From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Don’t Look In The Basement (1973)

Posted on April 22, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update here at Rotten Ink. This time around we will be heading to the Stephen’s Sanitarium a metal asylum where the patients are wandering the halls and one poor nurse finds herself in the middle of this madness and chaos when all she wanted to do is help! The film we will of course be talking about is the cult movie called Don’t Look In The Basement that was released in 1973 and has scared moviegoers ever sense. We will also be taking a look at the Blood Scream Comics adaptation of the film, and I will not be giving the comic any kind of star ratings as I am connected to Blood Scream and that just seems very silly. But if you are ready, let’s head to the asylum and for gosh sakes lets stay away from the basement.

Let’s start by looking at Dr. Geraldine S. Masters, a crazed woman who deals pain and death to those who cross her path or go against her words. Dr. Masters is a mental patient who, after an accident leaves the real Doctor dead, takes over running the asylum and does so with an iron fist as she does not like it when people disobey her orders. Geraldine Masters is a patient at the Stephen’s Sanitarium who thinks she is a Doctor and has been allowed by the staff to act like one with her fellow inmates, she is schizophrenic and made a mistake when studying to be a nurse that lead her into this madness. Dr. Masters will uses her hold and threats over her fellow inmates in order to keep them in line and to play along with her delusions. Those who do cross her path end up being tortured by being burnt, having their tongues removed and being drugged in order to not speak the truths about her. She has a way to make those who do not know about her believe what she says and truly think she is a doctor who cares about her patients. She is a liar that uses her words to manipulate those around her and can get them to do things she orders as well as think a certain way about a person. If Dr. Masters is crossed or disobeyed to the extreme she will attempt to kill you with a sharp object or will try and have one of her fellow inmates do so for her. But because Dr. Geraldine S. Masters is crazy and human she can be killed like any normal person so stabbing, cutting, bashing, shot, drowned and all other ways of people dying will end her ways of terror. Also her madness and her ego can lead her down a path of death as she pushes her fellow inmates to hard and this will cause them to fight back with deadly results as is her fate in the film. While she is not the most dangerous killer we have ever covered here on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update, she is still very deadly and has the tools and authority to end lives.

Now that we have talked about Doctor Masters and her ways of dealing death and fright I think that it is time that we take a look at the film she appeared in Don’t Look In The Basement. Now I would like to remind you that I will be taking the film’s plot from our pals at IMDB and after that I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s wonder around the Sanitarium and see what dangers await us all.

Don’t Look In The Basement (1973)

“Nurse Charlotte Beale arrives at the isolated Stephens Sanitarium to work, only to learn that Dr. Stephens was murdered by one of the patients and his successor, Dr. Geraldine Masters, is not very eager to take on new staff. Charlotte finds her job maddeningly hard as the patients torment and harass her at every turn, and she soon learns why Dr. Masters is so eager to keep outsiders out.”

Don’t Look In The Basement is a 1973 Horror Film that is known by several other titles like “The Forgotten” and “Death Ward # 13” that was the brain child of director S.F. Brownrigg who also produced the film with Tim Pope writing the screenplay. The film was made to cash in on the big horror boom of the early 1970’s as theaters and drive-in moviegoers seemed to not be able to get enough of them. The film was about a secluded mental asylum that was run by a Doctor who ends up being murdered as well as his head nurse and the inmates take over the asylum and this is bad news for a young nurse who arrives later that night after the killings. The film would cast Playboy Playmate Rosie Holotik as the young nurse with such actors as Bill McGhee, Annabelle Weenick, Jesie Lee Fulton, Harryette Warren, Betty Chandler and Gene Ross making up some of the cast. The films budget was around $100 thousand dollars and was your typical indie film production for the time, and once the film was done Robert Farrar would do the score and American International Pictures would distribute it. The film when released in theaters was meet with mix reviews from critics, but moviegoers seemed to enjoy this downbeat film and over the years thanks to home media the film has built a very strong cult following. The director of the film S.F. Brownrigg would continue to make horror films and would follow this film with such titles as Poor White Trash Part II, Don’t Open The Door! and Keep My Grave Open all that have gotten a following over the decades. Sadly Brownrigg would pass away in 1996 at the age of only 58, as who knows what other delights he could have made for Horror fans. The film did get a sequel in 2015 and was directed by Anthony Brownrigg, the son of S.F. and over the years many remakes have been spoken about but never filmed. When released in 1973 it was joined by such other fight flicks as The Exorcist, Theater Of Blood, Return Of The Blind Dead, The Crazies, Satanic Rites Of Dracula, Scream Blacula Scream, Blood Orgy Of The She-Devils, Godmonster Of Indian Flats and Wicker Man to name a few.

The first time I seen Don’t Look In The Basement was via a old VHS tape my brother found at the store Suncoast that was located in one of our area’s local indoor malls. We both had always heard about the film thanks to the books like The Gore Score and Splatter Movie Guide plus of course old issues of Fangoria Magazine had featured it. And after seeing this film I was a fan as I feel that it was very creepy and spooky and the atmosphere and story did a good job of bringing a very uneasy watch as each of the patients in the asylum have their own personalities and insanities. And the different patients are what really makes this slasher film interesting as each bring their own level of crazy to the unfolding story with some being more dangerous than others, but in the end we have that all the patients can be driven to commit murder. The film is also pretty bloody for the time and budget level with some of the splatter being really well done, and the ending of the film that has the patients hacking away on the Doctor is the best kill in the film. I have to say that Rosie Holotik who plays Nurse Charlotte Beale is not only beautiful but also is not a bad actress, and she would be in two other horror films “Horror High” and “Encounter With The Unknown” and she should have done more as she could have easily became a top casted actress in horror if she would have stuck around longer. The film falling into the public domain has given many people a chance to see it as many companies have released it on home media, it’s has been hosted by many horror hosts and can be found on streaming sites and this hide release for the film is good as it has allowed it to keep building on it’s cult statues. This film is 100% a product of its time as it was a perfect fit for the Drive-In Theater as well as the Grindhouse ones and sadly films like this do not have a theatrical outlet like they use to and they get dumped on one of the many streaming services and get lost in the mountain of content they consume to fill their product…and along the way loose lots of money doing so. But if you have not see Don’t Look In The Basement give it a shot if you like 70’s indie horror flicks.

As you can see, Dr. Geraldine S. Masters is truly unstable and the film Don’t Look In The Basement has earned its cult statues over the years, as it really is an unsettling fright film. It’s crazy that still to this day that more comic publishers and creators are not making comics based on horror or sci-fi films as both of those film genres have great characters and worlds for creators to play in. I mean so many horror films over the centuries should and should have gotten the comic book treatment. And now we are at the review part of this update and as I stated before I will not be giving this comic any type of rating as I was connected to the making of this comic. I would like to thank Marc Gras Cots for creating this comic for Blood Scream Comics and making this update possible. So if you are ready, let’s head to Stephen’s Sanitarium and see what the inmates are up to.

Don’t Look In The Basement # 1
Released in 2017 Cover Price $4.99 Blood Scream # 1 of 1

Nurse Charlotte Beale has shown up to the Stephens Sanitarium as it’s her first day at the job as she has been hired a few days back as they are short handed. She is greeted by Dr. Geraldine S. Masters, who informs her that Dr. Stephens has been killed by one of the patients and now she is the sole Doctor in charge and after some words Masters allows Charlotte to stay on and the next day introduces her to the patients that are Danny a prankster who acts like a spoiled brat, Sgt. Jaffee who lost his mind after he lead his men into battle that caused them all to die, Jennifer a depressed quite young woman, Mrs. Callingham has a broken mind and speak in poems and thinks flowers are her kids, Harriet who carries a baby doll and thanks its her baby, Judge Oliver W. Cameron who has lost his mind and only speaks in court talk, Allyson King a missed used woman who looks for love from anyone and last is Sam a mountain of a man who has a mind of a child. The next day Charlotte finds that Mrs. Callingham has cut out her own tongue and someone has also cut the phone wires cutting of the Sanitarium’s outside communication! And when a phone man shows up he is confronted by Dr. Masters who is mad that he just walked in and later he is cornered by Allyson who uses her flirty ways, and later that night Judge and Sam are talking and Judge says he killed Dr. Stephens with an axe while Sam say he is still alive! And in another room Dr. Masters burns some paper in the hand of Sgt. Jaffee for not going to bed when she told him to, showing that she demands respect. The next day Sam finds the body of the telephone repairman and Allyson snaps and tells Charlotte that Dr. Masters is really a patient who killed the repairman, cut the tongue our of Mrs. Callingham and will kill anyone who exposes her dirty secret! Charlotte goes around and asks many of the patients if it’s true that Masters is not a true Doctor and is a patient like them, and when she finds out that its all true she also learns she is trapped inside and that the phones are still not working. Charlotte then finds the body of Dr. Stephens in the basement as Sam grabs her on the orders of Dr. Masters who wants to cut Charlotte up and remove the illness from her! But Charlotte is able to talk with Sam who stops Dr. Masters from cutting her and the other inmates arrive into the room and start slaughtering Dr. Masters as Charlotte is able to escape the Sanitarium and run for her life away from the madness and slaughter.

