From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: King Kong (1933)

Posted on July 14, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. For this one we will be heading to the uncharted island of Skull Island as well as to New York City as we will be talking about one of cinema’s most iconic, if not the most iconic giant monsters of all time, the one and only King Kong! And for this one we will be talking about the 1933 version as this one has yet to get this update theme treatment and that’s crazy to think as he is truly one of the biggest and most legendary monsters of horror cinema and one of my favorite horror monsters of all time. We will be taking a look not only at the film but the adaptation series that was released by Monster Comics in the early 90’s as this was the series I had as a kid and are the ones I want to cover here in order to give Kong the respect he deserves. So if you are ready, let’s climb aboard The S.S Venture as this ship is heading for Skull Island and that means that it’s the homeland of The 8^th Wonder Of The World, King Kong and it’s our chance to chat about Kong and his legacy in horror cinema as well as in my life.

Let’s start off by taking a look at King Kong and his ways of dealing death to mankind and those who enter his land or try and mess with his love Ann Darrow. King Kong is a massive 33 feet tall gorilla who lives on Skull Island where he rules over the other creatures that live there and is worshipped by the tribal people who offer him sacrifices of beautiful women to please him. King Kong has black fur and his size and appearance scare those who see him almost to death, as he is very massive and intimidating looking. King Kong has massive power and strength and can lift heavy items as well as crush both people and other massive creatures with his bare hands. King Kong is also a skilled fighter and can not only use his hands but also things around him like trees in his combat against other creatures that he will ram down throats if need be to win the fight. Kong is also pretty smart and understands the basic ways of survival as well as protecting himself as well as those in his protection. King Kong has a fearsome roar that also can scare a person half to death as it’s loud and lets everything know that he is in charge as he pounds his chest. Kong also has the killer instinct, as he will kill any person or creature that challenges him and will dispatch them in very violent ways from squashing to breaking jaws in two. Due to his massive size King Kong has also been known to step on people to end their lives, and with sharp teeth he also has eaten people making them die a very painful death. Due to his size and power as well King Kong can take a beating and while it hurts, he still fights on, as his pride and ego will not let him stay down and out of a fight. But while King Kong is a massive beast, he still is a living thing and this means he can be hurt and killed as one way for sure that he can be killed is by massive gunfire from multiple machine guns that cause massive wounds and bleeding. He can also be killed by a big fall from something high up. Kong is also very easily distracted by human women with blonde hair that he has claimed as his own and this causes him to rage and leave himself open for mistakes and attacks. While King Kong from 1933 might not be the biggest giant monster (Kaiju) we have ever covered, he still is very dangerous and a truly iconic monster of cinema.

Now that we have talked about King Kong and his ways of dealing death to those foolish enough to challenge his rule, I think we should now take a look at the 1933 film that he starred in and is the one that started it all for the Kong franchise. Like always I will be taking the film’s write up from our good friends at IMDB and then I will write about the film’s production and then my thoughts on the film. So if you’re ready, lets’ travel deeper into Skull Island and see what King Kong is unleashing on those who live there under his rule.

King Kong (1933)

“A film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City.”

In the 1930’s films about primates and most notably gorillas were doing well at the box office so that is when producer Ernest B. Schoedsack and RKO Radio Pictures decided to work together on a picture about a beautiful woman and a massive ape. The film’s story came from Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace with Ruth Rose and James Creelman, and when it comes down to it Merian C. Cooper was the main creator of King Kong alongside stop motion effects master Willis O’Brien who did the film’s effects as well as created the look and characteristics of Kong. I also want to say that Buzz Gibson was O’Brien’s assistant on the effects, and he as well did a fantastic job helping bring Kong and all the other creatures that lived on Skull Island to life. The film had a budget of over $672 thousand and when casting such names as Fay Wray, Bruce Cabot, Robert Armstrong, Frank Reicher, Sam Hardy and Victor Wong made up the main cast. Fay Wray’s beauty made her the perfect actress to play Ann Darrow, the beauty that ends up helping kill the beast, and Wray to me is truly cinema’s first scream queen as she would also appear in such other horror films as Doctor X (1932), The Most Dangerous Game (1932), The Vampire Bat (1933), Mystery Of The Wax Museum (1933) and Black Moon (1934). The film would be a production that was very innovative as new camera techniques were used to showcases visual effects as well as special effects, and it pushed all the actors to put on topnotch performances. Once the film was completed Max Steiner would do the soundtrack score, and it would be released to theaters on April 7, 1933 and was a massive hit with moviegoers as well as critics and would go on to make $5.3 million at the box office making it a major hit for the studio. The film also made New York City’s The Empire State Building an attraction for movie buffs as to this day fans of King Kong visit the site of his death…spoiler, Kong dies when he is gunned down while on top of the building and falls to his death. The film would spawn a sequel the same year in “Son Of Kong” and over the years has been remade several times, colorized and Kong as even fought fellow Kaiju icon Godzilla a couple of times. King Kong has also graced comic books, video games, novels, cartoons and toys as the films legacy is still very strong to this day. The film in 1933 was released alongside such other horror films as Son Of Kong, The Invisible Man, The Ghoul, Murders In The Zoo, The Monkey’s Paw, The Vampire Bat, La Llorona, The Mystery Of The Wax Museum and Terror Aboard to name a few. This was just a crash course of the making of King Kong, and I suggest that you track down one of the many books written about the film as they dive deeper into the film’s production and are worth a read. I also really do want to say 1933 was the year of Fay Wray for fans of horror and sci-fi films.

