordon as well as Nancy Thompson who they know had battle Freddy in the past and is watching out for Gordon thanks to Jacob as they know that Freddy has something to do with his disappearance.

Jacob is able to visit the grave for his father for the first time and is able to speak to him as well cause of Freddy Krueger, but you also have to question is it really his father or one of Krueger ’s tricks to get the young kid to use his powers and help him. Jacob really showcases his weird powers here as he is able to get into the mind of the serial killer Devonne and learns that she was abused by he father who would beat her and that he as well as her mother were the first victims as she blew them up and set the ablaze when she was just a kid, and he is able to be so powerful that even Freddy Krueger wants him to be by his side in order to be more powerful in the nightmare world and beyond. And I would guess that Jacob knows that Freddy is lying to him and that more than likely he is not speaking to his real father. Alice here seems lost as she is a wreck and is very scared for the well being of her missing child. Freddy Krueger is clearly just using Devonne to do his dirty work by killing people in the real world to give him souls, and he will not give her the powers she is seeking, as she is clearly disposable to him. We also know why Devonne sees people as fleshy monsters, as that is the way her mother looked after the fire, and clearly this woman has some major mental issues. The cover is pretty cool and shows Jacob and Devonne hiding behind a tombstone as Freddy Krueger is stalking around behind them, and like before Patrick Rolo did the interior artwork and its solid as I have to praise the way he draws Freddy Krueger as well as all the strange things from his nightmare world boiler room. And as I have said before the creators behind this comic series show that they really cared about A Nightmare On Elm Street and put their all into making a creepy and great horror comic series for readers. So let’s see what terrors Freddy has in store for us in issue five.

Nightmares On Elm Street # 5 ***
Released in 1992 Cover Price $2.50 Innovation # 5 of 6

Freddy Krueger is bored with his limitations in Springwood and needs all the pieces of his twisted puzzle to come together so that he can be more powerful and they are Alice, Jacob and Devonne, but he also wants to have a final showdown with Nancy Thompson and travels through the Dream Demons door to taunt her. Dr. Neil Gordon wakes from his coma and Alice asks about her son as well as Nancy and he tells her that she needs to join him in the dream world to get Nancy’s help as he thinks that Jacob is around. Meanwhile Devonne has shown up to the hospital and shoots everyone at the front desk and then gets the location of Alice from a nurse before breaking her jaw with a claw hammer. Meanwhile as Dr. Gordon slips back into his coma Alice is injected with a sedative in order to join him in his dream by Yvonne who is worried about this as her friend will be once more in the reach of Freddy. In the nightmare world Alice ends up hurting her ankle and she and Dr. Gordon start their quest to get to the safety of Nancy, while Devonne is still rampaging around the hospital looking for Alice and is right outside the room having a shootout with a security guard as Yvonne tries to protect her friend Alice who is out cold, and as Devonne enters the room Yvonne has to shoot the crazed woman. Meanwhile in the nightmare world Freddy attacks and causes Alice, Dr. Gordon and Nancy who appears to be separated and so that he can get them all with his different taunting ways of killing as for Alice she becomes the character from the book Alice In Wonderland and starts chasing a Freddy Rabbit, Nancy is confronted by her father Lt. Don Thompson who is trapped in the Nightmare World and has to kill his daughter to be free and lastly Dr. Gordon is faced with the Dream Warriors all his former patients that died by Freddy’s glove under his care. Lastly as Jacob is playing on the playground with his father Dan he is told once more that if he helps Freddy break free of Springwood they can be back together as a family.

Freddy’s twisted plan is coming together as he has his enemies all in his nightmare world and each are in danger, as he is once more messing with the mind of young Jacob by having his dead father try and talk him into doing what Freddy wants as his main goal is to be ride of just being stuck in the nightmares of the people of Springwood as he would like to be able to slaughter teenagers around the world in their sleep. Alice is once more willing to go into this terrible nightmare world in order to save her son, and unknown to her she is not only in big trouble there but also in the real world as the town’s serial killer now armed with an Uzi is on her trail while she is in a sleep state. Devonne is crazed here to her by Freddy Krueger, but by the end she finds herself being shot twice and having a mental breakdown reliving the abuse conflicted on her by her father. And if not for Yvonne who is able to get a killed security guards gun and shoot the rampaging killer or hero Alice might be dead and Freddy’s plan could already be completed. The plot really does thicken here as all our heroes are in grave danger, Jacob is being pressured into making a decision that helps the dream killer be able to reach more victims and Freddy is sitting back with big ideas of killing on his mind. The issue has blood being spilt and one of the more gruesome attacks has Devonne busting a nurses jaw almost off with a hammer, and with Devonne we are not sure if she is going to live or not as being shot twice just might end her life and her quest to kill for Freddy.This is another top-notch amazing cover that shows our heroes hanging off the blades of Freddy’s glove as fire is all around. And yeah you know what I am going to say about the interior artwork done by Patrick Rolo is good, and I like the way he draws Freddy as well as the whole Nightmare World. One big thing that I have to point out here in this issue also is that it packs in a heck of a lot of characters from the film series as we get Alice Johnson, Nancy Thompson, Jacob Thompson, Yvonne Miller, Dan Jordan, Dr. Neil Gordon, Lt. Donald Thompson, The Dream Demons, Jennifer Caulfield, Roland Kincaid, Phillip Anderson, Taryn White and Will Stanton so I am sure fans of the series will be happy to see them as many of them had died in the films. Well the next issue is the final in the series, so let’s see how it comes to an end and if Alice and Nancy are finally able to stop Freddy and his quest to expand outside the town of Springwood.

Nightmares On Elm Street # 6 ***
Released in 1992 Cover Price $2.50 Innovation # 6 of 6

Jacob decides to help Freddy leave Springwood as well as the Dream World in general if he returns his father Dan back to life he also is going to make him promise not to hurt anyone else. Meanwhile Alice is being tormented in her Wonderland nightmare as he makes her dead friends like Greta Gibson and Sheila Kopecky appear and mock her for allowing them to die, while Nancy is shot by her father only to show him she is stronger now and is not killed by the bullet and promises to set him free and she does just that right before she finds the dream door that has the Dream Demons around it, Dr. Gordon also finds that The Dream Warriors are not their to hurt him as they want to help Jacob defeat Freddy, and they give him a stone to give to the young child that will help show him the truth. At Freddy’s boiler room home he meets with Devonne and the pair wait for Jacob who appears with Dan and is about to use his powers to bring Freddy to the real world when Nancy and Dr. Gordon show up to stop it, Freddy uses his powers to try and hold them back as Devonne also leaps into action attacking our heroes as Jacob pauses in his actions causing Freddy to have his mother Alice appear and threatens to kill her if he does not help, meanwhile he also has shadow people come out of the ground and attack Nancy, Dr. Gordon, Dan and Devonne who he alerts that he just used her and does not care what happens to her. In the end Jacob is able to use his powers to get himself as well as Alice and Dan back to the real world were the spirit of Dan is now inside the body of Dr. Gordon who died in a stand off with Freddy alongside Devonne who speared the dream time slasher when he was making himself look like a dragon and battling Nancy. While Alice and her family leave Springwood plus Dr. Gordon stays with Nancy in the dream world it appears Freddy is defeated for now.

Well this was it the final issue in the “Nightmares On Elm Street” mini series, and I have to say a few things before we get to deep into the review section with the first being that this series really held up for me and I truly wish that it had more issues or that even in these modern times someone would hire writer Andy Mangels to do another series based on Freddy Krueger as I really did like how he was able to bring in characters from the film series, it makes you wonder if he had more issues for Innovation Comics if characters like Jesse Walsh & Lisa Webber from “A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge” would have shown up. In this issue Freddy Krueger is so close to be able to escape Springwood as well as the nightmare world thanks to trying to trick Jacob into using his powers to make it happed, but Freddy was not ready for the fight that was coming his way as Nancy Thompson, Dr. Gordon, Alice and even serial killer Devonne are fighting back and with the help of a stone that was given to them by The Dream Warriors they are able to shows Jacob the true evil side of Freddy and the youngster is able to get his family out of danger and back in the real world as Freddy is once more defeated. Freddy throughout this series shows that he is just a evil person who loves killing as well as making people fearful as he stalks them in their dreams as well as is sending out a serial killer to commit brutal slayings for him. While Freddy is very powerful it’s clear he bit off way more than he can chew when he messed with Nancy Thompson, Alice Johnson and Dr. Neil Gordon all at the same time as they are able to team up and bring him down. Nancy herself is now gaining more and more powers in the Dream World as she is the keeper of pleasant ones making her withstand attacks as well as have the power to free people from Freddy’s Nightmare World. Dr. Gordon just wants to be with Nancy as well as stop Freddy and he is able to do both as he even gives his body over to the spirit of Dan Jordan so the killed father can be with his wife and child in the real world. The Dream Warriors are still heroes here as they are learning their powers and are wanting to help fight the fight against Freddy once they can figure out how to break free from their own dream world, they also play a big part in defeating Freddy as they are one ones who give the stone to Dr. Gordon that Jacob uses. I do have to say one weird thing is that the character of Roland Kincaid can turn into a panther here. I think this mini series does a pretty great job of staying true to the films its based on with the only thing sort of lacking being that Freddy does not deliver a lot of his cheesy wisecracks. The series does have its share of blood being spilt and deaths taking place as even the serial killer is shot and killed and pays the price for trusting Freddy. When it comes to the cover for this sixth and final issue it’s pretty great as on the cover has Freddy busting through a map of Ohio, and the village I grew up in is shown on the map! So that always made it stand out to me, and fans of Freddy will also find it eye catching. The interior artwork by Patrick Rolo here is sort of a mix bag as some of it in panels comes off a little rushed, while other panels are detailed and well done, but you could tell he was having fun in this issue drawing Freddy as a Dragon even. This comic mini series really did hold up for me and I enjoyed them in 2025 when I read them again just as much as I did when I was a youngster when I first read them, and I think that if you are a fan of the A Nightmare On Elm Street films, you should track down these issues and give them a read as they add more nightmare stalking adventures for Freddy Krueger as well as showed what happened to many of the characters from the film series as well. Take a look at the artwork below to see some of the styles used in this series.

When it comes to horror movie series that started in the 1980’s you would have to say that A Nightmare On Elm Street is at the top of the all time best list maybe only rivaled by Friday The 13^th, plus let’s be honest Freddy is one of the most iconic villains in modern horror as people of all ages know who he is and merchandise is still being made of him to this day. And I should say also that I really do hope that one day Freddy will return to the world of comic books as there is lots of Nightmarish stories that could be told in the pages of a comic series. Well our time on Elm Street is coming to an end but our time with horror comics based on horror films will continue in our next update as we will be taking a look at the 1922 silent horror film Nosferatu and the comic adaptation of the film that was published by Tome Press. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. Well our next update also kicks off October 2026 and what better way to do so then to spend some time with Count Orlok!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: My Bloody Valentine (1981)

Posted on September 13, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to yet another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update as we are getting even closer to Halloween 2026. With this update thou we will be celebrating a different holiday and that’s Valentines Day as the film and comic we will be talking about is the 1980 slasher classic My Bloody Valentine! This is one of those films that I have been a fan of since the first time I watched it, and to this day I think that it is one of the best slasher films of the 80’s. Plus it was crazy that finally in 2024 the film would get the comic book treatment as so many other slasher films over the years have from Psycho to Terrifier. With all that said, fill out your Valentine’s day cards and let’s head to Valentines Bluff to celebrate the holiday of love closer to the holiday of frights.

Lets start off by taking a look at The Miner, a masked killer who haunts and torments the people of Valentine Bluffs around Valentines Daym and while he was Harry Warden in one generation, he also is Axel Palmer in another who took over the role of killing those who dare to celebrate the holiday. Axel Palmer as a child watched as Harry Warden dressed as a miner brutally killed his father who was one of the supervisors that left his post to attend a Valentine Dace that caused Harry to be the sole survivor of an accident in the mine and who wanted revenge on them all. Axel as he grew up started working in that same mine and has been very mentally unstable since his father’s death and is triggered by the towns celebration of Valentines Day as well as the return of a rival who is the ex of his lady Sarah Mercer and the sparks between the two start again. Axel can pull off acting normal around friends and coworkers, but he does have a short fuse and can fly off the handle very easy. Axel as The Miner wears a full jumpsuit, has a gas mask and a helmet with a light attached and when roaming around town the sight of him can scare a person to death, as does the legend of The Miner’s story started by Harry Warden the original killer. The Miner uses fear to try and control the people of town and by leaving twisted valentines that include human hearts in candy boxes with warnings are all apart of his mental games. His main tool of dealing death is his trusty pickaxe that he will use to impale his victims and cause very painful deaths. He is also very cruel and when he kills someone its very painful and he will also use items and the environment around him to end a life. While The Miner (Axel Palmer) is a very dangerous man, he still is just a leaving person and this means he can be killed like any one else so that means that being crushed, shot, stabbed among all other ways a person can die will end his reign of terror. He is also very mentally unstable and this causes him to lash out in crazy ways and can lead to him making mistakes as well be stopped. Also after his rampage he loses an arm in a cave-in making him loose lots of blood as well as makes his killing ways a little harder in the future. While Axel Palmer The Miner is mortal, his building on the legend of Harry Warden will forever make him immortal in the history of masked serial killers and will haunt the town of Valentine Bluffs until the end of time.

So now that we have taken a look at Harry Warden aka The Miner (Axel) and his ways of dealing death to those foolish enough to celebrate Valentines Day or get in his way, we should take a look at the 1981 film he is from called My Bloody Valentine. This is such an iconic film for me and is one that I have been a big fan of since I first saw it. I would like to remind you that I will be taking the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB, and then I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s head to the mines of Valentine Bluffs and see what terrors await us.

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

“A decades-old folk tale surrounding a deranged murderer killing those who celebrate Valentine’s Day turns out to be true to legend when a group defies the killer’s order and people start turning up dead.”

Director George Mihalka was approached by producers John Dunning, Stephen Miller and Andre Link to direct a horror movie as part of a two picture deal as they wanted to cash in on the success on themed horror films like Black Christmas, Halloween and Friday The 13^th and with this idea in mind they brought on John Beaird to write the screenplay that was originally going to be called “The Secret” before getting the title change to My Bloody Valentine. The film was given a budget of around $2.3 million and Paramount Pictures stepped up to distribute the film as they as well were riding high on releasing horror films at the time into theaters. When casting the film such actors as Paul Kelman, Lori Mercer, Neil Affleck, Peter Cowper, Don Francks, Cynthia Dale and Keith Knight were brought in to make up most of the main cast. The film was shot in Canada at an abandoned mine in Nova Scotia and this caused the film to be a very difficult shoot as the mine was not a pleasant place to film as it had many limitations and could be very dangerous at times to cast and crew not to mention it was cleaned up by the owners making it to nice looking coasting the production even more money to try and make it more dark and moody. The film would take a few months to shoot and once done and edited Paul Zaza was brought in to score it and singer John McDermott would create a song called “The Ballad Of Harry Warden” to end the film. The film would hit theaters on February 11, 1981 and would end up making around $5,672,031.00 at the domestic box office and was meet with mixed reviews as critics were harsh on it for its use of violence and blood while viewers seemed to truly enjoy it, but Paramount considered the film a box office disappointment as the compared it to the box office of their film Friday The 13^th that made way higher of a profit. The film was also attacked by the MPAA who ended up forcing many cuts to the film as they found it to be too violent. The film would end up getting a big cult following once released on home media and started airing on cable as this allowed more viewers to discover it. The film was slated to get a sequel over the years that never got developed, but it did get a remake in 2009 as well as many different fan made films. The film having a cult following over the years also allowed it to have some very cool merchandise like toys, shirts, trading cards, comics, posters and more. The film in 1981 was released alongside such other Horror Films as Halloween II, The Howling, Happy Birthday To Me, The Funhouse, An American Werewolf In London, Evil Dead, The Burning, Burial Ground, Hell Night, Friday The 13^th Part 2, The Beyond, Madman, Blood Beach, Piranha II, Student Bodies, Cannibal Ferox, Scanners and Dark Night Of The Scarecrow to name a few.

One of my favorite slashers of the early 80’s is My Bloody Valentine as I found it to be a great creepy film that is set in a small town and the films climax takes place in a dirty and dingy mine as this just adds to the mood of this early slasher film. The killer “Harry Warden” is a very cool underrated icon of horror as he wears a minors outfit complete with a gas mask and armed with a pickaxe and causes a fear with just the mention of his name much like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees. Being a toddler when this film was released, I of course did not see it on the big screen and would view it for the first time on Commander USA’s Groovie Movies on the USA Network and I was drawn into it as I liked the is it the real Harry doing the crimes or a copycat killer. I would see the film for the first time not edited for TV when my friend Jason Gilmore would buy in on VHS and the gore made it even more awesome as some of the more bloody moments add to the true horror of the film. And he would end up giving me the VHS as while he was a fan, but he wanted to make sure that a copy was in my massive horror movie collection at that time. As for those wondering, I used to own hundreds of horror movies on VHS including many rare ones, but like a fool when DVD was introduced, I sold off all my tapes at rock bottom prices…a fool I was. One other thing when talking about this film you have to mention is the film’s closing song called “The Ballad Of Harry Warden” that was sung by folk singer Paul Zaza as its super catchy and these types of songs that are about the film you just watched is a dying breed in horror cinema and that is a shame as many awesome films over the past few years could have benefited from a song like this, like Terrifier and Gingerdead Man to name just a few. It has also always puzzled me why the film never got a sequel when the creators behind it always wanted to make one and for years tried to get it made but studios rejected it, but of course in 2009 when the remake boom was going strong it would get one of those in 3-D even…and while I would have much rather gotten the sequel the remake was a fun blood splattered watch. One more thing I would like to point out is that I do own a original one-sheet poster for the film that I have hanging up at my place of work. If you have not seen the original My Bloody Valentine and like slasher films that are set around holidays make sure to give this one a watch as it’s a great film and an amazing early 80’s fright flick.

Really if you have not seen the 1981 version of My Bloody Valentine, make sure to do so as it really is a great slasher flick, but now its time for the review part of this update as who would have ever thought that in 2024 this film would have gotten a comic mini series thanks to the fine folks at American Mythology Comics who have been really killing it when it comes to making horror comics based on horror movies over the past few years. I would like to thank Game Swap for having these comics in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head into the mines and see if we can join the Valentines party as I hear they are making boiled hot dogs and given out tours of the mine…downside is I hear Harry Warden might show up and that guys truly a fun time killer.

My Bloody Valentine # 1 **1/2
Released in 2024 Cover Price $4.99 American Mythology # 1 of 4

In the mines of Valentine Bluffs, a horror movie is being filmed about the legend of Harry Warden and his bloody rampage, and one of the films extras Rhonda is bored and not a fan of the small town and is annoyed that she was cut from the film’s teaser trailer so sets off into the night to find something to eat. As Rhonda walks through the town she finds people giving her weird stares and as she walks down an ally to vape she runs into Eugene the towns homeless guy who offers he a drink of his liquor for a hit off her vape, she refuses and finds one of the only things opened this late in town is the Laundromat ran by Gladys who is the niece of Mabel Osborne who use to own it and was killed their back in the 80’s by The Miner and she fills Rhonda on what has happened in that town with all the killings and even the mayor T.J. Hanniger stops in to tell the ladies to be safe as he has a bad feeling about the film being shot in the town. While Rhonda and Gladys are still chatting a free pizza is delivered just as the two are about to leave as Gladys informs her that her bosses on the film has bought the Laundromat to turn it into some sort of weird horror shrine and as they leave Gladys gets in her car and is heading to Las Vegas as Rhonda heads back to her motel room with her free pizza, but unknown to them both The Miner has returned and killed Eugene and is hiding in Gladys car and kills her just before she leaves the town…both kills are done with his trusty pickaxe of course. And Rhonda finds that the free pizza is really a bloody heart with a warning about February 14^th! In the end Sarah Mercer has shown up at her daughter’s home and warns her and her granddaughter that they all need to leave town now!

First things first, I hate that they had to change the name of this comic to “Valentine Bluffs Massacre” as it should be called “My Bloody Valentine” as I have known many horror comic readers who did not think that this was based on the 1981 film and thought it was a knock off story! I would guess that there had to be some weird rights issue with the film’s title being used from the likes of Paramount, Lions Gate or even that rock band of the same name might be blocking them from using it. This first issue is interesting as it is setting up the story that is about a film being shot in town that is based on the murders and while the crew is bringing money to the small town they are also bring back lots of bad memories as well as a feeling of dread. Rhonda seems to be our main character, a background actress who has an attitude, as she seems to be very annoyed about having to stay in Valentines Bluff but also seem to be enjoying hearing the town’s story from one of the local business owners but still comes off rude to many of the people she meets. Gladys is a woman who runs the business now that her aunt was murdered in, but has sold it off for a great price with the goal of leaving town for good but instead of finding hope she finds a pickaxe to the neck and gets a one-way ticket to the grave! We also learn that T.J. Hanniger is now the town’s mayor and that Sarah Mercer is still also living in the town and is trying to get her family to leave…nice to see these two characters back as they were the main stars from the film. The Miner is just as bloodthirsty as ever and armed with his pickaxe he takes two peoples lives in this issue and once more warns the people of Valentines Bluff not to celebrate that holiday and do not hold the town dance…and he even sends a severed heart in a pizza box as a warning. And that is the thing, right now the only leads that we have is that The Miner might be the ghost of Harry Warden or that Axel Palmer has returned from the mine…but it also could be the Pizza Delivery guy as he is the one that delivered the heart and warning. The horror in this issue comes from The Miner killing people as well as just the spooky story of the towns history, and the issue does have blood being spilled as two townies lose their lives and we even get some flashback kills from the film shown here. This far I am enjoying the story as I do want to find out who this Miner is and how our legacy characters (Sarah & T.J.) will fit into the over all arc. The cover for this issue is really cool and as The Miner with his pickaxe and a heart in a candy box inside of a candy box himself and the interior art is done by artist Andrea Arcari, and while at first I was not a fan of it, the more I looked at it the more I enjoyed it as Andrea draws a cool Miner. Over all a good start and this first issue that a read on a very snowy night in 2024 a couple of days after Valentines really made me look forward to the next issue.

My Bloody Valentine # 2 **
Released in 2024 Cover Price $4.99 American Mythology # 2 of 4

Mr. Leggit has the people of Valentine Bluff gathered as he is the maker of the film “My Bloodiest Valentine” that is about the massacre The Miner has committed in their town and after giving them a scare to film their reactions for his promotion on the film he also tells them he has an idea to make the town an attraction for fans of horror that would have tours around the town like the murder sites, Harry Warden’s grave, the mine and a museum that will even feature the severed arm of Axel Palmer that was found by his old wheelchair bound friend Mr. Roberts who is also putting up the money for this idea. The townspeople along with Mayor T.J. Hanniger and Sarah Mercer want nothing to do with this idea. Sometime later the film continues to be shot in the town and on the set The Miner shows up and kills a crew member with a nail gun, he also sends a message to Rhonda that claims they had been warned. While in the woods on the outside of town Wendy is a young girl who claims she is apart of The Black Heart Society that praises the work of Harry Warden and scares a few of her friends with this gag, but a man appears who she knows and tells her to tell them of this prank as they don’t want people around the woods snooping around. Meanwhile T.J and Sarah end up talking, as it has been over 20 years that they have seen each other and talk about Axel and how they cannot let anymore bloodshed in their town. Back at the trailer of Mr. Leggit he and Mr. Roberts are arguing over money as the film is over budget and Roberts wants it to wrap, and Leggit agrees and wants to throw a massive wrap party in the town and as he deletes a message from his phone The Miner is watching him.

