From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Eight Legged Freaks (2002)

Posted on May 12, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. As you can see, this year has been packed with lots of Horror Comics that are based on films as I have been in that kind of mood, as these type of comics are something I have been a big fan of since I was a kid. This update we will be taking a look at a film that once more made giant spiders both scary and silly for movie goers in 2002 and that film is a Warner Brothers release called Eight Legged Freaks! The film would end up getting the comic book treatment thanks to Wilstorm Comics, the sub company of DC Comics! So if you are ready, let’s avoid these rampaging giant spiders and let’s talk about a Horror Film and Comic!

So let’s start by taking a look at the massive spiders that are the killing machines of the film and comic, who have many ways of dealing death to humans. The Spiders started out normal size and were from the collection of Joshua Taft, who had a massive arachnid farm and are all types of breeds like Orb-Weavers, Tiger Wolf Spiders, Spitting Spiders, Trapdoor Spiders, Jumping Spiders and a Tarantula, all who have their own ways of trapping and attacking their prey, but things get worse when these spiders are feed grasshoppers from a local pond that have been near a toxic chemical that causes the spiders to grow in size and become more and more aggressive. When they escape the spider farm, they attack the small town of Prosperity, Arizona and kill any living thing in their way from human to animal. The spiders are lead by Consuela, the female Orb Weaver, as she calls the shots and almost all the spiders are attacking to impress her as she is truly their Queen. The Spiders are pack killers who attack in large groups but are just as deadly on their own, and their size as well as appearance truly strikes fear into the hearts of the humans who have the displeasure of running into them. The Spiders have many ways to attacking and tracking humans with some using the ground to pull victims in while others will leap onto their human prey and they all do so with super fast speed. They also have long fangs to bite into flesh as well as spread poison into blood streams. They can also use their legs to grab and pull their victims to death. They also feed on the humans they attack with some of them being webbed up in order to eat later and even give as a gift to their Queen for her to snack on. The Tarantula himself is like a tank as his massive size and power allows him to break through doors, walls and obstacles in his way as he really is a powerhouse of death and destruction. Plus again the sheer number of them and the way they work together with deadly speed and precision make them the ultimate killing machines. But while The Spiders are very deadly and way larger than your normal arachnids, they can be killed by fire, explosions, gunshots and even stabbing can punch their final ticket to Spider Heaven. So in other words these chemically enhanced spiders are super deadly and super effective at killing humans.

So as you can see, these mutated large spiders are very dangerous and can kill a human very quickly with so many different painful ways, but now that we have chatted about them I think that it’s time that we take a look at the film they are from and that’s of course Eight Legged Freaks! And like always, we will be taking the film’s write up for our good old friends at IMDB, and then I will write about the film’s production and then my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, grab some massive bug spray and lets talk about these eight legged freaks!

Eight Legged Freaks (2002)

“After a long absence, Chris McCormick returns to his quiet hometown of Prosperity, Arizona, to reopen his late father’s mines. However, a chemical spill and lethal toxic waste have created an unstoppable army of giant spiders who prey on the unsuspecting locals, turning Prosperity into an endless buffet. Now, it’s up to Chris, Sheriff Sam Parker, her son Mike, Sam’s plucky daughter, Ashley, the conspiracy theorist Harlan, and a handful of survivors to stop the hairy menace, and save the town. But, who can stand in the way of the disgusting eight-legged freaks?”

Director Ellory Elkayem was no stranger to Horror Films about insects as he already did a short film called “Larger Than Life” in 1998, and in 2000 he directed the film “Creepy Crawlers” that was also known as They Nest. When he was thinking of his next film, spiders came to mind and so Eight Legged Freaks was to be. The film was originally called “Arach Attack” and the screenplay was written by Ellory as well as Jesse Alexander and would be produced by Dean Devlin and find its distribution via Warner Brothers. The film would hire David Arquette and Kari Wuhrer as the lead roles with such names as Scarlett Johansson, Doug E. Doug, Scott Terra, Rick Overton and Leon Rippy making up most of the supporting cast. The film would go through a name change as the Iraq War was about to start and they thought the name Arach Attack was in bad taste so Eight Legged Freaks was selected, even though in some foreign markets they stuck with the original title. The film had a budget of $30 million and lots of time went into the film’s special effects as most of the film’s spiders were CGI based around real spiders movements. I should also note that the spiders kind of have voices with iconic voice actor Frank Welker lending his talents to some of them as did Rob Paulsen and Kevin Michael Richardson. The film was slated for release on March 15, 2002 but was moved to July 17, 2002 when the original release date had it going up against the animated kids film Ice Age. The film was released with mixed reviews with both critics and fans finding themselves enjoying it silly nature, but many think that it runs out of steam by the film’s final. The film would end up bringing in around $45,867,333.00 and was a modest hit for Warner Brothers that ended up spawning a PC Game based around it called “Eight Legged Freaks: Let The Squashing Begin” and even was in talks for a sequel that never happened as it looks like WB pulled the plug. In 2002, the film was released along such other Horror Films as Cabin Fever, Signs, Bubba Ho-Tep, Queen Of The Damned, May, Halloween Resurrection, The Ring, Resident Evil and Fear Dot Com to name a few.

Eight Legged Freaks is a film that clearly was inspired by the classic B-Movies of the 1950’s and that is what made it such a fun watch as I saw it for the first time at the Drive-In as a double feature with Halloween: Resurrection and it was such a great time spent with friends and family. I can remember everyone having a great time with Eight Legged Freaks and even hearing cheers at times when the spiders would get blasted, plus I am pretty sure every male in the 1990’s loved and had a crush on Kari Wuhrer, who played the Sheriff and was known for her roles in such films as Adventures Of Ford Fairlane, Beastmaster 2, Thinner and Anaconda before being in this film. It’s shocking that she was not cast in way more Horror Films over the years as she had the prefect look for them. The film’s main star was David Arquette who of course is the brother of Patricia, Rosanna and Alexis and was a popular actor with the youth in the 90’s thanks to his roles in such films as Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Airheads, Scream 1-5, Muppets In Space and Ready To Rumble, to name a select few. And what makes David great for this role is that he brings a level of heroism as well as goofball that is prefect for this type of film. The effects for the Giant Mutant Spiders are really good for the time, and while they are CGI, they do seem like they are there live with the actors. The films score by John Ottman is also really well done and captures that classic movie sound of the past and yet also has the sounds of the present day Sci-Fi Horror. One thing that also makes this film cool is that the spiders have a hierarchy with The Female Orb Weaver being the true Queen and the one calling all the shots with the massive Tarantula being the general of her army and the true battle tank when it comes to going after the humans. When the film was released, I originally owned it on VHS and would upgrade to DVD over time and it’s a film that I still watch every few years. I think the best way to sum this one up is if you like Horror Movies like “Giant Spider Invasion (1975)”, “Tarantula! (1955)”, “Arachnophobia (1990)”, “Earth vs. The Spider (1958)”, “Kingdom Of The Spiders (1977)”, “Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (1977)” or any of the other Spider themed Horror Films make sure to give this one a watch as I think you will truly enjoy it.

Now that we have chatted about the Giant Spiders and the film they are from, Eight Legged Freaks, I think that it is time that we take a look at the comic adaptation done by DC Comics (WildStorm). I want to first thank Bell Book And Comic for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to 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, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s see what these Giant Spiders have in store for us in these spooky comic pages.