King Kong is one of the greatest films of all time and is hands down my favorite giant monster or kaiju film of all time as it really is a thrill ride that is filled with scares, thrills, chills and adventure. Something about King Kong has always drawn me in. Even as a young kid I was glued to watching this film as I saw it around the age of 7-8 via a VHS rental from the local library. I can remember my mom telling me stories of how the film scared her as a young child, it scared her so badly that she hid behind the couch while it was on. And that is the power of a great horror film, it was able to capture her imagination as well as scare her silly! I can remember the first time I saw it, King Kong himself was what interested me as watching him fight dinosaurs as well as rampage around was just magical. The film’s effects were amazing for 1933 and this to me is a film that should be shown in film school as it’s a perfect film to learn by as the story is classic and the pacing is top notch, and I know that James Rolfe aka The Angry Video Game Nerd agrees with this statement as he has said very similar stuff. King Kong has always been a big part of my childhood as growing up I had the Imperial King Kong figure, I had the classic paperback novel written by Delos W. Lovelace, I owned the Crestwood Monster Book of Kong and even as a youngster had the film’s score on CD. I can also remember drawing King Kong in school for art class, and he was always a topic when my friends and I would talk about classic monster movies as the debut of who would win or who is better between he and Godzilla was always a hot topic on the playground…and for those wondering I have always been team Kong…but don’t get me wrong I love Godzilla as well. Plus Fay Wray was one of horror cinema’s first true beauties as she is such a stunningly beautiful woman and a great actress. I am also going to admit it, as a kid when King Kong was shot and died I cried both in the 1933 version as well as the 1976 one…but give me some slack, I was a kid when I saw them and had a true bond with Kong as he truly was a sad case of a creature out of its element and being murdered by those who took him away from his home to make money on him as well as just make an attraction out of him. One thing that I have always regretted not doing as it’s too late now was going to Universal Studios in Florida to ride Kongfrontation where you got to interact with a giant animatronic King Kong who had banana smelling breath! Sadly the ride is no longer around as it was removed from the park. I truly can’t say just how important this film is to me and just how much I love the character of King Kong and next to a small handful of other classic monsters, this is one icon that I feel that everyone in the world should watch at least once and should enjoy all the sequels, remakes and reboots that have been made keeping his legacy alive.

With 2026 being the year of “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” updates, I had to cover King Kong as what would a celebration of horror be without him! I have been wanting to cover the Monster Comics adaptation of the film that were released in the 1990’s for a while now as these comics are ones I grew up reading as I found the issues at Mavericks Cards and Comics when I was a kid and remember really enjoying them as it brought Kong to the pages of comics. I have not read them in a few decades, so I cannot wait to see if they hold up still. I would like to thank Bell Book And Comic, Game Swap Kettering and Lone Star Comics for having these issues in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s take a look at Monster Comics’ six-issue adaptation of the classic 1933 film King Kong and see what horrors and thrills await us.

King Kong # 1 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.50 Monster Comics # 1 of 6

Captain Englehorn and his first mate Jack Driscoll are waiting on ship for film director Carl Denham who has hired them to take him out to sea and to an uncharted island as he wants to make his next big jungle picture, but he has also gotten the ship in trouble with the amount of explosions on board. While walking around the streets of New York looking for an actress to appear in his film, Denham ends up meeting Ann Darrow who is down on her luck and was caught stealing fruit from a stand, but after paying for what she stole, he hires her over a quick lunch as he is taken by her beauty. The next morning they all set sail for the island and over the next few days Ann and Jack seem to be getting closer and all the crew start watching out for her, but Denham tries to warn Jack to not fall in love with Ann as he is picking up the tension between the two. After shooting some test footage of Ann on the deck Denham heads to Englehorn’s quarters, and he tells him and Jack about the island they are heading to called Skull Island that is surrounded by a giant man made wall and in the jungle lives a primitive tribe of people. He then tells them of Kong, something massive that lives on the island and he wants to be the first person to ever film it. And as time passes, the ship goes through a thick fog and they find themselves at Skull Island where they hear tribal drums being played. Once on the island they stumble on the tribe who is sacrificing a woman to Kong, but spot that they are being watched and want Ann as the sacrifice instead…and thanks to the fast thinking of Englehorn, they are able to get Ann off the island and everyone back safe on the ship. That night the native sneak aboard the ship and kidnap Ann and end up taking her beyond the great wall to be taken by Kong a giant gorilla that takes her into his massive hand, just as Jack and the crew arrive and are powerless to help her.

The classic 1933 film comes alive on these pages and this first issue is a set up for our cast of characters. The plot has a ship filled to the brim with crew on a big job to get a film director and his assistant and actress to a uncharted island that is filled with lots of mysteries things like a skull shaped mountain, a giant wall, a tribe that worships something called Kong…that turns out to be a massive gorilla! Ann Darrow is a beautiful woman who is hired to star in a new jungle film, as she is down on her luck and was having to try and steal food just to eat. But once on the ship bound for the jungle, she finds love in first mate Jack Driscoll and as well becomes the obsession of the island’s tribe due to her blonde hair and them wanting to give her to their “God” Kong! Jack Driscoll is tough as nails but quickly falls head over heels for Ann, who he does not like is being put in danger all over filming a movie…he is also the first one to rush back to the island when he finds that she has been kidnapped by the tribe. Captain Englehorn is a very wise man who is allowing money to be his driving factor, but is also the one who can speak to the tribe. The rest of the crew including Lumpy and his pet monkey Iggy (who are was made up for the comic taking the place of Charlie) are all willing to help protect as well as get Ann back from the danger she is in. Carl Denham is a film director who is driven by making a great jungle picture and seems to not be bothered about putting peoples lives in danger as long as he can get the shots he needs to make the greatest jungle film ever made, and this is who he is and while the crew are his friends you can tell they are truly getting annoyed by him with Jack being the one who is the most angered by his actions. And as for Kong we only get a glimpse of him as he comes through the jungle in order to grab Ann who has been given to him by the island tribe that worship him. There are changes from the film to this comic as one of the biggest being that Charlie, the ship’s chef is missing, and we instead are given a weird looking crew member named Lumpy who has a pet monkey named Iggy, another big one is that the island tribe is more flushed out in their ceremonies, Carl Denham is more cold and we start off by meeting Jack and The Captain first…and that is just some of the changes. The comic is bloodless and the horror comes from the unknown of the island as well as the appearance of Kong who is massive in size and seems very annoyed when he appears. The cover for this issue is great and is iconic to me as I can remember the first time I saw it was when I bought the issue from Mavericks Cards and Comics when I was a kid. It shows Kong holding Ann and if you’re a fan of the film, this is very eye catching. The comics interior art as well as the adaptation story is done by Donald Simpson and is lots of fun as he has a cartoonish style to his art, and while the character’s look nothing like the actors who play them I really dig the way he draws them as well as Kong. Over all this first issue is a great read but is a little slow as it truly is the build to getting to know the characters as well as get them all to Skull Island in order to come across King Kong! So with that, let’s see what issue two has in store for us!

