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: To Die For (1988)

Posted on August 24, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink as we continue our countdown to Halloween 2025, and as you can see, we are about to dive deep into another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update as I am sure many of you readers are like me and really enjoy reading Horror Comics and really enjoy them when they are based on a film. Today’s topic is an odd one as we will be looking at the 1989 erotic horror film To Die For and the comic adaptation done by Blackthorne Publishing to promote it, yeah it’s an odd one for them to make into a comic for sure but I feel it’s very cool that they did as I love when comic companies take chances on these smaller indie Horror Films to make comics based on them. But with that, let’s get ready to see what this version of Dracula is all about and what makes him different from the pack.

Let’s first start by taking a look at Vlad Tepish, the killer vampire from this film that not only drinks blood but also breaks hearts. Vlad, who is also known as Dracula, is a vampire so his main way of killing his victims is using his mind control and then drinking their blood by biting them on the neck with his razor sharp teeth that he can also use to rip flesh. His charm is also very dangerous as he can use it to bring his victims in closer and give them a sense of safety. He can also use it to make them spill their life story to him in order to use it to manipulate them. Vlad also has telepathic abilities and can lift and throw people around with but a glance. When a full vampire he takes on more of a monster appearance compete with demonic eyes, lots of long sharp teeth, claws and he makes animalistic growls and this as well can freeze his victims in fear. He is also strong and can manhandle those humans he wishes to. With Vlad Tepish as well comes lots of wealth and power over females that he charms who fall for his spell and will do whatever he wants, and let’s also not forget with him also comes Tom, a fellow Vampire that hates him and will kill people that are near Vlad in order to be a pain in his neck makes him even more dangerous to humans. Also let’s not forget that Vlad can turn humans into fellow vampires! But Vlad Tepish while immortal is not truly un-killable as a stake to his heart and sunlight can seal his doom, making him scary strong but can be defeated. I also feel that Vlad has a weakness for love as when he falls for a woman he kind of can turn into a softy and this can lead to his own death by leaving himself open for attacks or even with thoughts of suicide. Over all Vlad Tepish is a very deadly vampire and can deal death to those who cross him, but I will also say that he might not be the deadliest monster we have talked about on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update, he still is very powerful and can kill with speed if he chooses.

So as you can see, Vlad Tepish is a vampire who has charm but can also turn into a monster in order to get what he wants from the mere mortals of the world. And now that we have taken a look at Vlad and his death dealing ways, I think we should take a look at the film he is from To Die For! Like always we will be taking the film’s plot from IMDB and then I will write a little about the films production as well as my thoughts about the film. So if you are ready, let’s head to L.A. and see what is causing this vampire outbreak.

To Die For (1988)

“L.A. real estate agent Kate Wooten gets a new lease on life when she learns that her new client, a mysterious and handsome man named Vlad, is looking for a house isolated in the Hollywood Hills where he wants to live and doesn’t want to be disturbed. It doesn’t take long for Kate to fall in love with her new client and to learn that he’s a real vampire.”

Back in the 1980’s the video rental market was booming as were paid cable movie stations like HBO, Showtime, Movie Channel and Cinemax that were popular for movie lovers. And during this time erotic films were very popular in both ways of enjoying movies and ones with a dash of Horror were very much in demand and from this the world got To Die For, a Dracula film that was part horror and part erotic and was made fast and cheap. To Die For was produced by Brian Kumar and Lee Caplin as they wanted to make a profit off the Erotic Horror genre and they focused on Dracula and vampires and hired Leslie King to do the script and brought on Deran Sarafian who would go on to direct the film Death Warrant in 1990 and Terminal Velocity in 1994. When casting started they hired Brendan Hughes to play Vald Tepes aka Dracula and other actors hired included Sydney Walsh, Scott Jacoby, Amanda Wyss and Duane Jones of Night Of The Living Dead fame in his final film role. The film would be shot quickly with some cool practical special effects and would be distributed by Skouras Pictures and Cliff Eidelman was brought in to score it. When done the film had to be trimmed as it was on the verge of getting a X rating and this would have derailed the film from playing in theaters and even could have caused some issues with it airing on the paid cable movie stations. When completed the film would end up getting a very limited theatrical run in 1989 and would find its cult fan base on home media and cable. The film was released along side such other Horror Films in 1989 as Halloween 5, A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Puppet Master, Warlock, Friday The 13^th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan, The Dead Next Door and Silent Night Deadly Night 3 to name a few. While over the years this film is pretty much been forgotten by most, it still does have a small following and even spawned a sequel in 1991 that was called “Son Of Darkness: To Die For II”. I should also say that for some reason To Die For has other titles it goes by like “Bram Stoker’s To Die For” and “Dracula The Love Story To Die For” to name a few.