Eight Legged Freaks # 1 ***
Released in 2002 Cover Price $6.95 Wildstorm # 1 of 1

Sheriff Sam Parker is in front of the town’s mall with her shotgun in hand shooting at the massive spiders that are attacking her town, and as she fights for not only her life but the people she swore to protect, she thinks back to how this all started. A trucking caring toxic waste swerves to avoid hitting an animal and this causes a barrel to fall into the town’s stream and turn the grasshoppers big, in turn Josh the owner of exotic spiders has been capturing them and feeding them to his spiders and this causes them to grow in size as well. And after Mike Parker visits and leaves Josh’s spider shop they escape and attack and kill Josh and his pet bird! The town’s mines are in trouble and are slated to be closed as the owner has passed away and his son Chris McCromick has returned to town to over see the sale, and is feeling guilty for doing so. Meanwhile the barrel of toxic waste as been found in the stream by Sam and her Deputy, and on her way home Sam finds her daughter on the back of a motorbike with Bret, the son of the Mayor, and gives the teen a ticket for endangering her daughter! Later that night the town is having a meeting in the mall held by Wade, the mayor, as he is saying that a big company wants to buy the land and houses for a project, but Chris shows up and refuses to sell the mine as he claims his father seen the mother load of gold in them and he intends to find it…he also punches Wade for saying things about his father! That night several towns people including one cat are attacked and killed by the Giant Spiders, as these arachnids are making their way into town. The next morning Sam gives her daughter a stun gun for protection and Chris shows up to ask her out on a date as Sam and Chris have a past. But things get crazy for the town as the Giant Spiders keep attacking and the only people to stand in their way of taking over is Sheriff Sam Parker, Chris McCormick, Conspiracy Theory Radio DJ Harlan Griffith, Sam’s two kids Ashley and Mike Parker, the Mayor Wade and his son Bret as well as what is left of the town! The standoff takes place in the towns mall and then spills into the mines…and thanks to teamwork and the methane gas that fills the mines they are able to spark a big fire that kills off the massive fires and saves the town from being destroyed.

This comic adaptation is a fun read with lots of spider attacking action, but it also speeds up lots of the film’s plot as well as downplays major characters from the film as Harlan Griffith is barely around and only has one major angle in the story besides being the comics narrator, and poor Deputy Pete Willis is nothing more than a background player. So if those two are some of your favorite characters from the film, be prepared to be a little disappointed in their lack of appearance in this comic. The plot is simple and has toxic waste making spiders grow to monstrous size that attack a small town that’s people must fight back to survive. The main hero for me in this comic is Sheriff Sam Parker as she is the town’s law as well armed with her shotgun she takes out lots of spiders, also comes up with meeting at the mall for all the survivors and is also the one who watches after her kids and uses the stun gun to start the spark that sets the mines ablaze the burns up the spiders. And Chris McCormick is the secondary hero as he does his part of keeping people safe, and knows his families mines well and comes up with the idea to start the fire to ignite the gas, but he does fail in his attempt to save Ashley from the spiders, and it’s Sam that has to rescue them both…so yeah Sam is the hero. And to a lesser degree you also have to say that Mike Parker’s knowledge of spiders makes him a hero, as his warnings of the abilities of the spiders make the people more aware. The Spiders are very violent and are looking to make humans meals as well as trap them to impress their Queen. The comic is lots of spooky fun, but I also feel that while they retain some of the scares of the film they humor is a little lacking and the laughs are pulled from the story to clearly speed it up to fit on the pages of the comic. The comic does have lots of deaths but is lacking in human blood splattering, but you do get the green blood of the spiders all over the place. The cover is very cool and showcases Sam, Chris and Harlan with a massive Spider behind them, very cool and eye catching for fans of the film as well as those who like Horror Comics in general. The interior art is really cool and is done by Joe Phillips, and the way he draws the spiders is fantastic, and his art for the humans is good but the likeness to the actors who play the characters is very slight. This is a comic that I truly think fans of the film should get and read as well as those Horror Comic readers who enjoy spiders and more family friendly horror. Checkout the artwork below to see the style of artist Phillips used in this comic.

Eight Legged Freaks is a fun cult film and also an entertaining comic book and is one that I think is often overlooked when people talk about PG-13 Horror Films. And I am still very annoyed with Warner Brothers and their subsidiary New Line Cinema as their parent company Discovery owns as well DC Comics and they have yet to truly merge their film properties into Horror Comics as I think readers would enjoy comics based on A Nightmare On Elm Street, Lost Boys, Critters and Final Destination to name a few. And before you say it, yes, I know that many of the above mentioned films have had comic books over the years. But as you can see, this From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update is winding down, but do not worry our next update will be another of those themed updates as this time I will be talking about the 2003 shot on video Horror Film “The Bonesetter”! So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. Make sure to lock you doors at 7pm as The Bonesetter is on the loose.

Plastic Man: The Amazing Silly Stretchy Superhero Of DC

Posted on May 2, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. For this update, we find ourselves in the world of DC Comics as what better way to start May 2025 off with than looking at a mini series that features one of their underrated characters like we have before with the updates on Hawkman, Red Tornado, Jonni Thunder and Steel The Indestructible Man, but this time around we will be talking about Plastic Man who was originally a character created for Quality Comics, a indie company that was around from 1937 to 1956 and was founded by Everett M. “Busy” Arnold. Once that company folded up Plastic Man along with many other characters would find a home at DC Comics. And for kids of the 80’s and 90’s like myself, Plastic Man was a pretty popular B-Team hero from DC and it’s about time that he gets the Rotten Ink treatment! So with that, let’s get this update started and go on a weird and silly ride with the stretchy hero known as Plastic Man!

Plastic Man’s real name is Patrick O’Brian, and he was created by Jack Cole in 1941. Because it’s DC, he also has two different origin stories cause Infinite Earth nonsense. His original origin has Patrick as a criminal as he grew up an orphan on the streets from the age of 10 and as he grew up he became involved in a burglary ring. One night, while trying to break into the Crawford Chemical Works, the robbery goes wrong and Patrick is shot, an unknown chemical spills all over him and his gang leave him at the scene of the crime. Patrick ends up running away in pain, and once he passes out, he wakes up in the mountains being taken care of by a monk who teaches him the ways of being good and this helps him turn on his life of crime. And Patrick’s body goes through a change due to the chemical as his body can stretch now and he can distort his body into all types of shapes and would become a true hero who would join the police and FBI in order to stop crime. The second origin story is covered here in the mini series that I will be reviewing, so for that story read the comic reviews to find out more about him and his kooky friend Woozy Winks. Over the years, Plastic Man has also became a member of such teams as Justice League, Freedom Fighters and All-Star Squadron to name a few. While Plastic Man is not as iconic as his fellow DC Heroes like Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman or The Flash, he is one that has a loyal following and is iconic in his own way as the character is still used to this day.

Kenner in the 1980’s had a very cool figure series going called Super Powers that was based around the heroes and villains of the DC Universe. And during the third series the legendary Plastic Man was part of the line and was a figure that was harder to get and was a “chase” figure for the series when it was released. Growing up my brother and I collected the Super Powers toys and always were on the look out for Plastic Man, but we never found one…my brother ended up getting him decades later and has him as part of his collection. The Plastic Man’s action feature was that he grows and for the time, this feature was pretty cool for an action figure. Just wanted to briefly talk about this figure as I find it to be very cool and part of Plastic Man’s history in pop culture.

Ruby-Spears in 1979 made the cartoon show “The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show” that was for ABC and aired after Super Friends and was a very popular show that had Plastic Man teaming up with Bad Luck Hula-Hula, Penny and later Baby Plas as they would stop criminals and silly super villains like Carrot-Man, Doctor Dome and many others. In the cartoon Plastic Man also worked alongside the police and would have to use his abilities to out smarty and trick his enemies. In the cartoon Plastic Man would be voiced by Michael Bell who lent his voice to many different cartoons such as G.I. Joe were he voiced such characters as Major Bludd, Duke and Xamot with other cartoons being The Incredible Hulk (1982), DuckTales (1987), Rugrats (1991) and Batman The Animated Series (1992) among many others. Other voice actors include Frank Welker, Joe Baker, Melendy Britt, Clare Peck and John Stephenson to name a few. The series would last for 5 Seasons and a total of 112 episodes and would find life again once it was reran on Cartoon Network and made it way to DVD. And this was a cartoon I watched when I was younger and back when it aired on Cartoon Network I would tape episodes on a old VHS and it was so silly and goofy that I loved every second of it as even the baddies in the episodes were so odd that it made for great watches. If you get a chance and find this DVD make sure to pick it up if you enjoy classic late 70’s and early 80’s cartoons. Also Baby Plas was terrible in the series and I use to hate the episodes that showcased him…he really is the worst thing about the cartoon series. I should also note that this cartoon series while it ran for five seasons really is two different series as at one point they add the Plastic Family and it becomes more and more about Baby Plas and the DVD set is the early episodes.