King Kong # 2 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.95 Monster Comics # 2 of 6

Jack Driscoll leads a group into the jungle to try and save Ann from Kong and with him is Carl Denham, who has also brought his gas bombs just in case. The other half of the crew stay near the gate with Captain Englehorn to make sure the tribe does not close the gate and leave them stuck inside. While following the trail of Kong, the heroes discover that the jungle is filled with dinosaurs, and they use some of the gas bombs to bring down as Stegosaurus before shooting it in the head to kill it. And as they get deeper into the jungle, Jack and the crew have to make a raft to get across a river only to be once more attacked this time by a Brontosaurus that kills some of the crew and as well makes them lose their guns and gas bombs they brought with them, but Jack makes them push forward as they need to save Ann. Meanwhile Kong himself is fighting off dinosaurs that are attacking him in order to protect Ann as the giant beast has fallen in love with her. He drives off the dinosaurs who end up stampeding and killing more of the ship’s crew who must flee across a nature made bridge that goes across a massive drop. But unknown to Jack and the others, they are rushing towards Kong who decides to shake the bridge and causes all the crew to fall into the abyss with some even falling into giant spider webs to become the lunch for the giant insects. Jack is the only one to make it off the bridge as he jumps onto a vine and holds on for dear life. And we are not sure what has happed to Denham just yet.

The adventure starts as Jack Driscoll leads a group into the jungle in order to save the life of Ann who has been taken by Kong, but they all soon learn that its very dangerous as the land is filled with dinosaurs, giant insects, dangerous nature and of course Kong who has taken a true liking to his gift from the tribe that worships him. And by the end of the issue most if not all of the crew is dead and Jack must find a way to save Ann from the massive grip of Kong who is willing to fight and kill to protect her. This is a very fun issue as we get to see any instances of man fighting dinosaur with the later almost always coming out on top, and because of these deaths the issue does have blood as people are eaten and impaled on a horn! Truly in this issue we find that Jack Driscoll is a man on a mission to save the woman he has just meet and fallen for as he risks not only his life but that of most of the ship’s crew in order to get her back, and if his crew show any fear or question what the heck they are doing, he quickly puts them in his place…so in other words, her life is more important than anyone else on the ship in his eyes. Carl Denham even while in the jungle is thinking about his movie as well as money as it’s clear he would capture all the dinosaurs if he could to make quick cash off them, he also seems less stressed about getting Ann back as when the tree bridge is shaken by Kong I am not even sure where this film director is! Kong is also not messing around in this issue as he holds off a group of dinosaurs as well as keeps Jack and the crew at bay as he truly has claimed Ann as his own! The horror comes from not only Kong and the jungle but all the blood thirsty dinosaurs that are roaming around on Skull Island! The adventure elements of the film are present in this issue and gives you as a reader a build as we are along for the ride as Jack and the others are hunting down Kong in order to save their friend, and we are also seeing that while Kong is big, scary and protective he is also gentle when it comes to Ann. The cover is awesome for this issue and has Kong shaking the tree bridge and the art for it is really great stuff. The interior art is again done by Donald Simpson and is really fun as his cartoonish style really starts to grow on you more and more as you flip through the pages. Another great issue and once more makes some changes but still holds true to the film it’s based on.

King Kong # 3 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.95 Monster Comics # 3 of 6

Jack Driscoll watches as his friends and crew fall to their deaths while others are being eaten alive by giant spiders, and he knows that he alone now must save Ann from the grip of Kong. Jack uses a knife to stab Kong in the hand and as this is going down a T-Rex called Meat-Eater notices Ann and goes after her but he screams bring Kong who starts to fight with the dinosaur, as Carl Denham comes from out of weeds as he hid during the dinosaur stampede and this is what saved his life. The fight between Kong and Man-Eater is very violent as both are fighting for survival now and it’s Kong that wins as he breaks the jaw of Man-Eater leaving him dead. Kong grabs Ann once more and heads deeper in the jungle, Jack and Denham then meet back up and they come up with a plan that will have Jack continue to follow Kong as Denham goes back for more men and gas bombs in order to fight Kong who they have both just witness kill a meat eating dinosaur with his bare hands. Jack follows Kong to the skull mountain cave and watches as a giant snake attacks him and he hopes that he puts Ann down so that they can get back to the boat and to freedom away from this cursed island.

