From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Final Destination (2000)

Posted on March 12, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. For this update I will be talking about the 2000 horror film Final Destination as well as the comic book series released about the series in 2006. This comic series was brought to the world by Zenescope, but it’s shocking that after all these years that DC Comics whose parent company also owns New Line Cinema has never did comics base on these films for their DC Horror series that sadly seems to have fizzled and has had a lack of horror comics based on films. And again, I have to say I truly think DC Comics has wasted so much opportunity on not doing comics based on many of their popular horror films. But with that, let’s get ready to be scared as we step into another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update this time all about Death and the film he is from, Final Destination.

Before we get too far into this update, let’s talk about Death, the main dealer of well…death in the Final Destination series who could be the most dangerous “killer” we have ever covered as he is the final call for all. Death has all manners of taking lives as he can make things happen as well as allow things to happen in order to get your soul. Death is something that almost everyone fears and some live their lives worried that his cold grip will one day call on them. Death can also take your life away when a person is shot, stabbed, burned, crushed, electrocuted, drowned, smashed, crushed and bashed as well of course of natural causes. Death has a master plan for prey and that is everyone as he has a design to take your life and doesn’t like to be cheated out of what he thinks is owed. And if you do escape his grip by luck and your time was supposed to be up, he will make sure that you die as he will create great scenarios with elaborate set ups to make sure your life comes to an end. Death has no weakness and there is no way to fully stop him, while you can sometimes dodge his icy grip, you can never fully beat him as Death truly comes for everyone.

As you can see, Death truly is the most deadly horror villain we have covered here at Rotten Ink as there is no escaping his grip! But now we should take a few moments to talk about the movie he is from, and that’s Final Destination! I will be taking the film’s plot from IMDB and then 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 listen to that little inner voice and see what Death had planned for the people on flight 180.

Final Destination (2000)

“Alex is boarding a plane to France on a school trip, when he suddenly gets a premonition that the plane will explode. Shortly after Alex, a group of students, and his teacher are thrown off the plane, to their horror, the plane does in fact explode. Alex must now work out Death’s plan, as each of the survivors falls victim. Whilst trying to prevent the next death, Alex must also dodge the FBI, who believe that he caused the explosion”

New Line Cinema use to be the biggest production company for horror films in the 80’s and 90’s as it was called The House That Freddy Built for a reason; A Nightmare On Elm Street was their biggest film series and helped pull them out of debt. And in the 2000’s they had another series that helped them stay as powerhouse of horror and that of course was the Final Destination franchise! And for those wondering New Line is still doing well in horror as they are behind The Conjuring universe films as well as just brought The Evil Dead back with sequels to the big screen. In 2025, they even did a new installment in the Final Destination series that was celebrated by horror fans. Final Destination was the brainchild of Jeffrey Reddick, who got the story from a story he read about a daughter calling her mom to not take a flight due to a bad feeling, and so the mom switched flights and the one she was supposed to have been on crashed! He at first wanted to write it as a X-Files episode, but instead decided to try and turn it into a feature film. New Line Cinema bought the script and then added James Wong and Glen Morgan to help freshen up and make the story tighter. The film was given a budget of $23 million, and James Wong was hired to also direct as he was not stranger to horror films as he had already directed an episode of The X-Files and had written many of them. When casting the film names like Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Seann William Scott, Kristen Cloke, Kerr Smith, Daniel Roebuck, Amanda Detmer and Tony Todd would make up some of the main leads. When filming the movie it went smoothly for the most part with the main issues being having to work around the younger cast who were filming other projects at the same time, and this caused some scheduling nightmares. Once done the film would be scored by Shirley Walker and it would be released in theaters on March 17, 2000 and would be a big hit for New Line Cinema at the box office bringing in over $112 million! The film was # 49 for the year and was able to beat out such other horror films as Pitch Black, Dracula 2000, Bless The Child, Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, Urban Legends: Final Cut, The Ninth Gate, Lost Souls, American Psycho, The Little Vampire, The Gift, Godzilla 2000 and Shadow Of The Vampire, but did lose out to What Lies Beneath, Scream 3, Hollow Man and The Cell. The film was meet with poor reviews from critics but viewers really enjoyed it and is why the film would end up being a big franchise for New Line spawning many sequels. Final Destination was joined in 2000 not only from all of the above mentioned horror films but also Mulva: Zombie Ass Kicker!, Ginger Snaps, Leprechaun In The Hood, Hellraiser: Inferno, Killjoy, Blood Murder, Witchcraft XI, Island Of The Dead and Toxic Avenger 4 to name a few.

