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

Posted on September 13, 2026 by bloodlinematt

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

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

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

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Willy’s Wonderland (2021)

Posted on October 31, 2025 by bloodlinematt

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Welcome back to Rotten Ink, and boy do we have a fun and over the top “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” for you readers this time as we will be talking about Willy’s Wonderland, a very cool indie horror film that takes things like pizza restaurant “Chuck E. Cheese” and game series “Five Nights At Freddy’s” to more of the extreme and dashes in Satan and flesh eating for good measure! The film was a cult classic out of the gate and over the years gains more and more fans thanks to home media, streaming and the horror comic mini series we will be taking a look at here. For me Willy’s Wonderland is such a fun and creepy watch as I grew up going to birthday parties as places like Showbiz Pizza and Check E. Cheese that had animatronic characters singing and entertaining the customers. So if you are ready, let’s order a pizza and some soda and grab a table as Willy and his friends are about to perform and put on one killer show, and I am sure that we will have a bloody good time.

The Animatronics with the souls of dead serial killers are the villains of this series and are lead by Willy Weasel and his friends include Tito Turtle, Knighty Knight, Arty Alligator, Siren Sara, Cammy Chameleon, Gus Gorilla and Ozzie Ostrich and they are twisted and cold blooded and love to kill. Willy and his demonic animatronic crew have many ways to deal death as many have sharp claws and sharp teeth or beaks that very quickly rip and tear flesh and with these tools, they can dispatch a human very easy from major loss of blood and guts being removed with brutal fury. They also eat the human flesh and that is what helps keep them alive. In the case of Knighty Knight, he has a sword that he uses to cut off body parts or even just rams it through your body and do to his power he can deal death blows with one movement. While many of them are also strong, it’s Gus Gorilla who has more strength and can break bones and squeeze the life right out of you. While Cammy Chameleon can use her tongue to wrap around victims as well as can choke them to death and snap necks. While most of them are slow moving Siren Sara is fast and can use her speed to trap and murder her prey. And let’s not also rule out their appearance as its frightful and causes people to freeze in fear as well as cannot believe what is coming at them. They are also very sneaky and use their tricks in order to snag and kill their targets including the gift of manipulation. They can and will also kill and attack in groups but are just as deadly on their own. They are also Satanic and get their powers from a pact they made with the Devil making them very evil and mean spirited. But they are not immortal and can be killed by all sorts of ways with ripping of their heads being a big way to kill them you can also smash, crush, blow up, run over and dismember them and that will stop them as well. But while they can be defeated, Willy and his gang are very dangerous and could rank high for their killing ways in the world of From Horror Movie To Horror Comic updates.

So as you can see, Willy Weasel and his friends are killing machines and can take a human life in seconds and enjoy doing so as they eat the flesh and guts of their victims. But it’s now time to talk about the film Willy’s Wonderland that Willy Weasel is from and this is going to be a fun one! Like always, we will be taking the film’s write up from our pals at IMDB and then I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts of the film. So if you are ready, let’s find our chairs as Willy and his friends are about to put on a show.

Willy’s Wonderland (2021)

“A quiet loner finds himself stranded in a remote town when his car breaks down. Unable to pay for the repairs he needs, he agrees to spend the night cleaning Willy’s Wonderland, an abandoned family fun center. But this wonderland has a dark secret that the “The Janitor” is about to discover. He soon finds himself trapped inside Willy’s and locked in an epic battle with the possessed animatronic mascots that roam the halls. To survive, he must fight his way through each of them.”