This comic adaptation cuts out the opening death of the old nurse and the attack on Dr. Stephens by Judge in order to build more of the suspense on what is the dark secrets of this mental hospital, and I think it is very much achieved as the story unfolds for Charlotte and the reader. The plot is this a young nurse shows up for her first day of work at a mental hospital only to find that the doctor who hired her died in an accident and she soon learns all those around her truly are crazy and all hide a sinister murderous rage that explodes out in the end. The comic as well does a great job of following Nurse Charlotte Beale as she is the main focus of the whole issue and this makes the patients and Dr. Masters the background players who add to the haunting atmosphere of the horrors the young nurse must face as while she is getting to know them she also can not fully trust them. And with this shift of focusing on Charlotte also gives us the reader the element of not truly seeing the more mental and friendly side to the patients which makes for some uneasy reading as we get deeper and deeper into the Sanitarium. We do also get to see the more evil sides of Dr. Geraldine S. Masters as around Charlotte she is firm yet understanding, well that is until her secret is exposed while to the other patients she is cruel as she removes ones tongue and burns another’s hand just for questioning her authority! Dr. Masters is very cruel and very much driven by her madness of wanting to be a real doctor, but she also meets her gruesome end when her fellow patients cannot take her cruelty any longer. While they are around Sam, Judge, Jaffee, Callingham and Allyson play their parts to move along the story while sadly Jennifer, Harriet and Danny only appear very briefly. The comic does have some bloody kills with the death of Dr. Masters being the most brutal and something horror comic readers will love. The cover is really great and captures the screaming mouth of Charlotte with the logo in the middle and fans of this film will truly enjoy this tribute to the films trailer. And artist Marc Gras does a great job on the interiors, as he is able to draw out the creepy atmosphere of the film and capture the characters look and moods. Don’t Look In The Basement is a perfect film to be made into a horror comic, and I was honored to work alongside Marc Gras and Blood Scream Comics to make it possible. Check out the artwork below to see the style used by Marc in this spooky comic.

As you can see, our time at Stephens Sanitarium has came to a very bloody end as Dr. Masters got what was coming to her and not truly the inmates are running the asylum! I for one would love to someday revisit Don’t Look In The Basement with an issue # 2 that would be our creative teams vision of what happened to Nurse Charlotte, Sam and a few other others after the events of the film/comic, and who knows if this will ever happen only time will truly tell. Well with that said let me take a moment to let you know that our next update will take us to Satan Place: A Soap Opera From Hell that is a 80’s long forgotten horror comedy anthology film, so that will be a fun one for sure am I right? 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 will also be meeting Sally Satan, one of the many oddities that lives in Satan Place.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Island Of Dr. Moreau (1977)

Posted on January 13, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. Our “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update themed year is in full swing and for this one we will be taking a look at the 1977 film version of The Island Of Dr. Moreau that was released by American International Pictures and got the comic book adaptation treatment by Marvel Comics. I am sure many of you readers are fans of this story that was written by H.G. Wells in 1896, and most of you have also seen this film version of the story that use to play all the time on TBS in the 80s and 90s! Like so many others that we have done and are doing for this year’s overload of horror comics based on horror films, this update is long overdue, and I am very much looking forward to once more entering the Island Of Dr. Moreau, both the film and the comic! So with that, let’s get in our little boat and row ourselves to this island filled with animals that are also part man!

Let’s start first by taking a look at the Beast People who live on The Island Of Dr. Moreau and their way of dealing death and having order. The Beast People are animals that have had their DNA altered with that of a man causing them to be a mix between the two. While they talk and partly look like a human being, they battle their primal instincts of being an animal and have the lust to hunt and kill but also live by the law that is set for them by their creator Dr. Moreau. And when they no longer live in fear of Moreau’s law, they truly become wild and allow themselves to let their animal sides loose. The Beast People have many ways of dealing death to humans, as they are strong, fast moving and some have a true hunting nature. They come in all different species as you have such ones as Bullman, Lionman, Hyenaman, Boarman, Catwoman, Bearman, Chimpman among others and each have a wild look (with some being more fearsome than the others) and this easily chills the blood of their target and puts true fear in their hearts. The Beast People’s main attack is pure frenzy as they use their hands and teeth to rip apart flesh and do so with anger, hate and instinct. Once also in frenzy, their speaking is more primal and savage and they are only focused on bloodshed and murder. They are both pack and single killers as they don’t seem to mind killing alongside each other in their attacks. The Beast People can be killed like any normal man or animal as they can be shot, stabbed, burnt, crushed, blown up are mauled to death by a wild animal. They also do live in fear of their creator and this causes them issues as they obey his words out of pure terror, but on the other hand, when they are no longer under his law, they lose their smarts and act out in a mindless fury and this leaves them open to mistakes that will cause them their lives as they make very poor choices. While The Beast People might not be the most dangerous killers we have covered here, they are truly a killing breed when they are no longer living under man’s law.

So as you can see, The Beast People or the Humanimals are truly wild and pack killers that are clearly more beast than man. But now that we have chatted about them and their ways of killing, I think that its time to talk about the 1977 version of The Island Of Dr. Moreau that they are from. Like always, I will be taking the films’ plot from our good 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 avoid The House Of Pain and just cite the law and take a look at this classic 70’s film.

The Island Of Dr. Moreau (1977)

“A ship-wrecked man floats ashore on an island in the Pacific Ocean. The island is inhabited by a scientist, Dr. Moreau, who in an experiment has turned beasts into human beings.”

In the late 1970’s American International Pictures were making films based on the works of H.G. Wells as they wanted to find their next big book author to based films around as they had found big success with doing ones based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe. They had already done “The Food Of The Gods” in 1976, and their next one was slated to be “The Island Of Dr. Moreau.” The film was able to get a $6 million dollar budget on the script by Al Ramrus and John Herman Shaner that of course was based on the book by Wells. The film would cast such names as Michael York, Barbara Carrera, Nigel Davenport, Richard Basehart, Nick Cravat, Fumio Demura and Burt Lancaster as Dr. Moreau. The film was directed by Don Taylor who had directed such films as Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971) and Tom Sawyer (1973) to name a few, with filming taking place on the Virgin Islands. The film had a 12 makeup artists on call who had to work fast, hard and cheaply pulling off the looks of the Animal People and would have to spend roughly five hours on the makeup on the actors. The film was a stressful shoot, and once done, Laurence Rosenthal was brought in to do the films score as he was not stranger to doing music for horror and sci-fi films. American International Pictures truly thought that they would have a big hit of their hands with this film as it was released to theaters on July 13, 1977, and with this release date it would come right after the July 4^th weekend. It was said that the film did poorly at the box office and barely did over its budget, and was met with very mixed reviews from critics and viewers. The film would later gain a cult following thanks to showing on TV as well as being released on home media. The film was released in 1977 alongside such other horror and sci-fi films as Orca The Killer Whale, Day Of The Animals, Empire Of The Ants, Tentacles, Kingdom Of The Spiders, The Hills Have Eyes, The Incredible Melting Man, Exorcist II: The Heretic, Return To Boggy Creek, Shock Waves and Suspiria, to name a few. As you can see, 1977 was a good year for animal themed fright flicks.

Growing up I was always a big fan of The Island Of Dr. Moreau, both the book and the films based around it with the first film version I ever saw being the 1932 one called “The Island Of Lost Souls” that starred Charles Laughton as Dr. Moreau. The first time I saw this 1977 version was when Grampa Munster hosted it on his TBS show Super Scary Saturday, and I was a fan as I liked the look of the animal people and I thought the jungle island setting was super cool. The Beast People are always the highlight of any film version ,and while many would think the special effects for The Beast People in this film is dated, I still really like the look with the Lionman being my favorite in the film. I also liked Bullman as he looks truly like a monster man; plus he fights a tiger near a pond! The acting in the film is good as I do think that Burt Lancaster was the right casting as Dr. Moreau, Barbara Carrera is stunning as Maria the cat woman and while Michael York slightly over acts I still find his performance to be good for the most part. The film really also plays up “The House Of Pain” being the place that none of the animal people want to go and that makes sense as who wants to be tortured in order to follow the rules of one crazed man. As a kid I always thought that this film was bigger than it was and can remember talking to my fellow classmates about it as we all liked the idea of animal people, and I can remember one time drawing pictures of them for art class and getting a good grade! Over the years of course I owned the Marvel Comics adaptation but I have also owned the film on VHS and DVD, not to mention have the film’s score on CD. For some reason this classic film has always been a big part of my life from a youngster to adulthood. If you have never seen this version of Dr. Moreau and really enjoy 70’s sci-fi horror films, you should do yourself a favor and give it a watch as you might just find yourself being a fan of the film like I am. Before we move on there are also many rumors that this film had many different endings filmed as they had a happier ending, a downbeat one and even one that saw Maria give birth to a baby kitten…not sure if it’s true as this mostly comes from actress Barbara Carrera.

We are now at the point of this update where we take a look at the Marvel Comics adaptation of the film, and this is a comic that I had as a kid and is one that I have read many times over the years…but it has been a very long time since the last time I did so I am very much looking forward to seeing if it still holds up for me. I want to first thank Mavericks Cards And Comics for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would like to also say that I wish Marvel Comics would still do these cool adaptations of horror and sci-fi films as they were always a big part of my youth reading comics. 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 head fully into this island and see what terrors await for us.