Growing up being a comic reader Plastic Man was a character that I knew about from an early age due to seeing him in the pages of DC Comics, his action figure via Kenner as well of course the Cartoon series and he always was a favorite of mine as he was silly and fun and was way cooler that the other stretchy characters in comics like Reed Richards (Fantastic Four) and Elongated Man as they lacked the charm of Plastic Man. And what is crazy is that I can even remember kids talking about Plastic Man on the playground. While he was not as popular as Spider-Man, Batman or Superman he still got some love. Heck, I can even remember some of my friends and myself drawing Plastic Man in art class. I think Plastic Man always stood out to me because he was a very colorful character who had a very goofy personality and had a superpower that is just basic as all he can do is stretch and mimic the look of people and objects. The cartoon as well as the Kenner Super Power figure also made him a standout for me as did his many appearances in my random comics when I was a youngster. While he never was one of my top heroes of the DC Comic characters, I would say he would be in my Top 15, maybe by Top 10 heroes from that company.

So as you can see, Plastic Man was a pretty big deal when I was a kid and he got way more attention from DC Comics than he does now, but sadly that seems to go for most of their heroes nowadays unless it is Batman, Harley Quinn or Batman…wait I said him already. But sadly I do not think that this will ever change at DC Comics as the focus seems to be far away from the comics and more on the movies, shows and cartoons. I would like to thank Bell, Book And Comic for having this mini series in stock and making this update possible. I also would 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, their entertainment value and their art and story. I am looking forward to reading this mini series again as it has been decades since I read it last, and it will be interesting to see how well it holds up now. So if you are ready, let’s head to New York City and see what Plastic Man has in store for us.

Plastic Man # 1 ***
Released in 1988 Cover Price $1.00 DC Comics # 1 of 4

The Eel is part of a gang, and they are breaking into a safe when the security guard shows up and opens fire hitting Eel in the arm as well as shooting a barrel full of a gooey chemical waste that splashes on his wound, The Eel wakes up in an ally after running from the scene and being left behind by his gang and his body is oddly out of shape as he tries to make is back to the gang’s hideout. But as The Eel walks down the road his misshapen body freaks out the locals who run for their lives thinking he is a monster or alien. The cops are called in as it’s now a full riot to get away from him. The Eel, still unaware of his new stretchy plastic like powers, ends up causing chaos for the cops who are crashing cars and making fools of themselves trying to stop him as they think he is a monster. Once at his old hideout even his old gang fear him and after trying to shoot him, them run away in fear just as the army shows up with the plan to kill him! The Eel’s new super powers really have caused him to be feared and wanted to be killed by the authorities. The Eel escapes via the toilet by flushing himself and winds up in the sewer, than at a bar on Skid Row and then flirting with a lady of the night only to be rejected an decides that he is just going to kill himself. But while attempting to leap off a bridge, he meets Woozy Winks, a mental patient who wants to be his friend and who thinks his powers of stretching are cool! Together they hang out and test the powers The Eel has, get him a new snazzy costume and after flipping a coin they decide to use his powers for good and The Eel becomes Plastic Man and stops his old gang from robbing a bank. While they get no reward, Plastic Man and Woozy get some press and their run at superheroes has began.

This is such a weird and silly first issue as we join Plastic Man from his time as a criminal to turning into a hero all because of the outcome of a toss of a coin. The plot has small time criminal The Eel being injured and splashed with a chemical that turns his skin into rubber that can stretch who becomes feared and the target of the police and army who after meeting a mental patient turns into a hero looking for reward money and even stops his old gang from pulling off a bank robbery. Plastic Man is this issue is super depressed by his new stretching powers and even at several points wants to end his own life as he thinks he is a freak an that the world is out to get him. But when he finally finds a friend, he is able to cheer up and find a use for his powers and that is fighting crime. Plastic Man is also super silly in nature and now with a more stretchy face makes all types of goofy expression that clearly is freaking out those around him. Woozy Winks is a very strange man who goes fishing with chewing gum, is weird in nature and who was kicked out of the asylum he was in due to politics! But while Woozy is crazy, he does seem to be a good influence on Plastic Man…well for the most part. This origin story is similar to the other “Earth” version from the classic days of the character, and I cannot stress enough how mush I dislike all the other world stuff of DC Comics as its confusing and messes with characters’ backstories, secret identities and more…but I will get off my soap box on that topic. The issue also has lots of humor with most of it being kind of dark humor, but it works as Plastic Man kind of lends himself to humor. The cover for this issue is very cool and eye catching as it has Plastic Man punching people, and the interior art is done by Hilary Barta an is great stuff as it has a crazy look to it and truly set its apart from most of the superhero comics going at this time. So with a very solid and entertaining first issue, let’s see what the second has in store for us.

Plastic Man # 2 ***
Released in 1988 Cover Price $1.00 DC Comics # 2 of 4

A group of cops are running off homeless people sleeping in a New York park when they are given a fright by Plastic Man and Woozy Winks who then start looking in the newspaper for job listing, only to find no paying work for heroes. Plastic Man and Woozy apply for a job at a bank as security guards and as they are being told no, the bank is being robbed by The Ooze Brothers who are made of a snot like substance and who defeat Plastic Man and escape with the money. But Plastic Man gives chase and almost captures them but the stolen money is now all over the streets with people grabbing it. The Ooze Brother escape into the sewer, while on the streets Plastic Man feels awful about losing the money and meets a man who runs the local circus and who’s payroll money was stolen and makes a deal with him that if he cannot get the money back that was taken from them he will work in the circus as a freak! Plastic and Woozy sneak into the Police Department files and get the file on The Ooze Brothers and end up finding their hideout where Plastic Man is able to trick and capture them in a toxic waste barrel, but Officer McNulty by accident lets them free when he comes to arrest Plastic Man. When The Ooze Brothers come out of the barrel, however, they are all stuck together and end up exploding! But Woozy shows up with paper towels and soaks them up so they cannot escape again. In the end Plastic Man and Woozy head to the circus and find that The Ooze Brothers are now working for them as a comedy freak show.

What another fun issue that has Plastic Man fighting other freaks of nature in the streets and waste dumps of New York this time around and is very entertaining as it does a great job of blending action and humor. The plot has a bank being robbed by three brothers who are made of snotty ooze and Plastic Man and Woozy try to stop them and get back the stolen money of the local circus all to prove that they are indeed superheroes! Plastic Man in this issue is really into trying to become a hero and wants to prove to the world that he is a changed man and that his stretchy powers are being used for the good of the world. Plastic Man also shows that he is smart and is able to come up with several plans that end up truly saving the day and bringing in the baddies. Woozy Winks in this issue kind of wants flip flop from being a hero to being a criminal as he really wants money and doesn’t mind the means he has to use to get it, but at the end of the day while crazy, he does have a good heart and helps his friend Plastic Man when he is in trouble. The Ooze Brothers are three brother criminals who are made out of a snot like goo and who argue and fight with each other and like to hideout in toxic waste dumps…but once defeated they find their calling working in a Freak Show at a New York circus. I should also take a moment to talk about Officer McNulty who has been the pain in Plastic Man’s side from the start and is an officer who seems to be super moody jerk that even his fellow officers do not like. I really do like that in this issue Plastic Man has to tangle with other weirdo’s with super powers as the fight between the two sides are silly, gross and fun. The cover art is cool and has Plastic Man stuck to the wall in a sewer by snot goo and like before the interior artwork is really weird and fantastic and is done by Hilary Barta once more and he was the perfect choice for this series as his art fits so well with the silly and weird story arch of this mini series. Let’s see what issue three has in store for Plastic Man and what weird situation he will find himself in next.

Plastic Man # 3 **1/2
Released in 1989 Cover Price $1.00 DC Comics # 3 of 4

Woozy Winks is feeling a little down as he feels that Plastic Man is getting all the fame for the crimes they are stopping, and Woozy feels like he is useless to the team and when his name is misspelled on their new slum office door, he is very angry and leaves to deposit some money in their bank account. As Woozy is walking, he meets a crazy man who is preaching about a better life with his master Ramalama, and after Woozy sees the beautiful ladies in this strange cult, he joins leaving the hero business and Plastic Man behind. But when Plastic Man finds out that Woozy joined a cult, he heads to their base in California to get his friend back safe to New York. While looking for him, he meets Ramalama himself, a con man who is trying to get followers and taking life insurance out for all of them with the hope of collecting on them when some of his members die after dancing for three days straight via his orders. Woozy snaps out of it after he notices that Ramalama is a very bad man who wants to kill anyone who stands against his word. So now Plastic Man, Woozy and an old Wizard that is also an enemy of Ramalama must team up to save lives from this dance-a-thon of death! Once they arrive at the concert that find that Ramalama has even more of a sinister plan as he is having his followers dance on the fault line to cause a massive earthquake that cracks open the Earth and while Ramalama falls into this crack and dies, it is Plastic Man and the Old Wizard that close it up and save the day! In the end the Ramalama cult chase after Plastic Man and Woozy as they want them both to be their new leaders!

