From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Farmer Joe (2003)

Posted on June 13, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another spooky “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update that will this time take us to the world of shot-on-video horror and the haunted barn and cursed land of Farmer Joe, a classic cult short film that is from Ohio that was released in 2003 on VHS and entertained and spooked viewers around the state of Ohio. In the late 90’s, a group of friends created a film production group called Independent B Movie and made horror, action and dark comedy films and did so for many years and released many amazing films like Werewolf Of Ohio, Who Keeps Feeding Grandpa, Teen Suicide, One Second To Late and Farmer Joe, to name a few. And with this update we will be talking about Farmer Joe and the Blood Scream Comic based on it, and like always due to my connection with both Blood Scream Comics and Farmer Joe I will not be giving this comic a star rating, as that would just be silly. So if you are ready, let’s make our way to the cursed land and barn of Farmer Joe and see what horrors await us.

Before we head too far into this update we need to take a look at the evil killing spirit of Farmer Joe, a farmer who was sold bad seeds that ruined his crop and poisoned his land and then who slaughtered his own cattle in a fit of rage before mysteriously dying and placing a curse on the land and those who trespass on it. Farmer Joe was a normal man who was sold bad seeds by a dealer that made his land toxic, and this made him snap and kill all his cattle and placed a curse on his farm, barn and land. Once dead, he became an urban legend in his small town and his evil ghostly spirit now wonders his curse land looking to kill, torture and haunt those living people that wonder on his land and scream his name and promise new seeds for him. Farmer Joe’s massive appearance as well as his booming voice puts fear into the hearts of his victims and cause them to panic and leave themselves open for the kill. He also has control of the weather around his land making night time sunny and even creating storms if he chooses. His main means of dealing death is his hoe that he swings into the skulls of his victims causing them a very quick, bloody and painful death. Being a ghost, Farmer Joe does not have many weaknesses as its only rumored that he will break his curse on you if you make a deal and plant seeds that come from the relatives of the dealer who sold him the toxic ones. The one main weakness for Farmer Joe is that he is stuck roaming his land and cannot leave it making it hard for him to rack up a body count as he has to wait for people that are foolish enough to enter his land. Over all while Farmer Joe might not be the deadliest killer ghost spirit we have covered here on a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update, he still is one mean and evil being that loves to kill.

Now that we have chatted about the sinister Ghost of Farmer Joe, I think it is time we take a look at the shot on video short film he is from! And like always I will be getting the film’s write up from our friends at IMDB and after that I will write about the film’s production and then will also write a little about my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s grab some seeds for Joe the plant and chat about this cult SOV film from Ohio.

Farmer Joe (2003)

“Danny is a young boy who is looking to fit in and the local bullies dare him to go to the haunted farm of Farmer Joe and call on his evil spirit in order to join their gang, but what was suppose to be a prank goes wrong when the spirit of the killer farmer comes back from the grave and is looking for blood and revenge on those who did him wrong and spoke his name. Now Danny’s Dad must find a way to save his son and the bullies from becoming victims to the curse of Farmer Joe.”

Farmer Joe was a short horror film from 2003 that was the brain child of writer Mike Ritchie who wrote a short story about a haunted farm and a murderous farmer after being inspired when reading books like “Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark & “Haunted Ohio” and a short time latter Mike would start developing the story to be made into a film and would do so with Independent B Movie, a small production company based out of Dayton, Ohio under the Dark Soul Productions banner that had released the Werewolf Of Ohio films as well as Wolf Hunter. The film went from being a short story to a script in a very short amount of time and then location scouting started to take place with Beavercreek, Ohio being the main location for the run down barn and haunted field that sat beside a church, and other shots being filmed around the Kettering and Dayton area. When casting the film names like Henrique Couto, Matt Hoffman, Josh Weinberg, Misty Altick and Zac Prater were brought on and John Phaneuf would be hired to play the part of Farmer Joe. The film would take around a month to film as this was the first film Mike ever directed so some issues would come up on set with one actor even leaving the production over Mike’s inexperience. The film would be released on VHS in 2003 and make its debut at the October Cinema Wasteland Convention and would be a good seller for Independent B Movie at the time as Mike Ritchie and Misty Altick were on hand to sign copies. The short film would make it rounds at several conventions over the years both being sold on physical media as well as being shown in screenings. It would later also be released on DVD by both Independent B Movie and later SOV Horror and its mirco-cult statues is still growing to this day. The film would also get a comic book in 2017 and would be hosted by both Baron Von Porkchop and The Creeper on their shows respectively. The short film was meet with mixed reviews from critics and fans with most of the reviews being positive, but the one thing people would say is that they wanted more Farmer Joe and wanted more kills from him. The film in 2003 was released alongside such other films as Bloody Giblets: The Legend Of Lady Vandalay, Mummy Sleepover Massacre, Escape From The Dead, The Bonesetter, Black Sun, Hatchetman, Killer Rats, Beyond Re-Animator and Darkness Falls to name a few.