The Island Of Dr. Moreau # 1 ***
Released in 1977 Cover Price .50 Marvel Comics # 1 of 1

Andrew Braddock has wrecked at sea and has been in the ocean on his lifeboat the Lady Vain for a very long time, but he is filled with joy when he sees an island and quickly rows to get there. As his looks around the island for fresh water he is being followed and falls into a trap and is rescued by Dr. Moreau and his employee Mr. Montgomery who take him in and tend to his injuries. Braddock learns that Moreau has been on this island for eleven years and that he is very much happy here and that he does not get much visitors as boats do not pass by very often he also meets a little later Maria who was rescued as a child from being sold, meets M’Ling who is a weird looking servant, learns that Montgomery is a mercenary and heavy drinker who don’t like to answer questions and learns that the jungle is filled with wild animals and that he should not wonder around at dark and even during the day stick to one part of the compound that is not his temporary home. Late that night Braddock is scared when he sees a wagon appear and chained in the back is M’Ling who now looks more beast like and is acting crazy, and he soon sneaks into Moreau’s lab and finds people inside that look like animals and in shock again Moreau appears and tells him of his experiments that blend both animal and man together creating a new race of Humanimals and over the next nights Braddock both hates what is happing but also is very fascinated by it, he also finds himself falling in love with Maria and also witnesses how cruel Moreau can be to his created life as he whips a poor Bearman before Braddock’s eyes causing him to stop the attack, and during all this he is able to leave the compound with a rifle in hand to explore the near by mountain and what Braddock finds is a society of Humanimals that are not as happy to see him! He listens as The Law Giver says their laws, but the Lionman has heard enough and attacks Braddock who is saved by Moreau and Montgomery, and Lionman is taken away to The House Of Pain for breaking the law. Braddock watches as Moreau keeps his beast men in check and also learns that he might be stuck here forever, and with this he starts to think of a way to get himself and Maria off the island and away from this madness. But things go wrong when Bullman breaks the law and attacks and kills a tiger and is hunted down to be taken to The House Of Pain and during this he is injured and Braddock ends up shooting him to end his suffering…and this causes a major uproar with the Beast People. Moreau ends up being very upset and uses Braddock as an experiment to learn more about his drug that turns animals into man by turning a man into an animal, and this causes Moreau also to fight with Montgomery who ends up being shot and killed and the Beast People witness this murder, causing them to question the law! The Beast People end up killing Moreau and attack the compound to destroy it and the lab and only by luck is Braddock and Maria able to escape as M’Ling is not as lucky as he is killed by a tiger that got loose from the lab, while the rest of The Beast People are killed by the freed wild animals or the fire they started by accident. At the small Lady Vain lifeboat Braddock and Maria are confronted and have to kill Hyenaman before they can make their escape. Days pass and on the ocean Braddock returns back human and as they are about to be rescued by a approaching ship he turns to see that Maria is turning into a cat person.

This comic version of the 1977 film version of The Island Of Dr. Moreau is a really fun and creepy read, and Marvel Comics did a great job of bringing the film to comic pages and doing it right as the comic makes just enough changes to make it feel different but yet the same. The plot is about a shipwrecked man finding safety from the ocean he was lost on in a island that is ran by a scientist who has turned animals into people, and now he must survive this twisted new land and get himself and a young woman he meets off the island before they are torn to pieces by the Beast People who are revolting against the laws laid out for them. The main changes from the film to this comic is the ending as in the film Maria only has cat eyes and in the comic she turns full feline, another change is that at the start of the film Braddock has a fellow survivor who is attacked by the Beast People before he can find help and in the comic he just not shown. Also The Bullman trying to run to escape being punished in the House Of Pain, only to be shot and killed after a short time by Braddock is truly trimmed down to a few panels. But even with these changes I would truly say that Marvel Comics did this film justice with the adaptation that has held up for me after all these years as I was a fan of it when I was a kid and now as an adult I still find it to be a great read. The comic captures the uneasy horror of The Beast People turning savage after learning that they are not fully man and that the law they lived by was all a lie, plus the comic has some cool deaths that are not bloody but done effectively. My favorite kill is when Hyenaman is killed with a spike through his body by Braddock in order for him to truly get away from the island. The cover for this comic is really cool and eye catching as it shows the Beast People, Dr. Moreau and Braddock with Maria running away from them all. The interior art is done by Larry Hama is great stuff, and I really love the way he drew the Humanimals with once more the standouts being Lionman and Bullman! If you love the classic art style of 70’s Marvel Comics then truly Hama’s art will draw you into this story. Over all if you like this 70’s film classic and enjoyed the old comic adaptations of films make sure to give this one a read and add it to your collection.

The 1977 version of The Island Of Dr. Moreau is a great film that had some great creepy moments that featured Humanimals learning how to once more embrace their animal sides and fight against the laws and the man who created them and caused them so much pain and fear. But I think that it is time that we ourselves leave this island as it seems the Humanimals are not pleased that we have stayed so long. So as we make our way back to the boat, I should let you know that our next update will take us to The Black Hills Forest as we going looking for The Blair Witch! And as I said last update, 2026 is truly going to be the year of “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” updates, so strap in for a very spooky year! 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 take a hike in some very haunted woods, I just hope the witch doesn’t make us stand in the corner!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Blacula (1972)

Posted on September 3, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update and this is also the start of our countdown to Halloween 2024! This one is going to be a truly spooky update as we will be chatting about the 1972 fright flick Blacula and the 2023 graphic novel based around it. It’s a great thing that Blacula has finally made his way to comic books as this is truly long overdue and he really should have gotten a comic series or at least an adaptation in the 70’s via Marvel, Dell or Charlton. I am really loving seeing so many classic horror films and even modern ones lately getting the comic book treatment as these comics help these characters live on in entertainment as well as give fans more of their favorites. I will never understand why indie filmmakers doing crowd funding never offer a comic book perk, it is just silly to me. So if you are ready, let’s travel to Los Angeles and see what Blacula has in store for us all.

To start off this update, let’s take a look at Blacula himself and his way of dealing death to the living! Blacula, who’s human name was Prince Mamuwalde was an African Prince around 1780 who was tricked and bitten by Count Dracula after a meeting at his castle. Dracula and turns Mamuwalde into a vampire and he’s given the name Blacula and is sealed in a coffin and his wife Luva is locked in a room with the coffin. It would be not until 1972 that Blacula would be discovered and he and his coffin sent to L.A. and his rise as a vampire king would start. Blacula has many ways of dealing death to his victims as first he is very charming and can use this charm to lure in females in order to drain their blood or make them into a vampire bride. He can also almost hypnotize you into trusting him and following his every word. While when looking normal he is a handsome man, but when he shows his vampire side his appearance shocks and scares those he comes in contact with. Blacula is stronger than a normal man and is able to shake off assault attacks, gunshots as well as even being hit by cars. He can also turn into a bat and fly away or faster to his targeted victim, not to even mention he can speak to people through their minds. He can also use his bare hands to kill a person but his main way of killing is his sharp teeth that he uses to drain the blood out of his victims or turn them into one of his mindless minions. But while Blacula is immortal for the most part he can still be killed by a stake to the heart, fire and of course sunlight like all vampires, and he can also be distracted by love as when a female reminds him of his deceased wife, he tends to make mistakes. Blacula’s anger as well as his need to cover his trail and what he is can also lead him to make mistakes that can lead to his true death. Blacula is a very powerful vampire with only maybe Dracula being more powerful than he, and that is why he is one of the most deadly undead monsters we have covered this far.

So as you can see, Blacula is a very powerful vampire and is one that is not only looking for his lost love but also to claim the throne of being the new King Of The Vampires. But now I think it’s time that we take a look at the 1972 film that he is from. And like always, we will be taking the film’s plot from our pals 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 see what horrors Prince Mamuwalde has in store for us.

Blacula (1972)

“An 18th century African statesman is transformed into a vampire, cursed with the name Blacula, and entombed in Dracula’s Castle after he fails to convince the Count to support him in his cause to end the slave trade. Two hundred years later, a pair of interior decorators transport his coffin to L.A. where he awakes with an unquenchable thirst for human blood. As Blacula pursues a woman who resembles his long dead wife, her brother-in-law, a pathologist, investigates the string of carnage that follows in the vampire’s wake.”

The 1970’s were a time for horror, cult, sci-fi and Blaxploitation films to shine at theaters and drive-in’s as they would show them and moviegoers seemed to not to be able to get enough. And one of the biggest producers of these type of films was Samuel Z. Arkoff who was another “King Of The B-Movies” along the likes of Roger Corman and Al Adamson and was known for such films as Teenage Caveman, Reptilicus, Fury Of Archilles, Die Monster Die, The Dunwich Horror, Abominable Dr. Phibes and so many more, and he teamed with Joseph T. Naar to create the film Blacula in 1972. The team of Joan Torres, Raymond Koenig and Richard Glouner were the script writers, and William Crain was brought in to direct and this was his first feature film as he had only worked on one episode of the TV Show Mod Squad before it. The producers then would hire such actors as Vonetta McGee, Denise Nicolas, Charles Macaulay, Emily Yancy and The Hues Corporation with William Marshall being hired to play Blacula, who is the world of cinema’s first Black vampire! Marshall as well worked along with the producers and crew to make sure Blacula was a powerful and respectable character. The film was shot in Los Angeles and filmed early in 1972 and once done Gene Page did the score that had a funk sound. Once done the film was released by American International Pictures (owned by Arkoff & James H. Nicholson) and hit theaters on July 26, 1972 and was meet with mixed reviews from critics but moviegoers liked it as the film would make over a million dollars and be one of 1972’s big hits. The film would spawn a sequel in 1973 called “Scream Blacula Scream” and would also start a rash of Blaxploitation Horror Films like “Blackenstein (1973)”,“Abby (1974)”, “Dr. Black And Mr. White (1976)”, “Black Devil Doll From Hell (1984)” and “Bones (2001)” to name a few, showing just how important Blacula is to the world of horror cinema. The film was released along side such other horror films as Tales From The Crypt, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times, Ben, Dracula A.D. 1972, Fury Of The Wolfman, Frogs, Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things, Last House On The Left, Horror Express, Vampire Circus, Rats Are Coming The Werewolves Are Here, Baron Blood, Moon Of The Wolf and Don’t Torture Duckling in 1972 and this is just a small amount released that year. The film is a cult classic and found even more fans via Cable TV and Home Media when released on those formats.