This second issue is kind of a slow read, and while I get that they are trying to set up the story as well as introduce characters and reintroduce the legacy characters, it just moves very slowly and most of what is going on is just not that interesting. The plot in this issue mostly focuses on Mr. Leggit and his movie that is based on the massacre in the town and all the fear and drama it is causing the townspeople. T.J Hanniger who is the town’s mayor and the hero of the last massacre is trying to do what he can to stop all this movie making and murder profiteering, but sadly the ball was already in motion before he could stop it from taking place…it’s also clear that he is still in love with Sarah who is just pissed off that these outsiders are trying to dig up the past and by doing so could bring on more killings…as she is not so sure that Axel Palmer is dead and might comeback for revenge. Mr. Leggit is sleazy and is all about the money as he thinks his film as well as his grim tours will be bank for him, he has no respect for the town nor its people and truly just wants to make money off the crimes. Mr. Roberts is a strange one as he seems older and has to use a wheelchair to get around and has a very low voice…he also seems to not have feeling in one of his arms and is the money man behind all this as well as is the one who has Axel Palmer’s arm…could Roberts be Axel we will have to wait and see. I have no idea how Wendy, her old friend in the woods, Rhonda the film extra and many others will play into this story as besides Rhonda none of them have really made an impact on me as a reader just yet, but I do have to give some respect for the whole Society Of Black Hearts thing as that is a pretty fun idea of having goth kids follow the teaching and word of Harry Warden…even if it was just a prank. The Miner is around but mostly just lurking in the shadows and sending messages via phone, he does have one kill in the issue as a movie crew member is killed with a nail gun in the issues only one real death. Those readers who like blood being splattered will be happy to know that there is some of the red stuff around. The cover for this issue is the best thing about it as its awesome cause it shows a heart shaped candy box filled with skulls and The Miner in front of it holding a bloody heart, very eye catching if you’re a fan of the film. Andrea Arcari is once more doing the interior art and it is much like the last issue, kind of hit or miss for me, but as I kept reading it grew on me. Over all a disappointing issue and I really hope that issue three is better, and with that said let’s get to it.

My Bloody Valentine # 3 **1/2
Released in 2024 Cover Price $4.99 American Mythology # 3 of 4

The production crew is in the mines wrapping up filming and the area keeps getting shaken by tremors, Mr. Leggit and Mr. Roberts after the day of filming is done talk about the next days shoot as well as the profit they think will be made off the film…and with another shake Mr. Roberts almost seems like he would be happy if the mine collapsed or maybe even like he has something planned that will cause this to happen. Meanwhile T.J. Hanniger and Sarah arrive to Gladys and as the Sheriff is looking into why it has not opened and why she is missing, and while they get a feeling of dread, they also think that she might have just left on a mini vacation. While at school Wendy is talking about the prank she did for The Black Heart Society meeting and how they scared the hell out of Casey and she is sharing a picture of him scared on social media that causes her to get into a fight in the lunch room with a friend who thinks she took it too far…and after being yelled at she has big plans in motion for the school dance. While on the set Casey dresses like The Miner and kills one of the actors who is playing The Miner in the film in order to impress Wendy and become a member of The Black Heart Society, as he thinks them worshiping Harry Warden is true. Later T.J. and Sarah while chatting get a call that the car and body of Gladys has been found as well as the body of the towns homeless man and they then know that a new killer is on the loose, they also call Mr. Leggit to push back the films party and this causes Mr. Roberts to pull out a gun and it goes off! Meanwhile Casey is all ready to show that he is a killer when The Miner appears and kills the young man with a pickaxe.

In this third issue the plot is starting to play out as the town is now made aware that a new killer is on the loose and has taken the lives of some of their own making them once more all live in fear of Valentines Day, and we also learn that Wendy is a psycho who enjoys messing with the lives and minds of her fellow classmates and that Mr. Roberts is a real nut job who tries to kill the film director when things do not go his way…and all the while The Miner is just wondering around taking lives and leaving warnings. Poor T.J. Hanniger is doing his best as the town’s mayor and is also worried as he lived through the last killing spree of The Miner and wants to keep the town safe as he has a love and hate relationship with it as it has ruined his families lives and reputation over the decades. Sarah Mercer also a survivor of the last killing spree has moved out of the town as it has mentally scared her and she lives in a sort of state of fear and paranoia that its not over, and once back in town the memories of the past come flooding back in from the killings to her love for T.J. the one love she truly had in that town. Wendy just shows once more that she is a brat who really is just mean spirited as she gets off on tormenting her peers and being edgy in her pranks and taunts. Mr. Roberts is clearly up to something as he really is into making sure that this movie is made and that the wrap dance party happens, and again makes you wonder could he really be Axel Palmer? The rest of the film’s cast and crew and students are around but do not do much besides young Casey who kills a man to impress a lady only to find himself the victim of the main killer. The Miner in this issue pretty much only kills Casey and does so in a bloody manner and this far sadly I do kind of feel that in this series The Minor is not showcased well and only appears very briefly in every issue…like he really is the star. The issue does have lots of blood being spilt and the killings as well as The Minor and his legend is where the horror comes from. The cover I have is really cool and shows The Minor with his pickaxe that has an eyeball hanging from it. The interior art is once more done by artist Andrea Arcari and in this issue I feel it seemed a little rushed, a little too cartoonish in spots and really is hit or miss from panel to panel. Over all another just ok issue in this series and with that lets see what the fourth and final issue has in store for us. Oh but before we move on lets take a quick look at the suspect list of who could be The Miner as there are lots of red herrings, as Mr. Roberts could be the killer as he seems crazed and has a fake arm, Wendy the teenage girl who leads The Black Heart Society who is kind of mean spirited and is always talking about Harry Warden, Sarah Mercer’s missing husband could he be sick of this town’s legend that has tormented his wife and want to get revenge on it, The schools principal who seems to have some sort of secret, could Axel Palmer could this killer have gotten free from the mines and running around taking hearts again, it could also be T.J. Hanniger or Sarah Mercer maybe the past massacre has driven one or both to start one of their own and for me these are the main suspects…but let’s head to the fourth and final issue and find out who The Miner is this go around.

My Bloody Valentine # 4 **1/2
Released in 2024 Cover Price $4.99 American Mythology # 4 of 4

T.J. and Sarah are at the old mine chaining and locking up the entrance as they do not want anyone entering it, they also end up signing for a package that is not theirs as it was meant for Mr. Leggit and inside is a heart and a threatening message and now T.J. and Sarah know that their town is once again in danger and rush away from the mine. Meanwhile in town a package is left at the local diner and once open it explodes killing the people inside as panic is starting to ring out. While at the town hall the movie crew is setting up a big dance scene that will have The Miner appear and scare everyone to death and they have rigged cameras all around to capture the reactions. Wendy meanwhile is home and ready to sneak out to the dance when she is surprised and locked inside her closet by her School Teacher Charles Fuller who claims he is doing it for her own safety. All the police in town head to the diner to try and help and find survivors as T.J. and Sarah learn that someone has broken into the mine and when they arrive there they find the officer on guard has been killed and then they realize that something has to be going on at the crews town dance so they speed to get there. At the dance the guests find that they have been locked in and discover the dead body of Mr. Leggit and as they panic Mr. Roberts stands up out of his wheel chair removes one of his arms and reveals that he is Axel Palmer and that The Miner is the son of Harry Warden and they are there to kill everyone, and The Miner goes on the attack slaughtering people that he can get near. T.J. and Sarah arrive and are able to save peoples lives as well as Sarah shoots Axel who is trying to kill T.J. but before they can get The Miner he takes Wendy who has arrived as a hostage and rushes to the old mine. T.J. and Sarah pull themselves together and go after The Miner to save Wendy but once in the mine they find that The Miner is Charles Fuller as he is the son of Harry Warden and that Wendy is Charles’ daughter and they pair attack our heroes, in the end the mine caves in and Sarah and T.J. are able to escape as the body of Charles is found in the rubble with a note next to him that is just a heart drawn in blood and they know that its not over as Wendy is alive and the terror could start again.

Axel Palmer Lives! And he was out for revenge against all the people of Valentines Bluff as he blames them for the way his life has turned out. The plot of this final issue has T.J. and Sarah having to save their town from the sinister plan set by Axel Palmer and The Miner who is the son of Harry Warden as they really want to stop the towns dance as well as truly make those people in town pay for what they have done to them and their families. T.J Hanniger who is now the towns mayor and is also the survivor of the second massacre in Valentines Bluff is not having any nonsense in his town and is going to meet all the horror and drama head on as he clashes with the film crew and goes up against The Miner as well as his old foe Axel in order to save lives, and he once more comes out the winner…he gets injured but is alive. Sarah Mercer much like T.J. was a survivor of the second massacre and has lived her life in fear, she even moved out of town to get away from it all…but when she comes back into town she dives into trying to stop this next massacre from happing and is ready to kill the killers if need be as she has a gun and is not afraid to use it. She also saves lives of townies as well as T.J.’s several times when he is doing battle with The Miners. Axel Palmer was playing the part of Mr. Roberts one of the money men backing the film production, and his only reason of doing this is to get revenge on everyone and to kill as many people as he can…well that his masked partner can. But Axel does get one kill as he slaughters Mr. Leggit, and I have to say I do hate how easily Axel is shot and killed and becomes a none factor in the climax of the story. The Miner is Charles Fuller who is a schoolteacher and the son of Harry Warden who is working with Axel Palmer to make the people of Valentine Bluffs pay for not listening and holding a dance even when they have been warned not to, he is crazy just like his father and his own daughter Wendy is also unstable and seems to worship her grandfather Harry. While the father and daughter work together to try and kill T.J. and Wendy they fail and are trapped in the mine when is collapses and this leaves Charles dead and Wendy missing meaning that she will return in the future as The Miner. And I am not sure how I feel about that ending as for those of use who grew up watching My Bloody Valentine Axel Palmer was The Miner who was acting as Harry Warden…in the comic they introduce Harry’s son and that is a cool concept that sort of makes sense but also having his teenage granddaughter who is not on track to be The Miner is sort of lame as not every character needs to be turned into a female as it seems to be a bad trend in comic books. The issue has some blood and death with the best kill being the exploding valentine box, as it feels straight out of Terrifier 3 or a Die Hard film. The cover I have as a woman on a mine cart in the mine as The Miner is ready to kill her with his pickaxe and is pretty cool and eye catching. The interior artwork as done by artist Emanuele Tommarell who does a pretty great job as I like the way he draw The Miner as well as characters in general, but I will say he could work on his more bloody panels. Over all this mini series is a ok read and did its job of entertaining me, but I will also say that I was a little disappointed in it over all as while the location and some of the characters had the My Bloody Valentine presence the over all feel of the story just was lacking what made the film such a Cult Classic and I feel that the ending was a little rushed and lackluster…but again I didn’t hate it and do say its worth a read for those who like Slasher comics or like the film. Check out the artwork bellow to see some of the styles used in this series.

My Bloody Valentine is one of my favorite slasher films from the 80’s as the setting of a small town plagued by grizzly murders is classic Horror stuff, and while this comic series might not have fully captured the mood and feel of the film it did bring back characters and allowed us the readers to see what they would be up to in modern times and how they would react to another rash of killings in their small town, not to even mention we get The Miner returning and it was fun to try and figure out who was the killer behind the mask and what was their motivation this time around. And I have to say I really do like indie publisher American Mythology a lot as they have delivered many cool series based on horror films over the years like Hatchet, Willy’s Wonderland, Fright Night, Silent Night Deadly Night and Return Of The Living Dead to name a few. For those wondering, a second series of Valentine Bluffs Massacre was released in 2025. And on a side note I still have to say that it was weird they were forced to change the comics name and could not use My Bloody Valentine. Our time in Valentine Bluffs is coming to an end but the next update will take us to Elm Street as we take a look at the 1984 classic A Nightmare On Elm Street! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as we have a slashing good time with Freddy Kruger.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: American Psycho (2000)

Posted on September 3, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. Let’s kick off September 2026 right with a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update that will make you think about business cards as well as 80’s music like Whitney Houston and Huey Lewis, but it will also make you think of axe and chainsaw murder,s and of course you all know that I am talking about, American Psycho and its serial killer Patrick Bateman. This is one of those films that was based on a book where for some fans the film surpasses the book, and that’s saying something as the book has a very diehard fan base! So if you are ready, let’s put on a suit, put on some 80’s music and try and get a dinner reservation at a posh restaurant as it’s time to spend some quality time with Patrick Bateman and Sumerian Comics as we talk about American Psycho! Also our countdown to Halloween 2026 starts right here with this update.

Let’s start by taking a look at Patrick Bateman who is an investment banker that is also a raging psychopath and his ways of taking lives of women, those who he is jealous of and of course the less fortunate. Patrick Bateman is 27 years old and is very well off due to his job and lives in a very swanky apartment. He is very self centered and takes care of himself by eating right and working out. Patrick is a lover of music, renting movies (horror and adult films) and likes to have control over women by telling them how to and what to eat. He also picks up prostitutes, who he likes to treat well at first only to disrespect them later as he is always cheating on his fiancé. He is a liar and truly a shell of a human as he does not know how to truly be normal and he knows all this himself. It’s clear that he suffers from extreme mental illness as he always thinks about killing people and even draws pictures of murder in his desk calendar. Patrick Bateman is a good looking guy and along with his money he is able to get away with much of his rude behavior as he also is smart and is able to handle fitting in when need be. He also does drugs like cocaine and likes to spend his time in fancy restaurants and clubs hanging with co-workers and flirting with women. Patrick being a true psycho has many ways of dealing death to his victims as he can use his bare fists to beat a person bloody and to near death or even death in some cases. He has been known to use axes, chainsaw, knives and even a handgun to end lives in violent and brutal ways as these are his preferred methods. Also when he is in the killing mode at times its like he becomes an animal, as he has been known to even bite his victims in a pure out of control manner. While Patrick Bateman is a dangerous killer, he is also just a man and can be killed like one so that means being shot, stabbed, burned, drowned, crushed and so on would put an end to his madness. Also Patrick Bateman’s narcissistic personality and complete mental illness can also lead to him making mistakes and almost get caught for his crimes, as at time he cracks and feels the need to bare his soul of all his terrible secrets. Also at times his own lies to cover his tracks can almost lead to the discovery of his murders. While Patrick Bateman is just a regular guy who is a cold blooded murder he still is very dangerous and a man filled with the urge to take human lives that he views lower than him or those who have more respect than him.

So now that we have taken a look at Patrick Bateman, I think that its time we take a look at the movie he is from American Psycho that was released in 2000 and was based on the 1991 book. So like always I will be taking the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB and then I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts. So if you are ready, let’s head to Dorsia and see if Patrick is on the prowl for not just good food but maybe a kill or two.

American Psycho (2000)

“A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.”

American Psycho was originally a 1991 novel that was written by Bret Easton Ellis and later it would be optioned to be turned into a film as producer Edward R. Pressman thought that it would make a strange and bloody horror film. It would have many actors and directors attached to it in the early stages like Stuart Gordon and David Cronenberg for director and Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt to star in the film. But the film would end up floating around for a while in developmental Hell before finally Mary Harron would join on as the director as well as screenplay writer as she would team with Guinevere Turner to turn the complicated novel into a terrifying film. But once more the search for casting the film’s psycho Patrick Bateman took place as the whole film would fall on the performance of the actor casted. Originally Billy Crudup was hired but he left the role, and Christian Bale would come in and become the part and the right choice. The film would get a budget of around $7million with Lionsgate set to distribute the film once done. Other names hired for the cast included Chloe Sevigny, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Reese Witherspoon, Cara Seymour Bill Sage, Josh Lucas and Justin Theroux who made up the main cast. When filming Bale would stay in character and the other actors was said to be confused by him as well as thought he was a bad actor for his monotone delivery, but really it just showed how good of an actor he was as he fooled his fellow actors. Once done the films score was done by John Cale and such 80’s musicians like Huey Lewis And The News, Phil Collins and The Cure to name a few had songs featured in the film as the music was a big part of it. The film was released in theaters on April 14, 2000 and would be a big hit for Lionsgate as it would bring in $34.3 million and would also be meet with mostly mixed reviews from critics mostly over the violence, while it was better received by viewers who enjoyed the macabre nature. The film would be released on home media and would gain a big cult following over the years and even sparked a sequel in 2002 called “American Psycho 2” that would star Mila Kunis as Rachel Newman who is a serial killer. The film in 2000 was released alongside such other horror films as Final Destination, Ginger Snaps, Scream 3, Urban Legends: Final Cut, Hellraiser Inferno, Bloody Murder, Mulva Zombie Ass Kicker, Shark Attack, Leprechaun In The Hood, Bless The Child, Dracula 2000, Cherry Falls, What Lies Beneath, Blair Witch 2, Toxic Avenger 4 and Killjoy to name a few.

American Psycho was a film that had me and my friends all buzzing when it was released as we all kept hearing that it was going to be a bloody serial killer film that would mess with your mind of what is real and fantasy…and this had us all very interested. But the film was one that we all ended up seeing on our own and not as a group and I saw it once released on home media as I missed it in theaters as I was working lots of hours at my job at that time, and can remember loving every weird second of it when I was finally able to put that tape in the old VCR. I found Christian Bale to be perfect as the killer Patrick Bateman and his line delivery as well as mannerisms were perfect and I find myself to this day using quotes from this film in my everyday life and have even used the “Returning Video Tapes” line when its time for me to leave a place. My friends at that time all seemed to like the film as we all had different takes on if Patrick really killed people or if it was all in his head. I am in the camp that I think the killings are in his head but the beating and mistreatment of women is really his actions…but really who knows as the movie really does mess with your mind as the viewer as well. I think that Patrick Bateman in one of those characters who clearly degrades and abuses other people as a power play and to make himself feel like a big man, as clearly he spends most of his life comparing himself to others and being envious of those who do better than him. While the film had its supporters I also remember that it had a lot of haters as well as many people who were fans of the novel did not like the changes made in the film and many parents groups disliked it for its bloody kills and over all mean spirited mood. When I was working at Blockbuster Video I can remember some customers being mad that we stocked the movie for rent, yeah we had those kind of customers from time to time who for some reason targeted horror films. The direct to video sequel “American Psycho 2” was pretty much hated by my friends as spoiler….they kills Patrick Bateman off in the opening of the film and we follow a new killer named Rachael that is played by actress Mila Kunis. The film was super low budget and just failed to capture the magic of the first film, but keep in mind I don’t hate the sequel like so many others do. Love it or hate it, American Psycho has made its mark on horror cinema, and I am sure at some point it will get the remake or reboot treatment from Hollywood, but until that happens if you have not seen the film make sure to check it out if you like serial killer films set in the 80’s that blinds reality with delusions.

Now that we have taken a look at the film American Psycho and the film’s psycho killer Patrick Bateman, I think now we should take a look at Sumerian Comics comic mini series based around the film! And really in 2023 when this comic series was announced, I was both shocked and delighted as I think that the film could make for a good comic series and it also showcases what I have always said: more horror films should get horror comics as us readers look forward to them. I would like to thank Game Swap for having these comics in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So let’s put one some Huey Lewis And The News in the old CD player and spend some time with Patrick Bateman, a true American Psycho.

American Psycho # 1 ***
Released in 2023 Cover Price $4.99 Sumerian Comics # 1 of 5

It’s 1987 and Donald Kimball is a man who lives very modestly and likes to be under the radar so much so that even his own neighbor has his name wrong and he plays along. But his real goal in life is stalking a prostitute that he is angry at as he feels she thinks that he is not good enough for her, and one night he is stalking her and has a plan to make her pay but instead watches as she is picked up by Patrick Bateman who takes her home to his apartment and after having sex with her murders her with an axe. Donald approves of this killing as he was across the street with binoculars watching the whole time. We cut to 2011 and Charlene is drunk at a nightclub when a frat boy tries to take advantage of her in a bathroom stale and she is saved by her friend but not before she pukes on her would be attacker and drops her purse on the ground. As Charlene is taken out of the club and sent safely home, the would be attacker is thrown out of the club and is stabbed to death by an unknown killer who ends up leaving the drivers license of Charlene in the mans blood at the crime scene.

So far I am really digging this idea of an American Psycho comic mini series that is based around the events of the film as I truly think that Patrick Bateman as well as the 80’s sleazy business world makes for a great backdrop to horror. The plot of this issue follows Donald Kimball who we know is a private detective but who is also very much crazy in his own way and his stalking a woman that clearly he is either in love with or has been hired to follow, but he also seems to really hate her for sleeping around the city for money. And the strangest thing about him is he almost takes pleasure in watching her be killed with an axe and does not seem to want to bust the killer at all, as deep inside its like he thinks she got what was coming to her. Patrick Bateman the investment banker by day and killer by night is on the prowl in the city and is selecting his victims very easily as his appearance and money make him the perfect predator, and in this issue the young woman meets her end by the edge of an axe. And while Bateman and Kimball are roaming around in 1987 we also find that a new unknown killer is stalking the city in 2011 and has killed a clubber who was being way to pushy with a drunk female in the clubs bathroom, who is this killer? We are not sure but what we do know is that they are brutal in killing and seem to be framing the young woman they saved for the bloody crime. Charlene Carruthers is that woman who was drunk, saved and possibly framed and it makes you wonder if she will come into play more in this comic series, and I am guessing that she is the daughter of Luis Carruthers and Courtney Rawlinson both who knew Patrick Bateman. So far I am very interested in seeing were this comic mini series is going and like the idea of it bouncing from 1987 to 2011 and showing that at both times there is a killer on the loose. The issue does have blood being spilled and most of the horror of course comes from Patrick Bateman’s killing of a woman as well as of that of the unknown killer of 2011. The comic has many different covers but the one I have features Bateman with his axe and is really cool and eye catching if you are a fan of the movie like I am. The interior art is done by artists Piotr Kowalski and Brad Simpson and is pretty great stuff as it has a dark mood look to it, and I have to give them credit the characters kind of even loosely look like the actors who played them in the film. So far American Psycho is off to a good start, and I am looking forward to seeing what the next issue has in store for us and if we get more clues to who the killer is in 2011 as it makes you wonder is it still Patrick Bateman on the prowl?

American Psycho # 2 ***
Released in 2023 Cover Price $4.99 Sumerian Comics # 2 of 5

Donald Kimball has returned home after watching a woman get killed by Patrick Bateman, and he has become obsessed with following him around over the following days watching him dropping off stained sheets at a laundry mat, having drinks with his co-workers, eating dinner on a date and even after he stabs a homeless man to death and stomps on his pet dog. Donald also ends up finding Patrick’s business card and his stalking gets even more out of control as he even tries to call his office to find out from Jean his secretary where Patrick is at acting as a friend. One night Donald breaks into the home of Patrick and is there when he kills Paul Allen a man who is a co-worker who is very successful and kind of a rich prick. As Patrick is getting ride of Paul’s body Donald sneaks out of the apartment but also steals some money and buys a suit with it as he is coming up with an idea to force himself into Patrick’s world. Meanwhile now in 2011 Charlene Carruthers wakes up in bed and finds that her sheets are covered in blood and she is in a panic when the cops are at here door and inform her that her id was found near the body of the man who tried to attack her the night before, as the cops leave Charlene is not sure what is going on and if she really did kill a man.