The adventure and horror continues as Kong with Ann in hand heads deeper into the jungle and he protects her from all that he thinks is a threat and that includes a killer T-Rex as well as a massive snake! We also see that Carl Denham survived, as he was lucky enough to find safety in some weeds and brush from the dinosaur stampede and was not on the tree bridge that was destroyed by Kong! Also Jack continues is tracking of Kong while Denham returns to the gate with orders to get more gas bombs to use this time against Kong in order to stop him and get Ann back safe and sound. Jack Driscoll truly loves Ann as he keeps going forward even as death is all around him and the odds of survival is slim, while it’s clear that watching his friends and fellow crew member die bothered him its almost like it helps drive him to be a hero to make their deaths mean something. Carl Denham even after witnessing people dying and two giant creatures fighting only thinks about his movie as well as his own hide, but you do have to give him credit as he is going to journey back to the gate alone in order to get help. Poor Ann is being carried around and finds herself in danger as she is not only being dragged around by Kong but also finds herself on the menu for a very hungry T-Rex! And speaking of that T-Rex who is called Meat-Eater he is one of those true iconic characters from King Kong and I am glad to see him make it to this comic and have one epic fight with Kong as this fight is the true highlight of the issue! Watching Kong and Meat-Eater duke it out over Ann is fantastic and while Meat-Eater dies by getting his jaw broken in two he still puts up a good fight! Kong once more proves why he is the King of Skull Island as he takes on all comers and wins every fight he is in against both man and beast this far. The Horror elements of this issue are still Kong as well as Skull Island in general but also you have to say Meat-Eater is also part of the chills. The issue does have some bloodshed with most of that coming from the fight between Kong and Meat-Eater as the jaw break has the red stuff shown. The issue also ends on a big cliffhanger as Kong is being attacked by a giant snake with Ann still in his hand while Jack is in the shadows waiting for his moment to save her from this crazy island. The cover is really cool and has Kong fighting Man-Eater, and you guessed it, Donald Simpson did the interior art and it is as good and cartoonish as past issues. So with that, let’s see what the next issue has in store for us and if Jack is able to save Ann from this giant ape and get her back to the ship and safely to New York.

King Kong # 4 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $1.95 Monster Comics # 4 of 6

Jack watches on as the snake tries its best to kill Kong who sets Ann down but way out of the reach of him, and they both watch as Kong ends up bashing the skull of the snake on rocks killing it before grabbing Ann once more and continuing to his home cave, while Jack still follows. Meanwhile Carl Denham makes it back to the gate and tells Captain Englehorn of the fate of the crew and how Ann and Jack are the only ones alive, he also begs for them to get the gas bombs so that they can go back and save them from Kong as well as all the creatures that are in the jungle as he warns them its very dangerous. Kong is very curious about Ann and is studying her when Kong is distracted by Jack who makes a noise and this allows a Pterodactyl to swoop in and grab Ann, but the dinosaur does not get far as Kong grabs it and rips it into pieces! But this allows Jack to also grab Ann and they to hug before rushing off to escape. But the two don’t get very far before Kong is on their trail as he wants Ann back!

In this issue Kong makes it home but has to fight and kill a giant snake as well as a Pterodactyl all on order to keep Ann safe, but all along Jack is right behind waiting for his time to rescue and save his love and when he finally does so this makes Kong very angry and Jack is on his kill list! We also find that Carl Denham as made it back safe and is alerting the Captain and crew of the horrors beyond the gate and that they must go in and save Ann and Jack. In this issue Jack is tired and hurt but still keeps pushing forward as his only goal in life right now is to save Ann and he has almost forgotten about his own safety. Ann at this point as been carried around by Kong and has been on the dinner menu for many dinosaurs that live on Skull Island, and even at one point Kong kind of goes perverted on her as he removes her dress! Kong is a fighter and is killing all that challenge him or try and take Ann away from him. Carl Denham shows that while he is a director who is obsessed with filming his movies, he can be a hero as he makes it back to the gate alone and tries to get the others to go back in and help Jack and Ann. The scares and horror come from Kong as well as the other creatures he has to battle in this issue as what is more scary than giant monsters on a rampage! Plus the issue does have blood being spilt with Kong going brutal on both the snake and Pterodactyl and ending them both in very bloody ways. The cover for this one is also very cool and had Kong fighting the Pterodactyl, and I have to say I love the way they drew King Kong as he looks badass. Yep, Donald Simpson is on interior art again and it’s great and cartoonish, and I love the way he draws Kong and the other creatures. Another great issue that makes you look forward to reading the next.

King Kong # 5 ***
Released in 1991 Cover Price $2.25 Monster Comics # 5 of 6

Jack and Ann make it back to the gate, and they are tired and want to make it to the ship to get away from the island and rest. As the gates are opened, the crew are happy to see them both, but Denham is also hoping to see Kong as he wants to use the gas bombs to knock him out and bring him back to New York in order to make lots of money off him and he wants to use Ann as bait, Jack is furious over this but has no time to act as Kong has arrived and is very pissed off! Kong breaks down the gate as Jack and the others rush to the beach and their ship, Kong meanwhile kills many of the tribe natives as he is in full rage mode and only has two things on his mind death and Ann. From the broken down gate also comes many other dinosaurs that attack and kill the tribe members, as Denham has truly caused the death of many people all over wanting to make a film. Once on the beach Denham and the crew use the gas bombs that end up knocking out Kong as well as the dinosaurs saving them all from being crushed and eaten. They all watch as Kong goes down and the whole time he is looking at Ann while Denham is calling orders for the crew to get supplies to capture Kong and bring him back to New York.