I am going to say it, I really do think that Blacula is one of the most underrated horror films of the 1970’s as it is often over looked and tossed aside mostly because people judge it by it’s name and not the quality of the film and that’s a shame as it is a very solid Horror film with a very cool vampire who has a hatred for his own creator Count Dracula. I saw this film when I was a very young kid as I believe it was playing on TBS and both my brother and I had to watch it, I am pretty sure my Dad as well watched it with us, and when the film was done I can remember playing with G.I. Joes and saying Roadblock was Blacula and he was on the prowl for some blood. The film is filled with some great classic style creepy moments and has a very 70’s feel and take on the Dracula story in general. The film’s score was also very different from the others at the time as Gene Page went more for a Funk sound over your normal eerie one, and this helped add to the L.A. feel of the fright flick. William Marshall was a very wise choice to play Prince Mamuwalde aka Blacula, as he is a fantastic actor and really did take the role seriously and delivers a powerful performance, as Marshall had been acting since the mid 1950’s and is known for his roles in such films and shows as Tarzan (1967), The Boston Strangler (1968), Abby (1974), Amazon Women On The Moon (1987) and Pee-Wee’s Playhouse (1993) where he was The King Of Cartoons! I have always had mad respect for William Marshall and he was truly an iconic actor and was truly apart of my childhood growing up as I had seen him in so many movies and shows. I also think that the film packs a few good scares as well as a very new take on the vampire folklore as it did a great job of bringing the classic monster into the 70’s setting. I also think that Blacula should have gotten more sequels as there were plenty of more tales they could have told with the character, and I do need to say that there is a rumor going around the a reboot to the series is in the works and while I wish William Marshall was still alive so he could have taken a role in the film I am interested to see what this film is like if it ever gets made. Say what you will about Blacula but for me it truly is one of 70’s best Horror Films and should be respected by fans just as much as Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dawn Of The Dead to name a few.

So as you can see, Blacula is a film that you should check out and it was great that finally in 2023 he got his own comic book after all these decades of it truly being long overdue. And while I wish that the comic had been single issues and not a Graphic Novel, I am still happy to be reading it any way I can, and I truly hope that it is a great read as I have been looking forward to this since it was announced by Zombie Love. I would also like to thank Game Swap Kettering for ordering this GN for me 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, let’s see what Blacula has in store for us in his first terror filled comic.

Blacula: Return Of The King GN ***
Released in 2023 Cover Price $19.99 Zombie Love # 1 of 1

In modern Los Angeles people have gone missing as vampires are stalking the streets at night and the name Blacula is being spray-painted around town. Tina Thomas is a blogger who is heading to the area that the disappearances are taking place and meets Kross, a man who is on the hunt for vampires! Meanwhile in Hell, Blacula is trying to get Lucifer to grant his request of returning to Earth and the ruler of Hell not granting his request. Kross informs Tina that he is the grandson of taxi driver and Blacula victim Juanita Jones and that he is now looking after young kids affected by the vampire attacks and his goal is to kill Blacula once and for all. Meanwhile Blacula has escaped Hell and is walking the Earth once more and even kills a group of gang members who try and hold him up. While Count Dracula is also around and lures a single mom working at a diner into his trap and drinks her blood even as she pleads for her life, and while draining all of the woman’s blood a news report about Blacula peeks his interest and he ends up calling in two redneck vampires to track down his vampire spawn and bring him back to him. While Kross along with his gang and Tina head to a graveyard looking for Blacula to kill, they only the find the vampire Juanita and they are forced to stake her, and worse Kross is shaken by this and this allows his grandfather who was also a vampire to escape. Meanwhile Blacula is stalking the streets on his quest to find Dracula and even kills a bunch of cops and when he finds safety he is thinks back to why he his killing his own race after he was always protecting them in his time as a Prince. As the two redneck vampires drive around asking fellow vampires if they have any clues to where Blacula is, he has been discovered by Tina, Kross and The Kids who end up listening to his tale of being turned into a vampire by Dracula and wants revenge…and the kids decide to help him! Blacula takes out the two redneck vampires that are tracking him and the kids stake Kross’s vampire grandfather and the group then heads to the location of Count Dracula and after taking out some of Dracula’s minions, Blacula finally gets his chance to fight with Dracula and after going back and fourth it’s Blacula that wins with a silver sword to the heart of Dracula! And after that Blacula leaves with Tina, Kross and the other kids with his future unknown. Meanwhile in Hell Lucifer is very mad about Blacula’s escape and with the help of a demon and Count Dracula himself they decide to send back a werewolf to Earth to get him back…and so this Graphic Novel ends on a cliffhanger.

First thing I have to say is that this Graphic Novel is pretty awesome and is a fantastic read and really does read like a sequel to the classic 1972 film and does so with respect for the character and his legacy and helps bring the Horror and complex nature of Blacula to the readers. The plot has Blacula escaping Hell in order to finally get his revenge on Count Dracula who is the one responsible for turning him into a vampire as well as taking his wife away from him. Also Count Dracula has lost all his wealth and is now hiding out in California and waiting for his spawn Blacula to attack now that he has returned…throw in some young adults who are hunting the vampire legends as well as Lucifer who is mad about the escape from Hell, and you have one heck of a great horror comic read! Blacula while a vampire, a killer and even a spreader of turning others into bloodsuckers feels bad about having to drain the blood of his own race in order to survive and truly hates what he has become as well as the name of Blacula as he would rather be called by his real name Prince Mamuwalde and not the name Dracula forced on him. Blacula also knows that he has angered Hell but does not care as he wants his revenge and even controls his anger and hunger when he meets a group of kids that are hunting him and other vampires down, and these kids are all effected by vampires as their families had been killed or turned by one causing them to want revenge of their own. Tina Thomas however is along for the ride as she is a blogger about the unknown and wanted to get to the bottom of the legend of Blacula and soon finds that the legend is true and she ends up helping him on his quest for revenge. Kross is also a interesting character as he is the grandson of the woman taxi driver that was bitten in turned in 1972 (as seen in the movie) and has made it his life goal to kill Blacula as well as bring together and watch over all the kids that have been effected by vampire attacks, and he ends up having a change of heart when he finally meets Blacula and soon decides to help him against Dracula’s horde. Speaking of Count Dracula, he is no longer surrounded by wealth and power and is now living in a trailer harvesting his own blood from victims and very bored with his immortal life, and is very much looking forward to a fight to the death against Blacula. And the final fight between Blacula and Dracula is fast paced it very much is a fun battle that leaves The Count dead and The Prince still feeling empty. The Graphic Novel does have some blood and violence and fans of Horror Comics will enjoy many of the kills that include lots of blood drinking and some stakes to the hearts of the undead. The cover is pretty dang great and creepy and has a raging Blacula showing his fangs of fright! The interior artwork is done by Jason Shawn Alexander and is great stuff and captures the mood of the film series as well as even the actors who played the characters. Over all this is a very cool and entertaining horror graphic novel read, and I cannot wait for the second volume as this one leaves us on a cliffhanger and we all want to see Blacula fight a werewolf and even possibly Lucifer himself who is pretty annoyed with the Vampire Prince who escaped the tortures of Hell! Do yourself a favor and if you like the film or just like vampire comics, give this a read as I am sure you will enjoy it. Checkout the artwork bellow to see the style of Alexander used in this comic.

Blacula: Return Of The King is a really great horror graphic novel that gave new media life to this classic iconic horror character from the 70’s. And with a new reboot sequel in the works (or so it’s said) I just wish William Marshall was still with us as it would have been great for him to see this rebirth and respect the character brought to life by him is now getting from modern horror fans. With that this From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update is over, but our time with horror is still going as our next update will take us to the Rotten Ink Arena as a “R.I.W Legend” update event will be taking place and will feature The ECW Zombie, so make sure to comeback for that one. 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 I wonder if The Zombie will cut one of his iconic moaning and groaning promos?

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Screaming Skull (1958)

Posted on January 23, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, you find yourself reading another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update here on my little slice of the internet, and for this one we will be taking a look at the 1958 fright flick Screaming Skull that got the comic book treatment thanks to Blood Scream Comics in 2017. Screaming Skull is one of those horror films that was a drive-n theater favorite for many, and now that it is in the public domain can be found on all types of home media as well as many uploads on sites like YouTube. This update will be different as we will not be giving the comic a star rating as my connection to Blood Scream Comics makes it very silly for me to do so, but I really want to talk about The Screaming Skull plus these “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” updates are a great way to showcase just how cool Blood Scream Comics is and just how cool our comics based on films are! So if you are ready, I can hear the skull screaming so let’s get spooky!