The crimes of Patrick Bateman are ramping up as he kills a homeless man as well as a fellow investment banker and all the while he is unknowingly being followed by a man who has become obsessed with watching him commit his crimes and the rage and fury that he slaughters a person with, so much so that he wants to be apart of it all. While in our modern story Charlene finds herself very confused and now a possible suspect in a killing. Donald Kimball is truly a very unstable man as its clear that after watching a woman he was stalking get killed he becomes drawn to the killer as well as the thrill of watching someone die, now his new obsession is the killer and he just so badly wants to be closer to him as well as just be apart of his world. Donald is also so crazed now that he not only watches two other killings without helping the victims as well as steal money from one but he also kills his own cat…and this makes him truly a foul person. Patrick Bateman is doing what he does and that is go to work and do nothing, hangout with his shallow co-workers and of course kills people that he finds are lesser than him as well as one that he feels lives a better life than him…in other words Patrick is doing his best to seem like a normal person who has a very dark side. And Patrick is very much a psycho in this one as he uses a knife as well as his axe to deal death to his victims. I like the idea of this comic series so far as the events we are seeing are from the film but we are getting the view from a different characters eyes as we also are getting a backstory for a character that kind of is just floating around in the film but also seems like an important character and that of course is Donald Kimball who clearly is just a weirdo stalker who is gearing up to be a fake private detective in order to get closer to Patrick. The modern story moves forward slightly as all we know is that Charlene Carruthers is confused on if she has killed a man or not, and not much more to say yet for the 2011 part of our comic. The comic has lots of blood and violence and should very much please those readers who enjoy the red stuff being splattered all over the panels. The cover for this issue I have is pretty cool and shows Patrick Bateman and Charlene Carruthers whose refection is showing up on a knife. And once more Piotr Kowalski and Brad Simpson are doing the interior art and its good stuff as it really has a dark mood feel to it. Another good issue and I am very much looking forward to issue three and see how the stories are going to play out.

American Psycho # 3 ***
Released in 2024 Cover Price $4.99 Sumerian Comics # 3 of 5

Donald Kimball comes up with a fake identity of being a private detective who has been hired to look into the disappearance of Paul Allen and uses this made up life style to weasel his way into interviewing Patrick Bateman several times at his office and is amazed on just how calm Patrick is and how easy it is for the killer to try and act normal. At night Kimball still also follows Patrick hoping to see him kill again and gets upset when he allows his secretary Jean to live when he had her over instead of shooting a nail into her skull. Sometime later Kimball has lunch with and is disappointed in his hero as he thinks that he is a false prophet and is more of a coward than a alpha killer, and after lunch Kimball decides that he has to kill Patrick to show him what he has becomes. So armed with a knife Kimball heads to kill Patrick but before he gets close enough he witnesses the killing of a woman with a chainsaw by Patrick and once more finds that he worships and idolizes the madman. In 2011 Charlene Carruthers is hanging out with one of her friends at a bar and they are looking at social media on her phone as people are posting about the young man murdered when they come across an account that is using Charlene’s pictures and calling her a killer and sharing photos from the crime scene, and this freaks her out and causes her to return to her parents home were she is informed that mental illness runs in her family as her real father is Patrick Bateman is locked up in an asylum.

This third issue is really about Donald Kimball getting more and more drawn into the twisted killing world of Patrick Bateman and coming up with a lie in order to get close, speak to and even touch his new twisted idol as he gets a rush being near him. And it’s clear that at this point Donald Kimball is building a man crush on this killer and is living his kills via watching from the shadows as he feels just like his idol as he is only a shell of a person pretending to be normal. Patrick Bateman is in a spiral as he is getting more and more frenzied in his killings and is also getting a little more unhinged and sloppy as his need to take lives is getting bigger and bigger, but in this issue as well we see that he is starting to crack as Kimball visiting and showing him the CD that he played when killing Paul makes him sweat and also he shows that all of his humanity is not gone as he spares the life of Jean as he finds that he cares and respects her. The turn in this issue that is very interesting is that Kimball has lost his faith in Patrick and has set his sights on killing him, but once he watches him slaughter another female he once more gains his love and obsession with the madman killer and wants to learn from him. The 2011 set part of our story is also pretty great in this issue as Charlene Carruthers learns that someone on social media has created a fake account for her calling her a killer and she also learns that her real father in Patrick Bateman who has been locked up in an asylum for the past 24 years. The issue has blood being spilt as we see a woman be killed with a chainsaw and of course the Horror is coming from not only Patrick Bateman and his kills but also from the decent into madness from Donald Kimball. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has both Patrick Bateman and Charlene Carruthers in a maze and the use of blue and white makes it standout. The interior art is still being done by Piotr Kowalski and Brad Simpson and you guessed it is great stuff and they make a good team. This series this far as been really good and I am looking forward to reading the next and seeing how this all plays out.

American Psycho # 4 ***
Released in 2024 Cover Price $4.99 Sumerian Comics # 4 of 5

After Patrick Bateman leaves the place of the kills Donald Kimball enters dressed in a hazmat suit and cleans the whole area that so happens to be the apartment of the late great Paul Allen, and all through the place is dead female bodies, parts and blood…but he knows that he needs to clean so that Patrick will not be caught. As Donald is cleaning the landlord enters and she is threatened that if she speaks of what she has just seen she will be killed and worse her high rent apartment building will be shutdown when people learn that prostitutes have been murdered there, she agrees to keep quit and escapes with her life. After he is finished cleaning up the crime scenes Donald returns home and thinks about committing his first kill, when he gets a phone call from Jean as she has found Patrick’s planner that has lots of violent drawling’s in it as well as Allen’s business card that is covered in blood…and when Donald arrives at the office he ends up stabbing and killing Jean just as Patrick enters and is puzzled by what he is seeing. Donald then alerts Patrick that he knows about the killings and has covered them up for him as he even has called the police and confessed to them all clearing Patrick of all the crimes. Now back to 2011 a confused Charlene Carruthers pulls into the asylum that is more like a country club and sets up a meeting with her father Patrick Bateman who is unaware of her and ends up telling her about the killings as well as the fact Donald only killed one person that being Jean and is not the scary serial killer the world thinks him to be…and he also tells her that he thinks Donald is the man behind the fake social media account!

Well this issue really takes some wild twists and turns as I did not see it coming that Donald Kimball is willing to take the fall for all the killings that Patrick has committed because he idolizes and worships him that much, I also was taken back on the fact that they kill off Jean who is a well liked character from the film. The plot of this issue really is Donald doing what he can to cover up the killings Patrick has committed as he fears for him to be caught and stopped, with the more modern plot being Charlene going to the asylum were Patrick has checked himself in at in order to get answers and meet her real father for the first time only to learn he really is a serial killer! Patrick Bateman in the issue in the past is truly cracking up as his dive into madness and slaughtering is corrupting his mind and soul while in modern times he seems calm but also a little annoyed that he did not get any credit for his kills. Donald Kimball is a psycho who hides behind many different faces and truly loves the thrill of watching people be killed as well as really wants to know what killing feels like and sadly for Jean she becomes his victim. Jean who by accident sets up her own killing thinks she is doing the write thing by calling Donald who she thinks is a Detective about her bosses odd behavior and crude drawings. Charlene Carruthers is starting to question her own sanity as she thinks that maybe she did blackout and kill that asshole from the club, she is also being tormented by this social media account as some people are writing her hate mail while others lover letters! We will see if she is like her father and is the one killing or if its Donald back on the prowl or even Patrick doing these crimes. The plot this far really is drawing me in, as I cannot wait to see how this plays out! The issues has lots of blood and grisly shots of dead bodies and this is were the Horror comes in, and the cover for this issue is cool but a little strange as it shows Patrick in shadow with an axe and body bag in hand. The interior art done by the duo of Piotr Kowalski and Brad Simpson is still great stuff and I like the way they draw Patrick as well as the gruesome deaths. Over all yet another great issue in the American Psycho series and I cannot wait to see what the next and final issue has in store for us.

American Psycho # 5 **1/2
Released in 2024 Cover Price $4.99 Sumerian Comics # 4 of 5

Donald Kimball has been on the run since the 80’s as he has taken credit for all of Patrick Bateman’s crimes and has now traveled the world killing innocent people, he has found out he has cancer and is now returning to New York in order to see Patrick before he dies, and he has been the one doing the killings and is making it look like it was Charlene Carruthers doing them as he had an idea to kill her after a while and make it look like a suicide in order to draw Patrick Bateman out into the open. Charlene Carruthers hears her “real” father tell her all this and is confused by his words as well as if she should believe him, as she leaves Patrick asks her for her address so that he can write and she does leaving it at the front desk. As Charlene heads home she finds herself being stalked and chased by Kimball who wants to kill her as the ultimate message to Patrick who meanwhile has now killed a bunch of people at the asylum has escaped and is headed to his daughters apartment. Charlene is able to fight back against Kimball but she is stabbed several times and is dying but she is able to shoot Kimball who is also dying from his wounds by the time Patrick shows up. Patrick looks at the two dying people before him as Kimball gives him a letter he wrote him and his daughter begs him to get her help. In the end Patrick Bateman drives Kimball to the hospital and leaves his daughter in her home to bleed to death and she is now trying to fight for her own survival.

Patrick Bateman is back on the loose in these modern times after escaping the asylum that is watching over him as he is faced with both sides of his personality the psycho killer one and the other the want to act normal. The plot has Charlene Carruthers learning that her real father is a serial killer and that one of his biggest “fans” is now committing murders to blame her for with his end goal being to end her life. And when the attack happens Patrick is able to escape his captivity and chooses to get help for his fellow serial killer instead of his daughter when they are both badly injured in the attack. Patrick Bateman clearly has found his dark side again as he has no issues of killing workers at the asylum brutally and even walks away from his own daughter when she needs him the most. It also just shows that no matter how normal Patrick tries to act he is insane at his core and a cold blooded, soulless person. Poor Charlene Carruthers is being used by a serial killer in order to draw out another so that he can tell him farewell, so this young woman’s life is turned upside down all because of psychos, not to even mention she learns her real day is one of the psychos who ends up leaving her to die instead of getting her help when she is stabbed. Donald Kimball starts off just being a wannabe serial killer who after taking the life of his first victim ends up claiming the kills of his idol and then goes around the world killing, but wants to have a final moment with his killer idol when he finds out he is dying from cancer. And Kimball gets his moment when Bateman chooses to get him medical help over his daughter. While over all I enjoyed this series based on American Psycho the cult classic film it does sort of fall apart in this final issue as I feel that it was a little rushed and the payout while grim was lacking a big impact as I wish it was just a little different like Bateman killing them both in order to start fresh. I will say that the creators behind this series do a pretty good job of making it feel like apart of the film universe sort of and do a good job to bring the characters of the past into the year 2011. The issue does have lots of blood being spilt and deaths and both Bateman and Kimball are were the Horror comes from, and if Slasher or Thriller films or comics scare you I am sure this series will creep you out. The cover I have is very cool and showcases Patrick Bateman and the interior art is still really good and done by Piotr Kowalski and Brad Simpson and once more some props to them for sort of making the characters look like the actors that played them in the film. I think if you are a fan of the film American Psycho, like Slashers or just like Horror Comics based of Horror Films make sure to check this series out as over all it’s a really good read. Check out the artwork below to see the style used in this comic mini series.

I never thought that the 2000 film American Psycho would ever get a comic book series so when it was announced for 2023 I was totally shocked and also very much looking forward to reading it, and for the most part I can say that it was a good series with a slightly weak ending. I also have to say that Sumerian Comics could have been a bigger powerhouse in the world of Horror Comics based on films if they would have stayed with it as they besides American Psycho also did comics for The Fog (1980) and Basic Instinct (1992), who knows maybe they will do more of these type of comics in the future. But our time with Patrick Bateman is coming to an end but our time with a horror comic mini series based on a slasher film has not as next up I will be talking about the 1981 film My Bloody Valentine and the comic series from American Mythology! So until next time, read a horror comic of three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as we celebrate Valentines Day in September as I hear that there is a crazed Miner out there that is just itching to celebrate.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Tripper (2006)

Posted on August 24, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we are at another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update, and for this one we will be heading out to a concert in the woods and instead of enjoying the music we will have to watch out not only for the fumes of pot that will be filling the air but also a crazy man wearing a Ronald Reagan mask that wants to ruin a good time as he has an axe to grind! This film was the brainchild of actor David Arquette and would also get the comic book treatment thanks to Image Comics! The film is called The Tripper and is an often over looked comedy slasher film that mixes laughs, bloody murders and drug humor into a blender to deliver one strange watch. So if you are ready, let’s put on our best tie dyed shirts and head into the woods and party like it’s 2006 and pretend that Reaganomics is still running wild and Nancy Reagan is still telling all of us to just say NO!

Let’s first take a look at Gus Riggs aka Ronnie, the masked axe murdering killer who wanders the woods looking for hippies as they ruined his and family’s life. Ronnie is a suit wearing, Ronald Regan mask wearing and voice personating, 40^th President loving psychopath whose appearance and voice scares the hell out of his victims as he comes calling for them. Ronnie truly enjoys killing and has no issues slaughtering and massacring both women and men and their deaths truly bring him joy. Ronnie has many tools that he uses to kill his victims as he is very skilled with even using his bare hands as he can snap necks with one twist. He also has a pack of German Shepherd Dogs with the main one being called Nancy that will attack on his command and protect his barn hideout in the woods. He will use a knife to slash and stab his victims as he is very fast with one and can take your life in seconds. Ronnie is also known to use a chainsaw to cut a person in half. His main tool is a double-sided axe that he swings to take off heads, body parts as well as cause major damage to those that are chopped with it. He also is a good hunter as he can track down his victims that try and run away through his woods; he also sets traps in the woods like bear traps and snares that cause lots of pain. Ronnie is also a psycho as he at times thinks he truly is Ronald Regan and sees reality very differently. Ronnie also can take a beating as well as even be shot and is able to survive and get away to kill another day. But Ronnie really is just a man, and therefore he can be hurt and killed like any normal person so that means shot, stabbing, crushed, burnt, drowned and other ways a life can end will work on him. Also his craziness can also cause him to be too much on a rampage and leave himself open for attacks as well as make mistakes. Over all Gus Riggs aka Ronnie is a masked killer that loves to kill and is a pretty deadly and dangerous slasher.

Now that we have talked about Ronnie, the crazed axe murderer we should now take a look that he is from and that’s the indie film called The Tripper! Like always, I will be taking the film’s write up from our friends at IMDB and after that I will be writing about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on it. So if you are ready, let’s get a little deeper in these woods and see what terrors await us.

The Tripper (2006)

“A Ronald Reagan-obsessed serial killer targets a bunch of hippies who are heading to a weekend-long concert.”

Actor David Arquette was a fan of the films of Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper and wanted to make his own slasher film that was a horror comedy and would pay respect to the genre that he was a fan of. Arquette was known for his role in the Scream series as he played Dewey Riley, and this helped get this film some attention before it was even released or in production. David Arquette would write the screenplay alongside Joe Harris, and Arquette would also star in the film as Muff, produce the film along with a few others including his then wife Courtney Cox and would also direct the film. The film’s plot would be based on a group of hippies heading to Woodstock in order to do drugs and drink and are stalked by a masked killer who looks like President Ronald Reagan that cares an axe. The film had a small but decent budget for an indie horror film and when casting Arquette was able to get some pretty well-known names to star in it that includes such actors as Thomas Jane, Paul Reubens, Jamie King, Jason Mewes, Marsha Thomason and Wes Craven even in a cameo. When filming the location selected was a state park in Santa Cruz, California as it was the perfect location for his vision of the film. David has always said that he came up with the idea for the film while at a concert in the woods and growing up witnessing the odd choices of then President Ronald Reagan did when it came to cutting funds for mental health. The filming had some odd moments like it rained a lot and at one point a real human finger was found in the woods near filming. Once the film was done, it was scored by Jimmy Haun and David Wittman with it being released for festival and small screenings on October 13, 2006. The film after release was met with mixed reviews from fans and critics and over the years thanks to home media would gain a cult following. In 2007 the film also had a lawsuit that was later thrown out from film producer Fritz Junker, who claimed the film was a rip off of a short film he was involved in called “The Truth About Beef Jerky” that was released in 2001. The film did have some similarities, but it was clear that there were not the same. The film in 2007 was released along side such other Horror Films as Slither, See No Evil, Turistas, Black Sheep, Snakes On A Plane, Final Destination 3, The Breed, Marty Jenkins And The Vampire Bitches, The Hills Have Eyes, Silent Hill, Stay Alive, Halloween Night, Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon, The Woods and Black Christmas, to name a few. While not a household name, The Tripper is a strange horror comedy slasher film that is sure to please some of you readers who enjoy a little trippy-ness with their scares and splatter.

The Tripper is a film that I got on DVD around its release on home media and was one that I can remember watching when I was not feeling all that well and spent the day in bed watching horror movies. I can remember that I thought the film was just ok as all the tripping out scenes got on my nerves as I am not a fan of drug humor in my horror films if it’s too over done. I re-watched the film in 2023 when working on this update, and the film was way better than I remember it being. While it is still no masterpiece of horror comedy, it was an enjoyable slasher flick with some laughs, cool kills and a hidden message on just how some of Reagan’s choices messed things up, mostly when it came to mental health help and asylums. The film has its fair share of splatter and kills as Ronnie goes on a rampage and makes many hippies dead in the woods, and while the Regan mask is a little jolting and weird at first…it kind of is really creepy looking and adds to the over all oddness of the film. The effects for the budget level of the film are well done and lots of blood is sprayed around. The film also is well cast with Thomas Jane as the hero sheriff and Paul Rubens who is best known for being Pee-Wee Herman as the shady, cussing and goofy concert promoter stealing the film. The leading ladies are all great actresses and are beautiful with them being Jamie King, Marsha Thomason and Paz de la Huerta being those actresses. Plus this is a movie that I think Jason Mewes does a great job in, as I am not a fan of the Kevin Smith stuff, but here he shows some acting chops. It’s also very odd just how forgotten this film is as I talked to several of my friends who are into horror films and only very small amount knew that this film existed, and that’s shocking given who made it as well as some of the stars that were in it, let alone the subject matter in the political time we live in. If you have not seen this film, used copies of the DVD can be found at second hand stores as well as on Ebay or Amazon.

So now that we have talked about The Tripper and the film’s killer Ronnie we should now take a look at the comic adaptation that was released by Image Comics! And again I have to say that it is really cool that an indie horror film like this got the comic book treatment as it does make for a good comic adaptation. I would like to thank an Amazon Seller for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So with that, let’s travel even deeper into the woods as I think I hear the band Fishbone playing…but I also hear someone eating jellybeans!

The Tripper # 1 ***
Released in 2007 Cover Price $5.99 Image Comics # 1 of 1

The year is 1967, and a young kid who has a sick dying mother goes to work with his father who is a lumber man. The site is being protested by hippies who want to save the trees and one even attacks the boy’s father who in turn is arrested when he pulls a gun, but the young boy attacks the hippie with a chainsaw and is taken away and locked up in a asylum. Now in present day Samantha is on a trip with her boyfriend Ivan and friends Linda, Joey, Jade and Jack as they are on their way to a music festival taking place in the middle of the woods and being put on by Frank Baker. This is Samantha’s time to have fun as she is away from her abusive asshole boyfriend Jimmy now. But while taking a rest break at the side of the road, Samantha and her friends watch in horror as a truck drives by and a hillbilly throws a bottle at Ivan splitting his head open, and worse now at the festival they are threatened by Dylan Riggs, the father from 1967! Meanwhile Frank Baker meets Sheriff Buzz Hall who points out that many of Frank’s concerts have reported deaths…and the two are clearly at odds. A masked killer wearing a Ronald Regan mask and armed with an axe has appeared in the woods and kills a nudist as well as an old man that lives in a cave, and Sheriff Hall after finding the body of the nudist wants to block off the roads as well as stop the concert as he thinks an animal is on the loose…but the Mayor is not having it. So Sheriff Hall goes and talks to Dylan Riggs about the traps set in the woods as Joey and Linda are attacked by the hillbillies who are shooting paint balls at them! Things get terrible for everyone when Ronnie attacks and kills Joey, Linda and the three hillbilly rednecks and sets his sights on all the concertgoers even leaving bodies for the Sheriff to find so that he can try and clear out the panic driven crowd away. Ronnie continues his killing spree even chopping up Samantha’s friends Jack, Jade, Ivan, her ex-boyfriend Jimmy (who came to stalk her) and takes the Mayor Hostage all the while trying to chase down and murder Samantha and kills anyone in his way. But Ronnie’s rampage is stopped by Sheriff Hall’s gun and a hammer being swung by Samantha…and once unmasked Ronnie is shown to be Gus Riggs, the young child who killed a hippie protester in 1967 with a chainsaw! But when they go to get the body of Gus, he is gone and is alive as he uses a chainsaw to kill concert promoter Frank Baker.

A very strange slasher comedy film makes a very strange slasher comic book is how I have to start off this review as this adaptation downplays the humor and amps up the splatter and makes for a entertaining read. The core of the plot is still here in this adaptation as we follow Samantha, a young woman who just got out of a terrible relationship who is going to a big outdoor festival with her friends, but things turn very bloody when a released mental patient who is obsessed with President Ronald Regan armed with an axe starts killing everyone he thinks is a hippie on drugs. Samantha is out main “hero” as she is a woman who has went through so much and is looking for a fun weekend away with friends and her new boyfriend, and when she is pushed too far and all her friends are dead she takes action with a hammer and bashes the killer down into the ground. Sheriff Buzz Hall is also a hero as he tries to save as many lives as she can by warning the concert goers, but he also has lots of obstacles in his way from a mayor who is only looking at money being brought in to a old time lumber worker who hates hippies and who’s son is really the masked killer setting traps in the woods. But good old Buzz and his gun helps bring down Ronnie for a short time. Speaking of Ronnie who is really Gus, he is a total crazy person who thinks he is Ronald Reagan and is taking the war on drugs a little too far as he has way to much fun chopping up bodies. And in his mind his pet dog is Nancy and Samantha is his daughter Betty who he thinks is taking drugs. This comic adaptation does a really good job of keeping the pace of the story going and remove many moments from the film that would bog it down and that is many of the tripping out moments between the friends in the woods, but I do feel that the redneck hillbilly’s clashing and fighting with Samantha and her friends in a small gas station store as well as Samantha’s bad acid trip that affected her mentally and made her even more fearful of her ex-boyfriend Jimmy should have been left in the comic as they added character development. The comic is pretty bloody and does have some gore as well making it pleasing for those comic readers who enjoy the red stuff. The cover is very cool and shows Ronnie in the shadows with an axe in one hand and a human head in the other while Nancy the dog is snarling. The interior art is done by Nat Jones and is really great stuff as he has always been a great artist when it comes to horror comics. Plus the way he draws Ronnie and the violence is sure to please horror fans. Over all this is a solid and entertaining adaptation that while removes and changes a few things still delivers a spooky read that still has that odd charm of the film. Check out the artwork below to see what artist Nat Jones did for this adaptation.