G.O. Parsons worked on a horror script that was called “Wally’s Wonderland” and placed it on the website Blood List that is a website that industry workers can take a look at and vote on scripts in the horror and sci-fi genres. And that is when Screen Media Films as well as actor Nicolas Cage would step in to help produce and distribute the film, and Cage would even come on board to act in the film. Also on board were producers Jeremy Davis and Grant Cramer, and the film was gaining major attention from fans as well as horror news websites and building it up already to become a cult classic. The film would also get a name changed to “Willy’s Wonderland” and some of the killer animatronics would also change. The film would get a budget of $5 million and filming would start in February 2020 and took place in Atlanta, Georgia and a closed bowling alley was used as Willy’s Wonderland restaurant. Actors brought in include Emily Tosta, Ric Reitz, Caylee Cowan, Beth Grant and Chris Warner, to name a few. Once the film was ready it was scored by Emoi and it would have a limited theatrical run on February 12, 2021 and would bring in around $457,144.00 worldwide and would find cult statues via home media and streaming. The film was released that year alongside other horror films like Werewolves Within, The Night House, Antlers, Malignant, The Unholy and Halloween Kills to name a few. The film was meet with mixed reviews by critics and had better reviews by fans and the feedback also has sparked talks of a sequel that could be made in the future.

Willy’s Wonderland is one heck of a fun and gory film that packs in blood kills, creepy killer animatronics characters and even Nicolas Cage turns in a great mute performance as the badass Janitor. This was a film that I sadly missed when it had a limited run in the theaters and to be honest I am not sure what theater around here even showed it. I had to wait for the film to come to home media before seeing it, and I have to say I was a fan from the very start as you can never go wrong with a film that has killer animatronic characters running wild in a rundown fast food joint. And I have to say at first I was not going to give the film a watch as I was so sick of all the Nicolas Cage memes and how he became every ones “favorite” actor for his over the top performances and before this odd movie roles and spending choices. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Nicolas Cage and enjoy many of his moves over the years like Raising Arizona, Vampire’s Kiss, Con Air, 8mm and more, what I had an issue with was the mocking fan base who made him into a walking internet meme. For having a low budget, I feel the film did a great job of creating gore effects as well as the costumes for the killer mascots, not to even mention that the score and music by Emoi is well done and super fitting as you have to love a movie that has a theme song that is about the film and uses the title as the chorus. I also have to point out that when seeing this film actress Caylee Cowan who plays the character Kathy Barnes blew my mind on just how pretty she is and is fantastic in her role. While of course Willy Weasel is my favorite of the baddies I would say that Knighty Knight would be my next as he reminds me of a mascot I would have seen at Burger King or even a Put-Put Golf course when I was a kid, plus he has a massive sword and likes to slice and dice with it. And while I like Willy and Knighty, I have to stress I find all of the bad guy characters interesting. Can we also talk about the fact that the town allows people to die and be eaten by Willy in order to keep him in check, and that everyone seems to be in on this besides the town’s kids as the sheriff, mechanic and building owner are trick people into going inside knowing they will never get out alive…now that is truly a town with a big dirty secret. Man it seems like I have a lot to say about Willy’s Wonderland but I will wrap it up with it’s a fun film that deserves its cult following and I hope that a sequel is made soon as I would love to see it.

As you can see, Willy Weasel and his friends are one mean pack of killers who love to kill and eat their victims and you can also see that the film is a modern cult classic because it brings something fun to the killer machine subgenre. But now it’s time to take a look at the comic series and I would like to thank Game Swap Kettering having these issues in stock and making this update possible. And I also want to thank American Mythology Comics for making this comic as well as so many other series that are based on horror films and giving is horror comic readers some amazing stuff to read. I want to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head into Willy’s Wonderland for some cheap food, but I think we should stay away from the Super Happy Fun Room.

Willy’s Wonderland # 1 ***
Released in 2021 Cover Price $3.99 American Mythology # 1 of 4

Three homeless people have made a shelter out of Willy’s Wonderland to escape the rain and to have a place to eat, when they are attacked, killed and eaten by Willy Weasel and his friends. A few years later Tex Macadoo has bought Willy’s Wonderland to reopen and has even hired Jeb Love to work maintenance on the animatronics and holds a sneak peek for the press and some families before that nights grand opening and the towns Sheriff as well as Deputy Eloise Lund think opening this place is a bad idea after all the murders that took place inside those walls. Once inside Knighty Knight almost chops in half a parent who just in time ducked down to tie his shoe, and no one noticed this besides the man son and Tex who ushers people out and Jeb goes to work on Knighty. The staff of Willy’s Wonderland go to work on cleaning up and getting ready for the night, when Bella who is also the young lover of Tex is killed by Willy and his friends to make a point to Tex who is then informed by Jeb that the spirits of the past owner and workers all who were murders are in side the animatronics and they need to be feed with human flesh or the whole town is in trouble and Willy Weasel is pure evil. Throughout this we also get flashbacks to killer Jerry Robert Willis who would become Willy Weasel and the past owner and Sara a dancer who killed her cheating husband and his mistress and she would go on to become Siren Sara.

