From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Return Of The Living Dead (1985)

Posted on October 2, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Happy October 2024! For this one, we will be having a very cool “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update that will be based on one of my favorite 80’s zombie films, a film with an amazing soundtrack, great characters and has scary and yet funny zombies and I am of course talking about the horror comedy film Return Of The Living Dead from 1985! This punk rock Horror fright flick is a staple for many fans of the genre as it not only has creepy moments but it also has some great funny ones highlighted by iconic songs that stick in your brain your whole life. What we will be taking a look at for this review is a graphic novel written by actor Don Calfa who played Mortician Ernie in the film based on his script for the film’s sequel that he wanted to get made way back when. So if you are ready, let’s party with the dead at the local cemetery and see if Trash will take off her cloths again!

The zombies that make up Return Of The Living Dead are super dangerous and could be some of the most dangerous undead we have ever covered here on Rotten Ink! The zombies in this film are mostly pack killers and swarm a victim given a human no place to escape. They come in all types of decay, from the newly dead to the long dead with only a skeleton remaining, and this grizzly appearance they have is enough to scare the life out of their victims and cause extreme panic. The zombies use their teeth and hands to rip and tear human skin and even skulls apart as they eat brains and this is a very painful death for the living. The zombies also can move fast and run as well as can speak and have intelligence that they use to trick and capture their next meal. They are reanimated back to life thanks to Trioxin, a gas created by the government that can also infect the living if exposed direct to it making the infected person slowly die and turn into a brain craver. The zombies also can survive attacks and even removal of body parts, in fact the pieces even try to attack making their danger level even higher for the living as every part of them want to try and make you dead. But while hacking, smashing and shooting don’t seem to work, even if you target the brain they can be stopped by being burnt to ashes and as well being blown to bits thanks to say a massive bomb dropped on them. But even with that, people need to be scared as the smoke from their burning flesh will infect the weather and cause acid rain that once it leaks into the ground at your local cemetery the dead will rise again and this cycle will repeat. I truly think up to this point on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update that the zombies from Return Of The Living Dead are the most dangerous ones we have covered, as it seems that only luck can truly stop them from expanding their ever growing army.

Okay, now that we know how the zombie kill and just how dangerous they are to the living in the Return Of The Living Dead universe, let’s now take some time and chat about the iconic film they are from as we head to the party of the living dead! And like always, I will be taking the film’s write up from our friends at IMDB and then after that I will be writing about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on it. So wear a helmet, as these partygoers want brains and be aware they also stink to high heaven!

Return Of The Living Dead (1985)

“When a bumbling pair of employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to re-animate as they go on a rampage through Louisville, Kentucky seeking their favorite food, brains.”

Return Of The Living Dead originally was the brainchild of Night Of The Living Dead co-creator John Russo, who, after splitting away from George A. Romero, ended up owning the “Living Dead” aspect of the film. In 1979, he wrote a sequel to the film called “Return Of The Living Dead” as a novel and years down the line producer Tom Fox wanted to bring his novel to the big screen in 3D with Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper at the helm. But after Hooper left the project scriptwriter Dan O’Bannon was brought in to direct as well as rewrite the script as many of the people involved in the film’s production thought that Russo’s draft was weak and slightly cheesy. The film was then cast with such names as Clu Gulager, Don Calfa, James Karen, Thom Mathews, Miguel A. Nunez Jr., Jewel Shepard and Linnea Quigley to name a few making up our human cast and names like Allan Trautman, Jerome Coleman, Terrence Houlihan and David Bond being casted in undead roles. The film was shot in Bakersfield, California and was a stressful experience for the actors and crew as this was O’Bannon’s first film and he and producers seemed to clash over much of the film’s very tight filming schedule. The films music was from such bands as The Cramps, The Damned, SSQ, 45 Grave and Roky Erickson and became truly part of the film’s cult following. The film was released in theaters on August 16, 1985 and did pretty well at the American Box Office bringing in over $14.2 million dollars on a budget of $4 million. And the film was a hit with film critics and fans and would go on to gain even more cult status when released on home media as well as shown on cable TV. The film was released alongside these other classic Horror and Cult films Teen Wolf, A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, Fright Night, Weird Science, Friday The 13^th V: A New Beginning, Cat’s Eye, Silver Bullet, Lifeforce, Once Bitten, Godzilla 1985, The Bride, Re-Animator and my favorite Zombie film of all time Day Of The Dead. And for those of you who really want an in-depth look at the making of this film, check out the documentary called “More Brains! A Return To The Living Dead” as it deep dives into the film’s history and showcases it better than I ever could.