This third issue is a fun and entertaining read, but does lack a little of the charm that made the first two issue over the top weird and silly. While this issue is lacking a little something, you have to love the idea of Plastic Man trying to save his friend from joining a cult that’s leader is so wacked out of his mind his goal is to cause his followers to stomp around and dance on a fault line to cause a massive earthquake in California as he is from New York and is mad about the health food craze! Really, that is the fun plot of this issue, and you have to love that the cult leader Ramalama dresses like a Greek God. Plastic Man in this issue is a hero like always at this point, but does kind of ignore the feelings of his friend Woozy who clearly is feeling like a second banana when it gets to getting credit to their heroic deeds. But when he finds out that his friend is in trouble Plastic Man kicks into high gear and saves his friend as well as prevents a massive quake. The Old Wizard claims that he is from Atlantis and that California is indeed the lost city, and oddly enough he really does have magical powers. Woozy Winks while at first is drawn to the cult cause of the beautiful ladies soon figures out that this cult is shady and is about making money for its leader, he also gives away the money Plastic Man and he made for rewards. The humor in this issue works well and the story is one that is fitting as so many people do fall for these cults and their smooth talking leaders. The cover for this issue is odd as it’s Plastic Man as a surfboard that Woozy is riding and you guessed it the interior artwork by Hilary Barta is great stuff. With that, let’s see what the fourth and final issue in the series has in store for us.

Plastic Man # 4 **1/2
Released in 1989 Cover Price $1.00 DC Comics # 4 of 4

Plastic Man and Woozy Winks return to New York after saving California and find that their state is being overrun by homeless people and the Mayor Of New York wants to hire them to find out why some many of them are coming from all around to his city. But just as the deal is done, a Robot appears and beats up Plastic Man and takes the Mayor away, and once our hero shakes off the beating he and Woozy head after the Robot to save the Mayor. But once more the robot beats up Plastic Man and this time they lose the trail or the Mayor but do find that all the homeless people are heading to the park so they follow. Once at the park the find the Mayor as well as more robots that are the bodyguards for the alien Zircon who comes down from the sky in his UFO to greet the homeless masses. And Plastic Man finds out that the Mayor has worked with Zircon all along as on his planet they need the homeless and he even faked being kidnapped…but the aliens are also going to steal part of New York to transport back to their planet in order to get the homeless there! As the UFO lifts part of New York into the sky Plastic Man fights with the robots as Woozy leads the homeless into the ship and together they break it down and stop the stealing of the land as well as this massive alien abduction! Superman then appears and helps Plastic Man and Woozy get the land put back into the right space as the Mayor is mocked on the evening news and the aliens are now homeless on the streets of New York trying to trade for items for the parts of their ship.

The final issue of this Plastic Man mini series is a good read and yet also a very strange ending for the series as it’s kind of lackluster when it comes to Plastic Man’s final villains being a couple of aliens and their robot soldiers as he beats them all up with ease and leaves the aliens homeless on Earth! The plot is this the Mayor of New York City has made a deal with some Aliens to allow them to take many of the Earth’s homeless back to their planet, but Plastic Man and Woozy Winks are on the case and end up saving the Homeless from getting kidnapped, and we also get to see Plastic Man interact with his first big superhero as Superman stops in for a visit. Plastic Man in this series really does turn his life around and stays true to the side of the coin that won the toss on being either as Superhero or a Super Villain, and goes out of his way to try and help save and protect people…and well he also likes award money and the fame of being a hero. And while Plastic Man can he hotheaded and his powers are not the most useful in situations he makes the best on what he has. It is also clear that while he does get angry with Woozy Winks sometimes he does respect his friend and his thankful for all his help in life. Woozy while crazy and greedy is really a good person at heart and values his friendship with Plastic Man and for the most part enjoys being his sidekick. This mini series is very all over the place and odd and that is so fitting for this version of Plastic Man as he himself is odd and all over the place as a hero, and while a superhero he kind of falls backwards into really saving the day and for most of his big “fights” with the baddies in the series he has help to truly stop them. The cover for this final issue is pretty cool and showcases Plastic Man being used as a bridge, and you guessed it, the interior art by Hilary Barta is very awesome and fitting for the character and this story. If you are a fan of Plastic Man, your superhero comics with humor, lots of weird villains and DC Comics back when they were making these awesome hero mini series, then make sure to give this one a read. I for one really enjoyed this comic series and while I do feel it fell apart at the end when it came to a big payout it still has lots of charm to it and I feel is worth the read for fans of Plastic Man. Checkout the artwork below to see the style of Barta used in this series.

This Plastic Man mini series will not be for everyone as it really is silly and goofy and is not your typical 80’s DC Hero comic so its goofy nature might scare some readers away from truly giving it a chance. And to be honest with you, I miss the DC Comics of this time as they did lots of really fun story arcs, mini series and adaptations, something they are very much lacking in these modern times. But with that, let’s take a break from comics with our next update being to the world of Horror Movies, as we will be talking about the PG-13 arachnid fright film Eight Legged Freaks! 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 try to survive giant spiders on the attack.

Malibu Comics Ultraverse Memories: Sludge

Posted on June 3, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Rotten Ink is a place to talk comic books, and like I have stated before, Malibu Comics is a company that sadly went under way too quickly and was bought out by a company that had zero clue about what to do with the characters they now owned. One of the characters that I was a fan of was the creature known as Sludge, who, thanks to toxic chemicals, was created to stop crime as well as be misunderstood by those who came in contact with him. And because he is a creature, a monster if you will, he is perfect to cover for one of our Ultraverse update as he is big and scary and is one of the Ultraverse characters that I have been looking forward to covering since I started these updates covering Malibu Comics. So if you are ready, let’s head to the dark and spooky swears and try to stay clear of Sludge!

Frank Hoag is a cop who was dirty and was on the take of a crime boss named John Paul Marcello, but he finds himself a target of a hit when he refuses to kill another dirty cop that is on his boss’ payroll. Frank is killed by being shot several times and then blown up with a bomb, but something happened to Frank. As the bomb exploded, it also hit some nearby chemical drums that came in contact with Frank and cause him to become an oozing creature when his contaminated body is tossed near sewage. Now as this creature known as Sludge, he has many powers including being strong, able to shrug off many attacks and poisons, does not need air to break, can grow back his own limbs and even has a deadly touch that melts human skin. Sludge is a superhero, but also walks that line as his grotesque appearance and messed up speech seems to scare people that he is trying to save. It’s clear that Sludge was Malibu Comics’ version of Incredible Hulk and Man-Thing and was one of the first characters that drew me into the Ultraverse.

So we all know that Marvel Comics became the parent company of Malibu when they bought them back in 1994. Over the following years after the purchase, they phased out the Malibu Ultraverse heroes, and as of this posting many decades have passed and these characters seem to be in limbo as none of them have seen the light of day in comics as well as other media projects. Now if I worked for Marvel Comics as a writer this is what I would have done with Sludge: first I would have him be hiding and lurking in the sewers of New York and after scaring some homeless people that are seeking shelter from a bitter cold night they alert the police who do not listen to their tale of a creature in the sewer but a person that does listen is Bruce Banner and this leads to him thinking that The Glob is back and as The Hulk he looks into this and we get an epic clash between The Hulk and Sludge as the two do not communicate and The Hulk thinks Sludge is a new look for his old foe! After the two work out this misunderstanding, I would keep Sludge in The Hulk universe but would also have him cameo in other Marvel titles set in New York like Spider-Man, Daredevil, The Avengers and Fantastic Four as you know as well as I do, comic readers would love to see him battle The Thing. And while in The Hulk universe, Sludge would be a friend and help him fight against the likes of The Abomination, Rhino, Absorbing Man and The Leader to name a few, but I would also do a mini series that would have Sludge finding himself in Florida and testing his death touch against the burning touch of Man-Thing! It’s a shame that Marvel Comics is not using Sludge as he could have been a very interesting character in the Marvel Universe and could have all types of possibilities in both comics and in film and could have stayed a good guy or even turned into a villain to be a thorn in the side of any hero he faced. Shame on you, Marvel Comics and Disney for allowing these character to fade away with time.