Farmer Joe is one of those short horror films that I was involved in that was a nightmare while filming and acting in as Mike was very new to film and was making many mistakes and causing delay, but once done became one of my favorites as I have lots of great memories of hanging with the cast and crew who were all my friends with one of them even being my fiancé at the time as she played the first victim in the film. And I can remember the world premiere of the film being done at a big meeting that was being held at a friend’s house and we had many friends over to check it out as later the film was slated to play at some conventions. I have always been a fan of this film from the old Independent B Movie days as while it has lots of flaws, it has a spooky charm that takes me back to the old days of telling ghost stories with friends late nights as well as the stories of ghosts, killers and monsters that were spoken about in the small village I am from. What also works for this film is that actor Matt Hoffman was known for playing two types of rolls in these indie films at the time with one being Matt a bullied kid who was beat up all the time and even when trying to fight back still was on the losing end of life and the other was The Wolf Hunter a macho hero who hunted and killed werewolves…so he had the two extremes a weak hero to a macho hero. But Hoffman’s role in Farmer Joe allowed him to be Bart a snarky leader of a gang who used his standing in the small town to push around those he looked at as weaker than him, and I have to say Hoffman really shines in the role. The other standout would be John Phaneuf who played Farmer Joe as his voice was booming and he looked like a crazy man as we filmed his rage scene. Farmer Joe was slated to get a sequel and had many different scripts and started filming twice, but always seemed to get cancelled by Mike Ritchie who had lots of going on in his personal life at the times. The sequels would have seen names like Plexi Starr and Bob Hinton (A. Ghastlee Ghoul) joining the cast with names like Matt Hoffman, Henrique Couto, Zach Prater and Josh Weinberg returning from the original. While Farmer Joe us a very small micro budgeted film that is mostly known for being a cult short film in Ohio it has made it mark on horror Ohio cinema.

I am sure many of you readers have never heard of Farmer Joe, but I do hope that this update has made you want to see it as if you like micro budget backyard style horror films with some actors that went on to star, direct and produce bigger well known films and shows this is one for you. And now we are at the part of the update that we talk about the comic book and like others that we have covered that were released by Blood Scream Comics we will not be doing any kind of star rating do to my connection to that publisher as well as my connection to the film Farmer Joe, so keep that in mind no stars will be given. I would like to thank Blood Scream Comics as well as the creative team of Juliet Fromholt, Jeff Potter and Jason Gilmore who made this comic and update possible. I would like to also thank Mike Ritchie for being the creator, director, writer and actor in the film Farmer Joe that this comic is based off of. So with that, let’s head into the barn of Farmer Joe and see what terrors he has in store for us.