Return Of The Living Dead was a film I first saw on VHS when my brother and I rented it from a local video store and it quickly became one of my favorites as everything about it brought me so much joy and entertainment! I can remember loving the looks of the zombies and of course Tarman was the standout of the undead creatures but I also always liked the rotten look of them all as when I think of zombies these mixed with the Romero amd Fulci film versions are what comes to mind. The film also had a kickass soundtrack with lots of super catchy songs with the likes of “Surfin’ Dead” by The Cramps, “Partytime” by 45 Grave, “Dead Beat Dance” by The Damned and “Tonight (We’ll Make Love Until We Die)” by SSQ being some of my favorites, and it was great hearing The Damned on a soundtrack as they were a band I was a big fan of thanks to the BBC show “The Young Ones” were they performed the song Nasty for a Halloween special. Way back before the days of DVD and Blu-Ray, I had to find this film on VHS to own and that was a quest as the film was very hard to find, and when you did finally find it, the tape carried a very high price tag, and when I finally found it at a second had store I felt like I had found one of the holy grails to my collection…now the film is super easy to find on every format, but for that brief time I can remember all my friends who were into Horror always wanted to watch it when they came over. My favorite character in the film was Spider played by one of my favorite genre actors Miguel A. Nunez Jr. as the character is a punk but also seems to truly care about his friends as well as the safety for other people, and of course everybody loves Trash played by Linnea Quigley as what is not to love about a sexy naked punk rock woman who ends up turning into a brain eating zombie! I am sure I am not the only one who is going to say this, but if you love 80’s Horror, Zombie Films and just Horror in general and have not seen this one, make sure to watch Return Of The Living Dead as it is a fun Horror Comedy film that brings the blood splatter and belly laughs. Also do yourself a favor and just buy this film on VHS, DVD or Blu-Ray as it as well as the films soundtrack on Cassette, Vinyl or CD are working owning in your collection.

I love Return Of The Living Dead, as it’s a film that is easily in my Top 5 Favorite Zombie Films of all time and is a film that I think every horror fan should watch as well as own on physical media in their film collections like I have said above. There is something special about the film as all the elements just seem to work perfectly together and that’s from the directing, acting, music, effects and even set design this is just a well made and great Horror Film that deserves all the praise it gets as well as the Cult status it built for itself. We are now at the review part of this update and I would like to first thank Dead Mouse for making this Graphic Novel and making this update possible, I would also like to say Rest In Peace to actors Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Mark Venturini, Cathleen Cordell and any others that passed away as they helped make this film amazing and all did fantastic work in their respected roles. I would also like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head into the cemetery and party with the living dead.

Revenge Of The Living Dead # 1 **
Released in 2019 Cover Price $14.99 Dead Mouse # 1 of 1

The bomb has missed it’s target in Kentucky to contain the zombie outbreak and only wiped out some of them. Tina and Ernie are able to survive in the mortuary while across the street in the warehouse Spider, Casey and Chuck survive but boards have fallen on Burt, and they think he is dead. The groups all meet up at the mortuary and are happy to see some of their friends made it out alive from the undead attack as well as the army bomb attack. And best of all they find that embalming fluid can keep the zombie versions of Frank and Freddy (who both also survived) under control and Ernie comes up with the idea of taking one of the ambulances, loading it with some trioxin from the warehouse and using it as well as the two now controlled zombie to expose what the government is up to! Once back in the warehouse Spider and Ernie take out Tarman who has placed his head back on as zombie Frank and Freddy get the trioxen from the basement and load it, and then the group escape and hide as the army is moving in with foot soldiers and vehicles again and have orders to kill everything in site! Ernie and the others watch as all around them the zombies and soldiers are clashing with both sides losing members. Our heroes end up in a mall parking lot and have to kill a truck driver they saved that got bit before arming themselves and having to fight off the attacking zombies who have even killed the military general! As Tina and Casey move the vehicle away from the battle Ernie, Spider and Chuck armed with tons of firearms start blasting the undead. Ernie and the others are able to escape and get away and come in contact with the military and after a brief standoff Ernie, Tina, Spider, Casey and Chuck are able to trade the remaining trioxen and the dead Frank and Freddy for their freedom. While back with the military, the zombies arrive and both Frank and Freddy as well go on the attack and kill them all as even one of the canisters cracks open and creates a new Tarman. The comic ends with Ernie and the others getting to freedom as back in front of the warehouse Burt is alive and fighting off zombies.