The Tripper really is one of those 2000’s slasher film that has been lost in the shuffle over the years as is the comic adaptation, but I feel that over time as the political climate of America keeps changing this film will be re-discovered and I feel will end up getting a bigger cult following…well or if Joe Bob Briggs ever hosts in on The Last Drive-In on Shudder. Before we go, I also think that I should say that the comic does cut down the part of concert promoter Frank Baker as him being very sleazy, trying toe get away with all the money and hiding in a port a potty buried in poop in order to escape the massacre of Ronnie only later to die should have been left in as all we have in the comic is him getting killed at the end with the money in hand. But with that let’s get out of the woods and head to the big city as we spend some time with Patrick Bateman the American Psycho, as we talk about the film as well as the Sumrian Comics adaptation of it. So until next time, read a horror comic of three, watch a horror movie or two and as always support your local horror host. See you next time for a crazy good time, and who knows maybe Patrick will end up playing us some Huey Lewis And The News.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Rage (2007)

Posted on August 14, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to The Valley Of The Rage…oh wait, I mean Rotten Ink and for this “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update we will be taking a look at the 2007 indie horror film The Rage that was created by FX man Robert Kurtzman and the Fangoria Comics series based around it. The Rage is one of those films that often gets over looked when it comes to direct to video horror films from this era as it slipped under the cracks, but it’s very cool that it ended up getting the comic book treatment and it’s about time it also gets the Rotten Ink treatment. So if you are ready, let’s dive into The Rage and see what this creepy infected humans undead twisted zombie film is all about!

Let’s start by taking a look at Dr. Viktor Vasilienko, a mad scientist that is working with The Rage Virus that turns people living and dead into deformed maniacs that have a lust for violence. He created the virus after he created a cure for cancer that was hidden away by his home country and never used by America who bought it as they wanted treatments not a cure, and this drove him into a madness. Dr. Vasilienko is from Russia and is a man who does not value human life any more, as he would rather take a life than save a life at this time all in his quest to control the virus he created as a plague. His lab is in the woods among a junkyard of cars, and he not only has his lab equipment but also his experiments that are infected people with the virus. When a normal person, he is not very threatening looking as he appears to be a very normal person, but when he is infected by The Rage virus, his appearance is ghastly as he gets bumps, sores and all his skin gets misshapen and gross looking causing his appearance to scare those who see him. Even when infected by The Rage Virus, good old Dr. Vasilienko retains his smarts and skills as his goal is to find a full cure for the virus, but he also has an idea to create a new race of people infected to make the world a different place. The infected Dr. Vasilienko is very strong and can toss a normal person around like a rag doll, he also can with stand lots of damage as being stabbed and burnt does not seem to bother him at all. He also can bite a person and in turn infect them with The Rage virus making this sickness spread. He also has minions that are like him, infected and very mean and dangerous with one being Gor, a massive blind flesh eater. The other is the little person The Misfit who sometimes dresses like a woman and loves to torture and kill his prey. Dr. Vasilienko also seems to love dealing out pain to his victims as well as his helpers as he is truly a madman now. But while the infected Dr. Vasilienko is strong, he still can be killed as if you destroy his brain he can no longer function and so ends his reign of terror. While Dr. Vasilienko and his Rage infected minions might not be the most dangerous villains we have ever covered, they still are very much dangerous as they love to kill and can infected the world with their bites.

Now that we have talked about Dr. Vasilienko and his infected minions, we should take a look at the film they are from and that of course is The Rage. Like always, I will be taking the film’s write up from our friends at IMDB and after that I will be writing about the film’s production and then about my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s dodge the infected vultures flying around and see what terrors await us in The Rage!

The Rage (2007)

“A crazed scientist experiments with a rage virus on innocent victims in a laboratory in the woods. When his monstrous subjects escape and vultures devour their remains, they became mutations seeking to feed on humans.”

The Rage is an indie horror film that was from the mind of FX Master Robert Kurtzman, who not only directed the film but also co-wrote the script with John Bisson that takes place in a small town in Ohio and a mad scientist that has raged filled experiments running wild all cause of a rage virus. The film had a low budget with it rumored to be around $200 thousand, and when casting such names as Erin Brown, Andrew Divoff, Reggie Bannister, Ryan Hooks, Rachel Scheer and Alan Tuskes being some of the leads. The film focused lots of its budget on practical effects as they created zombie people and animals and lots of blood was used. Once the film was done and ready for music, the score was done by The Midnight Syndicate and the band Mushroomhead did a few songs for the film. Screen Media would pick up the film for distribution, and it would be released on home media and would show at many Horror Conventions and Screenings. The film was making a small buzz among horror fans as the effects as well as Erin Brown were a draw for them to give it a view. But once released fully, it was met with very mixed reviews from both critics and fans who seemed to not like the film’s plot and found it to be messy. But over the years, the film has gained a cult following thanks mostly to the film being viewed with more modern eyes and it being enjoyed for it’s more over the top parts. The film in 2007 was released alongside such other horror films as 28 Weeks Later, P2, Trick ‘r Treat, I Am Legend, Paranormal Activity, Wrong Turn 2, Hills Have Eyes 2, Halloween, Teenape Goes To Camp and Inside, to name a few.

The film is one that I seen when released on DVD, and it was on my radar for a while thanks to the Fangoria Comic series, the fact that I would see the band The Midnight Syndicate all the time at Cinema Wasteland Convention as well as the fact I was a big fan of Erin Brown aka Misty Mundae…plus you can never go wrong with a strange undead creature feature that was said to be a bloodbath! After watching the film I was not disappointed as I found it to be a very fun ride that was filled with very cool zombie like creatures as well as some very solid practical effects. The one downside was some of the digital effects looked really cheesy, but to be fair in 2007 they still were being perfected in smaller budget films. Seeing actor Andrew Divoff in another role besides The Wishmaster was very cool as he played another messed up creature this time a mad scientist who is hell bent on destroying the world after they would not allow him to save it, as I am sure you guessed it, he plays Dr. Viktor Vasilienko and does a great job in the role. My favorite bad guy character is The Misfit who is a very strange character that dresses like a woman, talks weird, is very mean, likes to use knives and is one violent little person! I also like Gor, a massive blind raged filled infected person who wants to eat human flesh and make people dead! Sure some of the acting is also a little cheesy, but I for one think that it is very fitting for this film’s plot and helps add to the classic cult film feel. After all these years and watching this film again in 2023 for this review I still found myself a fan and wished that it would have gotten a sequel as it would have been cool to see the return of Dr. Viktor Vasilienko and see where the story would go next. While The Rage might not be for everyone, if you enjoy the 2000’s direct to video indie horror films, this is one you might find yourself enjoying like I do. I mean, who doesn’t love seeing zombie vultures attacking zombie humans?!

The Rage might not be a household name when it comes to horror films, but it is a very cool cult film that brings lots of splatter and some cool zombie effects and as zombie vultures attacking zombie people! We are now at the point of this update that I will review the comics based on the film, and in this case it was Fangoria Comics that made the comic series back when the film was released. I would like to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to thank Fangoria Magazine for making a comic branch that sadly they folded up way to soon due to poor management. And lastly I would like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head to the lab of Dr. Vasilienko and see who or what he has infected this time around. And on a side note, it has been a very long time since I first read these comics so it will be nice to revisit to see how I feel about them now.

Beneath The Rage # 1 ***
Released in 2007 Cover Price $3.99 Fangoria # 1 of 4

At an insane asylum in Guatemala, doctors and Agent Sadko watch as a man who has been infected by The Rage virus dies before their eyes in a very gruesome way. The man was Sadko’s husband and she would like to talk to the creator of the virus who is also an inmate named Dr. Viktor Vasilienko. Once in the room with Dr. Vasilienko who is chained up and in a straight jacket, she asks him to tell her about the virus, and he says if he tells her, it will cost her life. She blows off his threat and starts from the beginning. Dr. Vasilienko explains that at a young age both of his parents passed away from cancer and as he grew up he himself found a cure for it, but it was stolen by his home country and sold to pharmaceutical companies to buried it as he himself was locked away in a asylum. He escaped and later when messing with two cops sent to arrest him, he stumbled on a street that housed a place that showcased Circus Freaks and inside he meets Misfit a little person with ghastly features and learns from him that a witch cause him to be this way, and when a cop finds Dr. Vasilienko, it’s Misfit who saves him from being arrested by stabbing the cop in the back. Meanwhile the other cop who is looking through Dr. Vasilienko’s room triggers a trap that explodes and kills him. And then both Dr. Vasilienko and Misfit escape into the night and a twisted friendship is born.

This is such a fun issue as it really does a great job of going into the backstory of Dr. Vasilienko as well as shows his first meeting with his friend Misfit, not to even mention it starts off with a bang as we see a man vomit and poop out his insides all because of the Rage virus. The plot has an agent visiting the asylum that houses Dr. Vasilienko to learn about the virus he created and why he created something that if set loose would kill so many people very painfully, and he is willing to tell his tale. Dr. Vasilienko is a man who really just wanted to help save lives who turns bitter and cold when his country and the medical world turn on him for finding a cure for cancer, as they want to treat it to make more money. And with his Rage virus, he thinks that he is showing mankind his anger and this is his revenge on everyone who he thinks wronged him as well as stolen from him. Misfit is a foul person who has been cursed by a witch, is locked up and used in a sideshow due to his gross appearance and who is very blood thirsty and mean. Agent Sadko is there to do a job and needs to find out what she can about the Rage Virus, but she also really wants to kill Dr. Vasilienko as the man she watched die horribly was her husband…but she has a job to do and is trying to remain calm. I really like that this comic shows just how Dr. Vasilienko and Misfit meet as the two are a very odd couple together, but we all also know that the two will go on to do some pretty twisted stuff. The issue is packed with blood, guts and gore and holds true to the feel of the film it’s a prequel to. The cover is very eye catching and is done in the style of an old circus sideshow banner that would be in front of a tent. The interior art is done by Stephen Thompson and is really great stuff as the way he draws the gore is top notch. Plus he does a great job of making the characters look like the actors who played them. The first issue really held up for me, and I am very much looking forward to re-reading the second issue and see if it does as well.

Beneath The Rage # 2 ***
Released in 2007 Cover Price $3.99 Fangoria # 2 of 4

As they are walking, Dr. Vasilienko is getting more information from Misfit about the witch that placed this curse on him as her name is Solia The Eternal Queen and she lives in the jungle that is called The Valley Of Rage. But Dr. Vasilienko gets upset at Misfit after he kills a streetwalker for no reason, and makes Misfit promise to be his servant if he ever wants to be cured. The next day they go to a man named Gor, who sets them up to travel to the valley and their guide is a scumbag named Dirty Sanchez as he is the only one willing to take the gig. But Gor has set up Dr. Vasilienko, Misfit and Sanchez as he and the men he sends with them are all connected to Solia and he wants the three men to never make it out of the jungle…and the orders are understood. Once in the jungle, the group stumbles on a bunch of infected people on crosses, placed as a warning to those entering the valley and by mistake Sanchez shoots one in the head and this alerts the tribe that strangers are near. And worse, the group get captured when Gor’s man on the inside brings to life flesh eating zombies! While Gor himself is being forced to go to the jungle by Agent Sadko and Ivan, her husband, who are tracking down Dr. Vasilienko to bring him back to the asylum to face justice. As Dr. Vasilienko wakes up, he learns that Misfit has set him up as he is working with the Queen as she promised to cure him if he brought her a man of smarts.

The second issue is just as entertaining as the first and the plot thickens as Dr. Vasilienko and his band of weirdoes head into The Valley Of The Rage in order to find out the secrets of the virus. The Queen of a tribe created to make people into mindless monsters. But Dr. Vasilienko soon also finds out that he cannot trust his own “friends” as Misfit is working along side the Queen and lured him into the jungle. Dr. Vasilienko is driven by his quest for revenge as well as studding this new unknown virus, and he will kill and set up whoever stands in his way. Misfit is a crude man who loves killing and as well set up a group of people with the hopes of getting a cure for his illness from the person who cursed him. Meanwhile Gor is learning that while he was trying to do right by the Queen, he soon will find himself being tested as he is being forced back to the jungle by the Russian agents that are after the Doctor. What is bad for Dirty Sanchez as well is that he and other men are being used as pawns in this sick game of power as many of them are losing their lives for other people’s gains. The big plot details in this issue that come to light is that Misfit was ordered by The Queen to bring her a smart person and that Gor and his right hand man are working for The Queen as well. The issue has lots of death that includes blood, guts and gore and will please horror comic readers who love the red stuff all over the panels. The cover is pretty great and has Dr. Vasilienko, Misfit and Dirty Sanchez surrounded by rage-infected zombies. The interior artwork by Stephen Thompson is great stuff again, and truly he understands the mood and nature of the characters as well as the world of The Rage. Over all another solid issue that brings scares and gore to horror readers who enjoy the film The Rage.

Beneath The Rage # 3 ***
Released in 2007 Cover Price $3.99 Fangoria # 3 of 4

Dr. Vasilienko and his men as prisoners head deep into the cave kingdom and witness a man’s soul being taken as a tribute to allow them inside and closer to the Queen. Dr. Vasilienko also notices that there are some members of this tribe who are more mutated and are begging for death as they have all become immortal but the mushroom that helps them has been less affective on some and that is why he has been called on as they hope he can find a way to help these more mutated men and women. In a short time Dr. Vasilienko, along with Misfit and Dirty Sanchez, are brought to see Solia The Eternal Queen who rejects them all as she says they are insane and would poison their god with their madness if he were to drain their knowledge. She does however vomit into the mouth of Dr. Vasilienko given him some of her knowledge so he can understand the virus and how its made and effects. Later Dirty Sanchez is chosen to make love to the Queen as behind her back some of her men are going to allow their God to take the thoughts and knowledge of Dr. Vasilienko, but things go wrong as Dr. Vasilienko’s madness effects the God that shakes and causes the cave to crumble. Meanwhile Gor has been taken by the rage and is attacking and killing the Russians that have entered the jungle with him.

Sadly this third issue was the final issue released in print as Fangoria Comics would close up for the first time and that made this story end on a cliffhanger and for us horror comic readers to not know how the story ends. In this issue, Dr. Vasilienko is taken to see the Queen and shares his knowledge and madness and in turn gets his own reward of getting knowledge passed into him. And while Dr. Vasilienko is a bad guy who has allowed his anger to take over his want to help the world, he still is clearly a man of science as he wants to understand this virus and get a cure for it…but still has ideas to use it against his enemies once he can master it. Misfit as well is a true scumbag who plays both sides of the fence and will take a life and do horrible things to the body afterwards. Dirty Sanchez is just a dirt bag that treats ladies poorly and took this guide gig of taking Dr. Vasilienko into the jungle for money. Agent Sadko, Ivan and the Russian soldiers are also dangerous, but they are on a mission to stop Dr. Vasilienko as they know that his madness could do the world harm. But the true evil of this issue is Solia The Eternal Queen and all her followers as they are all killers, cannibals, zombies, infected and all take lives with zero remorse, and worse they are immortal and some are in constant pain…they are just terrible people who only care about themselves. The fact that they are cannibals and love the taste of flesh and enjoy chopping up people makes them truly scary monsters. The issue has lots of splatter like the past two issues and this is a great thing for fans of the film, as truly I think this comic does justice to the film it’s based on and the creators involved all did great work. It’s a true shame that Fangoria at the time could not get their act together and pulled the plug before almost any of their comic series were finished, and I truly think that it would be awesome of the new owners of the classic Horror Magazine would reopen the comic branch as well. The cover for this issue is pretty creepy and has Dr. Vasilienko in a room surrounded by weird rage filled infants as a soul is being dangled in front of him. Like with the other two issues, artist Stephen Thompson did the interiors and does a fantastic job as I really do like the way he draws the gore an the characters like Misfit and Gor once he rages out…and yes, I get the vibe Gor when normal was based off Tor Johnson. Over all Beneath The Valley Of The Rage was a great comic series based around the indie horror film The Rage as it helped flush out the backstories for many of the film’s bad guy characters, it really is a shame that Fangoria Comics dropped the ball by not finishing all their comics before closing up shop and its even more a shame that Scream Factory would release the final issue as a digital release only in the day when like .1% of comic readers bought digital. Check out the artwork below to see the style used by Stephen Thompson in this series.

As I was saying above, Fangoria Comics would close shop in 2007 and would do so in the middle of their mini series never giving readers the stories conclusions…this reminds me of Star Comics the kid branch of Marvel Comics that use to cancel series with no warning. And while it was cool that Scream Factory did release the missing issue digitally, it would have been nice to have print copies as I have stated back most comic readers did not read digital at this time and most horror comic readers enjoy their comics physical. But sadly so much time as passed and with Fangoria changing ownership hands many times over the years and with no sign that Fangoria Comics will every make a return, I fear that the time to get a printed version of Beneath The Valley Of The Rage # 4 has long passed and with no digital versions floating around the internet, this one is just lost to time. However here is a look at what the cover looked like for the Scream Factory release.

The Rage was truly a great pick for Fangoria to give the comic book treatment as the characters from the film had such weird personalities that needed to be explored, and this comic did just that by showcasing their backstories. I truly miss Fangoria Comics as they along with companies like Topps Comics, Dead Dog Comics and IDW is what made me fall in love with reading comics again back in the 90’s and early 2000’s. And in these modern times I hope that Blood Scream Comics is a publisher that has made it a fun and spooky for some of you. But our time with Dr. Vasilienko and his Rage Virus has come to an end, so I think that its time for me to tell you all that our next update will be about the slasher film The Tripper that was directed by David Arquette. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror movie or two and as always support your local horror host. See you next update for a killer good time with a psycho wearing a Ronald Reagan mask!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Humanoids From The Deep (1980)

Posted on August 4, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. This update is going to take us to the depths of the deep waters where humanoids dwell just looking to kill men and take the woman…and of course I am talking about the 1980 film “Humanoids From The Deep” that was a sleazy creature feature that was made for Roger Corman’s then owned New World Pictures. In 2010, this film got the comic book treatment from a strange indie publisher and fans were delighted to get more slime and creepiness from their Humanoids. And for me Humanoids From The Deep makes for the perfect “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update and is one that had been a very long time coming. So let’s get to the boat and hit the blue waters looking not only for genetically enhanced salmon but also mutant humanoid fish creatures!

Let’s start off by taking a look at The Humanoids from this film and their ways of killing humans. The Humanoids are fish creatures that were created when a company called Canco by accident let out a batch of salmon that had been given an experimental growth hormone that caused the bigger fish that ate them to become these creatures, and they are bloodthirsty and have a lust for human women. They are very monstrous in appearance and look like green fish men with oversized heads, sharp teeth, have tails and are slimy covered with muck from the water and this alone drives people into pure madness. They are big in size as well and this makes them very intimidating as their look and size is a combo for terror. The Humanoids are very strong and can kill a person or animal with their bare hands as well as toss them around like a rag doll. The Humanoids also will attack solo as well as in packs and can do so both in water as well as land making them even more dangerous. The Humanoids have giant webbed clawed hands that they use to rip apart flesh and most of the time when using their claws they can remove large parts of flesh down to the bone. They also will pull you into bodies of water where they can attack faster than you can defend yourself and this could lead to your drowning. They also have massive razor sharp teeth that they can use to also rip away at your flesh and cause you to die of blood loss or instant death depending on what artery is munched on during the attack. They are very violent and have a goal to make men dead and ladies to carry their offspring. While The Humanoids are very dangerous, they are living creatures and can die as they can be killed by multiple gunshots, being stabbed, bashed in the head and they truly hate fire. They are also very much driven to attack and mate and this leads them to make mistakes and be taken out. The Humanoids are very dangerous and are creatures with no remorse and only live for their own purpose.

Now that we have taken a look at The Humanoids and their ways of dealing death, I think that it’s time now that we take a look at the film they are from and that is “Humanoids From The Deep”! Like always, I will be getting the film’s write up from our friends at IMDB and after that I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts of the film. So if you are ready, let’s at least get near the water and see if we can spot any Humanoids!

Humanoids From The Deep (1980)

“Humanoid sea creatures start killing a fishing town’s residents, and raping their women. It’s up to the townsfolk and a visiting biologist to fight back and fend them off.”

Humanoids From The Deep was a film that was made for Roger Corman’s company New World Pictures in 1980 as the master of the B-Movies was looking to beef up his company’s horror releases. The film’s script was written by Frederick James and originally Corman wanted Joe Dante to be the director, but he turned it down so Barbara Peeters was hired instead. When casting the film, such names as Vic Morrow, Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, Anthony Pena, Lynn Schiller and Denise Galik were brought in with filming starting in late 1979. The film has a budget of around $2.5 million dollars with a big part going to the creature effects that was created by Rob Bottin. As it was filming, it seemed like Roger Corman and Barbara Peeters started to kind of clash as they both clearly had different visions of what the films violence and sleazy parts needed to be. Peeters would focus on the bloody attacks on the male characters, but would not showcase the more sleazy attacks on the females that Corman wanted as he thought would bring people to the theaters to see it, so she would be let go. This also caused Jimmy T. Murakami to step in to film some scenes as well as second unit director James Sbardellati filming the more sleazy attacks from the monsters on the women. The film was shot in California and once done James Horner would do the score. The film would be released on May 16, 1980 and would be met with negative reviews from critics. Most fans of horror seemed to enjoy it as it did make money at the box office. But the film’s two biggest haters were director Barbara Peeters (who was let go before the re-shoots) and main actress Ann Turkel as they hated the added in nudity and attacks on the females, plus the names change as when filming was going on the title was “Beneath The Darkness”. The film when then build a bigger cult following once it was released on home media and continues to build on its legacy. The film would get a remake in 1996 that was made for the paid cable station Showtime and would also get a home media release. The film in 1980 was released alongside such other horror films as Friday The 13th, The Shining, The Fog, Maniac, Motel Hell, Mother’s Day, The Gates Of Hell, Cannibal Holocaust, Antropophagus, Nightmare City, Hell Of The Living Dead, The Children, Prom Night, Toxic Zombies, Alien Dead, Terror Train, Mama Dracula, Fiend and Doctor Butcher M.D. to name a very few showing that 1980 was a great year for horror movies!

Humanoids From The Deep is one of those films I first saw on VHS when my brother and I rented it on one of the weekend horror movie marathons we used to always have when we moved to a new town and school and good old spooky movies were old friends that were always around and filled that void until we both made new friends. I can remember liking the film as who doesn’t love strange humanoid creatures coming out of the water and attacking anyone in their way all in a quest to get the ladies of the surface world. The Humanoid creatures were very cool and weird looking and with the tapes grain they looked even more creepy and them attacking for me was like a mix of those beach party horror films as well as a dash of classic Universal Monster flick Creature From The Black Lagoon! The film also had many lovely ladies in the cast, but I will say that I am not a fan of all the sexual assault stuff in the film. The film has a charm for me because it was part of the early days of New World Pictures, a movie company that was created by Roger Corman and his wife that delivered so many amazing horror films to over its life, heck after Corman sold the company it would go on to even own Marvel Comics for a time! Humanoids From The Deep is a film that I learned about thanks to the books The Gore Score by Chas Balun and The Splatter Guide Movie Guide by John McCarty and their write ups made me have to see it, and like I said when I finally did I was not disappointed as it was a very fun creature feature! And for those wondering, the late great Chas Balun gave it an 8 on the Gore Score. If you have not seen Humanoids From The Deep but like sleaze in your horror, make sure to give it a watch.