When Final Destination was released, it was clearly the new horror film hit from New Line Cinema and the buzz around it was very big from not only the horror magazines like Fangoria but also among my friends. I sadly did not get to see the film in the theater and had to wait for it to be released on home media and was a fan of it as I enjoyed the spooky supernatural elements of Death being mad that someone escapes his plans of taking their lives, and I also liked that it also had a almost slasher element to it like Death was a killer stalking his prey. The film also had many creative ways for the characters to be killed off and this would continue throughout the film series as viewers all wondered just how Death was going to get what was owed to him. Plus for me it was great seeing Tony Todd as he was one of my favorite modern iconic horror actors and his role was the wise and creepy mortician who knows that Death will not be cheated. I am also shocked on how bloody and gruesome some of the deaths in the film were, and really I wish New Line Cinema would get back to making lots of horror films for all us viewers to enjoy. I also think that many of horror fans my age ended up getting a crush on Ali Larter because of this film as well as her roles in the remake of House On Haunted Hill, Final Destination 2 and many of the Resident Evil films. The film is one that I ended up buying on home media and is one I watch pretty often. If you have not seen Final Destination or any of its sequels, make sure to check them out as they are one hell of a great time.

So now that we have chatted about the film Final Destination and its killer the one and only Death, we should now take a look at the comic book mini series that was published by Zenescope in 2006 (these comics were released around the same time Final Destination 3 was hitting theaters). I would like to thank Bookery Fantasy and Lone Star Comics for having these comics in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and i’s art and story. So if you are ready, let’s go on Spring Break with Death and see what he is up too.

Final Destination # 1 ***
Released in 2006 Cover Price $3.99 Zenescope # 1 of 5

Carly and her friends Bryan, Jake, Matt, Amanda, Kris and Katie are heading to Cancun for Spring Break, but during the flight their Carly feels very odd like something is wrong. As she checks into her room and even hangs with her friends at the hotels ball room she feels off and her friends are even noticing, and then a birthday cake is brought out and the candle fire acts with gas leaking out and a explosion of fire rips through the ballroom and killing Carly, her friends and everyone around. But then Carly wakes up and she is on the plane and none of the stuff has happened yet…and as it all plays out like her dream she is able to have everyone agree to her birthday wish and that is follow her outside right before the hotel explodes! As they stand in shock as the dead are being pulled out, the friends meet U.S. Embassy worker Sue Flanders and Detective Garcia-Garcia who listen to the story of Carly and detain them for s short while, and as time passes Carly’s friends all thank her for saving their lives, but she is still shaken like something is wrong.