Farmer Joe # 0
Released in 2017 Cover Price $1.99 Blood Scream # 0 of 0

Danny’s Dad is speaking into an old tape recorder as he is driving to a cursed barn alongside two of his sons bullies about the legend of Farmer Joe that had him being sold bad seeds that ruined his crops and drove him mad as he slaughtered all his livestock, plus even in death as his evil spirit haunts his old land and how he was after his son Danny and his bullies Bart, Gunner and Sam after they taunted the spirit of Joe on his own land. He tells of how the bully Bart has been chosen by Farmer Joe to help spread his curse outside his land and sends him to kidnap Danny and his mother, bringing them to Farmer Joe to lure Danny’s Dad to them. And that is why now Danny’s Dad is with Gunner and Sam heading toward the cursed barn in order to get them back. But as they get there and close to the barn Gunner is killed by a ghost bull that gores him with its massive horns and once inside they find the dead and rotted body of Bart as Farmer Joe had no need for him now! Sam is killed next as Farmer Joe uses his hoe to take off his head, and Danny’s Dad soon is shocked when he finds the bodies of his wife and son as they have as well be murdered! And after falling down in fright and shock he himself is killed and Farmer Joe has now got his revenge on them all and yet his evil spirit wants more bloodshed as he drags the body of Danny’s Dad away.

I first have to say that Farmer Joe makes for a very spooky horror comic book and this 12-page comic is able to bring the reader a quick look at the events from the short film and them bring its own twisted tale of supernatural murder and mayhem. The plot has Farmer Joe luring a father to his cursed barn by taking his wife and son hostage, only for the father to find it was a trap all along and that he and his family have been selected to be slaughtered for daring to cross the path of the evil spirit of Farmer Joe and his cursed land. Our hero of the comic is Danny’s Dad, a father who loves his family and who is willing to once more cross into the unknown in order to save the lives of his family and hopeful end the curse once and for all. But while Danny’s Dad is a hero, he also makes big mistakes as he allow his anger and fear to cause himself to rush in and find himself just another number in the body count of Farmer Joe. Danny himself is defenseless in this one as he finds himself being kidnapped and done away with all caused by a dare he took years back. The Bullies as well this time do not do well as Bart is used and then slaughtered and Sam and Gunner who are forced to return to the barn get their lives snuffed out. The evil spirit of Farmer Joe showcases why he and his cursed land are feared as he seems to truly have control over the land and the weather around it, has a heard of ghost cattle protecting his land and like always has his trusty hoe in order to end lives and send souls to the great beyond. And it’s clear that Farmer Joe is taking great pleasure in this issue of killing people as well as ending his feud with Danny’s family once and for all. The comic is filled with lots of spooky atmosphere as well as has its share of blood, gore and violence with the best kill for me being the death of Gunner as being killed by a ghost bull is pretty cool. The cover is very cool and super eye catching for fans of Indie Horror Comics as it shows a woman on the ground as coming out of the barn doors is Farmer Joe with his hoe in hand, and I have to say I think Jason Gilmore did a great job on the colors and making it pop. The interior artwork was done by Jeff Potter and is really cool as the characters look like the actors who played them and he truly captures the nature of the short film its based on. This issue zero of Farmer Joe is a really fun read and fans of the short horror film will truly enjoy this one as it feels like an urban legend story mixed with a slasher film wrapped together to deliver one heck of a spooky read. Check out the artwork below to see the style used by Jeff Potter for this comic.

I truly think that Farmer Joe made for a great comic book series and that creators Juliet and Potter did a great job of bringing horror comic readers a very spooky and bloody good read. And a few things I need to also say is that Farmer Joe was part of a fan vote event that Blood Scream Comics held in 2017 where three issue 0 comics were made by different creators all based around the Horror Movies of Independent B Movie and Farmer Joe was one of them as was the werewolf Scars from Bark At The Moon: Scars and The Sadness Killer from The Sadness who ended up winning the vote. And for those also wondering, the haunted barn location from the film has been torn down many, many years ago, making it impossible to revisit the filming location for those of you interested in doing so. And speaking of old barns I think out time here with Farmer Joe is over and with all that said, it’s time for this update to come to an end and for me to say that our next update of course will be another From Horror Movie To Horror Comic one as we take a look at the 1986 film The Abomination and the promo comic adaptation. So until next time, read a horror comic of three, watch a horror movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for a gross blood splattered good time.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)

Posted on January 13, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. This time around we will be taking a look at a Sci-Fi Horror film, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, from 1978 that was a remake of the classic 1956 film of the same name! This is a truly classic film and was one that I can remember watching when I was a young kid and being freaked out by the Pod People and their weird screams as they pointed at people that were not one of them yet. And while Marvel or DC Comics did not give the film the comic book treatment, the mad geniuses at FotoNovel sure did. This is the third FotoNovel we have covered here on Rotten Ink with the first being Love At First Bite that you can read HERE and the second being Nightwing that you can read HERE. This is one that I have been looking forward to doing as I am fan of this remake and this will be a first time read for me, so if you are ready let’s dive into the world of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and see what this photo comic novel has in store for us.