In this issue Jack is able to rescue Ann and get her to the gate and with the crew, but they are not safe as Kong arrives and crashes through the gate and the dinosaurs follow. The poor tribe is almost all killed in Kong’s rampage, and he is only brought down thanks to the gas bombs that Carl Denham brought on board. And after Kong is knocked out the film director’s main goal is to capture the great ape and put in on display in New York in order to make lots of money. Carl Denham takes two steps back as just when you thought he was going to be a hero he shows that money and fame is truly what drives him, and when you think about it his greed and lack of caring has coasted many people their lives. In other words Denham is a true scumbag! Jack Driscoll is the true hero as he is the one who risked it all in order to save Ann and even is the one who has called out Denham all along for his terrible behavior and lack of caring for peoples safety, now don’t get me wrong Jack has done some bad things as well that has helped lead to people dying with his main focus being to save the woman he loves. Ann is so worn down by the time she gets to the gate that Jack has to carry her, as she really has had a very stressful day and I am sure all she wants to do is get back to New York and live her life. Kong is very upset in losing Ann as once she is taken away from him his rage takes control and he goes nuts and even kills the tribe the worship him as he eats some of them and steps on others. And poor Kong even when he is passing out just wants to see Ann, and little does he know what fate awaits him once he wakes up from his slumber. One thing that I really life in this issue is that when Kong escapes the wall so does all the dinosaurs who also want to rampage through the village, it’s a nice touch. The issue has lots of death and some blood as the frightening moments come from Kong and the dinosaurs escape and rampage as they brutalize the poor natives. The cover for this one is cool like all the others in this series and features Kong fighting the giant snake as Jack looks on. And do I need to say more about who does the interior art and how cool and cartoonish it is, I think not. Well the next issue is the final issue, and with that, let’s take a look and see what awaits not just us but Kong.

King Kong # 6 ***
Released in 1992 Cover Price $2.50 Monster Comics # 6 of 6

In New York City Carl Denham has a sold out show for people to see King Kong, The 8^th Wonder Of The World, and the place is packed. On hand are both Ann Darrow and Jack Driscoll as after this premiere the two plan on getting married. The press enter behind the scenes and talk with Denham and Jack and as the story is being told, and the director turned promoter brags that Kong was captured all because of Ann, she feels sad for the events that took place that caused this massive beast to be captured and treated like a sideshow freak. As the attraction opens and Denham gives his speech he shows Kong to the audience who are scared of this massive beast, who gets more angry when Ann and Jack are brought out followed by news paper photographers who’s flashing lights end up making Kong rage and break free from the chains that hold him as he thinks people are harming Ann! Kong breaks loose out of the theater and hits the streets of New York on a rampage and looking for Ann, and finds her and Jack in a hotel room hiding he crashes his massive fist through the building and once more has Ann is his hands and makes his way to the Empire State Building and starts climbing it as the near by Air Force gets the orders to fly to the building and combat the giant ape. As Kong makes it to the top of the building Jack rushes to the top as well in order to try and save his fiancé from the grip of Kong once more. Kong on top of the building feels like he is once more the King of this new land, but then the fighter planes appear and start their attack and at first Kong is standing his ground and even knocking some of them out of the sky. But after a short time and many machine gun bullets later, the mighty King Kong is bleeding and falls off the Empire State Building to his death as Ann watches on in sadness as she understands that the giant ape was truly just scared, lonely and in a place he didn’t belong. While Jack makes it to Ann and holds her as she cries, on the street below Kong is dead and Denham tells the newspapers that it was Beauty that killed the Beast.

In the final issue of this adaptation Kong finds himself in New York City as a prisoner of a con-man film director who looks at the great beast as a paycheck and not as a living creature, and when Kong breaks free to once more have Ann by his massive side he is gunned down by machine gun fire from planes that have been sent out to kill him once the beast climbed the famous Empire State Building. And I have to first say Carl Denham is a complete scumbag as he seems to once more not care that he has put peoples lives in danger and even when Kong escapes he seems to not be bothered by this destruction and is clearly just driven by money. And as Kong is dead in front of him Denham seems to still be working the press, just a terrible person. Jack and Ann just want to live their lives together and are once more tangled into the crappy world of Denham, and Ann really does seem sad for her part in the taking of Kong as well as his death. Kong is a protective creature and when he thinks that the press are doing harm to Ann he escapes from his chains and does what he can to protect her, and sadly this rampage of protecting leaves him open to being killed by gunfire. Kong really is just a beast who does not understand his new surroundings and really just wants to live his life and protect Ann who he has fallen in love with. Its truly sad when he is shot and falls to his death as Kong really is a great beast who cares about Ann who he has taken as his own. The climax of this story both in the film as well as the comic truly hits you as it’s sad to see Kong die and all cause of love and people fearing things that are unknown, while I get that he is a “monster” by all accounts he still had a life and should have been left on Skull Island and not exploited my modern people. The comic does make changes from the film, and while some are very odd and even big changes, the comic does do the film justice and really held up for me after all these years as it was a great read then and a great read now. One character I would have like to have seen was Charlie the ship’s cook as he was a big character in the film and even came into play in the sequel “Son Of Kong” and he should have been in this comic. The issue does have blood spilled as when Kong is being shot he bleeds, and of course the Horror comes from Kong and his rampage through the Big Apple. The cover for this issue has Kong fighting off the planes and is very eye catching as the border is a bright yellow. Donald Simpson’s art throughout this series was very solid work, and he has a very cartoonish style that brings a fun approach to the comics When I was younger I was a little more harsh on the art as I wanted Kong to be more scary, but looking at it now with adult eyes I find it very charming. While this series is great I still would say that the Gold Key Comic adaptation that I covered HERE is the better of the two, but believe me, I am not downplaying this series as I really do like it lots and think that if you are a King Kong fan, you should own and read these comics. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Donald Simpson used in this series.

King Kong is truly one of those films as well as characters that was made for not only being in films but also in comic books, and I am glad that he still makes his appearances in mini series from time to time over the years as it gives horror comic readers like myself something to read. And for those who want to read more about King Kong in the From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update theme, you can also check out my updates for King Kong (2005) here, Kong Skull Island (2017) here and lastly Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) here…so as you can see you can get a full course of King Kong here at Rotten Ink. And with that, it seem that our time with King Kong is coming to an end but do not worry as our next update will still keep us in the realm of horror film inspired comics as I will be taking a look at the Hammer Horror Film Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter and the Titan Comic mini series based around it. So until then, read a horror comic of three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local horror host! See you next update as we hunt down some bloodsuckers with The Captain!