I want to start off by saying To Die For is one of those sleazy horror films that I feel like housewives in the late 1980’s would watch on late night cable and then tell their friends that they like horror and would use it as an example of the type of horror they like. And keep in mind, there is nothing wrong with that as erotic horror has its place on the Horror Family Tree. I first saw this film as a teenager when I bought a copy of it on VHS from a second hand store called Replay Media and was expecting a Dracula tale and got more of a Vlad in love with a real estate agent and a odd vampire fight between two long time enemies. While the film tries to be erotic, it’s pretty tame by today’s standards and it’s crazy to think that it was on the verge of getting a X-Rating. The film is very cheesy and I have to say that when Vlad Tepish is in human form, he is the most un-intimidating vampire I have seen in cinema! The film has great monster effects by the late great John Carl Buechler are great and kind of out of place for this style of film, but are very much a big welcome to add some spice to it. The film’s plot of having two vampires for over a hundred years fighting over the same woman every time she comes back to life is an interesting concept, it just is not fleshed out all that well here in this film. Most people who have seen this film gives big praise to actress Amanda Wyss that plays the character of Celia Kett as she is prefect in her roll, but I also feel that actor Steve Bond who plays Tom, the other vampire, is really good as he plays himself charming and also very cold blooded when needed. The odd thing about this film as well as it’s sequel is that in the modern age they kind of have disappeared with the first film having a very small release on DVD that is long out of print and now can only be found on a bootleg double feature release that is a terrible print, and the sequel I have yet to find on DVD or Blu-Ray besides copies on the grey market. Over all I have to say that I enjoy this film and while it’s very cheesy and fails at all levels at being erotic it does make for a good b-movie vampire film. If you like Dracula films, try and track this down and give it a watch as it will not change your life, but you might find yourself enjoying it.

To Die For is a interesting vampire film from the late 80’s that since released has gained a fan base from its limited theatrical run, home media release and of course cable airings. And now that we have talked about Vlad and the film he is from To Die For its time that we now take a look at the comic book based on the film that was released to help promote it. And I would like to thank Lone Star Comics for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I also 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, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head to the castle of Vlad and see what horrors he has in store for us.