Let’s start by taking a look at The Skull, a cursed and haunted piece of a murdered woman’s body that has its own way of dealing death. Marion Whitlock was a woman who died after slipping on some water and cracking her skull open on the concrete base of a fountain pond found her estate, and then falling into the water and drowning. And now as her husband has taken a new wife, a Skull starts to appear around the home and estate making noises as well as seeming to move objects, and that trio is something that can truly be scary and haunting to the living as the skull’s look, noises and seeming supernatural powers could frighten someone too death as well as drive them mad. The Skull’s other power seems to be to freak someone out so badly that they are plagued with nightmares and are jumpy to every sound they hear, and make such items as paintings seem haunting and scary when they can be connected to Marion. The Skull also seems to be able to move on its own and the shriek it can give off is ear piercing and spooky. It seems to only have the purpose of driving its victim insane with the hopes of death. The spirit of Marion Whitlock is in the Skull and it is seeking justice for her death as it was no accident, and she wants those around to pay. The Skull can also appear as a headless ghost and give chase to its intended victim or for those it wants to warn of danger. And as a Skull, it can also fly and shriek through the air causing pure panic for its victim, and cause them to flee in madness. The Skull will also fly up and use its teeth to bite at your neck causing you extreme pain and in some cases death. The Skull does have weaknesses as it really is just a “haunted” skull and seems to be bound to the Whitlock Estate, as it is the scene of the crime of Marion Whitlock’s death. One would also have to guess that if The Skull was crushed the curse might be broken and this freeing the victim from its wrath. And this is if you truly thank that The Skull is real as many think it was all part of Eric Whitlock’s idea to cover up his first wife’s murder and drive his second wife crazy. But real or fake, The Skull of Marion Whitlock has the ability to drive a person crazy and that is why it’s so dangerous. And if you ask me, while in some moments was fake a tool used by Eric I think most of the time The Skull is real and acted as a way to get ride of Eric and warn his new bride of the danger.

So now that we have taken a look at The Skull, we should take a brief moment to also take a look at the film it’s from and that’s The Screaming Skull from 1958. I will be taking the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB, and then I will write about the films production as well as my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s take a walk around the Whitlock Estate, but let’s avoid that concrete pond as it has bad vibes around it.

Screaming Skull (1958)

“A newly married couple arrives at the home of the husband’s late wife, where the gardens have been maintained by a gardener faithful to the dead woman’s memory. Soon, eerie events lead the new wife to think she’s losing her mind.”

In the late 1950’s cheaply shot horror and sci-fi films were very popular at theaters and drive-in’s. Supporting film actor and Broadway actor Alex Nicol wanted to try his hand at directing one, and Screaming Skull is what he choose to be his test as the film was based on a real urban legend of a cursed skull that once belonged to a slave that is said to make screaming noises. A story that was written by Francis Marion Crawford, and the script would be written by the films producer John Kneubuhl, who had written the film “Hart Of Honolulu” before this. The film would cast Peggy Webber, John Hudson, Alex Nicol, Russ Conway and Tony Johnson and would take about six weeks to film and would be filmed on the Huntington Hartford Estates and would have a very small crew to pull it off. When the film was finished, Ernest Gold would come in to do the score and American International Pictures would be its distributor. The film would be released in August 1958 and would have a disclaimer that would promise a free burial if a moviegoer died of fright watching this film. Over the years, the film was met with very mix reviews as many fans and critics found it to be very cheap and cheesy while others find the simple spooky story to be a frightful watch. The film would end up falling into the public domain and over the years would be hosted by many horror hosts that include the likes of Halloween Jack, Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Sammy Terry. In 1958, the film was released alongside such other films as Horror Of Dracula, The Fly, The Blob, IT! Terror From Beyond Space, I Bury The Living and The Revenge Of Frankenstein to name a few, so as you can see it was released alongside some true classics.

I can remember seeing Screaming Skull for the first time when I was a teenager as the film was in the public domain and was being released by many different companies. My brother had bought a DVD that had it and “Werewolf Vs. The Vampire Women” together, and we got some snack food and watched the double feature and had a blast with both films. After that, I saw the film a few more times being hosted by Horror Hosts during the Horror Host Underground boom on Public Access. What has always stood out about this film for me is that it does a good job of making the viewer wonder if The Skull is real or if it was always just terrible husband Eric Whitlock being a scumbag and trying to push his new bride into madness. The film also has a great cast as actors John Hudson, Russ Conway, Alex Nicol and Peggy Webber all do fantastic in their roles. Plus you cannot go wrong with a film that makes a normal everyday Skull the main villain of a horror film, and they are able to mix in great supernatural elements to show that The Screaming Skull’s reign of terror was real, and the highlight of the film is when The Skull of Marion is able to get revenge on her husband who clearly is the one who murdered her and made it look like an accident showing crime does not pay. In fact the film works for me as when you see it for the first time you think that all the spooky events and noises from The Skull were just a set up from Eric, but by the end you see that most of the terror truly was this cursed Skull on a rampage. The final moments of the film that have the ghost version of Marion running around and then her ghostly skull flying through the air screaming is pure cheesy horror goodness. Over the years, thanks to such shows as Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Screaming Skull has gotten a reputation of being a bad film, and while it’s not the best film from the 50’s, I can say that the film is not nearly as bad as people say it is. So if you have not seen Screaming Skull, make sure to give it a chance and a watch, and Hell even watch the MST3K or another horror hosted version as it’s a fun watch and is a perfect late night watch.

So I had to share this: as I was working on this update my brother was getting rid of some of his DVD’s as he had upgraded many of his films to Blu-Ray and in the stuff he was getting rid of was the copy of The Screaming Skull on which I saw the film for the first time that I had just written about so I had to take a picture of it and add it to this update as seeing the copy again brought a smile to my face and made me feel like a youngster again. So checkout the picture below to see the DVD in all its glory!

The Screaming Skull is a very strange supernatural horror crime thriller film that does a great job of entertaining the viewer. Now is the time when we do the review, and I would like to thank Theresa Daniels and Stephen Alexander, the creative team behind this comic for making this comic for Blood Scream Comics and making this update possible! I would then also like to say a big THANK YOU to all those who have read this comic or any other Blood Scream or Sparkle Comics over the years as because of you readers of these comics is why our company is around and is able to make comics like this to entertain and frighten you. I would also like to once more remind you that I will not be giving this comic a star rating due to my connection to the company that released it. So if you are ready, let’s scream out loud with The Screaming Skull in the year 1888!

Screaming Skull: 1888 # 1
Released in 2017 Cover Price $4.99 Blood Scream # 1 of 1

In 1888 Victoria Brown is walking home alone when she is attacked by a killer who slits her throat and guts her in a back ally. The police think it was another killing for Jack The Ripper. A year later her husband Reginald Brown is running a hat shop to honor the memory of his late wife, and while working one day he meets Edith Springdale, a woman who is wanting to get a new hat, and once she finds out his tragic story, the two become friends that quickly turns into a relationship and shortly they get married. Shortly after the marriage, Reginald is visited by Inspector Peter McNally who is investigating the Ripper killings and finds the death of Victoria a little off from the other killings in the Ripper case. This causes Reginald to get nervous and usher the Inspector out of the shop. From there Reginald starts to hear a screaming and even starts to see a Skull, and it’s driving him mad. His strange behavior is noticed by not just by the Inspector but also Edith who notices that he also seems to get angered very quickly when asked about the crime and the law looking to ask him questions about his wife’s death. More and more Reginald is seeing and hearing things and goes insane at one point beating Inspector McNally to death when thinking he was his dead wife! Later after covering up the murder he just committed, Reginald snaps again and tries to kill Edith but the Screaming Skull that is possessed by Victoria’s vengeful spirit comes to her rescue and causes him to fall backwards and impale himself. In the end Edith has had enough of all the bad things she lived through in England and is now heading to America for a fresh start and in her bag is The Screaming Skull!

The Scream Skull 1888 is a comic that acts almost as a prequel to the 1958 film and shows another cursed skull that belonged to a murdered woman who gets revenge on her husband who was the cause of her death. And this time around our setting is in England and during the time of the Jack The Ripper murders adding more horror to our already supernatural tale of terror. Reginald Brown is a man who owns and works in a hat shop, who appears to be a grieving widower that tries to keep doing his best after his wife’s murdered, but in reality he is very evil as he is the one who killed his wife brutally and weirdly enough we never find out his motivation. The best thing is that Reginald gets what he deserves and pays for his crime with his life. Inspector Peter McNally is clearly a good officer who is looking to solve the rash of murder cases in the Whitechapel area, and to him Victoria’s case just doesn’t seem right and not like a Jack The Ripper victim, but while his hunch is right, he ends up being brutally killed when his head is bashed in! Edith Springdale is a caring woman who is worried about her new husband’s mental health, and lucky for her while being attacked by her crazed husband the spirit of his deceased wife comes to her aid as a screaming skull and saves her and causes Reginald to finally meet his maker. The comic has that creepy classic horror feel to it and plays up on mood building and a downbeat atmosphere all the while given us some bloody moments of carnage. It’s a good mix of horror, thriller and even slight crime making for a solid quick read that will make you wonder what is next for The Screaming Skull as in the end of the issue the cursed thing is making its way to America. The cover for this issue is great and has a kind of indie comic gothic look to it, with Theresa Daniels doing the interior art and her style is very cool as to me it has a Rick Geary feel to it. For those who don’t know, he is an artist who does graphic novels about killers and crime from the past. And I have to also point out that the story for this comic was written by Stephen Alexander, who is also known as horror host Baron Von Porkchop and is also an indie actor who was in films like Bark At The Moon: Scars, Amityville No Escape and Wolf Hunter 2.5 to name a few. This is a really cool take on the Screaming Skull legacy and was supposed to be the start of a series that would have taken place over the years with the final issue being an adaptation of the film. Will this ever happen? Only time will tell. Checkout the artwork bellow to see the style that Theresa used when making this comic, and make sure to get your copy from the Blood Scream Comics online store.