The first issue in this series sets up the group of friends that have angered Death and have cheated him out of taking their lives and now he will find ways to get what is owed to him. We are following Carly and her friends who are on Spring Break and survive a massive explosion that destroys the hotel that they were staying in killing many people and leaving them grateful for life. Carly is a college woman who has good friends and is all set to go on Spring Break to relax, but finds herself stressed out and worried after having a bad nightmare that shows her the fate of her and her friends. And while she is a hero and saved the lives of her friends, she is surrounded by a dreadful feeling that she cannot shake. Her friends Jake, Bryan, Amanda, Kirs and Matt all seem like good people who were looking to have a good time together, and when saved are thankful to their friend. I am going to guess that both Sue Flanders and Detective Garcia-Garcia will be around in further issues and will question Carly on how she knew the hotel was going to explode. Death is lurking around and while he claimed many lives, seven have escaped him and you know he is working on ways to claim them back, as he is not to be robbed of what he is owed. The story is a little slow right now, but that is to be expected as they had to build our characters as well as set up the disaster that our group of friends will avoid that they were suppose to have died in. And while people do die, the comic is pretty bloodless and does not show any major gore, but I am sure this will change. The cover is ok and is eye catching, but I do not think it captures the mood of the Final Destination series. The interior artwork is done by Lan Medina and it’s good stuff and reminds me of classic DC Movie Adaptation Comics stuff. So let’s see what Death has in store for Carly and her friends in issue two and who will die first and how.

Final Destination # 2 ***
Released in 2006 Cover Price $3.99 Zenescope # 2 of 5

Carly and her friends must stay in Mexico as the explosion is being investigated, and worse for Carly they find a drawing she did while in the trance nightmare she had about the explosion showing its path of destruction and making her kind of a suspect in a possible terrorism act. Later that day Carly and her friends take a boat out when once more she has a vision and tries to warn them, but they have a boat accident that leaves Kris dead when the boats motor chops him up like meat on a cheese steak. And like before, Carly finds that she has drawn the motors logo before the accident and this once more makes Garcia-Garcia and Sue a little puzzled as Carly is once more linked to a deadly accident, and now Carly herself is scared and is worried about what is wrong with her and why she is drawing things connected to these accidents and wonders if Death is after them. Carly then finds out that they might have to stay in Mexico longer as a hurricane is approaching and that three other Americans overheard her warnings and left the hotel and survived that blast and want to speak to her. While Katie is in the hospital for shock, she by accident swallows mercury from a broken thermometer and then trips over a skeleton and impales herself on its rib bones killing her instantly.

In the second issue the plot has Death come calling as Carly and her friends are stuck in Mexico and two of them have already lost their lives. Carly herself is starting to question her mental state as well as her own life. In this issue as the group of friends try and make the best of their time in Mexico and clear their minds off the accident and end up having to watch as one of their friends his chopped up by the blade of a motor and they are helpless to save him. Bbecause of this accident their other friend is ends up having an accident at the hospital and dies by the bones of a skeletons rib cage! So as you can see, Death is on his rampage and the group of seven has now dropped to five, but he might have three other lives to claim when they find out that other Americans left the hotel due to her warnings. Carly is losing her mind as she is filled with not only worry and dread but now fear and confusion as she don’t understand why she is having her visions that is overloading her with death. And her friends at this time are still grateful, but are also starting to get spooked by her when people start dying and she is unknowingly predicting them. Death is moving quick and both deaths are very brutal and that makes this issue have lots of blood and gory bits, so fans of horror comics that have the red stuff will be happy. The pacing is really good this far in the series as I feel the build was great, and this second issue picks up on the horror as well as deaths and delivered and enjoyable read thus far. The cover for this issue is really good, and I think does capture the feel of the movie series and like before the interior artwork by Lan Medina is solid stuff and I like the way he draws the bloody deaths. Over all another great issue, and I am really looking forward to reading the third issue and see who dies next!

Final Destination # 3 ***
Released in 2006 Cover Price $3.99 Zenescope # 3 of 5

Carly and the rest are shaken about the deaths of their friends and are even getting snippy with each other over the stress and sadness, that is until they all calm down and stick together. They then meet Dreena, Gino and Jeremy, the three others who left the hotel because they overheard Carly and got scared enough not to stay. Now they along with Carly and their friends head towards an old Aztec Temple and meet a Shaman who follows Carly around speaking of Death and this causes them to leave the temple and head to the waters as Gino decides to deep dive only for a eel to destroy is oxygen tank and cause him to rush up for air and crash through the looking glass of the boat and a shard of glass enters his mouth and deals him death. And later that day Sue is able to pull some string to get Carly and the rest on a plane back home before the hurricane hits, but an accident at the airport when one of the workers on a forklift has a heart attack causes a string of deaths as Sue is impaled by the forklift, Dreena slips and falls and breaks her neck as Jeremy is crushed as the plan takes some damage! And after this carnage, all Carly and her friends can do is look at the death and destruction around them.