To Die For # 1 ***
Released in 1989 Cover Price $2.50 Blackthorne # 1 of 1

Katie is at a boat party in L.A with her friend Martin when she notices a man with long black hair that catches her eye, but he is gone just as fast. As Katie leaves the party for the night a friend of hers and Martin’s goes to his car to do a little drugs but instead is killed by a vampire. The next morning Katie goes to work, as she is a realtor and she finds out from her best friend and roommate Celia that she has a late night how showing scheduled for her and that Celia’s boyfriend Mike as asked her to marry him. As Katie leaves to the castle that she will be showing for sale, a homeless man asks her for change only for her to not have any and after she pulls out that homeless man is killed by a crazed vampire. Once at the castle Katie meets Vlad Tepish who is the man from the boat party she seen who ends up buying the castle, and seduces her and almost bites her as he is a vampire but because he feels a connection to her he does not drink her blood. Katie heads home and breaks the heart of Martin who has a crush on her, and alerts Celia that Vlad is buying the house and is looking for a security, and Celia takes the job and is quickly charmed by Vlad who bites her and has sex with her. Vlad also finds out that Tom a fellow vampire is in town and has his eyes set on Katie as well she looks like a woman the two have fought over on the past. Days later Vlad is holding a party at his castle and sends Katie a dress and an invite and this makes Celia jealous who has as well fallen in love with Vlad, and while at the party Tom appears and tries to scare Katie and argues with Vlad over who will turn her into one of them, Tom also bites and kills Celia and leaves her body to be found in a park and Martin who attends the party finds and steals a book from Vlad that tells of his history and that he is a vampire….and Katie is unaware of all of this and all she knows is that she is in love with Vlad. The next day the body of Celia is found and Katie meets with Mike and Martin to mourn the loss of their friend, and when Martin starts talking of Vlad being a vampire Katie storms out as Martin and Mike head to the morgue and have to fight and then kill Celia who is now a vampire with a wooden stake. Katie heads to Vlad’s castle and he alerts her to his true nature and she wants to become one of his so the pair have sex and he bites her, just as they finish Tom appears and the two vampires fight and Tom is killed when Vlad drops him onto a wooden spear bedpost. In the end Vlad takes Katie down the stairs and to end he nightmare and not make her become of the undead he walks out into the sun and dies just as Martin and Mike come to their friends side as she is heartbroken.

The Horror Comic version of To Die For is a pretty great read and while most of the elements of the film are there it also makes some changes to speed up the read and even removes some of the characters and scenes from the issue to achieve it. Like sadly I feel the comic downplays Celia who is one of the best side characters in the film as they have her die and turned by the hands of Tom way to early and they remove her venom laced speech that she gives to Katie and Mike when she feels she has lost the love of Vlad. Also it would have been nice to see Simon, the owner of the real estate company that Katie works for as in the film that was Duane Jones, the actor who played Ben in Night Of The Living Dead. The comic also at times moves past the gruesome kills and violence to fast and the final fight between Vlad and Tom is way to quick. The plot can be summed up really quickly as its this two vampires continue their blood feud in L.A during the 80’s when they both fall for the same woman who looks like a female from both of their pasts. Vlad while a vampire is fighting the urge to turn a mortal woman he has fallen for, he does however still has his killer and cold instincts as he kills Tom and plays with the heart and mind of Celia and when he gets closed to Katie he throws her to the side that leads to her death and turn. Katie seems lost through the whole issue as she is looking for love and falls for a stranger and once she meets him falls even more for him and even wants to be turned into a vampire in order to be with him, even after what he and his foe have done to her friends (Rich and Celia). Tom is super evil in this one and loves killing humans to drink their blood, has fun messing with Vlad and does his best to try and be the one to get Katie as a way for revenge. Martin and Mike are around and pretty much are used in the issue to kill Celia as well as figure out that Vlad is a vampire. The comic is filled with blood and nudity and my favorite kill of the issue has to be the death of Rich, who was their friend who is killed in his car after sniffing cocaine. The cover for this issue is really cool and eye catching for the time as it has that Indie Horror Comic appeal. The interior art is done by Edgar Martiarena and is really cool as I like the way he draws the vampires when they take their more monster looks. Over all this is a pretty quick and fun read and while it does change lots from the film it makes it feel kind of like a new tale for those characters, I would say if you enjoy the film its based on or just like vampire comics give this one a read. Check out the art below to see the style of Edgar Martiarena used for this comic.

To Die For is a late 80’s vampire film that is not a ground breaking and has a very micro cult following and it’s crazy to think that a publisher like Blackthorne Publishing that was a pretty big player in those days took the chance to make this comic in both 2D and 3D! That’s right, you can also find this comic in 3D as that was one of Blackthorne’s big gimmicks back then as they loved being the ones to do comics in 3D. But as you can see, this From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update is over and that means it’s time for me to tell you that out next update will be as it will continue in the Horror theme as we will be taking a look at the film Arachnophobia and the comic adaptation based around it. 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 as I hope you don’t have a fear of spiders as they are the creepy crawly baddies that are looking for a quick bite.