Sadly Sludge did not get the same treatment when it came to merchandise as besides the comic series, he got very few other items. Trading cards, promo posters and POGS are all I can really think of. He never even made it to the Galoob Ultraverse toy series as his figure was rumored but cancelled before release, but some really cool fan figures have been made of Sludge as well as a few other forms of items. It’s crazy that Sludge never did get his fair share of that merchandise bubble as his monstrous look was made for toys.

When Malibu Comics started their Ultraverse line many of the heroes caught my attention with one of them of course being Sludge as at this time monster hero comics were some of my favorite things to read when it came to superhero titles as new issues of Incredible Hulk, Toxic Avenger and even somewhat Pitt were comics you could find in my hands sitting around the house. When I saw Sludge what came to mind was that Malibu was mixing Swamp Thing, Man-Thing and The Hulk together to make a superhero that blends in a touch of horror, and that is why I knew I had to read this comic series. Sadly growing up where I did, it was hard to find indie comics and Malibu comics were not stocked at the grocery stores that I would have to get most of my currant comics from. But when I finally was able to discover the Ultraverse, I truly became a fan of many of their characters, and Sludge was one of those as the monster characters in comics always caught my attention. And after reading the Sludge issues for the first time I really enjoyed them as I felt they were a great mix of the 90’s style superhero comics that was going at the time of their release, and yet they also had that 70’s feel of classic horror comics that were being released by DC and Marvel at that time like Swamp Thing, Tomb Of Dracula and Man-Thing. And from that moment on I was a fan of Sludge. And over the years when I found myself buying back all the Malibu Comics I used to have, Sludge was at the top of the list of ones I must get back and cover on Rotten Ink, and now here we find ourselves at that update that is long overdue. Really I did poor Sludge wrong as he was slated to be the first “Malibu Comics Ultraverse Memories” updates but when the time came I covered the team The Exiles with Prototype and Hardcase to follow, and Sludge kept getting pushed back. While Prototype is one of my favorites as well from Malibu I should have covered Sludge at the start of these themed updates. I am very much looking forward as well to sitting back and re-reading these issues as it has been a very long time since I have read them and I am hoping they hold up! To sum it up, I am a Sludge fan and if you like horror themed superhero comics make sure to check him out as his issues can be found pretty cheap at your local comic shops or even online. Also I want to thank the gone but not forgotten Bookie Parlor and its owner Hal for introducing me to Malibu Comics.

As you can see, Sludge was one of the Malibu Comics that made me become a fan all those years back as I do find his look and backstory interesting! But growing up I never read the full series and only had spot issues in my collection so this will be a fun time reading them from start to finish. I want to thank both Bell Book And Comic as well as Game Swap Kettering for having all these issues in stock and making this update possible. I want to also 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, their entertainment value and their art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head to the sewers and see what Sludge has in store for us.

Sludge # 1 ***
Released in 1993. Cover Price $2.50 Malibu Comics # 1 of 12

Radio DJ Chase Naylor is talking about the case of missing NYPD Detective Frank Hoag, who has gone missing after responding to a break-in where lots of blood and bullets are found. The DJ is saying that the city should be sick of all the deaths, and as he is broadcasting a gang of thugs shoot at a rival and end up also killing innocent people in the gunfire. As the gang members get away, they run into the monster hero known as Sludge who destroys their car and takes many of their bullets and even a sword stab without being hurt. One by one Sludge kills the punks with some dying painfully as if he touches you new lumpy tumor like skin grows, and Sludge has no sympathy for those he is killing. Sludge also finds that thinking and speaking hurts and that while he is a muck monster, he does still bleed red blood. Sludge thinks back to the night he went missing as he is Detective Hoag and that crime lord John Paul Marcello is the one who gave the orders for him to be killed when Hoag refused to kill a fellow officer. And when the crime lord’s goons shot Hoag, a toxic chemical spilled all over his body and caused him to turn into this monster when it mixed with the sewer water they dumped his body in. When the gang’s bodies are found the police are happy that someone took care of them for good as Sludge is seen by the homeless that are living in the sewer.

The first issue of Sludge holds up for me as it is a great and entertaining read that showcases a monster hero who deals death to a handful of punks who deserve to meet their maker after killing innocent people during a hit. The plot is mostly about Sludge and his former life as a regular human that was a police detective that was involved in some shady stuff with the local crime lords that mostly was allowing drug deals to happen on beats he was on, but once he refuses to kill for them, he finds himself the victim of homicide and only because of a toxic chemical split on him is how he is still “alive” if you want to call being a bright blue muck monster living. Sludge is a confused mess of a hero as his brain is on fire, his thoughts are a mess, his body misshapen and his own speech hurts him…but while a mess, he is very much doing the right thing as he is going after criminals and dealing death to those who a doing truly evil things in the streets of New York. And his powers of creating flesh on his victims looks like a painful and terrible way to go. John Paul Marcello is a crime lord that gets what he wants and does not like being told no, and if you cross him, you will find yourself swimming with the fishes or is that sewer rats? The comic is pretty violent and showcases lots of blood an killings and that is kind of what sets it a part from the Marvel and DC Comics at that time. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and shows Sludge’s face and lets the reader get a real good look at him. The interior art done for this issue was by Aaron Lopresti and is really great stuff, and I like the way he draws Sludge to look very goopy and gross. I have to also point out that when Frank Hoag is covered in the toxic waste his transformation makes you flashback to the Troma film The Toxic Avenger, or at least it made me do that. The comic also features a backup story that is all about that vampire character Rune so you get a little more bang for your buck here. What a cool read, and I know remember why I was a fan of this comic series when I was younger as you cannot go wrong with a massive creature hero killing punks on the New York streets. Let’s see what issue two has in store for us and if it as well holds up.

Sludge # 2 ***
Released in 1993 Cover Price $1.95 Malibu Comics # 2 of 12

Bloodstorm is a paid assassin and his latest job is killing a man’s father so that he can collect the family fortune, and killing does not bother Bloodstorm as he is good at his job and nothing is going to stand in his way. Meanwhile Sludge stumbles on some of Mr. Marcello’s men who are beating up a guy who owes money, and they are going to take a body part as payment…but instead they all meet a bloody and painful fate. Detective Quinn is looking into these vigilante style killings, and he and the doctor are confused over the rapid skin growths that appear on many of the victims, and they come up with nothing. Meanwhile Bloodstorm once more is performing a hit and this time kills a woman as well as some security guards that works the apartment she lives in, and like before he takes joy in his deeds. Detective Quinn is working for Mr. Marcello and they are all trying to figure out who is killing the criminals on the street, and they end up calling in the services of Bloodstorm who costs them lots of money but they think he is worth it and will find the vigilante who is taking down crime. Days pass and many shakedowns take place all the while Bloodstorm is watching and waiting for his target, and it finally appears as Sludge shows up on a pier and attacks more of Marcello’s goons. Sludge and Bloodstorm fight with Bloodstorm getting the upper hand and using an exploding arrow that takes Sludge down. This is all witnessed by Detective Quinn who was part of the shakedown of the man who owned the crime boss money, truly showing he is a corrupt cop.

The second issue of Sludge has our goopy hero still on the prowl and killing off the goons of the crime boss Mr. Marcello who is now very much annoyed by the killing of his men and that is why he hires the assassin Bloodstorm to take care of his “issues”. And speaking of Bloodstorm he is one scary villain as he kills with ease and very brutally and gets joy watching people die, all because he was a bullied child who was laughed at and mocked. Bloodstorm also gets joy in hiring woman to come to his house were he will beat them almost to death with his bare hands…he is one sick psycho! Mr. Marcello and his men are you typical crime family who do bad things but they look tame compared to Bloodstorm. Detective Quinn is another corrupt cop who is on Marcello’s payroll and is the cop that was slated to be killed by Hoag, and this is unknown to him and he is still on the crime lords payroll. Sludge meanwhile is still killing the baddies and wondering around the streets even bonding with the cities homeless. We also see that Sludge has to eat as well to survive and he gets his food from dumpsters! It’s crazy that Bloodstorm is able to use his explosive arrow to take Sludge down at least for a little bit, but while the issue ends with Sludge hurt we all know that he will recover to continue his crusade to bring down the crime in New York. And it is nice to see that Sludge, while un-killable, does have some weakness and that can be challenged by skilled fighters like Bloodstorm who is also known as Unknown! The second issue as well really holds up and is way more bloody than most superhero comics going at this time, and truly Sludge was one of the best characters Malibu Comics made for their Ultraverse series. The cover is cool and has Sludge and Bloodstorm fighting with Aaron Lopresti returning to do the interior art that of course is really good! And with that, let’s head to issue three as I want to see how Sludge makes his comeback in this fight against a trained killer like Bloodstorm.