The third issue is a entertaining one even though it slightly slips in that department as has Carly and the rest waiting for that evening to get on a plane to head back home, and while they are scared they decide to site see and enter a temple only to be harassed by an old shaman as well as decide to go diving that leads to another death as does them trying to board the plane as three more are killed by Death. At this point it is clear that they are stuck in Mexico, and that Death is truly coming for each and every one of them. Carly is still very confused by her visions and all the signs around her that are warning of the next death to take place and her friends seem to be more accepting on the fact something weird is going on and she might be their only tool to survive. I also like that the threat of this major storm coming is looming around bringing more dread to the characters. Death is not messing around now as he has taken four lives in this issue with the best death being that of Gino, who takes the glass to the mouth when coming up for air. The issue this time around is not that bloody with two of the deaths being more gruesome than the other two. And while this issue was not as spooky nor drew me in like the first two, I still found it to be a solid issue as the frightful story of Carly and her friends unfold. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and shows an Aztec Temple with the interior art once more done by Lan Medina being really solid work. Yet another good issue in this Final Destination mini series and shows that horror movies make great comics! Let’s see what happens next shall we?

Final Destination # 4 ***
Released in 2007 Cover Price $3.99 Zenescope # 4 of 5

After the accident at the airport that leaves three people dead, Carly and her friends return to the hotel shocked and scared as Detective Garcia-Garcia is visiting and understands now something very strange is happening and leaves with a promise that he will try and find a way home for them before the storm hits that is just hours away. After he leaves Carly and the group are very cautious of everything around that could lead to them dying and decide using the hotels pool and hot tub will be safe, but Death wants what is owed and makes the pools automatic covering turn on trapping Amanda under it and causing her to drown! The friends are helpless to save her and this causes Matt to snap as he says that Carly is cursed and Death is following her. He runs off only to be killed by getting hit by fireworks that are being set off before the storm so they are not wasted.

Poor Carly ;more and more of her friends are being killed by Death who seems to truly be picking up the pace of collecting what he is owed. With only Carly, Jake and Bryan left and not clear way to escape Mexico, it seems that their fate is creeping up on them. Carly is slowly starting to truly understand that what she is seeing in weird signs from ink blots to logos are hints to the tragic events that are about to happen, and while her friends are sticking beside her, they are also starting to fear being around her. It will be very interesting to see if Detective Garcia-Garcia who clearly now understands that something supernatural is happening will be able to get them out of Mexico…but we all know that will not stop Death. And with the storm coming, this just adds to the stress of what is on the horizon for our survivors as you know that this storm will have to be the undoing of one or all of them. This issue has two deaths with one being drowning and the other being hit by a massive firework, but shockingly the issue is lacking in blood. The cover for this issue is really cool and has a woman in the water with the top part above the water looking normal and in the water being skeleton. The interior art this time was done by Rodel Noora and is really good stuff and has that style of the 2000’s that was being used in indie horror comics. Another good issue in this series, and I am very much looking forward to seeing how this tale comes to an end, so with that let’s see what issue five has in store for us.

Final Destination # 5 ***
Released in 2007 Cover Price $3.99 Zenescope # 5 of 5

The hurricane has hit and Carly gets a phone call that Detective Garcia-Garcia has arranged for them to escape and tells them to be on the roof of the hotel in fifteen minutes and once up there they see a helicopter coming for them, but the high winds cause it to lose control, and the blades slice up Jake and the helicopter catches fire and explodes as Carly and Bryan have to retreat back into the hotel that is now on fire and the two barely escape and have to rush out into the storm dodging many natural threats that are trying to kill them and they find shelter in a funeral home, with each hiding inside a coffin to ride out the storm. But once its all over, Carly gets out of her coffin to find that Bryan got trapped in his when boards fell on it closing it fully and cutting off his air supply and making him die a very slow and painful death. Carly is heart broken as the Aztec Shaman appears in a broken mirror and says Death is satisfied and that the design is done…for now.