The 8th Wonder Of Giant Classic Comics King Kong

Posted on September 1, 2014 by bloodlinematt

My mother was 7 or 8 when she attempted to watch the 1933 film King Kong with her mom when it aired on TV. She watched as a group set out to sea to make a movie and landed on an island, and when King Kong showed up just the sight and sound of the beast scared her enough to make her hide behind her mom’s chair! She would peek around the corner and shiver in fright of the sight of the giant ape. Way before the gross out films of the 60’s made by the likes of Hershel Gordon Lewis became the norm in what’s “scary” about horror films, the likes of a giant ape with a love for blondes paved the way and terrified the young and old. While many not consider it a horror film, I have always viewed it as one as King Kong is a giant ape creature that caused panic not only on his home island but also New York, and he does kill and eat humans so yeah, it spells horror film to me. I saw the film when I was about 7 or 8, the same age she first saw it, and I can remember my Mom telling me about her first viewing and this set the bar very high as I sat down on the couch ready to watch it alongside my parents and my brother on a VHS that we rented from Waynesville’s library. From the moment the film started, I was hooked on every word and when Kong showed up I became a fan, and to me every gorilla toy became King Kong. The watch with my family was a great one and was one of many fun family night of watching a flick on the old VCR while eating popcorn and being entertained. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away of the film as that will happen as we review the Gold Key comic adaptation a little later on so I will give you the cliff notes version. The film is about a filmmaker and some sailors who take a fresh faced new actress to an island were the natives take her to appease King Kong, a giant gorilla who rules the land. They save her and also take Kong to New York as a stage attraction, and he escapes running wild in the city until he is killed in the end. It’s an amazing classic film with special effects that were way ahead of their time. If you have not seen this film, do yourself a favor and watch it!

In the 1980’s Ted Turner owned Turner Classic Movies wanted to do something fresh and new to King Kong so they did the unthinkable…. they colorized it! To be honest it seemed like an odd kick Turner was on, taking old classic black and white films and turning them into color films to air on his classic movie station, and on the top of the list that sparked the most debate was what they did to King Kong. I can remember that my mom and dad were not pleased that they messed with a classic film this way, but being so young I was a little curious to see what the classic Kong would look like in color. I seen the color version after the black and white and still preferred the original to the tampered with version. King Kong was the first movie on VHS that I owned two versions of as I had to own them both, and I would say I watched the black and white more than I did the colorized one that I got dirt cheap brand new at Blockbuster Video.

Now if you look at King Kong as a horror film like I do, then you would have to look at Fay Wray as the original scream queen, and she proves she has a set of lungs as she screams her head off at the first site of Kong. She began her acting career making short films and making westerns for Universal but left once she became a WAMPAS Baby Stars meaning she was listed as an actress to watch. As a teenager Wray was signed to a contract with Paramount Pictures where she made over a dozen films like the failure 1928 silent film The Wedding March. Wray was able to make the transition from silent to talkie films and left Paramount to make other films for other companies, the most notable being RKO that hired her for her first horror films like Doctor X, The Most Dangerous Game and her most famous film King Kong. She was proud of her work in Kong and that film saved RKO from going bankrupt! During that time as well she was in a few other horror films like The Vampire Bat and Mystery In The Wax Museum. By the 1940’s, Wray retired briefly from acting but came back to make more films and take TV parts being on such shows as Perry Masson and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Wray continued to act for many years and even turned down a part in James Cameron’s 1997 smash hit film Titanic. Sadly at the age of 96 Fay Wray passed away of natural causes in 2004 while she slept. After her passing, the Empire State Building shut off all its lights for 15 minutes to honor her legacy. Wray was a true beauty, a talented actress and could possibly be the first scream queen of cinema.

Because King Kong was such a huge hit at the box office, a sequel was made in 1933, coming out only 9 months after the original. The film follows the film director from the first film who is now in hot water for King Kong running wild in New York and travels to find that the giant ape might have had an offspring. That film was called Son of Kong! In Japan in 1962, they made a film called King Kong vs. Godzilla where they pit the world’s top giant monsters against each other, and in 1967 they made another King Kong film called King Kong Escapes that has our lovable Kong fighting a robot version of himself called Mecha Kong. Paramount Pictures in 1976 decided to make a remake of King Kong and added in more modern touches to the film and even trades in the Empire State Building for the Twin Towers as well as the stop motion Kong for a stuntman in a suit done by FX God Rick Baker. In 1986 the remake got a forgettable follow up called King Kong Lives that had the giant ape getting a pacemaker put in to replace his damaged heart and finding a mate who has also been brought to the USA. In 2005 a longwinded Peter Jackson remake of King Kong was made and besides more minutes added to the runtime, it was a good but unnecessary film. With all these spin off films, sequels and remakes this just shows you how much impact this film had on classic cinema, and I agree with James Rolfe who said that film students should watch the original in film school right alongside Citizen Kane. While none of them are as good as the original film, they are all still fun watches that help add to the legacy of Kong and prove that this primate of fright, this ape of terror, is truly a legend of cinema.