So now that we have covered The Humanoids and their film, I think that its time that we take a look at the comic based on it that was released by Bluewater Comics, an indie publisher who for a while was making some great comics based on some horror and sci-fi films that should have gotten the adaptation treatment back when they were originally released. Sadly now Bluewater is called Tidal Wave and pretty much only do online comics based around celebrities. I would like to thank Bell Book And Comic for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So with that, I think it’s time that we spend some time with these blood thirsty humanoids of the deep in this blue water.

The Humanoids # 1 ***
Released in 2010 Cover Price $3.99 Bluewater # 1 of 1

After the attacks of 1980, Canco was sued out of business or so the world thought as they really just changed their name to NACO and set up shop in Canada where they still experiment with the DNA growth hormone as well as research the Humanoids it created, and they have made progress as one they have named Graham can now talk! But an accident at the plant lets all the Humanoids free and they kill everyone in sight, but Graham is not like the others and is upset over the killings and the others do not expect this more advanced species of themselves. Meanwhile on a small island, a party is going on and friends Ann and Cindy are attending, but things get really bad when The Humanoids crash the party and start attacking killing the men and grabbing the ladies. Ann armed with a hatchet and Cindy armed with a rock make a stand against The Humanoids killing as many as they can as well as try and save people being attacked, and as the two friends get separated and things look grim for Cindy she is saved by Graham who rips apart her attacking Humanoid! Cindy thanks Graham for saving her and he tells her to run, but sadly is shot and killed by the arriving police…and as Cindy looks around she is the only one left alive on the little island as even her friend Ann is gone.

This comic is a very quick read and does the film its based on justice, but also adds more to the lore as I love the idea of a smart Humanoid who knows the difference between right and wrong and has got a friendship with humans and does not wish to slaughter and mate with them like the others of his species. The plot is very basic and has Humanoids escaping from a lab after an accident, and they attack a high school island party with two friends being our heroes and wanting to stop this attack and try and save lives. Cindy and Ann are those friends who are attending the party, and when the attack starts, they decide to fight back and do a great job of doing so as they kill many of The Humanoids as they were smart and armed themselves. Ann is almost assaulted by one of them so she makes it her mission to save any of her fellow classmates that are about to be mated with as Cindy just swings her hatchet and tries to kill as many as she can…sadly Cindy is the lone survivor of this massacre. Graham The Humanoid is also a hero as he arrives just in time to save Cindy from being attacked, and he is such a kind creature that is why when he is shot and gunned down it kind of hits you in the gut. The Humanoids are as dangerous and mean as ever as they truly just want to kill and mate and go after anyone they see on this island. One of the cool aspects of this issue is that they do tie it into the 1980 film and while none of those characters appear, you know that they are out there still. I also like that we get to see a Humanoid fight as watching Graham rip apart one of his fellow Humanoids in a fight to the death is pretty badass. The comic has lots of blood and gore with lots of blood and goo splattering all over. The comic does not have any nudity and truly focuses on the slaughter. The cover is pretty cool and shows a Humanoid with a woman in his arms, so people who knows this film it would be very eye-catching for. The interior art is really cool and done by Benjamin Hall as I really like the way he draws The Humanoids as well as all the gore. While not as sleazy as moments of the film are, this comic is a great way to keep The Humanoids From The Deep alive in media and delivered a entertaining read to all us horror comic readers. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Hall used in this comic.

Humanoids From The Deep is one of those cult classic films that was a perfect fit for comic books and I have to say that Benjamin Hall and Bluewater Comics did a great job here, and to be honest I wish this had been more than just a one shot. In fact I wish that Roger Corman’s very short-lived comic publisher company he owned called Cosmic Comics had lasted longer as many of this films he was producing or even had made would have made for great comics. But as you can see, this update is coming to an end and that means we will be leaving The Humanoids behind as the next update will take us to The Valley Of The Rage as we take a look at the indie horror movie The Rage and the Fangoria Comics based on it. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror comic or two and as always support your local horror host. See you next update as we RAGE!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter (1974)

Posted on July 25, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink, and our “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” updates continue for 2026 with this one being based on a true cult classic from Hammer Films called Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter that is considered by many to be their final great film before they would first go out of business in 1979. That is the thing about Hammer, they really loved making films about vampires as moviegoers at the time really did enjoy films about these blood drinkers. And when wanting to cover Captain Kronos I decided to choose the Titan Comics four issue mini series instead of making a custom comic of the adaptation by Top Sellers LTD. that that they did for an issue of their Hammer House Of Horror Magazine. So if you are ready, let’s grab some silver and stay away from the Durward estate and see what spooky adventures Captain Kronos has planed for us!

Let’s start by taking a look at Lady Durward and Hagen Durward, a vampire couple who enjoys dealing death to the living and striking fear into the hearts of the innocent. Lady Durward is a female vampire who is very old in appearance and the sight of her startles those who end up seeing her as she has long grey hair and a wrinkled pale face and wears a black hooded cloak when hunting her human prey. She is also very powerful as she is able to walk during the day and in the sun, she also is not scared of or hurt by crosses. She has sharp vampire teeth, and she mostly preys on young women as she drains them of their youth to make her young again and allow her to be more powerful in her vampire ways. Lady Durward when youthful is very charming and can trick those people she is hunting to trust her and fall under her charming spell. She also has two children Paul and Sara Durward that keep her safe and watch after her when she is in her old state. They are unaware that she is a vampire. Lady Durward also seems to get joy in her attacks on the youthful girls and even attacks one family killing every daughter a man has. She also has a stare that hypnotizes her victims and wears a mask to cover up her youthful look around her children and others. Her husband Hagan Durward passed away from the plague and was brought back to life by his wife. He suffers the scars of the disease that killed him but is still very skilled with a sword and has sharp teeth to kill his victims with. While the Durwards are vampire who can walk in the sunlight as well as avoid being hurt by the cross, they can still be killed with a sword blade that is made from holy metal and has been blessed, and once stabbed with the sword they shrivel up, turn into skeletons and die. While Lady Durward and Hagen Durward are not the deadliest or most powerful vampires we have covered here on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update, they still are dangerous and know how to deal death to the living.

Now that we have taken a look at The Durwards and their ways of drinking blood and stealing youth, I think we should now take a look at the film they are from Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter! And like always, I will be taking the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB and then after that I will write about the film’s production and then my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s hunt some vampires with one of the worlds best vampire hunters.

Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter (1974)

“Vampire hunter and expert swordsman Kronos finds himself in a small village where several of the local young women have been found in an advanced state of age, their youth drained from them by a vampire’s kiss. Kronos’ search leads him to the Durward estate where he is met by the effete children of the apparently aged and sick Lady Durward.”

In the 1970’s Hammer Films was having issues as many of their films were not doing as well in the theaters and some bad money decisions left them in a bad way. They needed a big hit, something that could spark sequels like Horror Of Dracula and Curse Of Frankenstein had for them many years before. Enter Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter, a character and film idea from Brian Clemens who had the idea to make this into the company’s next major franchise as he has a series of films in mind. Brian would not only write the script but would also produce and direct it with this being his first and only feature film. Hammer Films was behind this project as they were hoping that this adventure horror film would be the big hit they needed and it was given a budget of around £160,000. Horst Janson was hired to play Captain Kronos, and John Cater and Caroline Munro would be casted as the sidekick characters Grost and Carla. Other names joining the cast include Wanda Ventham, John Carson, Shane Briant, Lois Daine, Ian Hendry, William Hobbs and Lisa Collings among many others. The film would be shot in England and would try to not only cash in on the horror film craze but also that of the swashbuckling action genre. The film when released was met with mostly positive reviews and would be released by Paramount Pictures in America. The film’s soundtrack score was done by Laurie Johnson, and the film would be released in UK theaters on April 7, 1974. Over the years the film has gained a cult following, and to this day I have many friends who rank this high on their favorite Hammer Horror film lists. The film in 1974 was released alongside such other horror films as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Black Christmas, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Phantom Of The Paradise, Horror High, The Ghost Galleon, Young Frankenstein, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell, It’s Alive, Killdozer, Beyond The Door, Sugar Hill, Scream Of The Wolf, The Bat People, The Night Of The Witches and many more, as 1974 was a great year for horror.

I first saw Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter on an episode of Commander USA’s Groovie Movies when I was a kid and found it to be a very fun action horror film and what is not to like about a skilled swordsman vampire hunter who is all business and will also defend his friends from not only bloodsuckers but also from rude people who want to do them harm. And the part is perfectly played by actor Horst Janson who had the look but had to be dubbed by Julian Holloway due to his thick German accent. And let’s be honest, every male my age who was a horror fan was taken by the beauty of actress Caroline Munro who played Carla and she was a true Hammer starlet and a great actress. One part that always creeped me out about this film is the look of Lady Durward when she was wearing her old woman mask as well as when she turned old as it was very weird looking. I also liked how the film had a twist as they make you think the vampire attacking young ladies is one character when it turns out to be another that for the most part you think is too old to even move out of bed. And I am happy to say that I even seen the film on the big screen thanks to a Horrorama event at a local cinema, and seeing it on the big screen was a really cool experience. And of course I had the film on VHS when I was building my horror movie collection and would later get the DVD for free from Paramount Pictures back in the day when they sent me films for review on a website I wrote for. In my opinion, the reason the film is such a cult classic and respected by fans is that it does a fantastic job of blending both swashbuckling action with horror and even has a dash of mystery to it that makes it very fun for viewers. And I feel if you want to see a vampire hunter sword fight a plagued infected vampire in a mansion castle, make sure to give this film a watch.

Now that we have taken a look at both the film and character Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter, we should now take a look at the comic series based around it that was released by Titan Comics starting in 2017. And no joke when Titan Comics announced that they were teaming with Hammer Films, I was really excited as the possibilities was endless on great series that could have been made that they acted like would be a Halloween yearly thing that readers would get into their hands. The first two released where comics based on Captain Kronos and The Mummy, and after those two series ended no more ever were released and this was a total bummer. But while Titan Comics might have let me down on not releasing any more comics based on Hammer Films, the fine folks at Mavericks Cards And Comics did not as they pulled these comics for me when released and made this update possible. I would also like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So with that, let’s go vamp hunting with Captain Kronos and his friends!

Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter # 1 ***
Released in 2017 Cover Price $3.99 Titan Comics # 1 of 4

Captain Kronos has hunted down the vampire named Porphyr and the two are in a battle to the death as the vampire calls in his goons that he has hypnotized to attack the hunter who in turn calls on his friends Professor Grost, an older man with a wooden leg and female hunter Carla, who is new to killing vampires, but is skilled in this trade. The three end up killing all the vampire using all the tools of the trade, and they even take down Porphyer with a well placed sword. After the carnage is over, the local law shows up and are about to arrest the three for murder, but once they figure out that Captain Kronos is a vampire hunter they take them to the small town of Sepechurch to meet Ermine who tells them of Slake, a vampire that has been tormenting them and that they need destroyed, and over breakfast they all speak on the details. Kronos learns that Slake appeared during a dark time when the plague broke out in the town and over the years as created his own clan of bloodsuckers that have over powered all attempts by the town to stop them. The town has gated off the part of the city that the vampires are in and Captain Kronos heads to the gate and with his sword carves a cross in the wood and this angers Slake who swears to his vampire clan that a war is coming.

This first issue is really great and does its job of hooking you into wanting to see how this series plays out as the war between Captain Kronos with his crew and Slake plus his vampire clan you know will be a bloody battle that will see lots of death and blood splatter. The plot for this issue has Captain Kronos killing a vampire that he has been tracking only to be hired by a small town to help them get rid of their vampire problem that seems to be more powerful than anyone is thinking. Captain Kronos is a skilled fighter and hunter who is very short with his words but his actions say much as he has sworn to kill all and every vampire that he crosses the path of. He also clearly has no fear as he is willing to go after a vampire and his clan that he knows nothing about, as his hatred for them runs that deep. Poor Carla is always being looked down on by not only the vampires she hunts, but also the people who hire them to rid the world of the vamps, as they misjudge her because she is female and are unaware that she is now a skilled fighter and hunter. While Professor Grost might have a wooden leg and a hunched back, he is a good fighter and his knowledge of vampires is priceless. As for the vampire called Slake, we know very little about him besides he showed up during the plague and that he has grown his vampire clan to army size and is ready for a war with Captain Kronos. The issue’s horror truly comes from the vampires as well as the very gloom feeling of the setting and mood of the story. And the issue has some blood being spilt but nothing major, but I would guess more will be splattered as we get further in this series. I am really liking the set up this far as a strange vampire that has no legend and backstory who seems to have taken over part of a town and who knows and does not fear Kronos is very interesting and makes me as the reader want to see how it all plays out. I would also say that thus far Titan and the creators of this comic have done a pretty good job of keeping true to the film and are doing it justice. The cover is pretty cool and has Kronos being surrounded by female vampires making it eye catching for horror comic readers. The interior art for the issue is done by Tom Mandrake and is solid stuff, but I will say that the characters only slightly look like the actors who played them but it works and his vampires look mean and badass. Over all a great first issue, and I am looking forward to reading the second issue.

Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter # 2 ***
Released in 2017 Cover Price $3.99 Titan Comics # 2 of 4

In the town of Sepechurch in a shelter Captain Kronos, Professor Grost and Carla are getting ready for battle as Grost checks the books, Carla gathers the supplies and Kronos heads out to survey the area as the hunter is getting antsy and is wanting to do battle with the undead. As Carla and Grost chat, she informs him that she is happy that they have trained her to become a vampire hunter as it has given her something more in life, and as Captain Kronos jumps the fence into the land of Slake, his friend Grost is looking into the town’s history as well as telling the townspeople how great Carla has been as a hunter and they still doubt this as she is a female. Meanwhile Kronos comes across a vampire who is walking during the day, silver has no effect on him and only by cutting it’s head off does it die, but his day just got worse as he finds himself surrounded by the vampires. Meanwhile Carla is gathering the supplies and has to put one of his military guards in check who is being perverted with her. Meanwhile Captain Kronos fights for his life as he finds that these vampires also can not be hurt by cross nor fire as they just keep on attacking him as he swings his sword at them cutting off body parts and keeping them at bay, and finds shelter to get out of the heart of battle only to find that he is now in the home of Slake who welcomes the hunter into his home.

The danger for Captain Kronos and his friends is amped up as Slake and his vampire clan has way more powerful than they could imagine as they cannot be hurt by silver, crosses, fire nor sunlight and they can only be stopped by having their heads removed. Slake also seems to be enjoying that Kronos is coming for him and it’s clear that he has lots of stuff planed when it comes to facing this hunter in a showdown in this small rundown town. And while professor Grost is spending his time trying to learn all he can about the town as well as dig up any and all information on the vampire Slake, poor Carla is once more being looked down on as only eye candy and people are doubting her skill when it comes to killing vampires…and she keeps proving them wrong. The vampires also seem to be very bloodthirsty and are hunting Kronos in a pack as they clearly were pushing him towards their master’s home, and he falls for it and the issue ends with that big cliffhanger. This is a very cool issue as it showcases the rash and careless way that Captain Kronos is now hunting vampires as he foolishly rushes in to the unknown and quickly finds that he was not prepared for them, and it’s clear that Carla is going to be the big hero here as she is showing that she is skilled and even Grost is backing her and seeing that she could become the best hunter of vampires in the world. I also don’t trust the townspeople of Sepechurch as I think they are hiding something and know what Slake really is, and they might just be as evil as the vampires…but that’s just a theory that I have right now. The issue also amps up the blood and the scares are coming from the vampires that are very creepy in appearance and are clearly blood thirsty and looking to kill. I am really interested to see how Captain Kronos is going to get away from Slake as he is stuck in a small home with him while outside is a horde of vampires. The cover showcases all three of our heroes standing around the bodies of dead vampires, and it is really cool and great stuff. Tom Mandrake did the interior art again, and it’s really great stuff as it has a true comic book feel to it, and again while the characters don’t look like the actors fully they have a charm to them that you know who they are. I am ready for issue 3 as I really want to see how this very bad situation plays out for Captain Kronos.

Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter # 3 ***
Released in 2017 Cover Price $3.99 Titan Comics # 3 of 4

Slake attacks Kronos as the home also starts to fill with other vampires all looking to end this hunters life, and during the start of the fight Kronos learns that the cross does hurt Slake. Professor Grost and Carla see smoke and hear the fighting and go past the gate in order to help Kronos in this fight and are shocked to see so many vampires walking around in the daylight. But with the numbers stacked against him, Captain Kronos dives out of the window and jumps onto the wagon being driven by Grost and Carla and they escape this part of the town, the hunters were defeated and forces to retreat by Slake and his vampires. Back at their base Grost goes off on Kronos for being sloppy and not only putting his life in danger but also that of his and Carla’s, but after the harsh words break they three head back into the bad part of the town this time via the sewer and they all have the goal to kill Slake and end his curse over this town. And while in the sewer tunnels they are talking about plans, but soon find themselves surrounded by vampires.

In this issue Captain Kronos finds that he has gotten himself into a very bad situation as he is being attacked not only by vampires that have no weakness but also Slake, their master who wants to take the hunters’ lives and is almost joyful in this battle they are having. And because of Kronos’s careless behavior, he has put the lives of his friend in danger when they have to go into the danger zone in order to rescue him. And because Captain Kronos is driven by his hate for vampires, he ends up going back to fight Slake after having harsh words with Grost over his behavior. And its clear at this point that something is truly bothers Kronos as he has become more reckless in his hunting and even seems to be brooding more often, but he still is very confidante in his hunting skills. Carla who is being trained by Kronos is staying loyal to him even though its clear that she knows that he has became a little careless with his safety. And 100% Grost is mad at his friend as he is pissed that his friend is playing with his life as well as the lives of others. And while Kronos and his friends are defeated in this first battle they are able to kill a few of the vampires as well as learn about the weakness that Slake has when it comes to the cross burning his skin and hurting him, plus it gives Kronos a chance to bust out his metal cross sword for the next fight. The issue has lots of vampire body parts being cut off and that is causing the blood to spill, and the fight that has Kronos having to fight for his life is very extricating and really draws you into the story and makes you want to see what the final showdown between Kronos and Slake will be like. Once more it’s clear that the writers of this series is pushing for Carla to be the new vampire hunter hero as she seems to have her act together and is having the backing of Grost who sees it in her to be a big hero hunter. The vampires are clearly just following the orders of Slake as they attack in waves and seem to almost guide you to a location that they want you to be in. The cover for this issue has Captain Kronos and Slake showing your readers what this demonic looking vampire looks like, and yep Tom Mandrake does the art once more for the interior and its good stuff like before. And with that, let’s see what the next issue that is the final issue in the series has in store for us and how this vampire hunting tale comes to an end.

Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter # 4 ***
Released in 2018 Cover Price $3.99 Titan Comics # 4 of 4

While in the sewer surrounded by vampires Captain Kronos, Carla and Grost fight hard and remove the heads of the vampires as they try and attack and are able to get to the trap door leading to Slake’s den and block it keeping the vampire horde at bay. And after looking around his den and calling him out Slake appears and attack Kronos who uses his cross sword to stab at the vampire leader and this kills him, but to their shock the vampires are still around and killing their master did nothing to slow them down. But back in the town of Sepechurch the town’s elders during dinner get the message that Slake has been killed and then enter Captain Kronos, Carla and Grost who front out the elders as they themselves are vampires and wanted them to kill one of their own that had gone mad with power and blood drinking. The elders deny the allegations for as long as they can until their dinner is shown to be blood and then they turn into their vampire appearance and know that they must kill these hunters before they are killed themselves. Kronos and the others make short work of the elders as some are killed with swords and later they all die when Grost blows up the town hall and the elders are all caught on fire ending them as well as the vampire curse of Sepechurch. But as Kronos, Carla and Grost are leaving the town they learn that the townspeople are not happy about the death of the elders as they felt these vampires had kept them safe, and in the end our heroes ride off leaving this town behind and the world with less vampires in it.

In this final issue of Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter by Titan Comics, we get the final battle between Kronos and Slake that ends with the vampire being taken out pretty easily, as our hero learns that he has been played all along as the elders of the town he is protecting are vampires and just sent him in to kill one of their own that has went rogue. And even after he kills all the vampires in the town of Sepechurch, he gets no thanks from the town people who are mad that they no longer live under the protection of the undead. Captain Kronos while always rushing into battle still proves that he is very skilled at vampire hunting and is prepared almost for every situation as he is able to slay as well survive a massive vampire attack. And it appears that his sword skills are sharp as is his detective skills and he figures out and kills the elders who have been the real terrors of the town. And by the end of the issue both Professor Grost and Carla put more trust and stand behind Kronos even if they are frustrated with his sometimes reckless behavior. They both also prove that they are very helpful and are skilled vampire hunters as they do their share of slaying vamps as well as putting together a plan for to bring down the Elders. Poor Slake as well as the elders while strong are no match for our vampire hunters and all of them end up meeting their maker and their terror being stopped once and for all. The great thing about this comic series is that if truly feels like a new adventure of Captain Kronos like a sequel that we never got. The action is high in the series as the hunters clash with the vampires many times and the horror comes of course with the vampires as well as just the over all dark mood of the story. This issues as well has blood being spilt, and I really do think that fans of the film will really enjoy reading this comic. The cover for this issue is cool as it showcases our three heroes looking ready for battle, and I do like the art style of interior artist Tom Mandrake as his style captures the feel of the film as well really has a horror comic art look. If you are a fan of this film, make sure to track down this series and give it a read as I am sure you will enjoy it. Check out the artwork below to see the style used by Tom Mandrake for this comic series.

Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter is one of those Hammer Horror characters that is perfect to make the leap into comic books as you can do lots with him and have him battle many different types of vampires all over England, and it’s a shame that Titan Comics pulled the plug of working with Hammer after only releasing two series in the line…I truly feel they have dropped the ball with us horror comic readers. But who knows what the future holds for Hammer Horror when it comes to comic books as I would like to see American Mythology or even Eibon Press take a crack at making Hammer Film comics as imagine a series based on Dracula that looks like Christopher Lee or a Frankenstein one were the mad doctor looks like Peter Cushing! But our time with Captain Kronos has come to an end, but do not fear our time with horror comics based on films has not as our next update will take us to the scary open waters as we try and avoid The Humanoids From The Deep! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local horror host. See you next update for a rampage of humanoids roaming the waterways and terrorizing the beaches.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: King Kong (1933)

Posted on July 14, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. For this one we will be heading to the uncharted island of Skull Island as well as to New York City as we will be talking about one of cinema’s most iconic, if not the most iconic giant monsters of all time, the one and only King Kong! And for this one we will be talking about the 1933 version as this one has yet to get this update theme treatment and that’s crazy to think as he is truly one of the biggest and most legendary monsters of horror cinema and one of my favorite horror monsters of all time. We will be taking a look not only at the film but the adaptation series that was released by Monster Comics in the early 90’s as this was the series I had as a kid and are the ones I want to cover here in order to give Kong the respect he deserves. So if you are ready, let’s climb aboard The S.S Venture as this ship is heading for Skull Island and that means that it’s the homeland of The 8^th Wonder Of The World, King Kong and it’s our chance to chat about Kong and his legacy in horror cinema as well as in my life.