The first issue of Willy’s Wonderland is a great read and does a great job of being the prequel to the film as we get to see a few of the kills that happen before the film as well as we get a look at the evil satanic killers that’s spirits end up in the animatronic characters at the restaurant. The plot of the issue is about Tex Macadoo opening back up Willy’s Wonderland after a series of murders and disappearances, only to learn that the place houses Willy Weasel and his friends who are the vessels for the spirits of satanic killers that use to work and own the restaurant. Tex Macadoo is a man who had big dreams of making big money, but soon finds out that he has instead opened a nightmare for those who come to eat and play games there as well as he now has a curse on his hands. Jeb Love who is the town’s mechanic as well as maintenance guy for the reopened Willy’s and is also the one who figures out and has to tell Tex about Willy and his flesh eating friends. Willy Weasel and his friends are very cold blooded and enjoy killing and eating their victims and do so very mean spirited, they in fact kill a young female staff member just to show Tex that they mean business and need to feed and need to kill. I really like that they give the backstory for Jerry Robert Willis who was a serial killer of families that he would trick them by acting as if he is a photographer of family portraits, and then he would butcher them all…he of course would end up becoming Willy Weasel. We also get a look at Sara who was a dancer who during a performance learns that her lover is cheating on her with another dancer and she kills them both and shows off their bodies on stage. We also see that Jerry and Sara both are at the same mental asylum and are becoming friends as they are both monsters inside. The issue is filled with lots of blood and gore that will surely make Horror Comic readers happy. The cover is great and very eye catching for the fans of the film and the interior art done by Puis Calzada is top notch as I like the way he draws Willy and his friends as well as the brutal killings the commit. Over all this is a great first issue and has me hooked on wanting to see what is next.

Willy’s Wonderland # 2 ***
Released in 2021 Cover Price $3.99 American Mythology # 2 of 4

Business is going good at the newly reopened Willy’s Wonderland but reports of people going missing in the town start going around including one man who Willy Weasel kills outback behind the restaurant. The Sheriff and Deputy come to investigate and Tex makes up a story and they leave him be for the time being. Meanwhile a little later another staff worker that is cleaning the bathroom is brutally killed by Tito Turtle and Arty Alligator as they are hungry and he was in the wrong place at the right time for them as it was lunchtime! Meanwhile a rich man comes in with lots of money and wants to rent Willy’s Wonderland for the night in order for his Grandson and his friends to have a sleepover for his Birthday…Tex agrees but knows this is a bad idea. While the party is going on, one of the female staff is having to chase around some kids and when they get away she is killed by Siren Sara. And a little later Jed locks two parents who are complaining about the pizza in a closet were they are murdered by Knighty Knight and Cammy Chameleon, as they are hungry and just want to kill. But things go really wrong when the Birthday Cake comes out and is a severed head and Willy Weasel and the rest of his friends go on a killing spree killing kids, parents and staff in a blood frenzy. Two staff members escape as does Tex and Jed, and when the Sheriff shows up he warns Tex that he can not cover up this slaughter and that the restaurant is now closed for good. We also are treated to the human background stories of Arty Alligator, Gus Gorilla and Cammy Chameleon.