Sludge # 3 ***
Released in 1993 Cover Price $1.95 Malibu Comics # 3 of 12

Sludge is hurt on the ground as a group of crazed people appear and pick him up and toss his body into the ocean and then start attacking Bloodstorm who holds them off before retreating out of this crazed mobs attack. Detective Quinn as well finds himself being chased by the crazed people and he dives into the ocean to get away from them. At the bottom of the ocean Sludge wants to just die and end his weird life as a hero, while above ground a young mobster named Pistol working for Lord Pumpkin has his men wait around the dock to take down Sludge if he appears again as they have interest in this creature that has killed many of Mr. Marcello’s men, and he heads to Pumpkin to fill him in on what he has found out. While Mr. Marcello and his men are hiding out in a skyskraper, and the crazed mob are running wild in the streets and even climbing the building talking crazy. At the bottom of the ocean Sludge is forced to fight with a race of sea creature monster people called The Rivermen who end up taking him down and as their prisoner and to Lord Pumpkin who promises Sludge death if he helps him in his war with Marcello. Meanwhile Mr. Marcello sends a massive tank to New Jersey to go after Lord Pumpkin who is pushing into New York and his territory, and after taking down the tank that attacks his base Lord Pumpkins offer to Sludge is also shot down as the mucky hero wonders into the streets that is still filled with crazy people.

For those wondering, the crazed mob of people are explained in the Malibu Mini Series called “Break Thru” and the events carried over into Sludge. They do a very poor job of explaining them to the readers who just read Sludge and not the other million crossover and events that Malibu constantly had going on. The plot of this issue has the streets being filled with people who are like a mindless mob just wandering around the streets causing chaos, while Bloodstorm returns to his home, waiting to be paid for the job he got done and that was “killing” Sludge who in turn is not dead but wants to die. And throw in now a turf war between Mr. Marcello’s gang and the gang of the evil demon Lord Pumpkin and you have a showdown in hell. In this issue Sludge is a creature that really just wants to find peace in death, as he feels he has gotten his revenge and frightened those who double-crossed him when he was a human. But even when he finds a way to truly die he does not take as it would mean that he would have to work alongside another crime boss that this time is also a demon. Speaking of Lord Pumpkin, he is a supernatural crime boss who is making his way into New York and seems to get more joy in the upcoming gang war than actually gaining any real power. He also seems to employ some very odd henchman as one is a young kid who is good with guns that is called Pistol, and with this youngster he also seems to be calling the shots in the streets and is Pumpkin’s right hand man. The action in this comic is really fun and Sludge’s fight with the Rivermen is great and showcases monster vs. monsters and at one point the Rivermen are called Creature From The Black Lagoon’s…so brownie points there. The cover for this issue is really cool and has Sludge in the water being attacked by the fish creature Rivermen and like with the other two issues the interior art by Aaron Lopresti is great stuff and his style for Sludge’s look would be hard to beat for any other artist at Malibu at the time. Over all another great issue that makes me look forward to rereading the next issue.

Sludge # 4 ***
Released in 1994 Cover Price $1.95 Malibu Comics # 4 of 12

Two brothers are messing around in the New York sewers when they find Sludge and run away in fear, but only one makes it out alive as the other is killed by an alligator creature that rips the youngster apart, leaving the younger brother shaken and hiding in some bushes in the park covered in blood. The local newspaper get the scoop on the story and reporter Shelley Rogers wants to cover the case, and she gets a report that two city workers were also attacked in the sewer. Meanwhile Sludge finds the bloody coat of the murdered kid and starts wandering around looking to find him, and even comes above ground to get a newspaper to read. Meanwhile Shelley is getting no help from the police nor any photographer as she wants to head into the sewers and find what is causing these deaths. Shelley heads alone into the sewer and soon runs into Veffir Voon Iyax, the alligator man who also goes by “He Of Cold Blood And Boundless Appetites” and before he can attack and kill Shelley the wall shatters and Sludge comes to her aid an ends up killing Veffir Voon Iyax with some big hits to his skull! In the end Sludge crushes the camera of Shelley and tells her he does not want his picture in the paper nor does he want people to know who he is. Sludge then picks up the body of his fallen foe and heads into the sewer.

What a fun read as this issue has monster vs. monster as Sludge takes on Veffir Voon Iyax, a weird alligator man who can talk and loves to kill and eat humans. We also now have Shelley Rogers, a reporter who has seen Sludge and knows that he lives in the sewers. And while the fight between the two monsters could have been more epic, it does show that Sludge is very powerful as he is able to kill his foe with his bare hands and does so very easily. The character of Veffir Voon Iyax is pretty interesting as it makes you wonder where he came from and is he a God like he tried to pretend to be, plus why can he talk and is pretty smart with his words. Sludge shows that while he truly was a crooked cop he makes for a pretty great hero now that he is a muck monster who does what he can to protect people from those who are doing very bad things. And we all know that Shelley Rogers will more than likely become a pain in the side for Sludge as she will try and report about this monster hero from New York’s sewers. The issue has blood spilt as Veffir Voon Iyax murders many and even keeps body parts around his sewer home. Lord Pumpkin and Mr. Marcello and their crime family war is not spoken about in this issue, as this seems like Sludge who is very confused in his mind might have forgotten that the two crime lords even exist. This is such a great read as the plot being the build and final battle between two monsters was a great break from our story of Sludge hunting down and killing hoods. The cover for this issue is also very cool as it’s a showdown between Sludge and Veffir Voon Iyax and the interior art is done still by Lopresti who does a great job and his splash pages in this issue is really cool. Over all, this is once more a great issue in the series and like the others before it, I enjoyed revisiting this one as it held up really well.

Sludge # 5 ***
Released in 1994 Cover Price $1.95 Malibu Comics # 5 of 12

A couple are walking home when they are attacked by a zombie looking creature that kills them and starts to eat them. The victims’ screams are heard by Sludge who busts from the sewer but he is too late to save the couple as the zombie creature runs off the police arrive and catch a look at Sludge standing over two dead bodies. Sludge is able to escape but the police blame him for the deaths and now he is wanted for murder! Shelley Rogers, the reporter who was saved by Sludge, is upset by the report as she is on the side of Sludge and says he is a hero and not a cannibal! Garrett Whale is a professor who is dealing with lung cancer and was fired many years back from the Aladdin Company due to his experiments dealing with the dead, as the cannibal zombie was his friend that died in an explosion and he brought back to life! And when hearing about Sludge and his touch that builds tumors on his victims he thinks that he can maybe use Sludge to find a cure for cancer and hires some thugs to get the creature for him. They are able to trick Sludge in the sewer and use a dart to knock the muck hero out and get him back to Whale’s lab. Meanwhile the Zombie is hanging out in the alleys with the homeless who take him in as one of their own, and it remembers back to the day it was created and how Whale buried it back in the ground when he thought it was a failure…the zombie ends up killing and eating the homeless man who took him in. Meanwhile Shelley Rogers gets the news and heads out to the location of these cannibal attacks, while back at Whale’s Lab, Sludge is about to be experimented on when the Zombie busts in and kills not only Whale but also his thugs! Sludge breaks free and the two monsters fight with Sludge ending the Zombies life again with his touch as tumors grow all over the undead monster as it once more slips into the abyss. In the end Sludge buries the Zombie in a cemetery and shuffles off to head back to his sewer home, as Lord Pumpkin watches his every move.