The Screaming Skull is one of those films that I think made for a great comic book as I think Theresa and Stephen did a great job of adding to the film’s story by showcasing another tale of a murdered wife getting her revenge. And once more I have to say, who knows if more issues are coming, but one thing is for sure we have this one entertaining one to keep the Screaming Skull alive…or is that undead? With this From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update coming to an end, I think it’s time for me to tell you about our next update as it will be the start of Dog Month here at Rotten Ink with the first K-9 to take the spotlight being Top Dog, the amazing original character created for Star Comics! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. Before you go, I have to say I am very much looking forward to talking about Top Dog!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Reptilicus (1961)

Posted on May 6, 2019 by bloodlinematt

For the month of May, in honor of “Godzilla: King Of The Monsters” hitting theaters and it bringing us one step closer to King Kong and Godzilla battling it out in 2020, we are going to have Kaiju month here on the blof that will be filled with “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” updates all featuring giant monsters! And our first Titan will be Reptilicus, a sinister dragon-like beast who was the first Danish monster in cinema! Many people seem to forget about the likes of Reptilicus when they think of Kaiju and just giant monsters in general so that is why he was selected as my first choice to start off this event month. So if you’re ready, let’s see the terrors Reptilicus has in store for us and what destruction he leaves behind.

Reptilicus is a massive snake-like reptile that was frozen underground for centuries and is very combative in nature once awoken. The massive Reptilicus has many means to snuff out the life of humans as he can use his size and weight to crush and smash any and everything that gets in his way. He also sports very sharp snake-like teeth that could easily eat, impale and rip apart a man in no time. He doesn’t only attack on land but also water and even air with a strike upward. He also has the ability to grow back missing limbs and can heal from attacks pretty quick as he is a massive monster who can regenerate. Bullets, missiles and even fire from tanks do not hurt him, as he is able to shrug it off and keep on his path of destruction. And we are not even sure what his green acid spit could do when in contact with human flesh! Not to mention just the sight of him will cause panic and leave his human targets more easy to pick off as they make mistakes with minds full of fear. While he is massive and very hard to truly hurt, he can be killed as he hates fire and if burnt too long, he would die. He is also pretty slow moving on land and this also leaves him open for attacks and other means to stop him. He can also be drugged, and it’s even possible make him die of an overdose. While he might not be the most massive or destructive Kaiju in the world, Reptilicus is one of the most cold blooded who goes out of his way to kill and destroy, making him one deadly foe.

So now that we have taken a look at the destructive and killing nature of Reptilicus, we should now take a look at the film he is from. The film’s write up is taken from our friends at IMDB, and after, I will talk a little about the film’s production as well as my connection with and feelings about the film. So if you’re ready, let’s take a look at the film.

Reptilicus (1961)

“A portion of the tail of a prehistoric reptile is discovered in Denmark. It regenerates into the entire reptile, which proceeds to destroy buildings and property and generally make a nuisance of itself. It can fly, swim, and walk, and has impenetrable scales, which makes it difficult to kill.”

In the 1960’s, giant monster movies were all the rage, and in 1961 American International Pictures and Denmark company Saga Studio teamed up to make Reptilicus! The film was directed by Poul Bang for the Danish version and Sidney W. Pink for the English one…as you see, the film was made in two different language in order to maximize the film’s audience with the only major change being the actress who played the character of Connie Miller. Another story goes that the English version was so bad that American International Pictures called in screenwriter Ib Melchior to help shape it up for release. This also caused Pink to be upset and threaten to sue the company, but rumor has it, after watching his version he dropped the lawsuit as he saw how bad it was! The film built a cult following in Denmark as well as the US, but critics were not kind to this film as they all mocked its cheap looking production values. So while Reptilicus might not be as loved and respected as King Kong, Godzilla or even Gamera, it still made its mark on the world of giant monster cinema. A fun fact is that in 2001 director Sidney Pink wanted to remake the film to try and cash in on the 1998 American Godzilla movie…but sadly this did not happen as Pink passed away in 2002 from a long illness.

Reptilicus was one of those movies I know I saw when I was a youngster and cannot remember if it was just shown on broadcast TV or if it was on a Horror Host program but I can remember enjoying the heck out of it. It would be years and years later that I would see the film again when my friend Jason Gilmore bought it on DVD and we watched it on one of our many late nights of video game playing and Horror Movie watching hangouts. Gilmore and I had a blast laughing at the Reptilicus puppet as it went on its rampage and for a while it was a film we loved to laugh at and reference. One surprising thing isthat growing up I never did have one of the comics by Charlton nor did I have the paperback novel adaptation even though I was into all those things at a young age. I would go on to own the film on VHS and DVD and from time to time still dust it off to give a watch. Many modern Horror Fans have also seen it on the rebirth of Mystery Science Theater 3000 that is on Netflix. I feel that, much like Konga we have talked about in a past update, Reptilicus is often over looked when it comes to Kaiju in movies as the monsters of Toho dominate it, and I feel that’s not fair as many of these less known Giant Monsters are as cool as those we all know and love. While Reptilicus might not be a household name, he is a movie monster that has built a cult following and has left his green acid spit all over the world of Horror Cinema.

So now that we know the killing power of Reptilicus as well as took a look at his only film appearance, I think we should gather our nerve and take a look at Charlton Comics adaptation of the film that ended up spinning off into a comic series. While we run for our lives from the rampage of Reptilicus, I want to remind you all that I am grading this comic on a 1-4 star scale and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. I also want to thank an Ebay seller for having this comic in stock and making this update possible! So let’s seek shelter and enjoy this horrifying adventure of Reptilicus.

Reptilicus # 1 **1/2
Released in 1961 Cover Price .10 Charlton Comics # 1 of 8

Svend Alstrup is a foreman and is drilling for copper when he uncovers a bad smell and a chunk of skin that is covered in scales from deep in the Earth. After closing down the drilling, Svend calls for Professor Martens who takes the flesh to his lab. Later on as Svend finds more hunks of flesh of the beast, he delivers them to the Professor whose two daughters have formed a crush on him. One night by accident the freezer door where the flesh is held is left open, and this causes the flesh to grow and heal causing them to inform the United Nations of the discovery who in turn send two military men to supervise the experiment. The army once at the lab dismiss the chunk of flesh as a joke and seem not to be bothered that it has grown 100 times its size in eight days. But things change when a freak thunderstorm roles in and a blot of lightning strikes the tank releasing the flesh that has now grown massive and is called Reptilicus! Professor Martin and the Army come together fast to try and figure out a way to bring down this massive monster and each attempt fails as Reptilicus keeps growing and even learns to fly causing chaos and destruction every where he goes. In the end General Grayson and Professor Miller create a drug that they load into a shell and fire at the creature knocking it out and leaving it open to be disposed of, but little do they know a piece of Reptilicus skin is in the ocean waiting to grow and bring the monster back.

The plot of this comic adaptation is based on both the American Version of the film as well as the Danish Version and delivers a fun read for fans of this monster flick. The major downside is that it’s an hour and twenty minute movie crammed into twenty pages and keeps lots of the boring science and military talk from the film in. The plot is pretty cut and dry and has a blob of flesh being discovered that regenerates into a massive monster that breaks free from a lab and goes onto a massive rampage in Demark as the scientist and army try to figure out a way to stop it. Professor Martens is one of the heroes of this tale as his knowledge of these types of creatures as well as his research on the skin allows him to stop the army from making big mistakes like blowing it up and causing all the small pieces to become full fledged Reptilici (Repitilicuses?)! General Grayson is also a hero as he does not back down from the creatures and does not allow his failed attempts to shake his nerves as he wants to save the people and stop the monsters rampage once and for all. Reptilicus is one mad giant monster who wants to take out all his rage and hatred on humankind and seems to not be phased when attacked by some of mankind’s most used weapons of murder. He also is so powerful that he does not stop when attacked and in fact it only seems to make him rampage more! The comic is bloodless and the body count is very low and all shown off pane, but it fits for this style of Horror Comic. The scares come more in the vein of nature running amuck and the idea of a massive beast crushing your city than blood, guts and gore. The cover for this issue is pretty great and is very eye catching for fans of 60’s monster movies, and the interior art is done by the team of Bill Moino and Vince Alascia and is fantastic classic style. If you like the film Reptilicus and enjoy Kaiju in your Horror Comics, this is one you should read, while not a perfect adaptation it is an enjoyable one. Check out the artwork below to see the style of this issue.

Reptilicus’s rampage might have came to an end, but not to worry friends and readers, Kaiju Month continues next update as we leave Denmark and travel to England and see what destruction Gorgo and his Mother will do! It’s weird that some Kaiju have never gotten a comic book adaptation or series as ones like Kraa!, Q The Winged Serpent and Deadly Mantis all would have made for great comics, and only time will tell if they ever will get their time to shine in the pages of a comic. So until next time, watch out for giant monsters, 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 witness the destructive power of Gorgo!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Konga (1961)

Posted on December 16, 2018 by bloodlinematt

Giant Monster Movies were all the rage back in the 1960’s and many followed in the giant footprints of the 1933 film King Kong and none followed more closely than the 1961 film Konga as it as well featured a giant gorilla running wild in a major city! And I figured covering the first issue of Konga by Charlton Comics would be a great way to talk about the film and its title monster as it’s an adaptation of the movie! So if you’re ready to once more take a look at a giant hairy movie monster with me this winter and take another journey on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update. It’s a great honor that I bring you this look at Konga, a very underrated monster movie.