In the final issue of Final Destination the story of Carly and her friends comes to an end as Death goes into overdrive in order to finish his design and take the lives of those he is owed. In this issue the hurricane has hit and the area is being battered by the storm as Death helps uses the elements in order to take out both Jake and Bryan as well as many other lives that are just in the wrong place at the wrong time and who are near Carly and what was left of her friends. Carly ends up being spared by Death in the end as he is satisfied with the lives he has taken and it looks as if the old Aztec Shaman might have been the one that helped spare her. It’s great that Death finds a way to use the storm in order to take out her two remaining friends with Jake getting the more gruesome death and Bryan getting the more slow and painful one. I also like that Carly has to seek shelter from the storm at a funeral home very fitting for the Final Destination series. Over all I like the theme of this mini series taking place during Spring Break in Mexico as there are lots of creative ways to kill off the cast of characters, plus it sets the characters far from home which adds to the stress and despair of the characters as they cannot leave the country due to investigations of the deaths and a coming massive storm. In other words, they are cut off from their comfort zone and the safety of their own homes. Death in the series truly does not care who else has to die in order for him to get those who escape his grasp, and when he kills in these issues, he goes for keeps as there is no coming back or being saved. The issue has blood, gore and deaths that should please fans of the film series as well as those horror comic readers who like their pages blood soaked. The cover for this issue is pretty cool as it has Carly looking into a mirror only to see an undead shaman looking back! This issue’s interior art is again done by Rodel Noora and is good stuff. Over all this is a pretty solid read that does justice to the film series it’s based on, and if you are a fan of Final Destination, make sure to check it out. Check out the artwork below to see the style used by Lan Medina for the first three issues of the series.

Final Destination is a truly fun film series that was a great way to introduce Death as an almost slasher villain who would come up with over the top and interesting ways to kill his victims, and I truly think that it would also make for a good comic series like this one where each mini series follows a new batch of people that escaped Death only for him to come calling to collect what he is owed. And really I think that DC Comic as part of their DC Horror line should be making mini series based on Final Destination, and I feel that they are missing the boat big time with that. With this update coming to an end, I think that its time that I tell you that the next update will take us to Midian, the place that the monsters go and of course I am talking about the film Nightbreed that was directed by Clive Barker. 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 time for a creepy good time with the Nightbreed.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Casper (1995)

Posted on June 23, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to a very kid friendly “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. One of the great things about horror films is that humans of all ages like to be scared and enjoy watching these types of films late at night. We covered a horror film that was for all ages earlier this year I talked about the 1975 film “Escape To Witch Mountain,” and I figured why not do another so I chose the 1995 film Casper that was the first live action film starring everyone’s favorite Friendly Ghost who was a big hit already for decades thanks to his many comic series from Harvey Comics as well as the many cartoons he had made about him. Now yes, I know that Casper is not a “horror film” but it is what I would call a gateway film for younger fans to discover the wonderful scares of horror cinema, plus I am sure The Ghostly Trio did give some younger viewers some frights…I mean what is more classic scary than a ghost saying “Booooooo”. So let’s not waste any more time as I think a storm is brewing and Whipstaff Manor is just a short distance away and we can find shelter and talk about Casper!