The fifth issue in Sludge is another monster fight as this time around our sewer muck monster hero fights with a cannibalistic zombie who is running around the city eating people, and worse of all Sludge is getting the blame for the crimes! And let us also not forget that a Professor who is dying from cancer is also on the hunt for Sludge as he thinks he might hold the key to cure him. Sludge in this issue is more confused than before as words do not come out right, his memories are jumbled and he still really just wants to die. But while he is dealing with his mind issues Sludge still is a hero and rushes to the aid of those screaming for help. Professor Garrett Whale is a very smart man who has turned bad when he finds out that he has lung cancer and this leads him into bringing the dead back to life, creating and spreading a new street drug and also taking Sludge prisoner in order to experiment on him! But of course Whale ends up paying for his crimes as the undead creature he created comes for him. The Zombie was once a very brilliant Doctor that might have found a cure for cancer but a lab accident leaves him dead and his cure gone with him, and due to desperation Whale brings him back from the dead…but the man he was is no longer and in his place is a flesh eating zombie. News reporter Shelley Rogers, who was saved by Sludge from being killed by the alligator man Veffir Voon Iyax, does not believe that her hero is the one eating people around the city and wants to help prove his innocence, and this shows that Sludge has some friends in the city with Shelley being one and the homeless being the others. The fight between Sludge and the Zombie is really cool as the undead human eater wanted to find peace, and thanks to the cancerous touch of Sludge, he finds just that. The cover for this issue is really cool and has a true indie horror comic look to it, with yet again Lopresti being the interior artist. And with them hinting that that war between Lord Pumpkin and Mr. Marcello is far from over, you know a crime land war is in our future, so with that let’s see what issue six has in store for us.

Sludge # 6 ***
Released in 1994 Cover Price $1.95 Malibu Comics # 6 of 12

Tabitha works for Lord Pumpkin and delivers his drugs to very big clients all who do what is asked of them in order to get the drugs, but on her way to deliver she is attacked and killed with her body dumped at the base of Pumpkin and her drugs taken. Lord Pumpkin is angered as he was in love with Tabitha and sends Pistol and his men out on the streets to find out who did this hit, and while upset and saddened by the loss of his love Lord Pumpkin feeds her body to his plant that produces the drug he sells. We find out that business man and secret crime lord Wong Ten Yu is the one who placed the hit to get the Zuke drug to see what it is made of, meanwhile near the dock one of Yu’s ships explodes almost killing everyone on board with the only survivor being saved by Sluge who by accident tumors up her arm. This explosions sparks a talk between Yu and Mr. Marcello as they seem to both have a common enemy in Lord Pumpkin, and for the meeting each bring their top assassins and henchmen with Marcello even hiring Bloodstorm to watch his back. Lord Pumpkin gets the word of the meeting and gets a surprise guest as Sludge appears wanting to talk to the demon, as he will help him now if he grants him death. The meeting takes place at a cemetery and unknown to Yu and Mr. Marcello in the shadows watching is Lord Pumpkin along with Pistol and Sludge…and after a few moments Sludge goes on the attack! And then Lord Pumpkin shows himself to his two enemies and they are in shock of his appearance as he really does have a Pumpkin for a head and is a demonic looking creature. Lord Pumpkin lets them know that the war is truly on as he disappears with Pistol and Sludge as another fight with the crime lords is in the works.

In this issue the war between three different crime families is about to go down as each have made big mistakes that is causing lots of heat and New York is becoming a pressure cooker! It is clear that New York is not big enough for Lord Pumpkin, Wong Ten Yu and Mr. Marcello as all three want to corner the drug market as well as want the others dead or at least out of town…but I think death on one another is truly what is in their hearts. While Mr. Marcello and Mr. Yu are normal men, Lord Pumpkin is a true evil demon who while has love in his sinister heart for some does seem to be enjoying all the death, misery and abuse that this is causing. Sludge in this issue is really suffering mentally as his brain is truly turning into mush and he is having a real hard time dealing with it, while he tries to be a hero saving a woman from drowning his touch causes her pain and he even tries to kill himself but fails, and now he finds himself in a team up with the very evil Lord Pumpkin to try and end his life. Bloodstorm being added back into the series was a wise choice as he is the one villain who has really be able to hurt Sludge, as this far all others who have crossed him have meet a quick death. The other great part of this issue is showing that while Lord Pumpkin is a demon, he still has emotions as he was in love with Tabitha a woman he had working for him, and with her death now we understand why this crime war is going to turn deadly very fast. And if the killings in the graveyard is a preview of what is to come during this war many people are going to die. The cover is cool and once more has a very indie Horror Comic look to it and yep like we have seen many issues before this one Lopresti did the interior artwork. Over all another great issue that helps push this series story along as with each issue showcases the mental breakdown of Sludge and builds to the baddies of the city getting ready for a showdown.

Sludge # 7 ***
Released in 1994 Cover Price $1.95 Malibu Comics # 6 of 12

Sludge is having a nightmare about Edna, the woman he was in love with when he was human, and in his dream he touches her and her skin turns to tumors and she dies as the evil Lord Pumpkin mocks him…but this time even when he awakes he sees the twisted face of Edna as his denigrating mind is playing tricks on him. At the cemetery reporter Shelley Rogers arrives as the cops are removing the bodies and meets Detective Quinn who refuses to answer any questions but she also meets Agnes who works for the Medical Examiners office and says after the autopsies she might be able to help Sheeley with her questions and story, this does not make Quinn happy. Meanwhile Lord Pumpkin has sent Pistol out to hire a lawyer, while Mr. Marcello is very much stressed over the cemetery attack and the sight of Lord Pumpkin himself and is skittish and thinks his own men are out to backstab him. While Lord Pumpkin is in a great mood and even gives Pistol a bigger cut on the sale of Zuke the drug they are offering, while Mr. Yu’s men are looking at how to duplicate Zuke so they can sell it themselves and later team with Mr. Marcello’s men to crack the code. Lord Pumpkin has created a new version of Zuke from the plant and is selling it cheap on the streets and this new drug is turning some of those who take it into psychos who feel no pain, and Sludge has to deal with one after the crazy kid kills a police officer. Later Bloodstorm gets hired by Mr. Marcello’s right hand man to kill Lord Pumpkin as Sludge is given the order to kill Mr. Marcello…and Sludge does just that as he touches the crime lords face causing it to be covered in tumors, and then the crime boss falls out of a window from his high rise building.

Well it looks like Mr. Marcello is no longer the leader of his crime family as he has splatted on the sidewalk below his penthouse home, and it looks like it will be Vittorio that takes over the operation as he is already setting in motion to try and work with his rivals, kill Lord Pumpkin and learn the secrets of the street drug Zuke. While on the other side it appears that Mr. Yu was injured in the cemetery attack and is also willing to work alongside his enemies to bring down the bigger threat to them both. While Lord Pumpkin is creating more drugs that appear make some people go crazy, is building up the trust of young Pistol, is getting legal eagles on his payroll and orders for the death of Mr. Marcello that is carried out by Sludge who finally gets his revenge on the man who gave the orders to end his human life and turn him into the muck monster he is. Sludge is really starting to lose it as his mind is playing tricks on him and he is even forgetting words now more often, it’s sad that he has to take orders from Lord Pumpkin in order to truly try and end his life. And with Bloodstorm now being called in to kill Lord Pumpkin you know that the action is going to heat up, as this hired assassin will not stop until his target is dead. Pistol, who is very young, is getting his mind warped by Lord Pumpkin as the youngster is starting to crave violence and power. I am going to say yet again that the interior art is done by Lopresti and is well done, and the cover for this issue is really cool and has Sludge going on a rampage. So with Sludge now truly being a henchman for the demon Lord Pumpkin truly shows just how confused our hero is as he is stopping criminals while working for one! So with that, let’s see what issue eight brings to our story.

Sludge # 8 ***
Released in 1994 Cover Price $1.95 Malibu Comics # 8 of 12

The New York local TV News is covering the drug wars that is happing in the streets. They cover the death of Mr. Marcello as well as Zuke being sold in a cheap version on the streets that is turning some users into killers. Sludge is watching the news and has a weird vision of he and his ex-lover Edna eating dinner over a trash barrel, and when he snaps out of it he finds that he is just in a janitor room watching a TV and escapes back into the sewer as the worker returns. While at the cemetery during the funeral of Mr. Marcello, Vittorio learns that the others in the crime family want him to step up and take over, but he needs to bring down both Lord Pumpkin and Sludge! And Vittorio makes the call and hires Bloodstorm to kill them both, while Lord Pumpkin has a spy that over hears the hit and warns the demon who in turn calls on Sludge to help in the coming battle. While at the hospital Mr. Yu’s men take the survivor from the boat explosion out of there as they don’t want her to squeal on them. And while all this is going on Shelley Rogers is looking deeper into these drug killings, Zuke rages and the disfiguring deaths and Detective Quinn is now being asked by Mr. Yu’s group to spy on Vittorio’s group as they do not want to be double crossed. Bloodstorm has arrived and takes out some thugs and Rivermen along his way of getting to Lord Pumpkin, but the assassin is no match as he is blasted by Pumpkin’s demonic blast, shot in the hand by Pistol and then force to eat a ton of Zuke as Sludge makes his mouth cover over with tumors. As Bloodstorm is in pain and drugged up something odd happens as the Zuke that Sludge touched has made his hand human again! And during all this some of Yu’s doctors on staff are operating on the young woman who survived the boat explosion and they took from the hospital.