Let’s start off by taking a look at The Pod People and their ways of dealing death to humans! The Pods are from outer space and once they get a person in their grip, they clone a version of that said person that acts with the others in a hive mind state of being. They travel from planet to planet as seeds and once on the planet can spread very quickly, as at first they attack the plant life on the planet before moving onto the humans. The Pod People act very strange and not like themselves, they stare and watch the normal people and are gathering in meetings to gain more people into their ranks with plans to take over the world. They chase follow and attack people in groups and they do secret strange business all around under the noses of the normal people. Their odd behavior is very unsettling to people and makes them feel confused, scared and can cause them to make mistakes that can lead to their deaths. The Pod People clone living people and once they go to sleep they do not wake up and the Pod Person will take over their lives, and the Pod Person is a perfect clone besides when it comes to behavior, but even then some have mastered even that. The Pod’s themselves use vines and flower buds to create the clones, and they can grow very quickly and take over the life of the person they appear as. The bodies of both the humans and the failed Pod People are crushed in a garbage truck in order to cover up the invasion. The real versions also cave in on themselves and turn to dust. The Pod People can use such things as guns, knives and other tools to deal death if they choose, and because they have a hive like mind they will also attack in packs. The Pod People also have a shrieking screaming that they will let out that will chill the blood of the people they are after, they also will use this shriek to alert the others to the whereabouts of a normal person. The Pods can also create weird hybrids of animal and human and these oddities cause shock in those who see them. Those who are aware of The Pods and The Pod People are often very paranoid, as they do not know who they can trust as family, friends and strangers could all be out to turn you. The Pods and The Pod People are very dangerous as they spread across the land very fast, but they can be killed like any living thing so being bashed, shot, stabbed, burnt and crushed will do them in. Super deadly and super wide spreading the Pod and the people that come out of them are very dangerous to the survival of mankind.

As you can see, The Pods and The Pod People are very dangerous to humans as they could easily wipe out towns, cities, states on continents very quickly. Now it’s time that we take a look at the film that spawned them, and like always, we will be taking the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB and after that I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts about the film. So if you are ready, try and avoid the pods and be aware of the people they spawn, as you don’t want to be apart of this hive mind.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)

“When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city’s residents one body at a time.”

The 1956 film Invasion Of The Body Snatchers was a huge cult classic as viewers really enjoyed its creepy nature and a fan of that film was director Philip Kaufman who jumped at the chance at directing a remake or reimagining of the film for United Artists in 1978. The film of course was based off the novel “The Body Snatchers” by Jack Finney with W.D. Richter doing this versions screenplay with Robert H. Solo coming in to produce the film that has a modest sized budget. This newer version would take place in San Francisco, California and would be set in the then currant time, and the film would play up on the Horror elements and would bring a very uncomfortable feel to the mood. The film would cast some amazing talent that include Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Brooke Adams and would have a cameo from Kevin McCarthy the star of the original film as well as it’s director Don Siegel. The film was your normal and yet stressful shoot with Russ Hessey and Dell Rheaume doing the special effects and once done Denny Zeitlin was brought in to score. The film was released in theaters on December 22, 1978 and was a hit at the box office bringing in a total of $24.9 million and was a hit with both viewers and critics (well most of them) and over the years has found even more of a fan base and respect. Like Complex ranked it as one of the best Sci-Fi Horror Films of all time, Rolling Stone Magazine named it as one of the greatest remakes of all time and The Chicago Film Critics Association ranked it # 59 out of 100 for their Scariest Films Of All Time. The film would be released on home media and would find even a bigger audience of new viewers and still to this day is a well respected and loved remake that adds its own spooky touch to an already spooky classic. The film in 1978 was released along side such other Horror and Sci-Fi Films as Halloween, Jaws 2, Mardi Gras Massacre, Toolbox Murders, Patrick, Laserblast, The Curse Of Bigfoot, Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes and IT Lives Again to name a few. If you have not watched the remake of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers make sure to do so as it can easily be found on DVD, Blu-Ray and some streaming sites.