Revenge Of The Living Dead is a pretty entertaining read but is also kind of a letdown on several levels as it does not feel like it even is the same universe as the film its based on and while many of the films characters are around, they seem off and not like they should as it was very clear that Don Calfa was one of the writers as the character he plays Ernie is the main focus and is the main hero with all the other returning characters playing background players to his story of survival. The graphic novel’s plot has the bomb attack by the Government on Kentucky being a failure and with that many of the zombies are still running wild but also Ernie, Spider, Chuck, Tina and Casey also have survived and are trying to find away out of the warzone as now armed soldiers are being sent out to kill anything moving, and a subplot has Ernie figuring out that embalming fluid can help keep the undead under control for a short amount of time and uses it on Freddy and Frank to help him and the others get out alive. Ernie is the hero of this GN as he is the one that gets all the remaining punks together, sets all the plans in motion, finds a possible slowdown for the zombie infection and is the one that uses his mind to get himself and the others out of harm’s way buy bribing the military for their freedom. And Spider, Tina, Casey and Chuck are along for the ride taking orders from Ernie and being background players and only doing something big to help when Ernie commands it…and that is a big disappointment…as is the fact Ernie’s ankle injury seems to vanish really quickly as the story goes on. The GN also spends a lot of time with the military and the Generals arguing and being really bad at their jobs, and this “humor” is a little silly and felt more at place in a Looney Tunes cartoon. The zombies are all around with even Tarman and Trash making appearances and are super hungry for brains and the kills are bloody and gooey, plus we even get to see the body of Suicide still in the basement of the warehouse right were Tarman left it. The cover for this graphic novel is very cool and showcases all the main characters of this book, and Jason Miller is the interior artist who has a cartoonish style that is really good and cool…but not the style I would think of when it comes to Return Of The Living Dead. And that is kind of how I feel about this graphic novel as a whole; while it really is a “unofficial” sequel to the film, nothing about it even feels like the film, again sure characters and locations return but everything just seems off. I am glad I have this GN for my collection and it was a charming read, I sadly have to say I was over all letdown as I was looking for the punk rock charm that the film had in a comic, instead got the character of Ernie trying to be a more with it version of Ash from the Evil Dead films. I think I made my expectations way to high due to my love of the film and the fact Don Calfa wrote it. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Miller in this GN and see if you think it has that ROTLD feel.

I really wanted to like Revenge Of The Living Dead more than I did, I just could not get past some of the flaws that just took me out of it…like the mind controlled Freddy and Frank are dressed in suits and are acting like servants to Ernie, like why was that a thing as Frank burns to death in the film and Freddy was super scary as the blinded by acid zombie who was still trying to charm his girlfriend while talking about eating her brains…here in the GN they are just tools that truly add nothing to the story as the whole can be controlled by the embalming fluid goes nowhere. And sadly I am not the only one in my circle of friends who read Horror Comics that was letdown by this one. But let’s hope that sometime in the future a publisher like Eibon Press, HorrorHound Comics, Dynamite Comics, IDW or even a returning Fangoria Comics get a chance at doing a series based on Return Of The Living Dead and get all the right creators to make it what it should be and that’s a scary funny, brain eating, punk rock, fist shaking great time. With that, let’s leave the world of zombies behind and head into the world of voodoo as the countdown to Halloween 2024 continues and we take a look at Mardi Gras Massacre and the comic book based on it. So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update for a sleazy good time in the Big Easy.