Let’s start off by taking a look at The Ghostly Trio (Stretch, Fatso & Stinkie) and their ways of haunting and scaring the living. Not much is known about the lives of The Ghostly Trio before they passed away. What is mostly known is their time as ghosts who live at Whipstaff Manor, an old property that was owned by a rich family that has been neglected for many decades causing it to become rundown and the source of the town’s stories of haunted lore. Stretch is the leader of the trio, and he is a tall lanky ghost with a big nose and a bad attitude. he likes to give orders, shout and scare those who cross his path. Stinkie is a more quiet ghost but is just as much into scaring people as his brothers. his calling card is that he smells real bad with his breath being the worst as it is enough to make a person pass out from smelling it. Fatso is the short chubby one of the bunch who is always hungry and is always looking to deliver a fright. Since the Trio are ghosts, it mean they can float through objects, enter a living person’s body and can make their appearances more extreme causing maximum fright to the living. They are said to be the uncles of Casper but probably not in life, just in the after life as he lives in the home with them and in some ways they watch after him. While they are frightful ghosts, they do seem to also have a nice side, as friendship seems to be important to them. The only way that they can be defeated is by them finding their reason for being still on Earth and not in the netherworld, and by that I mean finish their unfinished business here among the living. While The Ghostly Trio are not the scariest ghosts nor the deadliest that we have covered here on Rotten Ink, they still have their place in the would of spirits.

So now that we have taken a look at The Ghostly Trio and their haunting ways, I think that we should now take a look at the film they are from and that is of course Casper from 1995. And like before, I will be taking this family fright 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 a little deeper into Whipstaff Manor and see what Casper The Friendly Ghost is up too.

Casper (1995)

“An afterlife therapist and his daughter meet a friendly young ghost when they move into a crumbling mansion in order to rid the premises of wicked spirits.”

Back in the early 90’s Steven Spielberg was looking to make a film about the classic cartoon and comic book character Casper The Friendly Ghost and found Brad Sillberling to direct this big screen live action film. The thing with Brad is that he was mostly known for being a director of TV shows as he had such shows as Doogie Howser M.D., L.A. Law and NYPD Blue under his belt. When it came to the script, Sherri Stoner & Deanna Oliver would be hired to make a super kid friendly film that would do the Harvey Comics character justice. The film was given a budget of around $55 million, and the production was really stressful as this was one of the first films to feature a CGI created character as the main character and without Casper looking just right, the film could have fallen apart. When it came to casting they would hire Christina Ricci to play the young living friend of Casper and other actors hired include Bill Pullman, Eric Idle, Cathy Moriarty, Ben Stein and Amy Brenneman plus it also featured cameos from Mr. Rogers, Mel Gibson, Dan Aykroyd, Rodney Dangerfield, Don Novello and John Kassier to name a few with Aykroyd playing his Ghostbusters character Ray Stanz and Kassir is voicing The Crypt Keeper again! Once edited James Horner would do the musical score, and Little Richard would perform the classic Casper theme song. The film would be released in theaters on May 26, 1995 and would do very well for Universal Pictures as it would bring in a worldwide box office of $288 million and was met with pretty positive reviews from critics as well as viewers. The film was slated to get a sequel after the success of the first film but it is said that is was cancelled when Christina Ricci was not fully committed to reprise her role. The film would spark a Marvel adaptation comic, toys, books, music, video games and cards to be released based around it, not to mention Harvey Comics would team with 20^th Century Fox to release direct to video live action films to cash in after the official sequel was never made. Casper in 1995 was released alongside such other Horror Movies as Castle Freak, Candyman 2, Halloween 6, The Howling 7, Leprechaun 3, Night Of The Scarecrow, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4, Vampire In Brooklyn and Witchboard 3 to name a few.