Let’s start off by taking a look at King Kong and his ways of dealing death to mankind and those who enter his land or try and mess with his love Ann Darrow. King Kong is a massive 33 feet tall gorilla who lives on Skull Island where he rules over the other creatures that live there and is worshipped by the tribal people who offer him sacrifices of beautiful women to please him. King Kong has black fur and his size and appearance scare those who see him almost to death, as he is very massive and intimidating looking. King Kong has massive power and strength and can lift heavy items as well as crush both people and other massive creatures with his bare hands. King Kong is also a skilled fighter and can not only use his hands but also things around him like trees in his combat against other creatures that he will ram down throats if need be to win the fight. Kong is also pretty smart and understands the basic ways of survival as well as protecting himself as well as those in his protection. King Kong has a fearsome roar that also can scare a person half to death as it’s loud and lets everything know that he is in charge as he pounds his chest. Kong also has the killer instinct, as he will kill any person or creature that challenges him and will dispatch them in very violent ways from squashing to breaking jaws in two. Due to his massive size King Kong has also been known to step on people to end their lives, and with sharp teeth he also has eaten people making them die a very painful death. Due to his size and power as well King Kong can take a beating and while it hurts, he still fights on, as his pride and ego will not let him stay down and out of a fight. But while King Kong is a massive beast, he still is a living thing and this means he can be hurt and killed as one way for sure that he can be killed is by massive gunfire from multiple machine guns that cause massive wounds and bleeding. He can also be killed by a big fall from something high up. Kong is also very easily distracted by human women with blonde hair that he has claimed as his own and this causes him to rage and leave himself open for mistakes and attacks. While King Kong from 1933 might not be the biggest giant monster (Kaiju) we have ever covered, he still is very dangerous and a truly iconic monster of cinema.

Now that we have talked about King Kong and his ways of dealing death to those foolish enough to challenge his rule, I think we should now take a look at the 1933 film that he starred in and is the one that started it all for the Kong franchise. Like always I will be taking the film’s write up from our good friends at IMDB and then I will write about the film’s production and then my thoughts on the film. So if you’re ready, lets’ travel deeper into Skull Island and see what King Kong is unleashing on those who live there under his rule.

King Kong (1933)

“A film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City.”

In the 1930’s films about primates and most notably gorillas were doing well at the box office so that is when producer Ernest B. Schoedsack and RKO Radio Pictures decided to work together on a picture about a beautiful woman and a massive ape. The film’s story came from Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace with Ruth Rose and James Creelman, and when it comes down to it Merian C. Cooper was the main creator of King Kong alongside stop motion effects master Willis O’Brien who did the film’s effects as well as created the look and characteristics of Kong. I also want to say that Buzz Gibson was O’Brien’s assistant on the effects, and he as well did a fantastic job helping bring Kong and all the other creatures that lived on Skull Island to life. The film had a budget of over $672 thousand and when casting such names as Fay Wray, Bruce Cabot, Robert Armstrong, Frank Reicher, Sam Hardy and Victor Wong made up the main cast. Fay Wray’s beauty made her the perfect actress to play Ann Darrow, the beauty that ends up helping kill the beast, and Wray to me is truly cinema’s first scream queen as she would also appear in such other horror films as Doctor X (1932), The Most Dangerous Game (1932), The Vampire Bat (1933), Mystery Of The Wax Museum (1933) and Black Moon (1934). The film would be a production that was very innovative as new camera techniques were used to showcases visual effects as well as special effects, and it pushed all the actors to put on topnotch performances. Once the film was completed Max Steiner would do the soundtrack score, and it would be released to theaters on April 7, 1933 and was a massive hit with moviegoers as well as critics and would go on to make $5.3 million at the box office making it a major hit for the studio. The film also made New York City’s The Empire State Building an attraction for movie buffs as to this day fans of King Kong visit the site of his death…spoiler, Kong dies when he is gunned down while on top of the building and falls to his death. The film would spawn a sequel the same year in “Son Of Kong” and over the years has been remade several times, colorized and Kong as even fought fellow Kaiju icon Godzilla a couple of times. King Kong has also graced comic books, video games, novels, cartoons and toys as the films legacy is still very strong to this day. The film in 1933 was released alongside such other horror films as Son Of Kong, The Invisible Man, The Ghoul, Murders In The Zoo, The Monkey’s Paw, The Vampire Bat, La Llorona, The Mystery Of The Wax Museum and Terror Aboard to name a few. This was just a crash course of the making of King Kong, and I suggest that you track down one of the many books written about the film as they dive deeper into the film’s production and are worth a read. I also really do want to say 1933 was the year of Fay Wray for fans of horror and sci-fi films.

King Kong is one of the greatest films of all time and is hands down my favorite giant monster or kaiju film of all time as it really is a thrill ride that is filled with scares, thrills, chills and adventure. Something about King Kong has always drawn me in. Even as a young kid I was glued to watching this film as I saw it around the age of 7-8 via a VHS rental from the local library. I can remember my mom telling me stories of how the film scared her as a young child, it scared her so badly that she hid behind the couch while it was on. And that is the power of a great horror film, it was able to capture her imagination as well as scare her silly! I can remember the first time I saw it, King Kong himself was what interested me as watching him fight dinosaurs as well as rampage around was just magical. The film’s effects were amazing for 1933 and this to me is a film that should be shown in film school as it’s a perfect film to learn by as the story is classic and the pacing is top notch, and I know that James Rolfe aka The Angry Video Game Nerd agrees with this statement as he has said very similar stuff. King Kong has always been a big part of my childhood as growing up I had the Imperial King Kong figure, I had the classic paperback novel written by Delos W. Lovelace, I owned the Crestwood Monster Book of Kong and even as a youngster had the film’s score on CD. I can also remember drawing King Kong in school for art class, and he was always a topic when my friends and I would talk about classic monster movies as the debut of who would win or who is better between he and Godzilla was always a hot topic on the playground…and for those wondering I have always been team Kong…but don’t get me wrong I love Godzilla as well. Plus Fay Wray was one of horror cinema’s first true beauties as she is such a stunningly beautiful woman and a great actress. I am also going to admit it, as a kid when King Kong was shot and died I cried both in the 1933 version as well as the 1976 one…but give me some slack, I was a kid when I saw them and had a true bond with Kong as he truly was a sad case of a creature out of its element and being murdered by those who took him away from his home to make money on him as well as just make an attraction out of him. One thing that I have always regretted not doing as it’s too late now was going to Universal Studios in Florida to ride Kongfrontation where you got to interact with a giant animatronic King Kong who had banana smelling breath! Sadly the ride is no longer around as it was removed from the park. I truly can’t say just how important this film is to me and just how much I love the character of King Kong and next to a small handful of other classic monsters, this is one icon that I feel that everyone in the world should watch at least once and should enjoy all the sequels, remakes and reboots that have been made keeping his legacy alive.

With 2026 being the year of “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” updates, I had to cover King Kong as what would a celebration of horror be without him! I have been wanting to cover the Monster Comics adaptation of the film that were released in the 1990’s for a while now as these comics are ones I grew up reading as I found the issues at Mavericks Cards and Comics when I was a kid and remember really enjoying them as it brought Kong to the pages of comics. I have not read them in a few decades, so I cannot wait to see if they hold up still. I would like to thank Bell Book And Comic, Game Swap Kettering and Lone Star Comics for having these issues in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s take a look at Monster Comics’ six-issue adaptation of the classic 1933 film King Kong and see what horrors and thrills await us.

King Kong # 1 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.50 Monster Comics # 1 of 6

Captain Englehorn and his first mate Jack Driscoll are waiting on ship for film director Carl Denham who has hired them to take him out to sea and to an uncharted island as he wants to make his next big jungle picture, but he has also gotten the ship in trouble with the amount of explosions on board. While walking around the streets of New York looking for an actress to appear in his film, Denham ends up meeting Ann Darrow who is down on her luck and was caught stealing fruit from a stand, but after paying for what she stole, he hires her over a quick lunch as he is taken by her beauty. The next morning they all set sail for the island and over the next few days Ann and Jack seem to be getting closer and all the crew start watching out for her, but Denham tries to warn Jack to not fall in love with Ann as he is picking up the tension between the two. After shooting some test footage of Ann on the deck Denham heads to Englehorn’s quarters, and he tells him and Jack about the island they are heading to called Skull Island that is surrounded by a giant man made wall and in the jungle lives a primitive tribe of people. He then tells them of Kong, something massive that lives on the island and he wants to be the first person to ever film it. And as time passes, the ship goes through a thick fog and they find themselves at Skull Island where they hear tribal drums being played. Once on the island they stumble on the tribe who is sacrificing a woman to Kong, but spot that they are being watched and want Ann as the sacrifice instead…and thanks to the fast thinking of Englehorn, they are able to get Ann off the island and everyone back safe on the ship. That night the native sneak aboard the ship and kidnap Ann and end up taking her beyond the great wall to be taken by Kong a giant gorilla that takes her into his massive hand, just as Jack and the crew arrive and are powerless to help her.

The classic 1933 film comes alive on these pages and this first issue is a set up for our cast of characters. The plot has a ship filled to the brim with crew on a big job to get a film director and his assistant and actress to a uncharted island that is filled with lots of mysteries things like a skull shaped mountain, a giant wall, a tribe that worships something called Kong…that turns out to be a massive gorilla! Ann Darrow is a beautiful woman who is hired to star in a new jungle film, as she is down on her luck and was having to try and steal food just to eat. But once on the ship bound for the jungle, she finds love in first mate Jack Driscoll and as well becomes the obsession of the island’s tribe due to her blonde hair and them wanting to give her to their “God” Kong! Jack Driscoll is tough as nails but quickly falls head over heels for Ann, who he does not like is being put in danger all over filming a movie…he is also the first one to rush back to the island when he finds that she has been kidnapped by the tribe. Captain Englehorn is a very wise man who is allowing money to be his driving factor, but is also the one who can speak to the tribe. The rest of the crew including Lumpy and his pet monkey Iggy (who are was made up for the comic taking the place of Charlie) are all willing to help protect as well as get Ann back from the danger she is in. Carl Denham is a film director who is driven by making a great jungle picture and seems to not be bothered about putting peoples lives in danger as long as he can get the shots he needs to make the greatest jungle film ever made, and this is who he is and while the crew are his friends you can tell they are truly getting annoyed by him with Jack being the one who is the most angered by his actions. And as for Kong we only get a glimpse of him as he comes through the jungle in order to grab Ann who has been given to him by the island tribe that worship him. There are changes from the film to this comic as one of the biggest being that Charlie, the ship’s chef is missing, and we instead are given a weird looking crew member named Lumpy who has a pet monkey named Iggy, another big one is that the island tribe is more flushed out in their ceremonies, Carl Denham is more cold and we start off by meeting Jack and The Captain first…and that is just some of the changes. The comic is bloodless and the horror comes from the unknown of the island as well as the appearance of Kong who is massive in size and seems very annoyed when he appears. The cover for this issue is great and is iconic to me as I can remember the first time I saw it was when I bought the issue from Mavericks Cards and Comics when I was a kid. It shows Kong holding Ann and if you’re a fan of the film, this is very eye catching. The comics interior art as well as the adaptation story is done by Donald Simpson and is lots of fun as he has a cartoonish style to his art, and while the character’s look nothing like the actors who play them I really dig the way he draws them as well as Kong. Over all this first issue is a great read but is a little slow as it truly is the build to getting to know the characters as well as get them all to Skull Island in order to come across King Kong! So with that, let’s see what issue two has in store for us!

King Kong # 2 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.95 Monster Comics # 2 of 6

Jack Driscoll leads a group into the jungle to try and save Ann from Kong and with him is Carl Denham, who has also brought his gas bombs just in case. The other half of the crew stay near the gate with Captain Englehorn to make sure the tribe does not close the gate and leave them stuck inside. While following the trail of Kong, the heroes discover that the jungle is filled with dinosaurs, and they use some of the gas bombs to bring down as Stegosaurus before shooting it in the head to kill it. And as they get deeper into the jungle, Jack and the crew have to make a raft to get across a river only to be once more attacked this time by a Brontosaurus that kills some of the crew and as well makes them lose their guns and gas bombs they brought with them, but Jack makes them push forward as they need to save Ann. Meanwhile Kong himself is fighting off dinosaurs that are attacking him in order to protect Ann as the giant beast has fallen in love with her. He drives off the dinosaurs who end up stampeding and killing more of the ship’s crew who must flee across a nature made bridge that goes across a massive drop. But unknown to Jack and the others, they are rushing towards Kong who decides to shake the bridge and causes all the crew to fall into the abyss with some even falling into giant spider webs to become the lunch for the giant insects. Jack is the only one to make it off the bridge as he jumps onto a vine and holds on for dear life. And we are not sure what has happed to Denham just yet.

The adventure starts as Jack Driscoll leads a group into the jungle in order to save the life of Ann who has been taken by Kong, but they all soon learn that its very dangerous as the land is filled with dinosaurs, giant insects, dangerous nature and of course Kong who has taken a true liking to his gift from the tribe that worships him. And by the end of the issue most if not all of the crew is dead and Jack must find a way to save Ann from the massive grip of Kong who is willing to fight and kill to protect her. This is a very fun issue as we get to see any instances of man fighting dinosaur with the later almost always coming out on top, and because of these deaths the issue does have blood as people are eaten and impaled on a horn! Truly in this issue we find that Jack Driscoll is a man on a mission to save the woman he has just meet and fallen for as he risks not only his life but that of most of the ship’s crew in order to get her back, and if his crew show any fear or question what the heck they are doing, he quickly puts them in his place…so in other words, her life is more important than anyone else on the ship in his eyes. Carl Denham even while in the jungle is thinking about his movie as well as money as it’s clear he would capture all the dinosaurs if he could to make quick cash off them, he also seems less stressed about getting Ann back as when the tree bridge is shaken by Kong I am not even sure where this film director is! Kong is also not messing around in this issue as he holds off a group of dinosaurs as well as keeps Jack and the crew at bay as he truly has claimed Ann as his own! The horror comes from not only Kong and the jungle but all the blood thirsty dinosaurs that are roaming around on Skull Island! The adventure elements of the film are present in this issue and gives you as a reader a build as we are along for the ride as Jack and the others are hunting down Kong in order to save their friend, and we are also seeing that while Kong is big, scary and protective he is also gentle when it comes to Ann. The cover is awesome for this issue and has Kong shaking the tree bridge and the art for it is really great stuff. The interior art is again done by Donald Simpson and is really fun as his cartoonish style really starts to grow on you more and more as you flip through the pages. Another great issue and once more makes some changes but still holds true to the film it’s based on.

King Kong # 3 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.95 Monster Comics # 3 of 6

Jack Driscoll watches as his friends and crew fall to their deaths while others are being eaten alive by giant spiders, and he knows that he alone now must save Ann from the grip of Kong. Jack uses a knife to stab Kong in the hand and as this is going down a T-Rex called Meat-Eater notices Ann and goes after her but he screams bring Kong who starts to fight with the dinosaur, as Carl Denham comes from out of weeds as he hid during the dinosaur stampede and this is what saved his life. The fight between Kong and Man-Eater is very violent as both are fighting for survival now and it’s Kong that wins as he breaks the jaw of Man-Eater leaving him dead. Kong grabs Ann once more and heads deeper in the jungle, Jack and Denham then meet back up and they come up with a plan that will have Jack continue to follow Kong as Denham goes back for more men and gas bombs in order to fight Kong who they have both just witness kill a meat eating dinosaur with his bare hands. Jack follows Kong to the skull mountain cave and watches as a giant snake attacks him and he hopes that he puts Ann down so that they can get back to the boat and to freedom away from this cursed island.

The adventure and horror continues as Kong with Ann in hand heads deeper into the jungle and he protects her from all that he thinks is a threat and that includes a killer T-Rex as well as a massive snake! We also see that Carl Denham survived, as he was lucky enough to find safety in some weeds and brush from the dinosaur stampede and was not on the tree bridge that was destroyed by Kong! Also Jack continues is tracking of Kong while Denham returns to the gate with orders to get more gas bombs to use this time against Kong in order to stop him and get Ann back safe and sound. Jack Driscoll truly loves Ann as he keeps going forward even as death is all around him and the odds of survival is slim, while it’s clear that watching his friends and fellow crew member die bothered him its almost like it helps drive him to be a hero to make their deaths mean something. Carl Denham even after witnessing people dying and two giant creatures fighting only thinks about his movie as well as his own hide, but you do have to give him credit as he is going to journey back to the gate alone in order to get help. Poor Ann is being carried around and finds herself in danger as she is not only being dragged around by Kong but also finds herself on the menu for a very hungry T-Rex! And speaking of that T-Rex who is called Meat-Eater he is one of those true iconic characters from King Kong and I am glad to see him make it to this comic and have one epic fight with Kong as this fight is the true highlight of the issue! Watching Kong and Meat-Eater duke it out over Ann is fantastic and while Meat-Eater dies by getting his jaw broken in two he still puts up a good fight! Kong once more proves why he is the King of Skull Island as he takes on all comers and wins every fight he is in against both man and beast this far. The Horror elements of this issue are still Kong as well as Skull Island in general but also you have to say Meat-Eater is also part of the chills. The issue does have some bloodshed with most of that coming from the fight between Kong and Meat-Eater as the jaw break has the red stuff shown. The issue also ends on a big cliffhanger as Kong is being attacked by a giant snake with Ann still in his hand while Jack is in the shadows waiting for his moment to save her from this crazy island. The cover is really cool and has Kong fighting Man-Eater, and you guessed it, Donald Simpson did the interior art and it is as good and cartoonish as past issues. So with that, let’s see what the next issue has in store for us and if Jack is able to save Ann from this giant ape and get her back to the ship and safely to New York.

King Kong # 4 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.95 Monster Comics # 4 of 6

Jack watches on as the snake tries its best to kill Kong who sets Ann down but way out of the reach of him, and they both watch as Kong ends up bashing the skull of the snake on rocks killing it before grabbing Ann once more and continuing to his home cave, while Jack still follows. Meanwhile Carl Denham makes it back to the gate and tells Captain Englehorn of the fate of the crew and how Ann and Jack are the only ones alive, he also begs for them to get the gas bombs so that they can go back and save them from Kong as well as all the creatures that are in the jungle as he warns them its very dangerous. Kong is very curious about Ann and is studying her when Kong is distracted by Jack who makes a noise and this allows a Pterodactyl to swoop in and grab Ann, but the dinosaur does not get far as Kong grabs it and rips it into pieces! But this allows Jack to also grab Ann and they to hug before rushing off to escape. But the two don’t get very far before Kong is on their trail as he wants Ann back!

In this issue Kong makes it home but has to fight and kill a giant snake as well as a Pterodactyl all on order to keep Ann safe, but all along Jack is right behind waiting for his time to rescue and save his love and when he finally does so this makes Kong very angry and Jack is on his kill list! We also find that Carl Denham as made it back safe and is alerting the Captain and crew of the horrors beyond the gate and that they must go in and save Ann and Jack. In this issue Jack is tired and hurt but still keeps pushing forward as his only goal in life right now is to save Ann and he has almost forgotten about his own safety. Ann at this point as been carried around by Kong and has been on the dinner menu for many dinosaurs that live on Skull Island, and even at one point Kong kind of goes perverted on her as he removes her dress! Kong is a fighter and is killing all that challenge him or try and take Ann away from him. Carl Denham shows that while he is a director who is obsessed with filming his movies, he can be a hero as he makes it back to the gate alone and tries to get the others to go back in and help Jack and Ann. The scares and horror come from Kong as well as the other creatures he has to battle in this issue as what is more scary than giant monsters on a rampage! Plus the issue does have blood being spilt with Kong going brutal on both the snake and Pterodactyl and ending them both in very bloody ways. The cover for this one is also very cool and had Kong fighting the Pterodactyl, and I have to say I love the way they drew King Kong as he looks badass. Yep, Donald Simpson is on interior art again and it’s great and cartoonish, and I love the way he draws Kong and the other creatures. Another great issue that makes you look forward to reading the next.

King Kong # 5 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.25 Monster Comics # 5 of 6

Jack and Ann make it back to the gate, and they are tired and want to make it to the ship to get away from the island and rest. As the gates are opened, the crew are happy to see them both, but Denham is also hoping to see Kong as he wants to use the gas bombs to knock him out and bring him back to New York in order to make lots of money off him and he wants to use Ann as bait, Jack is furious over this but has no time to act as Kong has arrived and is very pissed off! Kong breaks down the gate as Jack and the others rush to the beach and their ship, Kong meanwhile kills many of the tribe natives as he is in full rage mode and only has two things on his mind death and Ann. From the broken down gate also comes many other dinosaurs that attack and kill the tribe members, as Denham has truly caused the death of many people all over wanting to make a film. Once on the beach Denham and the crew use the gas bombs that end up knocking out Kong as well as the dinosaurs saving them all from being crushed and eaten. They all watch as Kong goes down and the whole time he is looking at Ann while Denham is calling orders for the crew to get supplies to capture Kong and bring him back to New York.

In this issue Jack is able to rescue Ann and get her to the gate and with the crew, but they are not safe as Kong arrives and crashes through the gate and the dinosaurs follow. The poor tribe is almost all killed in Kong’s rampage, and he is only brought down thanks to the gas bombs that Carl Denham brought on board. And after Kong is knocked out the film director’s main goal is to capture the great ape and put in on display in New York in order to make lots of money. Carl Denham takes two steps back as just when you thought he was going to be a hero he shows that money and fame is truly what drives him, and when you think about it his greed and lack of caring has coasted many people their lives. In other words Denham is a true scumbag! Jack Driscoll is the true hero as he is the one who risked it all in order to save Ann and even is the one who has called out Denham all along for his terrible behavior and lack of caring for peoples safety, now don’t get me wrong Jack has done some bad things as well that has helped lead to people dying with his main focus being to save the woman he loves. Ann is so worn down by the time she gets to the gate that Jack has to carry her, as she really has had a very stressful day and I am sure all she wants to do is get back to New York and live her life. Kong is very upset in losing Ann as once she is taken away from him his rage takes control and he goes nuts and even kills the tribe the worship him as he eats some of them and steps on others. And poor Kong even when he is passing out just wants to see Ann, and little does he know what fate awaits him once he wakes up from his slumber. One thing that I really life in this issue is that when Kong escapes the wall so does all the dinosaurs who also want to rampage through the village, it’s a nice touch. The issue has lots of death and some blood as the frightening moments come from Kong and the dinosaurs escape and rampage as they brutalize the poor natives. The cover for this one is cool like all the others in this series and features Kong fighting the giant snake as Jack looks on. And do I need to say more about who does the interior art and how cool and cartoonish it is, I think not. Well the next issue is the final issue, and with that, let’s take a look and see what awaits not just us but Kong.

King Kong # 6 ***
Released in 1992 Cover Price $2.50 Monster Comics # 6 of 6

In New York City Carl Denham has a sold out show for people to see King Kong, The 8^th Wonder Of The World, and the place is packed. On hand are both Ann Darrow and Jack Driscoll as after this premiere the two plan on getting married. The press enter behind the scenes and talk with Denham and Jack and as the story is being told, and the director turned promoter brags that Kong was captured all because of Ann, she feels sad for the events that took place that caused this massive beast to be captured and treated like a sideshow freak. As the attraction opens and Denham gives his speech he shows Kong to the audience who are scared of this massive beast, who gets more angry when Ann and Jack are brought out followed by news paper photographers who’s flashing lights end up making Kong rage and break free from the chains that hold him as he thinks people are harming Ann! Kong breaks loose out of the theater and hits the streets of New York on a rampage and looking for Ann, and finds her and Jack in a hotel room hiding he crashes his massive fist through the building and once more has Ann is his hands and makes his way to the Empire State Building and starts climbing it as the near by Air Force gets the orders to fly to the building and combat the giant ape. As Kong makes it to the top of the building Jack rushes to the top as well in order to try and save his fiancé from the grip of Kong once more. Kong on top of the building feels like he is once more the King of this new land, but then the fighter planes appear and start their attack and at first Kong is standing his ground and even knocking some of them out of the sky. But after a short time and many machine gun bullets later, the mighty King Kong is bleeding and falls off the Empire State Building to his death as Ann watches on in sadness as she understands that the giant ape was truly just scared, lonely and in a place he didn’t belong. While Jack makes it to Ann and holds her as she cries, on the street below Kong is dead and Denham tells the newspapers that it was Beauty that killed the Beast.