This is a film that I can remember my Dad trying to scare my brother with when we were kids as he acted like the Pod People were real, and as he had my brother and I going of course my Mom made him stop…but what a fun memory that was as he did this right before I seen the film for the first time. I can also remember him telling us that Spock was in the film as we all use to watch reruns of Star Trek. The film had me glued to the screen as I was really drawn into the world it was created and the freaky screaming and pointing that the Pod People did really creeped me out! And I am pretty sure that for weeks after seeing the film my brother and I would mimic the point and yell at each other, and that is one of the best part about this film is the memories like these that I have. When I was a kid I had already seen the original 1956 film and was shocked when in the remake Kevin McCarthy showed up warning people of the Pods, and I always wondered was he playing Dr. Miles Bennell again? And was Donald Sutherland’s character of Matthew Bennell related to Miles and is this film really a sequel and the events of the first film covered up by the government hence why the people were not ready for this invasion…makes you think don’t it. While the film is only PG it still packs some spooky moments into the film and the atmosphere adds for some tense and creepy parts that will surely make you jump. Plus you cannot go wrong with watching a naked Brooke Adams playing a Pod Person shrieking at the site of Donald Sutherland. I feel that this remake often gets over looked when people talk about remakes of Sci-Fi Horror Films as most are so hung up on The Thing directed by John Carpenter being the best, but I feel they over look this one badly as it is a great take on its source material, brings spooky moments with cool special effects and adds its own scares and charm like The Thing did (I also think The Blob remake is great). If you have never seen this version of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers make sure to check it out as it’s a great slow burn that builds to a flame by the end and is one heck of a watch.

So now that we have talked about the 1978 film Invasion Of The Body Snatchers as well as The Pods and the People it creates we should now review the photo comic paperback based around it that was released by those creative minds at FotoNovel. I would like to thank the Etsy seller who had this paperback in stock and made this update possible. I want to also remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready, let’s see if this FotoNovel does the film justice.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers # 1 ***
Released in 1979 Cover Price $2.50 FotoNovel # 1 of 1

In space seeds float across the galaxy on their quest to Earth and they land in San Francisco, California and like a parasite they attach themselves to the plants as a light rain helps them grow into little pods with flowers. Elizabeth Driscoll on her way home picks one of the pods and takes it home, were her boyfriend and dentist Geoffrey Howell watches basketball, and at bed time they talk briefly about the pod as she explains that it is something rare. Meanwhile at a very expensive restaurant health inspector Matthew Bennell who finds rat droppings in the food, and for this he returns to his car to find a worker has busted a cheap wine bottle on his windshield. Before bed he calls Elizabeth to ask her to come to work early in order to look into his finding, she agrees and heads to bed. The next morning her boyfriend Geoffrey is acting very weird, and once at work she tells Matthew about his strange behavior, who wants to be their for his friend. That night Elizabeth returns home and is once more blown off by Geoffrey who goes to a late night “meeting” and she finds herself having dinner with Matthew telling him how different her boyfriend is with him suggesting they meeting his psychiatrist friend Dr. David Kibner. The next day Matthew on his way to work notices strange things as even the old man at the dry cleaners tells him his wife is acting weird. And after trying to call Elizabeth all day she finally shows up at Matthew’s office with tears in her eyes, as the two start driving she tells her friend about watching her boyfriend meet with strangers and just how odd it all ways. While driving a man runs into the front of the car screaming about things coming and watch as he runs away and then be hit by a car. Matthew takes Elizabeth to a bookstore were his friend Dr. David Kibner is doing a meet and great for his newest book, and things are very strange as the police on the phone seem to have no care nor have any information on the man who was just hit for Matthew and Elizabeth watches as a woman is speaking to Dr. Kidner about her husband acting different…and this is what is going on with her and her boyfriend. Later Dr. Kidner talks with Elizabeth and Matthew and tries to smooth it all over and put her mind at ease that nothing is truly wrong. But after Jack Bellicec a friend of Matthew’s and Dr. Kidner arrives to the Mud Bath Spa that he owns with his wife Nancy they find a un-hatched pod person that looks like Jack, things get crazy as the body goes missing and it’s clear that the town is being over taken by these Pod People and Matthew, Elizabeth, Nancy and Jack all stick together to try and get out of the city when they find that they are all in danger with some of them like Jack and Nancy already having clones that are ready to hatch, and they will awaken if the real versions end up going to sleep! And when the Pod People find their hideout they must split up in groups of two to try and survive. And later Matthew finds that Dr. Kidner is a Pod Person and soon Jack as well as Elizabeth becomes one. Matthew finds a warehouse were the Pods are being harvested to be shipped all over the world and does what he can to destroy as many as he can, before having to run away for his life. In the end Matthew shows up to work like normal as everyone keeps looking at him strangely, and when his workday is over he starts his walk home and runs into Nancy who calls him over, but to her horror Matthew has became one of them.