We need to take a look at Konga himself before we dive into the film that he comes from. Konga was a baby chimpanzee from Africa who is brought to London, England by Dr. Charles Decker, a famed botanist who has discovered a serum to make planets and animals grow very large. Konga is the test subject for this serum and grows to the size of a full-grown gorilla, and, after being given too much of the serum, he grows to super size! Konga has a very violent streak and uses his brute strength and power to choke the life out of humans when he’s gorilla-sized and has been given the orders from Decker. As a giant ape, he has no loyalty and wants to crush and smash people in his way. Konga’s way of killing includes choking, throwing and crushing, and he can easily do so no matter his size. He not only can use his power and strength to dispatch his victims but can also use his massive size to his advantage as he towers over buildings and homes and can carry a person in his hands like a doll. But while he is a giant and strong, Konga does have weaknesses as he can be hurt by weapons like guns and rockets and while large, it also appears as if he loses some of his smarts and becomes confused easily, leaving himself open to attacks. But while he can be stopped and killed, Konga is still a force to be reckoned with and is a killer primate brute who don’t realize he is a killing machine frightful bad guy.

So as you can see, Konga is a massive powerhouse of fury and animal instinct who is a giant monster who can smash and crush us humans. But now that we all know about Konga the giant monkey, we now have to take a look at the movie he stars in! So I will be taking the film’s plot from our pals as IMDB and after I will talk a little about my connection to the film as well as some cool other facts. So let’s learn a little about Konga the film that was supposed to be the first colorized version of King Kong.

Konga (1961)

“Dr. Decker comes back from Africa after a year, presumed dead. During that year, he came across a way of growing plants and animals to an enormous size. He brings back a baby chimpanzee to test out his theory. As he has many enemies at home, he decides to use his chimp, ‘Konga’ to ‘get rid of them’. Then Konga grows to gigantic proportions and wreaks havoc all over the city of London!!”

Anglo Amalgamated and American International Pictures teamed up in around 1959 to make a release of the film Konga thanks to British producer Nat Cohen asking American producer Herman Cohen to make another Horror Picture in the U.K. after “Horrors of the Black Museum” was a major hit in theaters and drive-ins. Herman, who was a big fan of King Kong, decided that he was going to make a colorized version of a giant gorilla this time around running wild in London. So Herman, along with Aben Kandel, wrote the script to the film that was being called “I Was A Teenage Gorilla” and was later changed to Konga. Herman would hire John Lemont to direct and brings on actors like Michael Gough, Margo Johns, Claire Gordon and Paul Stockman as the man in the Konga suit. Gerard Schurmann was brought in to score the movie and was filmed in Croydon and Merton Park Studios in England. With a budget of $500,000.00 production went by pretty easy and smooth and was ready to take cinemas by storm. For marketing the film Herman also paid RKO Pictures a pretty big sum in order to use the words King Kong on his posters and marketing. When released, it was shown on a double feature with the film “Master of the World” and would go one to be a cult classic film. The year of Konga’s release, it was joined in the cinemas by such other Horror titles like Curse Of the Werewolf, Doctor Blood’s Coffin, Beast Of Yucca Flats, Gorgo, Reptilicus, Snake Woman and Brainiac to name a few. When released the film also spawned a comic book series as well as a paperback novel adaptation.

My first memory of Konga was watching it on cable when I was a youngster as I think it was on TBS and I was glued to it as it was like a generic King Kong. Over the years, the film faded in my mind and it was not until MGM released it on DVD and VHS that I remembered it and was able to watch it again, and man did I enjoy this cheesy and fun giant monster run amok film! While Konga is no King Kong, he is a nice knock off version that offers some great moments and a super sad ending that will leave an image of a street and a small chimp forever burned into your memory. Another way I remember Konga is the comic series that was released by Charlton Comics in the 60’s as I would see them at comic shops and even in a few antique stores growing up. The thing about Konga is that he is not super respected by fans of Kiju Films as many do not even put him in that category of Horror and Science Fiction Films and look down upon his rampage and size. Now most of the Kiju we think of all come from Japan or some weird island and are the likes of Godzilla, Gamera and King Kong and most lists of these films leave Konga off, but I feel he belongs. While smaller than many of the above mentioned, he still is a giant monster on a rampage. So here right now on Rotten Ink we are going to give Konga the respect that is long over due and say he is a Kiju Monster and that his film is entertaining and underrated.

So now that we have taken a look at Konga as a monster and the film that spawned him, I think we should dive into his comic adaptation released by Charlton Comics in 1960 a short time ahead of the films release as a tool to promote it before it hit theaters and drive-ins. I want to thank the Ebay seller who had this comic in stock and made this update possible. I also want to remind you that I am grading this comic on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and it’s art and story. I also want to say that I am only reviewing the first issue in this series as it’s the adaptation of the film and it would cost me a small fortune to get all the issues in this series as well as its follow up series. So if you’re ready, let’s take a look at Konga in the world of comics.

Konga # 1 ***
Released in 1960 Cover Price .10 Charlton # 1 of 23

Doctor Decker along with his pilot are flying over Africa when the plane starts to have issues. Before it crashes, Decker is able to jump out and is found by a small monkey named Konga who takes him to a village of giants. While with the giants, Decker discovers a plant that brings growth when eaten and can bridge a link between planets and humans! Decker returns home to London with some seeds and Konga and has some experiments in mind that will help mankind become more powerful than ever before. Along with his wife Margret, they inject Konga with some of the seed serum and he grows showing this experiment will be a success, but also Decker must return to his teaching job and takes on a new student aid named Sondra who’s boyfriend Bob is not happy nor is the Dean of the school who thinks Decker’s claims of planets and man being linked looks poorly on the school and says he is going to request that Decker takes time away. Decker returns home very upset and injects Konga with more of the serum and now the monkey has turned into the size of a gorilla and he picks up the anger of Decker for the Dean and escapes his cage and kills him! After the attack, Decker meets a fellow scientist who is coming close as well on figuring out planet growth being used on humans and once more after Decker thinks bad of this man Konga escapes and kills him! The crimes are going unsolved and when Sondra steps down from being Decker’s aid due to her boyfriend Bob he once more returns home and upset with the young teenage lovers, and Konga once more escapes and this time injects himself with more serum and grows to be giant and busts the house in pieces. By this time Decker has figured it out and is able to call the police before he and his wife are killed by the house falling apart after Konga busts out. The massive Konga is now in the streets of London and thanks to the Police and Army, they are able to kill the beast who shrinks back down to small monkey size.

This comic was used to help promote the movie a year before it was released, and boy is this story way different in this comic than in the movie! The plot here has Doctor Decker returning from Africa with the idea to help mankind with his experiments done with the seeds of massive planets, and when using his friend, a small monkey, as the test subject the primate grows and picks up the anger thoughts of his friend and kills his enemies for him. But things really get out of hand when the monkey injects himself with lots of the serum and grows into a massive ape that terrorizes London and must be brought down by the army. So as you can see, in the comic Konga is the true bad guy who kills and is out of control with Decker being a kind man who just wants to help mankind, while in the movie Decker is the one who uses Konga to kill and he himself is a sleaze ball with Konga being the gentle one who is forced to be a massive ape. Plus in the comic, Margret is Decker’s wife when in the film she is his assistant who loves him, not to mention in the comic he only wants Sondra to help in in class, while in the movie he wants to have relations with her! Decker here in the comic world is a nice guy who took a bad situation like a plane crash and turned it into a plan to help mankind. He has a big heart with lots of goals in life and wants nothing more than to get his experiments done and become famous for doing something that a positive. Konga starts off as a small ape who is friends with Decker as he watched after him in Africa and comes to London to be a help and soon turns their friendship into a gateway to murder as the more Konga grows, the more bloodthirsty he gets. Just like in the movie, Konga dies in the comic when he is fired on by the Army and Police and in death shrinks back down to his normal size. The comic does not have any blood or gore and the horror element comes from the off panel deaths and the fact it’s a giant ape running loose in a city! The cover for this issue is great and classic and showcases Konga bringing in fans of giant monsters as well as King Kong fans. The interior art is done by comic artist legend Steve Ditko and is really great early comic art from a man who first drew Spider-Man for Marvel and by all accounts co-created him. I think about it two years after this comic that Ditko did Amazing Fantasy # 15. Over all, this is a great early Horror Comic that was based on a film that never has gotten the respect it should. Check out the artwork below to see some of Ditko’s early comic work.

Konga is a cool cult classic film that is also a great comic book that is worth checking out in both forms of media. And think, while the film was only one, the comic series lasted 23 issues and had a second series that lasted 3 issues. So if you love Konga, his giant sized adventures continued in ink for you to enjoy. So while we must leave London and Konga behind, our next update will place us on Christmas Eve and after some major thought and eliminations I decided that I will take a look at Garfield’s Christmas Special as well as have a NES Challenge of the unreleased Garfield video game! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a giant monster movie or two and as always spend some time with your loved ones. See you next update for a fun time with Garfield as well as the NES.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Die, Monster, Die! (1965)

Posted on April 27, 2018 by bloodlinematt

In the 1960’s Dell Comics was a major comic publisher who made lots of great comics based on cartoon characters, TV shows and movies. And among these titles, of course, many Horror Films got the comic treatment with many being the Edgar Allen Poe films of Roger Corman as well as a handful of others. One of the Horror films that got the Dell Comics treatment was the 1965 film Die, Monster, Die! This film stars Boris Karloff and has inspired many creative minds even in the world of music like The Misfits who based a song around this movie. This Horror Film is based off the story “The Colour Out Of Space” by H.P. Lovecraft and did its part to shock movie goers with its thrilling, mystery style of horror. So it’s my pleasure to bring you this very classic horror version of one of my “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” updates as we take a look at this creepy horror film and the comic based on it.