In 1995 I can remember when Casper was being released in the theaters as it had a pretty big push around it, but I was a teenager and had not much interest in seeing it in the theater as I would much rather had been watching more bloody Horror Films and not a family friendly fright flick. One of the biggest things I remember as well is the glow in the dark puppets that were at Pizza Hut as at a time my family ate at The Hut fairly often, and for a fast food plastic puppet, they were pretty cool and detailed. The one thing that made the film stand out for many was the fact it starred Christina Ricci, who was a popular actress for my age group as she was the same age as me and my classmates and she had been a star due to her role as Wednesday Addams in the 1991 film “The Addams Family” and its 1993 sequel “Addams Family Values”, and this also showed that she was a teen actress who starred in many kid friendly fright films and she would fully make the jump into horror in 1999 starring in the Tim Burton film “Sleepy Hollow”. I cannot tell you the first time I saw Casper but it was on broadcast TV when I did and I can remember liking the film as I thought the special effects for the ghosts were really cool, and one other weird memory I have is when I worked for a local Blockbuster Video a upset mother wanted her money back as she claimed the film scared her child and gave them nightmares! Yep that really happened, so maybe Casper really is a horror film for young kids! If you are also wondering my favorite Ghostly Trio member is Stinkie as I find this foul smelling ghost to be cool looking plus you can’t go wrong with a ghost that has foul breath. I did grow up reading Casper comics as well as paperback books and really enjoyed them, we would get most of our Casper comics from garage sales as well as gifts from my grandparents. One other thing I guess I can talk about is I did have and play the Casper video game that was based on the film for the Sony Playstation…but really I don’t have much more to say about the Casper film besides it’s a good kids film that has a solid following still to this day.

So as you can see, while Casper is a film that I remember from my youth it is one that I was just a little too old for when released so I do not have that big of a connection to, but again I do understand why the kids of that time do. I would like to thank Bell Book And Comic for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you 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. I would also like to point out that Marvel Comics released an adaptation comic of Casper who is a character that was created by Harvey Comics who still was making comics and merchandise for him at the time…what a crazy time it was for comics in the 1990’s. So with that, let’s get to the review portion of this update.

Casper # 1 **1/2
Released in 1995 Cover Price $2.50 Marvel # 1 of 1

After the death of her father Carrigan Crittenden is left the family haunted home in Maine called Whipstaff Manor, and she is very mad about this, as she wanted all the money that instead he left to animal charities. But Carrigan and her lawyer Dibs get more interested in the old home when they find a hidden message in the homes deed that says there is hidden treasure on the property, but when she and Dibs get to the home one rainy night they are scare off by Casper The Friendly Ghost who tries to welcome them to his living place. And when Carrigan tries to hire a priest and a Ghostbuster to rid the home of the ghosts, they are all scared off by Stretch, Fatso & Stinkie also known as The Ghostly Trio. One night Casper is watching TV and sees a story on the news about Dr. James Harvey, a man who talks to lonely ghosts, and he also falls in love with his daughter Kat Harvey and travels via the cable wire to the hotel room of Carrigan and plays the news story and this causes her to call Dr. Harvey to try and ride her haunted home of the ghosts and he takes the job, and makes his daughter Kat a promise that this will be the last case the do if he is unable to make contact with the ghost of her mother Amelia. Once Dr. Harvey and Kat make it to the Whipstaff Manor they start setting things up, and Casper fails at his first attempt at talking to Kat as by accident he scares her, and worse The Ghostly Trio arrive and start messing with Dr. Harvey even entering his body and causing him to shake around, chasing him around and just being gross…but by the next morning they kind of start to become friends while they still mess with him you can tell that they like him…and Casper even fixed everyone breakfast. Kat starts her new school and puts it out there that they can have the Halloween dance at Whipstaff Manor here current living place and also the towns local haunted house. Casper gets jealous when a young man named Vic asks Kat to be his date as he wanted to be, but it is all a set up by a fellow classmate Amber who just wants to tease Kat in front of her new school. Casper and Kat hang out that night were the young ghost tells her he has forgotten about his past, and this makes her sad for him as well as for her mother as she might forget her and her dad. The next night while Dr. Harvey is depressed The Ghostly Trio take him out for a night on the town that leads to him falling into a hole and dying, Carrigan and Dibs find the homes blueprints and the possible location of the lost treasure and this leads to Carrigan dying in a accident and becoming a ghost so she can enter the vault, and lastly Kat finds Casper’s old toy room and the memories come back of his death as well as his dads secret lab were he made a machine that could turn a ghost into a living human again! In the end Kat tricks the ghost of Carrigan into disappearing for good, Dibs is knocked out of a window, The Ghostly Trio scare Amber & Vic before they can pull their prank, the machine is used to bring back Dr. Harvey to the land of the living, Casper is granting a wish of becoming a real boy by the ghost of Amelia Harvery who also speaks to her husband before returning to heaven, and Kat has her Halloween Dance Party and is able to dance with Casper.