The body count rises, and Willy Weasel and his friends are more blood thirsty in this second issue of Willy’s Wonderland! The plot of this issue has a sleepover-taking place at the restaurant and what should be a happy birthday party with friends and family together turns into a bloodbath when Willy and the rest need to feed on flesh and chaos. And this issue is filled with lots of blood and gore that includes people being ripped in two, flesh is bitten off and people are chopped in half by a sword…as you can see this one is filled with violence. The backstories we get in this issue are also very interesting as we get a look at the humans that would become the killer animatronics. Gus Gorilla is a man who worked at the zoo who is pushed to hard by his boss who likes to call him names plus miss treats him, and she then finds herself being punched to death till her face caves in. We also see that Cammy Chameleon is a woman in the Asylum that has split personalities. And we see that Arty Alligator was a serial killer who after murdering people would use their blood to paint pictures on the walls. We also see that these three end up becoming friends with Jerry Robert Willis and Sara in the asylum and that Jerry is having control over them and has them play twisted games while locked up. Tex Macadoo makes a big mistake in this issue as he knows that Willy wants to kill and has been killing but because of money he allows a over night birthday party to take place at the restaurant and this leads to a lot of people dying. It’s also made clear that Tex and Jed are paying off the Sheriff in order to not look to deep into the missing person cases that are happing and that the police force is as greedy as Tex is. The cover is very cool and features Gus Gorilla and Tito Turtle and connects to issue one to build a scene of the stage. Once more the interior art is done by Puis Calzada and is great stuff as once more the way he draws Willy and friends is great, plus he sure can draw some crazy murder! Another fun, spooky, gory and simple issue that does Willy’s Wonderland the film justice, let’s see what issue three has in store for us.

Willy’s Wonderland # 3 ***
Released in 2022 Cover Price $3.99 American Mythology # 3 of 4

At the home of the man who has been hired to demolish the Willy’s Wonderland building they are attacked and killed brutally by Gus Gorilla, Tito Turtle and Cammy Chameleon as they are not going to allow their home and feeding ground to be destroyed. A few nights later The Sheriff and Deputy Lund head to Willy’s and find Tex Macadoo inside dirty and very much in distress over the slaughter that took place there and that he witnessed, the officers get him out of the building as Willy watches them do so from the shadows. But the town is now a slaughter house as Willy sends his friends out to kill and feast on the townspeople with Tito Turtle and Arty Alligator killing the hardware store owner, Knighty Knight and Cammy Chameleon kill the ice cream man, Siren Sara and Gus Gorilla kills the High School Janitor and his lady and finally Willy along with all the others head to the basketball game and kill and attack the players as well as the fans and are chased off by The Sheriff and Deputy who now know they have to head to Willy’s Wonderland and fight with these monsters. Tex wakes up in the garage of Jed who informs him that this nightmare is far from over while the surviving staff get together and arm themselves as they want to bring down Willy for taking their friends life. We also get the human background story for Knight Knight, Tito Turtle and Ozzie Ostrich plus we get to see how Jerry Robert Willis is able to get more and more psychos in his group from the asylum.

The third issue is very entertaining as the plot has Willy Weasel and his friends going on a killing rampage in the town to show that they mean business and that no one will ever destroy their home and hunting ground and if something does happen then they will be free roaming in the town killing anyone they want. Poor Tex Macadoo is really upset about the massacre that took place at his restaurant and is drinking his sorrows away, but is more horrified when he learns that he will have to keep helping them feed. A cool subplot that is happening as well is the two staff that survived the massacre gearing up in order to avenge their friends by killing Willy and the gang. Willy Weasel is clearly calling the shots as he sends his friends out in groups in order to kill as many people as possible that night and you can tell he is doing so to prove that he is in charge and that the humans need to also live in fear of his wrath and hunger. Siren Sara also shows that she is a cold blooded killing machine as between her and Gus Gorilla I think they seem to be having the most fun killing. This issue is very bloody and is packed with gore and kills and some of downright gruesome as one kill has them using a ice cream scoop on the eyes of a victim with another having Willy smash in a basketball players face with a basketball. The human origin stories we get this issue are for Ozzie Ostrich who was a killer that choked his victims to death due to the abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother. We see that Knighty Knight worked at a renascence festival and finally snaps from taking verbal abuse from some of the guests and snaps and kills them with his sword. And we see that Tito Turtle was a field worker who killed all his sleeping co-workers one night. And with them Jerry Robert Willis has seven followers who he friends them all do to their killing ways. The cover is another great one that fits in with the first two issues to build the stage and on this issue the main focus is Knighty Knight and Cammy Chameleon. The interior art is done by Puis Calzada and is great stuff like before and more Horror Comic publishers should be hiring this guy. Another fantastic issue, and I cannot wait to see what the next issue has in store for us as we know a big clash is bout to go down!