The first thing we need to look at is the film’s evil villain that is the wheelchair bound Nahum Witley and his radiated meteorite that he uses on planets and humans. Nahum is a man who likes to be in control and hide what he is doing as he is just following in the weird footsteps of his late father. Nahum has in his green house his mutated maid as well as planets and animals that are not under his control with his maid Helga hating him, and even his wife and daughter seem to have a dislike for him and his demanding cold ways. After an accident Nahum himself is mutated into a glowing green monster who is filled with rage as well as has the will to choke and kill his target victim! As a man he is not a threat as he is a weakened old man whose mind is being poisoned by the meteorite and cannot cause any damage. But as mutated Nahum, he is more powerful and has the power to kill with his bare hands as well as use his glowing green skin appearance to strike fear into the hearts of his victims. He also is radioactive and gives off a loud humming noise that is distracting to his human prey. The thing about Nahum is that he did not intend to be a bad person, it’s his vanity of wanting his estate to be beautiful that has driven him to be the keeper of the radiated meteorite, and when trying to rid himself of it, he soon pays the price of owning it as it takes him over. He does have a weakness that can lead to his destruction and that’s being radiated leaves his body very combustible and with a good fall or if hit hard enough, he will break apart and catch fire! While Nahum might not be the most powerful or spooky monster we have covered in one of these updates, he still is a deadly one if given the chance.

So now that we have learned about Nahum Witley and his meteorite that causes mutations, its time for us to take a look at the movie. As always we will take the films right up from our pals at IMDB and after I will write a little about the production of the film as well as some memories of watching it for the first time and my thoughts about it. So if you’re ready lets get to the film aspect of Die, Monster, Die!

Die, Monster, Die! (1965)

“A young man visits his fiancée’s estate to discover that her wheelchair-bound scientist father has discovered a meteorite that emits mutating radiation rays that have turned the plants in his greenhouse to giants. When his own wife falls victim to this mysterious power, the old man takes it upon himself to destroy the glowing object with disastrous results.”

Die Monster Die! was released in theaters on October 27, 1965 and was an American and British co-production that was produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff and released by American International Pictures. Jerry Sohl, who also wrote novels as well as episodes of The Twilight Zone and Star Trek, wrote the script, and he based it on a story by H.P. Lovecraft, and the directing duties went to Daniel Haller who also directed the horror film The Dunwich Horror. The film brought on a solid and great cast with names like Boris Karloff, Patrick Magee, Suzan Farmer, Nick Adams and Freda Jackson all who delivered top notch performances. When released originally, it was shown as a double feature with the film Planet Of The Vampires and was met with mixed reviews from critics and movie goers. The film later found a fan base when it finally was shown on TV and later on home media like VHS and DVD. While not held as an all time classic horror movie Die, Monster, Die! has gained a cult following over its release.

The first time I saw this film was on cable when growing up. I can remember it was a weekend when it came on and I found it to be an entertaining and was always drawn to films that starred Boris Karloff. The thing that I have always liked about this film is the atmosphere of the old mansion and its over grown land that has think fog rolling around, the creepy silence of the massive home not to even mention the creepy mutated people, animals and plants! The other great thing about this film is that it mostly takes place at the Witley mansion and its grounds that is so far away from the town or any neighbors giving the viewers a sense of isolation and dread. The cast is fantastic with Boris Karloff as Nahum Witley who gives a fantastic performance as does Nick Adams as Stephen Reinhart. The way they play off each other with distain and distrust is classic horror movie stuff. As a life long horror fan growing up watching everything from silent films to slashers films, I have always enjoyed this film and think that it’s a sometimes over looked horror thriller that blends both haunted house movie and alien unknown creature sub genres together and delivers a spooky film that relies on chills and not blood spills. If you have never seen this film and enjoy the works of Boris Karloff and even H.P. Lovecraft then make sure to check this film out, as it’s a good old school horror film with some great characters and a paperback novel like story.

Die, Monster, Die! Is an interesting film to make into a Horror Comic, as it will be very hard for DELL Comics to capture the eerie mood and atmosphere that made this film work and be so scary for viewers in the 60’s and beyond. I also want to point out that up to this point, I think this is the oldest film and comic adaptation that I have covered on one of my From Horror Movie To Horror Comic updates! So while we make our way through this fog, I want to remind you all that I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. I want to thank Bell, Book And Comic for having this issue in stock and making this update possible. So we are now at the Witley Mansion, and I think it’s time to relax for a moment and take a look at the comic adaptation of this 60’s horror fright flick! Oh yes and I must say that this comic was a part of DELL’s “Movie Classics” comic line.

Die, Monster, Die! # 1 **1/2
Released in 1966 Cover Price .12 DELL #603 of ?

Scientist Stephen Reinhart has received a letter to come visit the home of the woman he loves, Susan, who lives in the small town of Arkham. But Stephen soon finds that no one wants to drive him to the Wintley Mansion, and once he walks there, he finds that her father Nahum does not want him there, but seeing Susan makes him not listen to her father’s words. Susan shows Stephen around the mansion and introduces him to her sick bedridden mother Letitia who speaks to Stephen alone and begs him to take her daughter far away from the mansion! Stephen starts to notice strange things and finds books on the occult as well as the family butler faints for no reason. All the while Nahum is mad over the young man being there and argues with his wife about it and his secret work that he thinks will bring the family riches. While wandering the grounds of the mansion is a strange hooded figure with long fingernails who seems to spy on Susan, causing Stephen to really want them to leave as soon as possible. And later that night the Butler dies and Stephen watches in the shadows as Nahum buries him in an unmarked grave in the green house. Stephen needs to speak to someone about the weirdness of the family and goes to town and talks to the mostly retired doctor, who shares info about how some of the past Wintley members died. Once back at the mansion Stephen and Susan sneak into the locked greenhouse and find that animals and planets have grown to large size and are very dangerous! The couple soon go back to the mansion where Stephen goes to the cellar and finds the massive rock that is causing all the sickness and death as well as is confronted by Nahum who finally sees the errors of his ways, but before anything can be done, Letitia who is now transformed rushes outside into the rain and has the water drops kill her as those infected cannot get wet! After the burial of Letitia, the family makes plans to split ways as Susan is to leave with Stephen and Nahum goes back to the mansion to destroy the rock that, when hit, spawns a living energy that enters Nahum who attacks Stephen, as the possessed energy Nahum leaps at Stephen he falls to the ground dying on impact and catching on fire his remains and the mansion. In the end Stephen and Susan escape the burning mansion, and so ends the legacy of the Wintley family.

I want to start off by saying this while this comic adaptation is really entertaining and a good classic spooky horror comic read, it does however seem to be lacking all the great atmosphere from the movie and speeds up the plot taking away the suspense. The plot is very simple and has a young man visiting his girlfriend’s family at the request of the sick mother and soon finds that the family has a very dark secret that revolves around a rock that fell from space and the father’s quest to make the family’s name mean something again. Our stories hero is Stephen Reinhart, a man who is smart and in love with his lady who rushes to her hometown in order to visit and has been chosen by her mother to take the young woman away from their mansion home. Stephen also really heroes up when needed and saves the day numerous times including fighting off killer planets and even going toe to toe with a radioactive killer. Susan is a normal young woman who is trapped in a home that is surrounded by mystery and does not want to leave her sick mother behind. She is also clueless as things around her are clearly odd and she does not question nor seek the truth until Stephen forces her to see the stuff going on. Letitia Wintley is a sickly old woman who is slowly losing her mind due to the radiation off the stone. She loves her daughter very much and is starting to question her husband and his attentions as she slowly gets sicker and sicker until she turns into a ghoul that is killed by water. Nahum Wintley is a man who is proud of his family heritage, and even after it was run through the mud, he craves to make the name mean something again and thinks that a rock he found that fell from space and makes things grow fast is the key to become the star he thinks he should be. Sadly this consumes him and forces him to make bad decisions that even leaves people he cares about dead. While he’s not a bad person, he is a very self absorbed person who by the time he snaps out of it is possessed and taken over by the rock that turns him into a walking radioactive unstable firebomb. The comic does have some classic spooky moments, and while it does have deaths, none of them are bloody and gory. The cover for this comic is a photo of Boris Karloff as Nahum Wintley with an ax and is pretty eye catching for fans of the film and classic horror actor. The art was done by an Un-Credited Artist and is pretty good stuff and has that Dell Comics charm to it, as strangely enough the character art looks oddly like the actors who played them. Over all this is a pretty cool comic adaptation that does an okay job of bringing the film to pages, only down side is plot had to be crammed down and the atmosphere of the film is missing. Check out the art below to see the art style used in this comic, and really is worth a read and owning for fans of the film.

It makes you wonder if DELL Comics would have lasted past 1974, what other Horror and Science Fiction films would have gotten the comic adaptation treatment? Then it also makes me wonder why no one has brought Dell back to the world of Independent Comics. Imagine some of the other Karloff titles they could have made that would have gone along with the likes of Die, Monster, Die! For our next update, we will be staying in the world of Horror Comics but will not be looking at one based on a movie but one from a indie company that much like Dell makes you wonder what could have come from them. The company is B-Movie Comics, and the title is Vault Of Doomnation. So until then, 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 some spooky good times.