The Adventures Of Robo-Raccoon

Posted on January 20, 2015 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. In this update, as promised, I am going to take you back to my past when I was about 10 or 11 years old and was making my own comic books to share with family and friends, and I decided to focus on one of my own creations called Robo-Raccoon, a space adventure animal who packed robotic armor as well as some powerful guns. I used to sit for hours with a number 2 pencil as well as some retractable pencils and colored pencils and drew these comics. I hit my stride doing comics based on the Nickelodeon show Ren & Stimpy that were holiday themed; they were just single panels on a page of paper that had the two characters saying a few lines to each other. While those were my first full comic books, I drew a lot when I was younger, and while I never found myself to be a good artist, I always had fun creating whatever I wanted. As far back as I can remember I use to draw Frankenstein’s Monster, Captain America, Devils, Demons, Werewolves, Vampires, Dr. Creep, Jason Voorhees, Minatours and many other things that interested my young mind. When I was in Waynesville my art teachers always encouraged me to draw what I was into, and the older I got, I continued to do so. Even when the terrible art teachers of the Kettering school district tried to label me a devil worshiper and would question why I drew monsters all the time, I still created what I wanted and what I liked no matter how hard they pushed me to not be so weird.

The biggest influence on why I made my own comics was my brother Bryan who was making his own comic series to entertain us neighborhood kids called “Weird Tales Of Waynesville” that was humored filled spooky stories about people from out neighborhood and fellow classmates. I can’t tell you how many times I read his comics and laughed at the kooky stories. Sadly he only made one of them before he moved away from doing them and started to make a “sitcom” style live show using Battle Beasts as the neighborhood kids. Who could forget Matt The Rat or Brad The Warthog? The second influence was a friend of mine named Jeremy Patton who was making stick figure comics called “Todd & Jeremy” about himself and our friend Todd Osborne that had them being like Beavis and Butthead going around causing mischief and fires. The comics were cheesy yet fun, and I even drew a few to give to Jeremy who I don’t think liked it very well that I was making comics based on characters he created. The stick figures had a J in the circle face for Jeremy and a T on the one that was Todd. Last but not least was Marvel Comics who made series like Captain America, Incredible Hulk, Werewolf By Night and many others I grew up reading and enjoying. So I want to thank all three of them for making me want to be comic maker with big dreams even though I had very little talent when it came to drawing. Below is the cover for my brother’s old comic, the middle one sadly is one of my comics based on Todd and Jeremy, as I don’t have any of his originals as well as a Captain America cover to an issue I read all the time.

My first character I made that was a Matt original was Benny The Squirrel, a small little guy who lived in a forest town and would get into adventures along side his buddies Fred The Mole and stick figure man Chuck. I did several comics based on him as well as a few “books”. You see, when I was making these comics and even before, I loved to write short stories about anything and everything. The most popular topics I would write about were horror short stories, movies, music and video games. But Benny The Squirrel, while not the topic of this home grown update, remains near and dear to my heart, and while many of his original comic adventures of Benny are long gone, maybe some day he will get his own update. The last time Benny was about to make his big return to the comic world was when Jason Young asked me to make a short comic story for his Buyer Beware Anthology 2 and my original idea was a little dark and would have had Benny being down on his luck and in the end taking his own life via a shotgun…I am glad I decided to go with a new character called Mr. Emo based on the Mr. Men franchise trying to get a blue drink from the dollar store. At the time it would have been a rebellious thing to do, killing off a character from my childhood, but I really don’t think I was ready to really let him go and still don’t think I am ready. Below are some pictures of Benny, Chuck and Fred that I drew when I was about 10 for a Halloween horror story book I was writing.