Willy’s Wonderland # 4 ***
Released in 2022 Cover Price $3.99 American Mythology # 4 of 4

The Sheriff, Deputy Lund and Tex gets the town people together all armed and head into Willy’s Wonderland in order to get revenge for all the killings, but they are unprepared as Willy Weasel and his friends slaughter everyone including the two surviving staff members and they make sure to do so in very bloody and sick ways almost tormenting and taunting people as they murder them. Once inside Jed Love arrives as Willy Weasel and his friends stand behind him and he tells Tex and Deputy Lund the other two survivors that it’s simple if they all want to live all they need to do is feed them buy giving them people and in front of them gives Willy and the rest a family…but not before Lund takes the young girl from the sacrificed family as she can not bare for her to be slaughtered. In the end some time has passed and Jed with the help of Tex and now Sheriff Lund bring a man to Willy’s Wonderland after he ran over a bed of nails. The man is clearly the brother of The Janitor who is the lead character in the film. This issue also showcases how Jerry Robert Willis along with the rest of his psycho friends are able to escape the asylum and by doing so they kill a ton of nurses, orderlies and even the Doctor before stealing a truck and making the big break were they find the building and plan on opening Willy’s Wonderland.

This is truly the final showdown between the town and the evils of Willy’s Wonderland that sadly ends with evil being the winner as Willy Weasel and his friends massacre everyone who goes against them and then forces those who survive that have some sort of power to now work for them by bringing them people to kill and eat. Willy Weasel is a true evil mastermind as he both as a human and as a killer animatronic called all the shots of his friends who will do whatever he orders and he really is a very dangerous and evil person or should I say thing? His friends as well are all very dangerous with each of them having their own ways of dealing death to victims and I would say that Siren Sara, Gorilla Gus, Knighty Knight and Tito Turtle are some of the more violent ones with all the others following behind them with Arty Alligator almost being in this series one of the most violent as he even at one point drives an axe into the skull of a man. Finally in this issue as well the Sheriff and Tex Macadoo try and do the right thing after three issues of allowing money to control their bad decisions that lead to many people dying. It’s odd that in the comic series Jed Love is very much connected to Willy Weasel and his friends and almost seems like he is friends with them and is not bothered by feeding them people, when in the movie he almost seems like he hated what he had to do and feared them. It’s also interesting to watch Eloise Lund go from hero Deputy to by the end becoming Sheriff and going along with the idea of leading people into Willy’s grip. Plus we have to mention that its clear that The Janitor’s brother was a victim of Willy Weasel and maybe that is why he was driving around that part of the state as he might have been looking for his brother, and for those who don’t know The Janitor is the character Nicolas Cage plays in the movie. The issue is very bloody and gore filled as is the whole series, and it does a good job of doing the film justice even though it does make some changes when it comes to the looks of the killers that would become the animatronic killers as the comic and film versions look very different from each other. The cover for this issue is cool and is the final part of the stage and shows Arty Alligator and Siren Sara being all murderous, and once more Puis Calzada does the interior art and it’s fantastic stuff. I think that Willy’s Wonderland makes for a great comic series, and I hope that more issues are released in the future as this film’s character make for great source material for quality Horror Comics. Check out some of the artwork below to see the style used by Puis Calzada in this mini series.

As you can see, Willy’s Wonderland made for a great horror comic mini-series, and it did a great job of also showing the history of the human versions of the killers and tells about their horrific crimes that lead them into an asylum and into the grips of the future Willy Weasel. And I have to give American Mythology one more shout out for being a cool indie comic company and doing these comic based on all types of horror films. If you have not read these comics, go check them out as I think if you are a fan of the film you will really enjoy this series, and if you have not seen the film ,make sure to do so as it’s a fun bloody ride. Well now that we have escaped Willy’s Wonderland and have drunk a few Punch Soda’s I think I should let you know that our next update will keep with the Spooky Horror Theme as we will be talking about my best Horror Games Countdown for the Sony Playstation! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. Man I cannot wait for the next update as talking about horror video games is a perfect way to kick off our countdown to Thanksgiving right?