In the final issue of this adaptation Kong finds himself in New York City as a prisoner of a con-man film director who looks at the great beast as a paycheck and not as a living creature, and when Kong breaks free to once more have Ann by his massive side he is gunned down by machine gun fire from planes that have been sent out to kill him once the beast climbed the famous Empire State Building. And I have to first say Carl Denham is a complete scumbag as he seems to once more not care that he has put peoples lives in danger and even when Kong escapes he seems to not be bothered by this destruction and is clearly just driven by money. And as Kong is dead in front of him Denham seems to still be working the press, just a terrible person. Jack and Ann just want to live their lives together and are once more tangled into the crappy world of Denham, and Ann really does seem sad for her part in the taking of Kong as well as his death. Kong is a protective creature and when he thinks that the press are doing harm to Ann he escapes from his chains and does what he can to protect her, and sadly this rampage of protecting leaves him open to being killed by gunfire. Kong really is just a beast who does not understand his new surroundings and really just wants to live his life and protect Ann who he has fallen in love with. Its truly sad when he is shot and falls to his death as Kong really is a great beast who cares about Ann who he has taken as his own. The climax of this story both in the film as well as the comic truly hits you as it’s sad to see Kong die and all cause of love and people fearing things that are unknown, while I get that he is a “monster” by all accounts he still had a life and should have been left on Skull Island and not exploited my modern people. The comic does make changes from the film, and while some are very odd and even big changes, the comic does do the film justice and really held up for me after all these years as it was a great read then and a great read now. One character I would have like to have seen was Charlie the ship’s cook as he was a big character in the film and even came into play in the sequel “Son Of Kong” and he should have been in this comic. The issue does have blood spilled as when Kong is being shot he bleeds, and of course the Horror comes from Kong and his rampage through the Big Apple. The cover for this issue has Kong fighting off the planes and is very eye catching as the border is a bright yellow. Donald Simpson’s art throughout this series was very solid work, and he has a very cartoonish style that brings a fun approach to the comics When I was younger I was a little more harsh on the art as I wanted Kong to be more scary, but looking at it now with adult eyes I find it very charming. While this series is great I still would say that the Gold Key Comic adaptation that I covered HERE is the better of the two, but believe me, I am not downplaying this series as I really do like it lots and think that if you are a King Kong fan, you should own and read these comics. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Donald Simpson used in this series.

King Kong is truly one of those films as well as characters that was made for not only being in films but also in comic books, and I am glad that he still makes his appearances in mini series from time to time over the years as it gives horror comic readers like myself something to read. And for those who want to read more about King Kong in the From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update theme, you can also check out my updates for King Kong (2005) here, Kong Skull Island (2017) here and lastly Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) here…so as you can see you can get a full course of King Kong here at Rotten Ink. And with that, it seem that our time with King Kong is coming to an end but do not worry as our next update will still keep us in the realm of horror film inspired comics as I will be taking a look at the Hammer Horror Film Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter and the Titan Comic mini series based around it. So until then, read a horror comic of three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local horror host! See you next update as we hunt down some bloodsuckers with The Captain!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Toxic Avenger (1984)

Posted on July 4, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Happy 4^th Of July, and welcome back to Rotten Ink and to a very special American Hero update as it’s connected to the “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” theme as for this Independence Day. We are going to be talking about a hero from New Jersey who is a hideously deformed creature of super-human size and strength that helps the good people of Tromaville and who has faced all types of criminals from killers to the corrupt. Of course I am talking about The Toxic Avenger, the cult classic hero that was created by Lloyd Kauffman and Troma Entertainment! That’s right, nothing says American hero in entertainment like a mop swinging monstrous hero that brutally murders evildoers. I mean Hell, he even defeated the Devil and an evil version of himself! So while the food is cooking on the grill and the fireworks are being prepped for the evening light show, let’s head to Tromaville, New Jersey and talk about The Toxic Avenger!

So let’s first start off by taking a look at The Toxic Avenger and his way of dealing with evildoers! The Toxic Avenger was originally Melvin Junko, a 98 pound weakling who worked as a janitor at a health club and was mocked and cruelly hazed by the members. One prank went terribly wrong, and Melvin fell into a barrel of toxic waste turning him into The Toxic Avenger, a hideously deformed creature of super-human size and strength! The Toxic Avenger is very gross in appearance as his skin is melted and even has one droopy eye, and this alone strikes fear into the heart of his enemies. Toxie also smells really bad, and the stench of him can repulse and burn the eyes of those in his way. The Toxic Avenger also has Tromatons, a chemical reaction in his body that alerts him when evil is around, and also when they go off it sets him off in a rage to destroy the evil that is around him in a violent way. Toxie is also very strong and can over power any man that he goes up against as he is also a skilled fighter. The strength of The Toxic Avenger allows him to break bones and remove limbs and guts from the baddies of the world, and this makes for a very gruesome scene. Toxie also uses a mop to beat the Hell out of evildoers, and this becomes his key weapon over the years of being a monster hero and early on his crime fighting ways he would ram mops down the throats of his victims. Toxie can also be around toxic waste as it no longer effects him, as his whole body has been changed by it. But while The Toxic Avenger is a powerful monster hero, he does have some flaws and weaknesses that can lead to his defeat. Toxie’s appearance leaves him at odds with the small people of Tromaville as they fear him and this makes it easy for criminals to set him up to look like a monster on the loose. Toxie can also doubt himself and get his feeling hurt and this can lead him on being on the losing side of a fight. He also loves his blind girlfriend Sara or is that Claire who can be used against him. But as of this update there is not clear way to defeat The Toxic Avenger, and thank goodness he is on our side.

So as you can see, The Toxic Avenger truly is a hideously deformed creature of super-human size and strength that keeps Tromaville safe and clean of evil! But now I think that it’s time we talk about his film that was released by Troma in 1984 and became a massive cult classic over the years! So like always, I will be taking the film’s write up from our good pals at IMDB, and then I will write about the film’s production and then my thoughts of the film. So with the hamburgers on the grill sizzling like Melvin Junko after falling into toxic waste, I think that it’s time to take a look at this truly fun horror film featuring a monster hero from New Jersey.

The Toxic Avengers (1984)

“Tromaville has a monstrous new hero. The Toxic Avenger is born when meek mop boy Melvin falls into a vat of toxic waste. Now evildoers will have a lot to lose.”

Llyod Kaufman & Michael Herz were the creators of Troma Entertainment that at the time was making and releasing mostly comedy films to theaters, but with the horror genre being blasted by mainstream media and critics, the pair decided to make a hybrid film a horror comedy that would be called The Toxic Avenger! Lloyd got the idea early on about setting a horror film in a spa when he was working on the set of Rocky (1976) and after a trip to the Cannes Film Festival in France is when the film truly came together. The original title was going to be “Health Club Horror” and was more of a spoof film, before turning into the cult classic film we all know and love. Writer Joe Ritter took the story by Kaufman and turned it into a script, and Stuart Strutin came on to produce along side Kaufman and Herz with the film having a budget of around $500 thousand. When casting the film actor Mitch Cohen would play The Toxic Avenger with Kenneth Kessler doing the character’s voice, and Melvin Junko, the nerd who falls into the toxic waste to become the hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength, was played by actor Mark Torgl who had worked on Troma films of the past. Other names in the cast include Andree Maranda, Gary Schneider, Robert Prichard, Cindy Manion, Jennifer Babtist, Pat Ryan Jr. and Dick Martinsen to name a few, but one fun fact is that in the directors cut of the film, a young Marisa Tomei was one of the people at the spa. The film would mostly be shot in New Jersey and some in New York and once done it would be released to theaters on April 11, 1986 and was met with mixed reviews from critics, but viewers loved it and sparked it into a true cult classic that would spawn three sequels, a cartoon series as well as a remake film from Legendary Pictures. The Toxic Avenger was released in 1984 alongside such other horror films as A Nightmare On Elm Street, Friday The 13^th: The Final Chapter, Gremlins, C.H.U.D., Hills Haves Eyes Part 2, Ghostbusters, The Terminator, Splatter University, Rocktober Blood, Razorback and Monster Dog. Truly Toxie is the character that built Troma into one of the biggest independent film studios in the world.

The Toxic Avenger is a film that I have a very funny story about as when growing up my brother and I were always into horror movies and creature features and one we watched all the time when it was on TV was the Wes Craven film Swamp Thing based on the DC Comic series. So one evening at the video rental store my Dad saw the cover for The Toxic Avenger and thought that it would be like Swamp Thing, and after showing the box to us, that was one of the rental choices that night. With popcorn in hand, we prepared for the film to start, and then when it did and it was packed with nudity at the start, my Dad quickly stopped it and that ended movie night. It was a funny moment in my life as he truly thought it was going to be like Swamp Thing and not your typical Troma film. I would finally see the film sometime later as it was shown on USA Up All Night, and then I would end up buying on VHS when I found it at a second hand media store. The film just worked as it truly was a fun film that blended horror, comedy and superhero elements all together and added in some great kills like when Toxie makes a milkshake out of a guy’s head! In fact my brother one year got me The Toxic Avenger II on VHS for Christmas! It’s weird as looking back on it all The Toxic Avenger has been a big part of my youth not just for the films but also the Marvel Comic series, the cartoon Toxic Crusaders and the toys based on the toon were all big parts of my childhood. And as a kid The Toxic Avenger was a big hero, no different than Superman, Spider-Man, Batman and Captain America as he was a good guy who protected people and while he was more violent than them, he still fought for truth and justice. In art class in school I also use to draw The Toxic Avenger and would get good grades for it, so thanks, Toxie, for helping me get good grades in class! While The Toxic Avenger film series is not for kids, the character himself was very iconic for kids of my era and his legacy will live on forever as he is that iconic to fans of horror films.

So now that we have chatted about The Toxic Avenger the character as well as the film, I think that it’s time that we take a look at the comic series based on him! And I had a few to choose from as Troma Comics as well as Fester Comics both did comics based on him, but for me the Marvel Comics were the must as it was the first series to be made and are the ones I grew up reading! That is right when a youngster, The Toxic Avenger was a comic series I would read as I would find issues at both Mavericks Cards And Comics as well as Bookie Parlor, so a big thanks goes to both those comic shops for introducing me to the series based on a film I knew and finally saw thanks to USA Up All Night. And no joke I was a big fan of this comic series and can remember reading the issues several times as well as telling my friends at school about it. I would like to thank Lone Star Comics, Bell Book And Comic and Game Swap Kettering for having these issues in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to thank Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz for being the creators behind not only The Toxic Avenger but Troma Entertainment, one of the worlds best indie film studios. And like always, I would like to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s enter Tromaville and see what Marvel Comics and The Toxic Avenger has in store for us.

The Toxic Avengers # 1 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.50 Marvel # 1 of 11

The Toxic Avengers is in the junkyard and he is very confused, but his body aka Tromatons alert him of trouble as three punks are near by and rush with guns in hand to his sounds with the intention to kill whatever made them. Toxic Avenger with his mop quickly kills to of the punks by blowing one up and the other melts in battery acid! The third punk runs away and speeds off in his car, Toxic Avengers follows in a cab when the driver gives it to him when he sees and smells him! A high speed chase takes place, and Toxie ends up crashing and having to chase after his attacker on foot all the while the people of Tromaville are scared of this monster hero who is confused about why he is this way. Meanwhile Ms. Mephi is trying to buy Pleasantview Haven Home For The Blind from its owner as she wants to use the land as a toxic dump site, and when he refuses she has her men cover the place with gas and burn it to the ground, and they have orders to shoot anyone who makes it out alive! But lucky for the blind people Toxie is running by and ends up doing what he can to save many of them and that means smashing the bad guys, but while doing this he meets Claire and falls for her beauty at first sight, but the two must run away when the citizens show up and blame Toxie for the fire. The two make it back to the junkyard where Toxie starts building them a house to live in, and after getting a kiss from Claire, he gets him memory back and remembers that he is Melvin Junko, a nerd that use to work for the towns health club, but was set up by his boss Mr. Ahriman and Linda, a woman who worked out there in a cruel prank that left him humiliated and falling into toxic waste an becoming The Toxic Avenger! We also learn that Apocalypse Inc. is moving into Tromaville and its Chairman is also coming and working for him is his nephew Mr. Ahriman, Ms. Mephi, a ton of punks and Eboni who acts as the general of the area as she is now given orders for her punks to go and get The Toxic Avenger!

The Toxic Avenger in his first Marvel Comic was a fantastic read as in this issue we get a backstory of how geek Melvin Junko fell into toxic waste and became the hero The Toxic Avenger and how he meets his blind girlfriend Claire and becomes the target of a corrupt toxic company Apocalypse Inc.! And man is The Toxic Avenger a hero as he brutally kills evildoers in the small town of Tromaville and even saves blind people from arson, but he is still very much feared by the townspeople as he looks like a monster and smells like a backed up sewer. And while at the start of the issue Toxic Avenger is confused, he soon remembers his past as a cleanup boy and knows that with these new powers he must help people. Claire is his blonde, blind and accordion playing girlfriend who falls madly in love with him once he saves her from the fire and being shot by a punk and says very nice things to her. The enemies of this issue are Apocalypse Inc. a corrupt group that hides toxic waste in small towns and seem to want to destroy the environment and turn America into a toxic dumpsite. And who knows how evil The Chairman is going to be as it’s clear everyone who works for him is very much scared of him as he sounds very cruel. The comic is lots of fun and The Toxic Avenger was a perfect superhero for the 90’s as Marvel Comics was doing really well with Spider-Man and X-Men comics, and this Troma Movie hero fit right in the mix. While this issue does not have blood, it does have its share of very gruesome deaths as Toxie punches a mans face in as well as tosses one into acid and pulls out his bones that still has some hair and flesh left…pretty gross stuff for a Marvel Comic. The story so far is also pretty cool as it’s the build of Toxic Avenger having to go up against Apocalypse Inc. in his own hometown, and you know that this hero is not going to go down without a major fight. The cover for this issue is very iconic for me, and if you’re a fan of The Toxic Avenger, I am sure you agree with me. The comic’s interior art is done by Rod Ramos and is really great stuff as I think he captures all the elements of the character as its party scary and part silly. Over all this is a great start to the series and truly held up for me after all these years. So let’s see if issue two does as well…shall we?

The Toxic Avengers # 2 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.50 Marvel # 2 of 11

A tank comes busting into the newly made home of The Toxic Avenger and his lady Claire, but with his mop, Toxie is able to blow up the tank when the mop plugs up the cannon right as they fire. Meanwhile The Chairman has arrived in Tromaville with his assistant Darkella, and he is happy with the new home base but is very mad over the setbacks and mistakes with the biggest being the creation of Toxie as each member has to tell of what operation they were doing and how he stopped them and even killed members in the process. The Chairman is not pleased as he angrily yells at his people and starts to almost turn into something demonic and hatred is in his eyes, as he wants to corrupt this city with no fight back. After killing the punk who got away from Toxie in the junkyard, he sets out his Red Team to start to work on bringing down the city from the inside and they are Demos, Luci, Asmo, Drekko and Astarte, and they all have their assignments to get those with local power to fall in line. The Chairman then orders another hit team to go after The Toxic Avenger and then sends more out to torment the people of the city. And oddly enough The Punks are not joined by mutated people who are monstrous in appearance as it’s clear that they have been around the toxic waste. Meanwhile Toxie takes Claire to meet his mom and it does not go well as she runs away from fear as his looks made her freak out. Aat the school’s gym, a group of mutants bust in to attack the cheerleaders as well as the jocks that don’t stand a chance against their power and strength. The Toxic Avenger shows up and makes short work of these mutants, but the cheerleaders still run from him think he is a monster! Once Toxie leaves, he is followed by the hit team and even saves an old human from more punks but again is called a monster! Toxie ends up going to the old gym he worked for as Melvin for a safe place to hide but finds that all the muscle heads have been turned into slime covered monsters thanks to the waste that was dumped in the pool by Mr. Ahriman. As the monstrous muscle heads go after Toxie, we see that The Chairman is getting news that the powerful people of the city are falling in line.

The cruel people of Apocalypse Inc. are truly taking over the town of Tromaville as they are bribing the town’s mayor, police chief and more with money, and they are sending out punks and mutants to torment the innocent people. All the while they have the goal of also killing off The Toxic Avenger as he has been a thorn in their side by beating them up at every evil attempt in town. And we also see that The Chairman is really The Devil as when he gets mad, his true appearance starts to show through and he even has small demons living inside him. He is all about destroying and killing. Plus it’s cool to see that he is the same character that was showcased in the films Toxic Avenger 2 and 3, as was Apocalypse Inc., but here they are done slightly differently to fit in the Marvel Universe and make them evil but slightly less crude evil. The Toxic Avenger is once more the monster hero we all know and love as he rushes around town and stops criminals, all the while he is being feared by all those he is saving and protecting…you have to feel bad for him as he is treated so poorly by everyone besides Claire who truly has fallen in love with him. The creators of this comic are doing a great job of capturing the heroic and yet sweet side of The Toxic Avenger and shows that no matter how bad he is treated he keeps trying to do the right thing and protect people. I myself cannot wait until we get the showdown between The Chairman and The Toxic Avenger, but first this issue ends on a cliffhanger as Toxie is surrounded by mutated meatheads as a punk hit squad is waiting in the shadows. So in other words, he will have one battle after another. And for those wondering about Claire, she was left at Toxies mom’s home so she is safe for now from all this madness. The cover for this issue is another great one and has Toxic Avenger fighting off mutants, and you guessed it, the comics interior art was done by Rod Ramos again and is solid stuff. Over all another great issue that makes you want to read the next to see how Toxie is going to get out of the mess he finds himself in.

The Toxic Avengers # 3 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.50 Marvel # 3 of 11

The Hit Squad doesn’t want to wait so they use a bazooka to try and blast Toxie, but they miss and hit the health club blowing it up and sending green meathead zombies all over the place as they fall from the sky. Toxie, meanwhile, dodges the explosion and takes the bazooka and bends it to make a double cannon blast and then uses his mop to take out the hit squad. As Toxie wonders what just happened, the people of Tromaville are running away from the meathead zombies as Mr. Ahriman exits the burning health club building and heads back to the Apocalypse Inc. headquarters. Downtown Tromaville is in a panic, and the police chief shows up and is taken back by all the destruction as back home Claire talks with Mom Junko about her son and tells her of the accident, and this causes her to kind of understand her son’s new monster like appearance. The Toxic Avenger returns to his mom’s home at early dawn he is a defeated hero as he never thinks the world will accept him as hero cause of his looks, and as his mother and girlfriend sleep he heads to his room for some shuteye. Meanwhile The Chairman is annoyed that Toxie has not been defeated yet as more of his Red Team get people of power on board for the destruction of Tormaville as they are being tricked into agreeing. And worse for Toxie, a tabloid magazine is now in town trying to get a picture to make him the next Bigfoot to sell papers, and he runs into their reporter on his way out to stop the meathead zombies after a quick nap. She of course screams and passes out. Toxie finds the zombies at the town’s lovers lane and saves the day by beating up the zombies and trapping them under a large fallen tree, but of course the lovers he saves are scared of him and hit him with their car and this angers him as it’s clear Toxie has hit his anger point.

In this issue poor Toxie finds himself the target of everyone in town as Apocalypse Inc. wants him dead, the meathead zombies want him dead, the people of Tromaville are chasing after him and even his own mother peaced out when she saw his face! And this whole time being hunted, feared and despised he still keeps on being a hero, that is until the end of this issue when he is hit by a car driven by people he saved and dragged around on the hood and then flung off while being insulted about his smell…then we start to see that he is cracking from all the fighting and lack of respect he is getting from those he saves. The Chairman himself also seems to be having his own personal war as the two little demons who live inside him keep telling him to do the opposite of the other, and this of course is making him even more cranky and wanting destruction. And you have to give Claire lots of credit as she is able to talk to Mom Junko and get her to see that Toxie is really her son Melvin and while he might look different, that good person is still there. The fight is fun and silly between Toxie and the meathead zombies and them attacking at a lovers’ lane truly reminded me of a drive-in B-movie, and that a great thing as it added to my enjoyment of this issue. That is one thing that is really great about this series is that from the start we get lots of Toxie fighting action and each of the baddies he is beating up all look different and weird making it really feel like a Troma film. This issue has lots of fighting but not as much death, but the more silly aspects of the character are at play here as I love that he ends up going home to take a nap before fighting the zombies that are loose in town, just really fun stuff. The cover for this issue is a little of a letdown as it’s just a still from the second film, but the Rod Ramos interior art makes up for the weak cover. Over all another great issue, and let’s see what Toxie does next as he is mad as Hell and might stop helping the people of Tromaville over the way they are treating him.

The Toxic Avengers # 4 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.50 Marvel # 4 of 11

The Toxic Avenger gets all the meathead zombies in a net and brings them back to Tromaville, and he is fuming over the way he has been treated. Meanwhile at his house, the tabloid reporter Miss Creach is having cake with Mom Junko and Claire as they talk about Toxie with his lady now being the only one taking up for him as the other two cannot get past his looks, and they end up calling him “Sludgeface” in the paper and do not want to report that he is a hero. Meanwhile Toxie brings the zombies to the police station and tells them what to do to lock them up and then is super firm with them that he is a hero and they better not call him a monster! But Police Chief Hoag busts out of his office along with Red Team member Luci and calls Toxie and monster and when he sees them, his Tromatons go crazy and the police freak out and starting shooting him. But the bullets do not hurt Toxie, and he shrugs them off and leaves knowing that he needs to be the town’s hero. Meanwhile Luci rushes back to Apocalypse Inc. in order to report her finding that Toxie is bullet proof as Miss Creach enters the police station to look for more information on “Sludgeface”. Meanwhile The Chairman gets the news about Toxie, and they also have the Linda Zombie that they plan to use against him; since she helped turn Melvin into Toxie, maybe she can help destroy him. On his way home Toxie gets his picture taken by Miss Creach who runs off and once more this makes him feel terrible, but once home he chats with his mother and Claire, and they make him feel a little better as does a phone call inviting him to a party at the mansion on top of the hill…the caller is Zombie Linda! As Toxie heads out of the house he finds himself surrounded by the police who open fire once more, annoyed Toxie walks past them all and heads to the mansion. Once inside Toxie finds Linda, but of course this is a trap and a steel cage falls on him and tons of punks, freaks and mutants appear with guns and all shoot into the cage and into Toxie…but our hero breaks free and starts massacring his enemies all the while The Chairman watches in amazement at the power of Toxie. As the fight is being lost, The Chairman and the rest of his goons leave the mansion and even possibly Tromaville as two toxic sludges mix and cause the mansion to explode! But Toxie is able to save Zombie Linda after he uppercuts her through the roof for breaking his mop and the catches her after the explosion and takes her to the police station to get help. Once home Toxic Avenger tells Claire that he thinks that the evil threat of Apocalypse Inc. is over as Mom Junko shows him the headline of the tabloid paper calling him Sludgeface and saying he is a terror to the city.