First thing I have to say is that this was such a fun read and did a pretty good job of capturing the mood of the film on the pages. While in my opinion, it’s not as spooky this FotoNovel tried really hard to bring the scares. The one major complaint I do have about it is that at times the dialogue’s color blends in with the backgrounds and makes it hard to read in some panels. The plot is this a group of friends in San Francisco have to come together to survive when they find out that their city is being over ran by space pod created people clones that are hell bent of taking over the Earth one person at a time. The hero of this paperback is Matthew Bennell a health inspector who loves his job, crushes on a chemist he works with and must stay logical, quick witted and strong when he finds out about the aliens coming to kill them all. Matthew also does what he can to survive and will do whatever he can to protect the love of his life. Elizabeth Driscoll is that love of his life a young pretty chemist who is the first to really discover that something is wrong in their city when her boyfriend becomes a soulless shell, she tries what she can to survive and while prone to slow the group down she is very sweet and caring. Jack and Nancy Bellicec are a couple who own a mud bath health spa and who find a pod person in their spa and help Matthew and Elizabeth and are also the ones who get the ball rolling on becoming the target of the Pod People who want these troublemakers cloned and out of the way. The Pod People and The Pods that spawn them are all over the city and are looking to clone people and take over the world, they are creepy soulless, emotionless beings that screech and chase around those who are normal. The Photo Comic Paperback does not bring its scares from blood and gore but brings the Horror with mood and atmosphere. All of the nudity from Elizabeth Driscoll is cut from this FotoNovel as well and in one panel they have a well placed dialogue box to block her breasts. The cover for this FotoNovel is cool but also kind of puzzling as it showcases the cracked car windshield and the crazed face of Kevin McCarthy looking in, plus they added small pictures in the corner of three of the films main characters. The photos used in the paperback are cool, but I do have to say that some are a little blurry and as I said before some of the dialogue is hard to read due to color. Over all this is a really cool photo comic paperback book and if you are a fan of the movie you should check this out. I do also want to stress that Photo Comics are not for everyone as they don’t like that the panels are done with stills and not artwork. Check out the photo panel below to see the style use for this FotoNovel.

I truly think that Invasion Of The Body Snatchers from 1978 is one of the great remakes that was made in the 70’s and 80’s that spooked movie goers, and while I know that FotoNovels and Photo Comics are not for everyone, I still am glad that they are made and gave films like this a chance in the world of comic books. And while this FotoNovel could not capture the full spooky mood and atmosphere of the film it did do its job of delivering a creepy fun read. As you can see, this “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update is coming to an end and for the next update we will be taking a look at a short lived Horror Host who aired his show Weird Web Theater on YouTube and his name was Mod Ghoul! So until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update as you know its always fun to chat about Horror Hosts!