This is a fun and silly adaptation that really does do justice to the film its based on as it keeps everything very kid friendly and retains some of the ghostly frights that could for sure possibly scare younger readers as The Ghostly Trio are the source of the scares, but to be fair by a certain point they become nice to the family and are very much major aspects of the comedy. The plot as a spoiled woman wanting to find hidden treasure in the old family manor that is haunted by four ghosts so she hires a man who claims to be a therapist to ghosts to get rid of them, but instead he and his daughter becomes friends with the ghosts and protect them from being kicked out of their home and put a stop to the woman’s greed when she herself turns into a ghost. The main character of this adaptation comic is Casper, the ghost of a 12-year old boy who passed away after getting sick and who’s dad made a one time use machine that could bring the ghost back to the world of the living, but when his father was locked up in an asylum the young ghost slowly started to forget his past…but thanks to his new living friend Kat Harvey he is able to remember and hold onto his memories. Casper is a very nice and friendly ghost who does not want to scare people but wants them to be his friends, while on the other hand his three “uncles” The Ghostly Trio like to scare and torment people who enter their rundown home, but even they come around and befriend the Harvey Family showing that the three are not such bad spirits after all. The Harvey Family are kind of a mess as the father James has dedicated his life to speaking to ghosts with the hopes of being able to talk to the spirit of his deceased wife, but his work also has caused him to move around and that means is teenage daughter keeps having to switch schools and is not making any lasting friends. And the main villains of this story are Carrigan Crittenden and her goofy lawyer Dibs, but while they are greedy they are not much of a threat to the ghosts or the Harvey Family and when push comes to shove they are both beaten pretty easily. The story over all is touching and about how you should never forget your passed loved ones, but you can not also allow those memories of them to hold you back from living your life. It also shows the importance of friendship and family as well as the fact it’s a great thing to show kindness to others. The scares in this comic as I have said before come from The Ghostly Trio as they are gross and go out of their way to scare the living, another aspect comes from Whipstaff Manor as it is a rundown place and looks like your typical haunted house. And with this being a kids comic that means much like the family film its based on there is no blood being spilt. The cover for this comic is pretty cool and is just one of the classic promo pictures used for the film and the interior art is done by Ernie Colon and is great stuff as the living characters do not look like the actors who played them in the film the four ghosts are dead on and I really like how he drew The Ghostly Trio. Over all this is a fun read if you are looking for something that has horror elements but is not t0o scary, plus fans of the film and Casper in general should check this one out. Checkout the artwork below to see the style used by Colon in this adaptation comic.

Casper really is an iconic character when it comes to the world of comics books and cartoons and he even made a splash in the world of movies with not only this one but also all the direct to video films that flooded shelves for awhile. And it was fun to revisit the film as well as read this comic adaptation for the first time to create this update, plus it was nice to showcase a film and character that is a gateway for younger fans to discover the awesome world of Horror Movies. But while our time with Casper & The Ghostly Trio has come to an end, our next update will be our July 4^th update and we will be celebrating an America Hero in the world of comic books and this year it will be a team and that team is The Flavor Force ! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as we talk about those tasty frozen treats called Popsicles and their superhero versions! Oh and I should say that Casper The Friendly Ghost here is the first update in our countdown to Halloween 2025, and while we will be taking a break for Popsicles the Horror Themed updates will pick up right after it and will continue until the first update of November so as you can see we have many frightful updates ahead of us.