In this issue The Toxic Avenger has a showdown with Apocalypse Inc. at their own mansion base and shows them why he is a hero as he brings them all down and even causes The Chairman to flee the area with the thoughts of being defeated, but also with the idea of trying to get Toxie on their side. And of course as this is going on, Toxie is also dealing with the tabloid paper saying he is a monster and the local police force keep trying to shoot him every time they see him…but during all this Toxie finds his inner strength and sticks up for himself against foe and friend. And that is the thing, Toxie so far in the series has truly grown as a person and a hero and the creators of the comic are staying true to his nature, even if they sometimes add some truly cheesy jokes. Claire is also a hero as she is the only one who stands up for Toxie as she knows that he is a hero and not the monster the others are making him out to be, but it looks like Mom Junko is coming around as she likes that her son is becoming famous even if she faints when she looks at him. It is very interesting that The Chairman gave up his fight with Toxie so soon, but I am sure he and Apocalypse Inc. will return very soon to try and take over Tormaville. I also like that The Toxic Avenger is like Superman as they shoot him several times with many different guns and he is able to shake it off and beat up the bad guys. And we all know that the tabloid paper will I am sure give Toxie trouble as people will fear him and others might come to hunt him, so Toxie will have to use all his powers to survive what ever and who ever is thrown at him. The issue has lots of death as once more Toxie makes quick work out of many henchmen from punching into their skulls to even twisting a neck all away around, Toxie don’t mess around when it comes to stopping crime. The cover for this issue is great and has Apocalypse Inc. attacking The Toxic Avenger and like a broken record already the interior artwork by artist Rod Ramos is great stuff as I like how he draws Toxie. Once more a great issue that is doing justice to the film it’s based on with the only things lacking being lots of blood, nudity, crude humor and cussing…but what do you expect from a Marvel Comic.

The Toxic Avengers # 5 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.50 Marvel # 5 of 11

The Toxic Avenger has rebuilt the shack home for him and Claire to live in the junkyard as he needed to get away from his mother who is still hanging around Miss Creach who is writing more false articles about him being a terrible monster. And when the meathead zombies start dying after being treated, Chief Hoag wants The Toxic Avenger arrested for their deaths. As the cops go to arrest him, he tries to clear his name but they once more try and shoot him…but when that fails, they agree to give him 48 hrs to clear his name and show who did this to them and why they are all dying. Meanwhile Apocalypse Inc. has moved to a new office and The Chairman has gotten mad scientist Dr. Chemo who has created a brain that has the worst parts of some of history’s worst killers, madmen and warriors and he is going to use the body parts of the newly dead meathead zombies to build the brain a body in order to fight The Toxic Avenger, and they head to the cemetery to get the parts needed. And Dr. Chemo brings life to his monster and names it Biohazard, and as Toxie gets to the cemetery his sees the black truck and knows that something is wrong and when he finds the open graves as well as mutant Demos of Red Team who attacks our hero and the two battle in the cemetery. After Toxie beats Demos, the trucks back doors open and out comes Biohazard who is looking to do one thing and that kill Toxie!

The Toxic Avenger thinks that Tromaville is safe now that he defeated Apocalypse Inc., but little does he know that they just moved and are still coming up with ideas on how to take over the city as well as kill The Toxic Avenger as they have two plans going. One is to frame him with the police as all the meathead zombies are dying and he is being blamed for infecting them with his toxic touch, and the second is they are building a Frankenstein’s Monster Creature called Biohazard that is built from the body parts of the meatheads and has only one mission and that is to kill Toxie. But our hero only has 48hrs to prove that he is innocent before he is arrested for crimes he did not commit. And that is the thing about Toxie in this issue he is now becoming a clue hunter and is getting very antsy to find the answers and it is going on a late night walk that he finds the answer he is looking for and that’s Apocalypse Inc. is back and is building a monster in the local cemetery, and this monster looks big and mean and it might just give Toxie a run for his money. The fight between Toxie and Demos is really cool as they really beat the heck out of each other, and it takes a tombstone over the head to knockout out the mutant pig man. Plus who knows if Dr. Chemo has any fighting skills as he as well is around in the cemetery and might just help in the fight that is coming in the next issue. And it’s a shame that the cops as well as the tabloids just will not leave The Toxic Avenger alone and they are both causing him lots of issues. This issue is clearly a build to the return of Apocalypse Inc. as well as the showdown between Toxie and Biohazard, and it works really well. The interior art is done by Rod Ramos like before and the cover for this issue is cool and has Toxie being shot by the cops. Marvel Comics and Troma made a great team here, and man I have really enjoyed rereading these again as they have all held up this far, so let’s see what the next issue has in store for us.

The Toxic Avengers # 6 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.50 Marvel # 6 of 11

Biohazard attacks The Toxic Avenger and this created life made of the corpses of the dead health club meatheads is tough as his punches pack a blast of electricity, and he is truly hurting Toxie and even knocks him down. But Dr. Chemo forgot one major thing and that’s the remote to control Biohazard who is now roaming out of the cemetery and into Tromaville! Meanwhile The Chairman has decided to also try and corrupt New York at the same time as Tromaville and also has decided to kick out the two little demons that live in his body from coming back inside him. Meanwhile Tromaville is having a flower show and all the big people in town are there including Mr. Ahriman, Mom Junko, Claire and Chief Hoag, and a big topic is Toxie as well as the destruction and deaths at the health club. But as people are enjoying the flowers, Biohazard shows up and Toxic Avenger is right behind him trying his best to keep the people safe and they are noticing, as they watch on in shock and even some start to cheer him on. And as they fight, Toxie uses wires from a generator to slam into Biohazard and causes the monster to fall into pieces, and with that, the town looks at Toxie as a hero. And after the fanfare is over Toxic Avenger finds Dr. Chemo and makes the mad scientist tell him where Apocalypse Inc.’s new headquarters is and for this information Toxie then smashes him into a wall, and thinks about heading there to once more kick some evildoer butt.

This is a monster fight issue as we have The Toxic Avenger fighting with the undead creature Biohazard in both the local cemetery as well as at the town’s flower show! And this issue also shows that while Toxie is super strong, he can be hurt by other monsters who can match him in power. Plus we also get to see the people of Tromaville start to understand that he is a hero and not a monster! And Toxie in this issue shows that he cares about the environment and also has a “don’t stay down” attitude when it comes to being beat up in a fight. In this issue, we also find that The Chairman is mad at the little demons who use to live inside him and has banned them from his body, and he wants to try and takeover New York and his first strike is buying up the corner food carts and having them mixed now with toxic sludge. Also Claire and Mom Junko are standing with Toxie and are helping the people to accept him as part of their city. And while it’s not said, I am going to guess that Dr. Chemo is dead as his head is rammed into a wall and is stuck in it, so yeah, I would guess he is dead and that makes one less baddie for Toxie to have to worry about. Now while this is a fun issue as who don’t like to monsters fighting, but I will also say that I wish that the fight would have been a little more epic…but a cool finish as I like that Biohazard falls apart due to a massive shock. One more thing I have to say is that the people of Tromaville are also turning on the people of power like the police chief and mayor as they can see that they are not doing anything about the rise in crime and monsters showing up. It’s a little bummer that Biohazard is dead as it would have been cool to see him return and have another fight with Toxie, but it’s clear that each of these issues wants to introduce or even have Toxie fighting someone different. The cover of this issue is my second favorite of the series only behind the first issue, and it has The Toxic Avenger standing in in the cemetery with the massive Biohazard lurking behind him. The interior art was done by Rod Ramos and while his work is good, I will say that I feel that his art in this issue seemed a little rushed and not as grimy as the past issues. Over all another great issue and if you like monsters fighting or just want to see Toxie become the hero in the eyes of the people, then make sure to give this issue a read.

The Toxic Avengers # 7 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.50 Marvel # 7 of 11

The Toxic Avenger has made his way to New York as he is looking for The Chairman as he wants to stop him and his evil company Apocalypse Inc. once and for all, and he also notices that the New Yorkers seem to pay him no attention and don’t scream “Monster” at him. Meanwhile the food carts now owned by The Chairman are making food that causes some people to act weird and rush to hide in the sewers, as the food is changing them into something weird. Meanwhile The Chairman in his office is mistreating the two mini demons and is getting an update on his evil food plan and learns that those who are eating it are turning into weird creatures in the sewer that lose parts of their flesh that when in the nasty water can cause fires! He also learns that some of them will come together to create twisted creatures while others will come out of the sewer to eat and steal the flesh of the normal people. And best of all for The Chairman is that he will be the only one who has a cure for this sickness and this will cause a bidding war that he planes on making lots of money on. Meanwhile on the streets of New York, The Toxic Avenger is roaming around and comes across one of the meat eating infected who is trying to bite and attack the regular people, and with one punch Toxie knocks all the flesh off the poor soul and then realizes that something foul is happing in the sewers and heads down to check it out. Once down there, Toxie wanders around until he runs into the massive collected form of the infected that is calling it’s self The Gather Mass as well as a bunch of the ones that are turning into human meat eaters! They all attack, and Toxie does his best to defend himself but the odds are against him and he ends up being stuck in the mass of flesh and is dragged out of the sewer and to the Statue Of Liberty!

In this issue The Toxic Avenger arrives in New York in order to try and bring down The Chairman, but before he can find the new headquarters of Apocalypse Inc. he finds himself having to fight for his life against flesh eaters and a mass of human flesh that of course was created by the evil scheme of The Chairman and his goons. The Toxic Avenger in this issue goes to the Big Apple and finds that they people don’t fear him nor run away from him and this gives him more confidence in order to try and fight evil. And to prove that Toxie is a true hero, he is willing to go into the sewers of New York to look for the dwellers that are roaming around looking to munch on some human meat as well as squash together to become a massive being called The Gather Mass that is very creepy looking and wants all the infected people to join inside its mass. Think about the fact that these infected people who ate some food from the food cart as flesh that when falls off turns into fire…their flesh burns! And one has to wonder if these New York flesh eaters were based on the monsters from the 1984 film C.H.U.D., I think that they were! The Chairman is very angry ,and he really wants to destroy and bring down New York as well as he really hates The Toxic Avenger and wants him dead! And he is such a jerk as he is getting joy out of beating up the tiny demons as well as threatening and acting like a bully to those who work for him. I like the fact that Toxie is in New York, and I almost wish we would have had a Spider-Man or at least Peter Parker cameo in this issue as what an awesome team up that would be. The cover for this one is cool and has Toxie being attacked by The Gather Mass, and we have a new artist doing the interior artwork and that’s Val Mayerik. His style works pretty well for this series, and I will say I like it. Man, this series is holding up for me as I really am enjoying reading these again and I am looking forward to the next issue.

The Toxic Avengers # 8 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.50 Marvel # 8 of 11

The Gather Mass is climbing up the Statue Of Liberty, and The Toxic Avenger is inside this mass slightly losing touch of reality and who he is while across town The Chairman watches as the infected meat eaters are roaming the streets and causing panic in their quest for human flesh. Meanwhile Demos calls in and tells them of the failure in Tromaville and the deaths of Dr. Chemo and Biohazard, and The Chairman is really pissed off and orders Demos to bring in the body of Dr. Chemo. While back at the Statue Of Liberty attack helicopters are sent in to deal with The Gather Mass, and as they start shooting at it, the bullet holes allow fresh air in and this snaps Toxie out of his sluggish trance and he busts out and uses his mop to try and fight off The Gather Mass who is nearing the top of the statue, but it loses its grip and falls and lurks back into the waters heading deeper in as Toxie keeps trying to fight with it. Meanwhile back in Tromaville, Dr. Chemo is alive and being cut out of the wall when Demo in the van shows up and the two get away heading to New York. The Gather Mass has moved into Manhattan and is ramping up as Toxie armed with his mop is trying his best to bring down the beast, as The Chairman and his goons watch on the massive mass roams around and even Miss Creach is there to take pictures of it for her tabloid paper. But as Dr. Chemo arrives at the office of The Chairman, they make the mistake of trying to keep The Gather Mass from their building by using a device that ends up drawing the massive mass to them and as it busts out the windows it knocks over chemicals that end up melting it away. And as the NYPD attack our hero Toxie who as saved the day for the Big Apple, he starts walking back to Tromaville as The Chairman and his people are arrested, causing the little demons to have to follow and think of a way to break them all loose.

The Toxic Avenger does it again…or is that toxic chemicals does it again? As The Gather Mass is taken down when it attacks the new base of Apocalypse Inc. and chemicals spill on it and that melts it away into a pile of goo! But while it was around, The Gather Mass really was a massive mess of skin that was stomping around New York causing panic and distress, and it looked like neither Toxie and his mop nor the attack helicopters were going to be able to stop it from its rampage. And let’s also not forget that the streets were also being infected by the meat eating people who made the mistake of eating from the Apocalypse Inc. owned food carts, so terror was all around New York. The Chairman in this issue loses his temper and then loses his freedom as he and his crew are arrested, and you know this Hellspawn is not happy about this! We also learn that Dr. Chemo is still alive even after getting is face rammed through a wall, but little does it do him any good as he is arrested alongside many others in New York after the defeat of The Gather Mass. The two little demons who are named Rahd and Bahd are being tormented by The Chairman who in this issues even has them by the neck on a string wearing them like a necklace, but even after all this cruel torture, they still at the end of the issue want to find a way to free The Chairman and the others from jail. One thing that I have noticed is that as this series goes on the more grimy and brutal elements are being phased out and they are going more in a silly route as it’s clear they started to get cold feet when it came to killing off punks and evildoers. Plus I miss the interior art style of Rod Ramos as he had more of a darker style, and Val Mayerik has more of a comedic, but I want to stress that Mayerik’s work is good stuff. The cover for this issue is cool and has Toxie fighting The Gather Mass on the Statue Of Liberty and its fun, silly and best of all eye catching. Over all a good issue that allows Toxie to once more defeat The Chairman and even takes our hero out of New Jersey and into the streets of New York. Let’s see what the next issue has is store for us.

The Toxic Avengers # 9 **
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.50 Marvel # 9 of 11

The Toxic Avenger along with Mom Junko and Claire are rapping in the junkyard as Toxie is telling a story of how after a bad stomachache, he was adducted by aliens. Toxie is on the UFO that heads into space and this is when our hero decides to attack and with his mop he fights with the aliens who are no match for his superhuman size and strength. After defeating them and not knowing how to fly the UFO, it lands on a strange planet where Toxie is attacked by different aliens who seem very mean, and once more with his mop he starts butt kicking and once done more aliens appear and this time he understands that they brought him to this planet to help them repair their nuclear plant that as sprung a leak and is releasing harmful radiation into the air. Toxie tries his best to help and even eats the radiation core but this backfires as when he passes the radiation out, it infects the aliens and turns them into mutants who once more attack our hero who all of a sudden wakes up in his bed but looks over head and sees a UFO flying off as it appears this was no dream and for some reason they brought him back to Earth where he decides to hold this rap concert.

This is a very silly and goofy issue that I am not really a fan of as it’s all done in rap rhymes that are sometimes eye rolling bad and the action is really just Toxie beating up some small aliens that are really no threat, even when they are mutated. Toxie in the issue finds himself in space thanks to some aliens who bring them to their home world in order to help with a leak at their nuclear power planet only for Toxie to kind of fail to help and be brought back to Earth where all of a sudden he wants to rap for the people of Tromaville…and yeah, that’s the story for this issue….and the only major change that happens is that he raps….just bad stuff here. The issue truly feels like a novelty and is out of place in the story arc as well as in tone and mood, and this issue truly jumps the shark. While reading this issue I found myself laughing about just how weird and silly it was and that is the only reason I am giving it two stars as it did make me chuckle, otherwise this would have gotten one and a half stars. The cover is goofy and has Toxie dressed like an early 90’s pop rap star. The interior art is done by Rod Ramos, and it’s good, but man, I wish his return to this series was not the worst issue. Not much more to say besides I disliked this issue when I was young and still am not a fan as an adult, so let’s just get to the next issue. Man this one is just so silly and truly a product of its time.

The Toxic Avengers # 10 ***
Released in 1992 Cover Price $1.50 Marvel # 10 of 11

The Chairman in a New York jail cell is very upset and is yelling at his people all the while the little demons Rahd and Bahd have arrived and have an idea how to get their fellow evildoers and with the help of matches and some bullets, they are able to get the cell keys and set everyone free. They even are allowed to go back inside the stomach of The Chairman who says that Apocalypse Inc. is going legit in Tromaville now! The Toxic Avenger and his lady Claire decide to take a three week vacation as Tromaville is very peaceful now that Apocalypse Inc. is gone and the townspeople are planting trees and picking up trash. but once Toxie’s vacation is over, he returns home to find it a mess as traffic is bad and big business has moved in and the people of the town have turned into yuppies who only care about money and expansion. Toxie has seen enough and heads to have a chat with the city council and after roughing up the mayor, the beans are spilled that Mr. Ahriman is behind this change in Tromaville and that he even rebuilt the health club, and with this news Toxie heads out to pay him a visit. And after beating up some goons and meatheads, he makes his way to the office of Mr. Ahriman and threatens him just as the police come in and arrest Toxie as he has broken many laws in a matter of minutes and committed crimes against people who have done nothing illegal and even Claire alerts him that he is in the wrong. And the handcuffs are placed on his wrists and Toxie is taken in.

In this issue The Chairman and the rest of Apocalypse Inc. have been set free from jail and have a new idea on how to corrupt Tromaville, and they will go about it the legal way and with the help of Mr. Ahriman, they do just that as the turn the small town into a cesspool of greed and companies and the people forget all about the beauty of nature as they want money in their pockets. And during all this terrible change Toxie and Claire just wanted to enjoy a few weeks away at the beach, but return to find their hometown is now a terrible place to live. And with his town turning to big business and once more all the people of power taking money, The Toxic Avenger snaps and wants answers and roughs a few people up and this is not good as our hero is now breaking the law as the ones he has attacked have not done anything wrong! And what a great way to bring Apocalypse Inc. back by having them be as scummy as ever but play by the rules in order to get those changes done that will ruin Tromaville. Mr. Ahriman is the nephew of The Chairman, who is calling the shots once more from the shadows. Toxie’s rampage to get answers also makes Claire see him in a different light as she knows her hero boyfriend is going out fighting this change all the wrong way. And we all know that Mr. Ahriman and the others are doing illegal things but the people and the law of the town don’t know that. And now that Apocalypse Inc. has once more decided to focus on Tromaville you know that the people, the environment and The Toxic Avenger are all in deep trouble as The Chairman really just wants to bring chaos, pain and sadness. And it’s crazy that we only have one issue left in this series as Toxie is under arrest and Tromaville is changing for the worse. So it makes you as a reader wonder how they are going to wrap this all up. Like before I really enjoyed reading this comic again after all these years, and it was great to have the series back on track after the last issue being such a disappointment. The cover for this issue is kind of weak as once more it’s just a still from the movie, the third one to be exact. The art by Rod Ramos for the interiors is really good like always, and with that let’s head to the final issue in The Toxic Avengers run at Marvel Comics.

The Toxic Avengers # 11 ***
Released in 1992 Cover Price $1.50 Marvel # 11 of 11

The Toxic Avenger is arrested and found guilty in the court of law and must be humiliated at the town square for 90 days in order to shame him and warn others not to break the law in Tromaville. Meanwhile The Chairman gets word of Toxie’s arrest and is cheerful in his enemy’s shame and when talking to his nephew Mr. Ahriman he tells him that the major change from the townspeople came from help of a chemical that he placed in the water that makes people more greedy. And then later The Chairman gives a speech to his workers about taking over Tromaville, and it’s over heard by some hippies who go to the junkyard and find Claire and together they all go to Toxie who is bound in town square and talk him into breaking free to try and stop The Chairman from poisoning the water and land anymore. Toxie breaks free and first stops the polluting of the water, and then breaks up a beer drinking contest set up by the Mayor before heading to The Chairman’s mansion and turns the whole home over on its side and then enters the mansion and beats the heck out of all the workers of Apocalypse Inc. and then punches The Chairman so hard that he lands in the some waste and he then opens the jaw of The Chairman wide and pours down his throat toxic waste and then tosses in a lit match that causes his mouth to be on fire and then the earth opens up and The Chairman, the mansion and all his goons fall into the hole that is filled with flames and then seals up. In the end the people of Tramaville go back to normal but do miss their money and stuff as Toxie and Claire confess their true love for one another.

In the final issue The Toxic Avenger finds himself being convicted of all the crimes he did that including assault and destruction of property and is placed in towns square bound so that the people can mock him for his crimes, but once he finds out that The Chairman and his goons are the ones truly behind the big change in his home town he breaks himself free and heads to The Chairman’s mansion and kicks some major butt! And that is the thing, The Chairman was not ready for the full on attack from The Toxic Avenger who makes quick work of all his goons and beats them up very badly, before he basically murders The Chairman and sends him and all his people back to Hell. I like that Toxie once the chains come off and his Tromatons go wild, he goes crazy for justice and rampages through the evildoers mansion. The Toxic Avenger really is a big hero and a protector of the innocent people and will do whatever he can in order to keep them safe. And thanks to Claire and the hippie protesters they give Toxie the will to break free from his punishment for “breaking the law” by smashing some bad people’s property. The Chairman really thinks that he and the rest of Apocalypse Inc. have won, as they have fully curropted Tromaville and also got Toxie arrested and convicted of crimes, but instead he finds himself with a mouthful of toxic waste that gets lit on fire and a one way ticket back to Hell. And man the final fight between Toxie and The Chairman is one sided as our hero truly beats the heck out of him! It’s a shame that Marvel Comics cancelled this series as it really was a great one and better than most of their other series running at the time. It was said that Marvel Comics and Troma were planning to bring back The Toxic Avenger comic, but Marvel ended up not coming through with it breaking the contract and from what is said had to pay Troma money by doing so. The cover for this issue is fun and has a still photo of Toxie with a mushroom cloud going off behind him. It’s eye-catching for fans of Toxie for sure. The interior art for this final issue is done by Rod Ramos and is good for the most part, but some panels to seem a little rushed. Over all The Toxic Avenger from Marvel Comics is a great series and is a great mix of horror, comedy, superhero action and for the most part does justice to The Toxic Avenger film series just a little more “Marvel” friendly as the gore and blood is cut down as is the sex and nudity. Checkout the artwork below to see some of the style used in this comic series.

See I told you, The Toxic Avenger is a true American Hero and was the prefect topic for this holiday update, and Toxie’s Tromatons are much like the fireworks on the fourth of July! And it really was a missed opportunity from Marvel to have Toxie crossover with New York superheroes like Spider-Man, Daredevil, Luke Cage and The Fantastic Four to name a few. And like always, thanks for spending a small part of your holiday with me here at Rotten Ink as I am sure you are like me and are looking forward to eating some hamburgers off the grill and maybe a hot dog or two all while getting ready to watch the fireworks in the sky. But don’t worry, our next update will keep us in the word of horror comics based on horror films as it will be all about the 1933 film King Kong! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror movie or two and as always support your local horror host! See you next update for a spooky trip to Skull Island, the home of Kong! Also hope you had a great July 4^th!