So who really is Robo-Raccoon, and what is he all about I am sure your all asking yourself before we get into this short homegrown comic series created by a very young me. Well here is what I remember of his past: Robo-Raccoon was a character who traveled around space doing the right things and was almost like a bounty hunter who would take on jobs to bring in the galaxy’s worst criminals. A mad scientist on Earth is who created him and made a hybrid between a man and a raccoon and added robotic armor to his creation. While on his journey in space, his allies included a Native American wolf named Wolfen and a Kung-Fu rabbit named Ninja Bunny. Robo-Raccoon was my most popular character among my peers, and I can remember some fellow classmates commenting on how cool he was. I also remember my mom reading all the issues that came out that was a total of 4. The silly thing about the comic series was that each “issue” was only about 2-4 pages long, and sadly I never did finish the story arc. Death Maker was the super villain created to be the thorn in Robo’s side; he was a cyborg zombie who could not be killed and was the master of hand to hand combat. I created all types of bad guys for Robo-Raccoon to fight in space and even Earth, but most of them never got a time to shine in my comic world. I must also state that I am not going to give these issues a 1-4 star rating because they are the mad ramblings of a young monster kid with a big imagination. I must also say that I am not 100% sure of the year I made these comics but I did some guessing and think I was able to pinpoint it. Plus I love all the spelling errors and even the misspelling of my own characters. Oh, the joys of being young and always in a hurry to get things done. Below are pictures of Robo-Raccoon, Ninja Bunny and Death Maker. Enjoy them up close in all their glory.

So let’s not wait any longer. Let’s climb into the spaceship and go on a bounty hunt with the one and only Robo-Raccoon!

Robo-Raccoon # 1
Released in 1990 Cover Price .75 Cosmic Comics # 1 of 4

Robo-Raccoon enters a bar on a mission to find Ninja Bunny and get his help, but while at the bar, bartender Bulk informs them that the owner Jabba The Hut does not allow animals in, and is about to have Boba Fett kick them out when Death Maker, a powerful zombie cyborg, steps in and says they are his guests. They all go to Jabba to plead their case, who in turn kicks them all out of his bar! Death Maker is mad and punches out Bulk as Robo-Raccoon shoots Death Maker in the chest as he knows it’s been a set up all along as Death Marker stands back up and is joined by Bulk, Pumpkin Head and Shadow, and they have Ninja Bunny as a hostage.

Well that’s the plot of the first issue…are you drawn into the action and story…yeah didn’t think so! So as you can see, the comic throws us into the middle of a mission for Robo-Raccoon that we the readers have no clue about, but we know it’s important and that Ninja Bunny is needed to complete said mission. Bulk is a generic version of The Incredible Hulk, who was inspired by an old Mad Magazine version of The Hulk, who in fact I think name was Bulk. This issue also had cameos from many Star Wars characters like Jabba The Hut, Boba Fett and even Bib Fortuna showing that Star Wars really did have a grip on my imagination! As I said, Death Maker was created to be the arch-villain of Robo and is clearly a major threat that is un-killable and super strong. Pumpkin Head is a cursed Halloween Jack-O Lantern with a thick vine body, and Shadow is simple a masked Phantom. The issue is left on a cliffhanger and makes the reader wonder how Robo-Racoon is going to get past all the bad guys who are aiming for him. Let alone, will Ninja Bunny make it out alive?! Below is artwork from my old comic that showcases when all the bad guys show up at the end of the story…enjoy. Alright let’s move onto issue # 2 so you can all see what happens next.

Robo-Raccoon # 2
Released in 1990 Cover Price .00 Cosmic Comics # 2 of 4

We come back and find Robo-Raccoon and Ninja Bunny in a jail cell as Bulk is their jailer. He is knocked out by a ball and chain flung by Wolfen, who takes the pair to Jabba The Hut to buy the services of 5 other bounty hunters for $300.00 that are Conan The Barbarian, Boba Fett, Black Spy, Cybrg and an orange M&M. They all split into groups to track down and kill Death Maker. The issue ends with Conan, Boba Fett and Black Spy blasting off in a spaceship.