In 1966 America and Japanese animation studios teamed up to make The King Kong Show, an animated adventure kid show that had King Kong befriending the Bond Family and stopping the likes of Dr. Who (and no, not the BBC version) from capturing Kong for his own evil gain. This animated cartoon was teamed with another show about a tiny special agent called Tom of T.H.U.M.B. and the show would last till 1969 with a total of 3 seasons and 25 episodes. This cartoon also helped Toho make the film King Kong Escapes and also was to be inspiration to the film that became Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, which Kong was suppose to star in, not Zilla. The cartoon over the years did not hold up well and was mostly forgotten until it got released on DVD as volumes a few years back. I never remember seeing the show when I was a kid, and I think it would have fit perfect on early morning Saturday’s back in the 80’s and could have also found a place on the USA Cartoon Express. I saw the show when I was older and in my 20’s found it to be pretty cool but only from a retro standpoint.

So as we all know Toho studios made two films with King Kong in them in the 1960’s, but did you know that there are also two others made in Japan way before this that are now lost films? The first was a short silent film called “Wasei Kingu Kongu” made in 1933 the same year King Kong was released and was a team up from RKO and Shochiku Studios. Not much is known about the film besides RKO asked them to make it and that instead of a stop motion Kong, it was a man in a suit. It was directed by Torajiro Saito with Isamu Yamaguchi playing King Kong and all that is left of the film is one single picture that was printed. Next was a 1938 film called “King Kong Appears In Edo” that made by Zensho Cinema with permission from RKO and was directed by Soya Kumagai and had a size changing King Kong attacking Edo (Tokyo) during Medieval times! Fuminori Ohashi who some 16 years later would make the original Godzilla costume made the Kong costume in this film. Just think about that, King Kong was really Japan’s first giant movie monster and not Godzilla like we all thought! Both films are believed to have been destroyed during the bombings of World War II and neither ever showed outside of Japan making all master prints being only stored there. I learned about these missing films thanks once more to James Rolfe (Angry Video Game Nerd) when he did a top 10 list of lost Horror Films and the Japan Kong films were his # 1, and I agree with him when he said he hopes all the films he picked won’t always be lost films. Below are some pictures of Japan’s King Kongs, the first being Toho’s with the second being the 1933 version and last being the 1938 one.

Tiger Electronics who are best known for making handheld games in the late 80’s and 90’s also made some console games in the age of Atari 2600 under the brand name TigerVision. And would you know it that in 1982 they made a game based on King Kong that was a follow up to their handheld games made about the big ape the year before. The game was a total rip off of Donkey Kong and had you playing as a guy who was trying to get to the top were King Kong was. The graphics were bad and Kong was a stiff looking pixel mess. I have played the game several times and even own it and I must say that it really is a bad game. Though I do find it funny that Donkey Kong was a clone of King Kong who in turn had a game made about him that was just a bad clone of Donkey Kong. The game on release only sold moderately well and was by no means looked at as a classic.

Ideal made a board game in 1976 based on the remake movie that had 2-4 players trying to get to the top of the Twin Towers before King Kong so that they can capture him, or you can win the game by saving the woman from his right hand via a special mission. But Kong won’t make your trip easy as he is flipping all around trying to knock your player back to the start. I own this game and played it with the fellow members of The Dayton Board Game Society who are Stephen Alexander II, Josh Weinberg, Jeremy Hoyt and Garrison Kane on one of our past meetings ,and I can remember that while the game was not all that ground breaking we all had fun trying to knock each other off the building using Kong as our puppet and it was a blast seeing just how competitive it got. If you get a chance and like classic board games based on movies then I would say check this one out, play time to complete is about 20 minutes give or take a few. I should also share we played this game on February 6^th 2013 in Josh Weinberg’s basement and we also played the LJN A Nightmare on Elm Street video game for the NES and we ate Wing Zone.

King Kong not only has been made into many video games and board games but he has also had pinball machines based around him, many comic books, novels, magazines, t-shirts, toys, Halloween costumes, soundtracks, stickers, dolls, drinking glasses and so much more. If you’re a King Kong fan, then there is something for you out there in the world of merchandise. Some of my favorite King Kong merchandise that I owned was my Imperial King Kong action figure that I use to make fight my Godzilla figure and even Kong was wrapped up in my epic Toy Wars, also would be my Crestwood Monster Series Book based on King Kong that gave the history of the film as well as some sweet photos. I also really liked my adaptation novel by Delos W. Lovelace and can remember reading it before bedtime many nights. It’s odd looking back at my youth now being 35 years old and seeing just how much of an impact King Kong has had on my life. It’s a neat feeling knowing that a giant ape with a love for blondes truly means something to me. And for those of you who listen to Alpha Rhythms on WYSO (91.3 FM) on Sunday nights, I have played soundtrack pieces from the original score by Max Steiner as well as tracks from King Kong Lives by John Scott.

Before we move onto The Gold Key Comic Review I of course have to talk about a ride I have wanted to go on since I first heard about it; that’s the one and only KongFrontation ride at Universal Studios Orlando that opened on June 7^th 1990 and became a major attraction at the park. The ride was based on the 1976 remake as well as a ride Universal Studios had at their Hollywood park called King Kong Encounter that opened in 1986. The 5 minute ride would place you and others inside a tramcar but not before you walked down a mock New York street complete with newscasts playing on TVs to build up that King Kong is roaming the streets. Once inside the car you are treated to explosions as well as giant animatronic King Kong’s that would roar and knock your little car around given the effect that he was attacking. In the end he would attack while you’re on the bridge but your driver would get you out safe and unharmed. This ride seemed amazing to me and just the thought of being close to a life size version of Kong was enough to make me want to go, but being a kid and having parents that didn’t like to travel out of state put a damper on getting to go. The attraction closed in 2002, and two years later a lame ride based on the terrible Mummy Remake took its place, marking the sad fact that I never got to ride the one roller coaster/attraction that I always wanted to. As far as King Kong Encounter, it had guests on a tramcar as King Kong would knock a helicopter from the sky and would end with you being eye level with the great ape on the Brooklyn Bridge as he tries to break it apart. Of course you would make it off the bridge and would be safe thanks to your driver. The Kong animatronic was at the time the world’s largest and was so detailed that it’s “breath” smelled of bananas! This ride as well lasted a total of 5 minutes and was one of the main attractions to the park. Sadly it as well came to an end when in 2008 a massive fire broke out and burnt the attraction up, but in Universal Hollywood they didn’t give up on King Kong and replaced it with an attraction called King Kong 360 3-D. I really would have loved to have ridden these attractions and sadly with both of them gone for good I will never get the chance to do so. But I can watch videos of them on YouTube and hear stories from my friends who did get to experience it…sigh.