This second issue is a set up to showcase a second group of heroes that will be joining the hunt, and man, how cool is it that when I was a kid, in my mind it made perfect sense that Conan The Barbarian would be in space teaming up with the Black Spy from Mad Magazine’s Spy vs. Spy and Star Wars Boba Fett, not to mention an orange talking M&M and a bionic eyed lion named Cybrg. Plus it’s funny how Jabba The Hut was a jerk to Robo-Raccoon in the first issue for being an animal, but by the second is fine with Wolfen, a wolf Native American man who buys a total of 5 bounty hunters with only $300.00….man, bounty hunters in space are cheap! Not much happens action-wise in this issue unless you count Bulk getting hit in the back of the head with a ball and chain. Check out the art below for the super awesome bounty hunter line up. Let’s move onto the third issue in my Robo-Raccoon comic series and see just what action happens next!

Robo-Raccoon # 3
Released in 1990 Cover Price $1.25 Cosmic Comics # 3 of 4

Conan with Black Spy and Boba Fett have landed on Mars and meet Herman, a tiny one eyed alien, as well as his friend a Xenomorph who attacks Conan after a massive feast! After the attack, Herman apologizes for his friend’s attack and asks if Conan could help them rid their planet of King Ghidorah, the three headed monster, for some gold. After the battle, bloody and bruised but richer, Conan shows up to the tent of his fellow bounty hunters and informs them they will be leaving the next day as Death Maker is not on Mars.

So Conan is clearly the leader of the second group on the hunt, and his men seem loyal to his word. On the planet Mars not only does King Ghidorah of Godzilla movie fame live but so does a Xenomorph from the Alien movies! Herman was a character I was drawing before I made this comic, and he is a small green guy with one big eye and tentacles as feet. While Conan is attacked by the Xenomorph and does battle with Ghidorah, his poor teammates Black Spy and Boba Fett don’t get to see any action. Below are some pics from this issue to show you what my Xenomorph, Ghidorah and Herman look like.

Well we are now on the final issue in this classic cosmic comic series done by me when I was a kid. So far I must say that this comic story is all over the place and that to me it is fun looking back because it just shows you all the stuff I loved at the time being thrown together to make a storyline that I am sure only made sense in my own mind! But with that let’s get to the final issue!

Robo-Raccoon # 4
Released in 1990 Cover Price $1.75 Cosmic Comics # 4 of 4

Robo-Raccoon, along with Wolfen, Cybrg, Ninja Bunny and the Orange M&M, are on the Moon when they mistakenly fall into a crater! When Robo-Raccoon and M&M wake up, they meet a Swamp Creature who takes them to a temple where they find their friends suspended in the air via ropes. Swamp Man informs them that Death Maker is not on the moon and will help them get their friends down and is now going to join their quest.

This final issue has Robo on the moon with his friends, and the only thing that happens is they meet a swamp man who is a generic version of Marvel’s Man-Thing and they fall into a crater. It’s a pretty lame way to end a series but that’s just the way it went down in the world of Cosmic Comics! Below is some artwork that I did for this issue. Looking back now being 35 years old at comics I made when I was 11 is really a fun time, and I can remember how proud I was of these comics when I was young. Now I am almost embarrassed by all the spelling errors and cheesy silly artwork but still love the characters and idea of them. As I reread them and scanned them, I remembered sitting in front of the fireplace with my pencils and clip board drawing till my “comic” was done. I am sure you’re wondering why only 4 issues of Robo-Raccoon were made by Cosmic Comics. Well it’s simple; when I was making these comics I was also making comics based on Conan The Barbarian, Bat-Bat from Mighty Mouse fame as well as an original character called Miss Freedom and sadly Robo-Raccoon just got lost in the shuffle of my young mind, and never was to be completed once I moved onto other ways to entertain my imagination, comic making was not in the cards. Comic book making is one of the things that let me move onto doing such cool things creatively as writing more stories and even film reviews, making my own shot on video movies and even making my own radio shows complete with dramas about me and my cousins being paranormal investigators. Who knows, maybe some time in the coming years I will share some of my other original old school comic work, but only time will tell for sure. Well we have come to the end of the hunt and tonight after you read this, I want you to look to the night sky and just know that Robo-Raccoon is up there rounding up aliens and outlaw scum and making our world a safer place. Our next update is going to be a look at Spider-Man, who wants all of us to have clean and healthy teeth and suggests we use AIM Toothpaste in two Marvel Comic giveaways. So until then, take some time and be creative in your own way and enjoy this wonderful world we all share.