So I think our voyage through the sea of King Kong is over and we looked at the movies, video game, cartoon, missing films, merchandise as well as a theme park attraction but now it’s time for us to take a walk on Skull Island alongside Gold Key comics and see what this 1968 adaptation has to offer to the Kong legacy. I want to think Bell Book And Comic for having this comic in stock, and I would like to remind that I graded on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So let’s man up and walk through the giant gates into King Kong’s lsland and hope he doesn’t stomp us into the mud!

King Kong # 1 ***1/2
Released in 1968 Cover Price .25 Gold Key # 1 of 1

Carl Denham is a filmmaker who can’t find a lead actress for his top secret next project. He even has rented a boat called the “Wonderer” along with all its crew and after an agent tells him that he will not supple him with an actress, the director walks down the streets of New York and finds a pretty thief woman named Ann Darrow who was stealing an apple due to hunger. Denham buys it for her and hires her to be in his new film. While on board the first mate Jack Driscoll falls in love with Ann, and the two start up a relationship. They find out that they are to port at an unknown island called Kong Island. But while at the island they find that the natives are worshiping and sacrificing women to an unknown “God” and they have set their sights on Ann who they kidnap off the boat and take to the altar where a giant gorilla named King Kong falls for her and takes her deep into his jungle home! Driscoll and Denham lead some crew members on a rescue mission and while in the jungle they find that Kong is not the only giant monster as dinosaurs and sea serpents all blocking their trail to save Ann from Kong’s grip. Kong finds that he is being followed after he beats up a pair of Triceratops and knocks all the crew members off a log killing them leaving only Driscoll and Denham left. As Driscoll follows Kong, Denham goes back to the ship for more men and gas bombs. King Kong while trying to grab Driscoll from a cave is attacked by a T-Rex and a major battle breaks out between the giant beasts! As Kong climbs to his cave home he must fight off all types of attackers and during this Driscoll saves Ann, and the two escape via the river below. As they reach the gates Kong is in hot pursuit and it’s here that Denham uses his gas bombs to knock Kong out and then takes him to New York to use the giant ape as a sideshow, but when Kong see’s Ann again he breaks his chains and escapes his cage and takes Ann to the top of the Empire State Building where he is attacked by fighter planes that lead to his death as they use machine guns on him while he is distracted by Ann being saved by Driscoll again and he falls to his death. In the end Ann and Driscoll are safe in each other’s arms, Kong is dead in the middle of the street and Denham learns that it was beauty that killed the beast.

This is another amazingly done comic film adaptation of a classic horror film much like Comic Library International’s Edison’s Frankenstein 1910 that holds just so true enough to the source material but still adds its own flare to spice it up. The plot is your simple Beauty and The Beast and follows a young actress who gains the affection of a tough sailor as well as a giant ape and when the big primate is taken away from his home and placed in the big city, his only comfort when he escapes is his blonde bombshell but even love can’t save him from being slain. Ann Darrow is a sweet woman who turns her misfortune of being poor into fame when she takes the part in a movie that leads her to charming King Kong to be put on display. Even though Ann fears Kong she also still feels some affection for him and wishes him no ill will and even tries to save the beast as the planes shoot him down. King Kong is neither good nor bad and it’s clear he is very territorial of his land and very protective of Ann who he has fallen in love with. I love the fact that he keeps not only the natives in check but also all the other giant beasts that live on the island proving he really is the King. Carl Denham, while a money grubbing rich film making geek, still really shows he cares about his friends as Ann’s safety when being taken is a big priority to him, though he does mistreat King Kong by keeping him in chained up and taking him away from his home to be looked at by New York’s rich snobs and press. Jack Driscoll is your very classic tough guy who only cares about the woman he loves and will risk it all for her. The major changes I noticed between the comic and the film is that in the comic the ship is called The Wonderer, while in the film it’s The Venture; in the comic the island is called Kong Island, while in the film it’s Skull Island. I also noticed in the film Jack is annoyed that Ann is on the ship and it takes awhile before he falls for her, in the comic it happens fast. This was the second time I have read this comic and I found that I enjoy it more and more after each read and find something very magical about the whole reading experience. The copy I have is a classic example of Rotten Ink as the smell of the decomposing ink fills your nose when you flip through the pages, while not a beat up copy, it’s still very yellowed on the pages. The artwork is done by ummm….an unknown artist as no credit is given, but I must say the art is perfect for this comic and while Kong doesn’t capture the full look of his movie appearance it still looks the part enough to draw this comic reader in. The cover as well is very eye catching and I am sure drew kids attention to it by using lots of orange and putting a giant ape crushing planes on the cover. If you like the film or like classic horror comics, than this is for sure one you should check out. I am glad I got it and I am sure a few years from now I will read it again. Below is a piece of art from the comic just so you can see the style Gold Key went for in this comic.

Really this is a great comic with great classic artwork and really is going to help us kick off our two month long horror comic countdown to Halloween 2014! So on this update we traveled to Skull Island and got to know King Kong and see what that massive beast was about, but how about next time we travel to a black lagoon and celebrate the 60th birthday of the Universal Monster Gill-Man. So until then read a comic or two, watch a horror film and support your local Horror Host.