All Hell is breaking loose in New York as this crime war is getting out of hand and all three crime families are jockeying for that top position and each have their own slimy ways to try and achieve it. Mr. Yu and his men are playing it more quite and sending spies to watch what the others are doing, while they themselves are trying to crack the secrets of Zuke as well as are clearly doing something very bad to the young woman they took from the hospital. Vittorio finds himself in charge now that his boss is dead and buried and must do what he can to get the respect of the men who are shook by the death of their leader as well as the number of losses they have suffered on their side. Lord Pumpkin is kind of a sick puppet master during all this as he knows what each of his opposing sides are up to and almost loves the lack of a challenge they truly are to his power. Pistol is young and so willing to kill for Pumpkin who clearly is controlling the youngsters mind, and while I think Pumpkin likes him he would send him to die if it would further his game for power. Bloodstorm, who is a master assassin, soon finds that he was not ready to fight a demon and by the end of the issue is near death’s door! While Detective Quinn is playing all sides minus that of Pumpkin and reporter Shelley Rogers is getting so close to figuring out what is going on in the biggest story of her life. Sludge once more is just taking orders as he wants to die, but now that he sees that Zuke might be able to turn him human again…his wish for death just might change as being cured of this mucky curse might be the new agenda for him. This gang war story is lots of fun and reminds me of the Spider-Man story arch called “Gang War” that feature Kingpin, Hammerhead, The Rose and other super baddies at war with each other in New York…if you have not read this story, you should do so it’s a fun read. I am shocked just how easy Bloodstorm was defeated, but to be fair, the odds were very much against him. And the shocking cliffhanger ending of Sludge’s hand turning human adds even more drama to his sad story and makes you really want to read the next issue to find out how this plays out! Oh before we do move onto issue nine, I should say this cover is really cool as is shows both Sludge and Bloodstorm.

Sludge # 9 ***
Released in 1994 Cover Price $1.95 Malibu Comics # 9 of 12

Lord Pumpkin has cleared the tumors away from Bloodstorm’s mouth and pumps him full of Zuke, and as the assassin starts to rage Pumpkin puts him to sleep. As a confused Sludge and Pistol look on Lord Pumpkin says that Bloodstorm has a use and must do a job for him that is why he did not let them kill him. Sludge takes Bloodstorm to the base of Vittorio and lets him loose as the madman now on Zuke opens fire and kills many more of that crime family, but finally Bloodstorm is gunned down and from his body Zuke gas escapes the bullet holes and chokes everyone in the room with its foul smell. Detective Quinn witnessed that massacre and runs from the scene to look for protection from Mr. Yu, but unknown to him, Shelley Rogers has hidden in his back seat and knows the officer’s dirty little secrets. While she’s listening to Mr. Yu telling Quinn they are working on a weapon that will help in this war, a Riverman appears and takes Shelley away to Lord Pumpkin’s hideout. Meanwhile Mr. Yu and his crime network unload an attack on Pumpkins pushers, sellers, customers and fiends. Lord Pumpkin’s operation is weakened and he once more calls of Sludge to help he and Pistol against the coming weapon that is being sent by Mr. Yu, with the promise being this is the final favor and he will be granted death or more Zuke to turn him normal again! Back at the lab the young woman has been turned into a cyborg and is a killing machine, Mr. Yu has her kill Detective Quinn before heading to the hideout of Lord Pumpkin were she makes short work of some of his men. Once inside she fights off both Pistol and Sludge and ends up “killing” Lord Pumpkin, with her mission complete the Cyborg sets herself to self-destruct, Sludge frees Shelley, and she and Pistol who is holding the head of Lord Pumpkin escape while Sludge grabs some Zuke before making his exit. After the explosion and the dust is settle several days later Pistol is holding and protecting the rotten head of Lord Pumpkin, before finally given up on his bosses return and placing the head into a trashcan.

The Gang War is finally over and so much has happened and changed and only one crime family is still standing tall after all the blood is spilt and the dust has settled and that is Mr. Yu’s who played a smart game and is able to create a Cyborg that brings an end to Lord Pumpkin for now. Mr. Yu seen weakness and took his shot and it paid off big time as he was able to give the orders that lead to him being the biggest crime lord in New York. While on the other side Vittorio and his family come off weak as their original boss is dead and he allows an attack at one of their own bases to happen that leaves many of his higher ups dead! Vittorio has lost the respect and fear that would have allowed his crime family to stay at the top of the crime food chain in New York. Meanwhile Lord Pumpkin’s own ego leads to his defeat as he thinking is was to powerful and bragging about it is what lead to his candle being snuffed out and his life for now ending, he leaves Pistol without a boss and lost on the streets as his own head rots in a nasty trashcan. Detective Quinn who is a no good cop meets his end by playing both sides as he was a narc for both Yu and Vittorio. Plus he was a trying to play a good cop on TV to save face. Poor Shelley Rogers gets abducted and forced to take Zuke for trying to crack the story of the crime war, but in the end she at least escapes with her life. Sludge who got a quick taste of the cure is now seeing a ghost version of his ex-girlfriend, is questioning if he wants death or life and finds himself used as a pawn in this gang war with his best interest never being taken to heart. This Gang War or Zuke War was such a great story arch in these Sludge Comics and some many characters played a part in this story with many of them meeting their fates by the conclusion, and so far can’t you readers see why Sludge was one of my favorites from the Ultraverse? The stories are very fun and the issues have monster fights, crime drama and even a hero that has issues that go very deep. The cover for this issue is cool and has Sludge fighting Lord Pumpkin as the cover reminds me of something you would have seen on an issue of The Incredible Hulk! And the interior artwork this time around is done by Robb Phipps, and his style is good and very fitting for the Ultraverse at this time. Over all another great issue that has held up to the sands of time for this blogger.

Sludge # 10 ***
Released in 1994 Cover Price $1.95 Malibu Comics # 10 of 12

Sludge is in the sewer and takes the Zuke and it has no effect on him, his dreams of being back human are shattered. Meanwhile on the streets of New York weirdo Vinaigrette and her weird bird creature Organism 0.9B are running wild and causing issues for the cops, and when Sludge comes out of the sewer to try and help he is shot by an officer and this cause Zuke fumes to leak from his body and make our muck hero dizzy and as he returns to his sewer home he passes out. When he wakes up the next morning he is more human than before, can speak clearly and his head and thoughts are not mush! He heads up to the streets and gets some clothes and starts walking among the normal people again, and he heads to his apartment home only to find that a new couple lives their and the male armed with a baseball bat attacks Sludge to protect his home and lady! Sludge ends up getting away and finds the home of Shelley Rogers and fills her in on the whole story for a place to sleep and some food to eat, Shelley meanwhile hits the streets and starts to uncover the trail that will lead to finding out what the toxic waste was that turned Hoag into Sludge. The lead takes Shelley and Sludge to Pennsylvania to meet Dr. Ferdinand LaLama who worked at the lab and created a chemical that would re-grow damaged skin…the waste that was split on Hoag when he was shot and killed. At the clinic of Dr. LaLama they find it rundown, and after forcing his way in Sludge is attacked by Vinaigrette and her giant weird ride able bird friend Organism 0.9B who think Sludge is a threat for breaking down the door, and worse moments later Sludge finds that two hulking freaks called The Bash Brothers are joining the fight.

In this issue Sludge thanks to the power of the street drug Zuke has turned some what back to human and wants to find a full cure for his mucky curse, and is able to blend in with the right clothes and seeks out the help of reporter Shelley Rogers to find out what toxic chemical spilled on him and turned him into a monster and the person that created it! And of course nothing can be easy for Sludge as he finds himself being attacked by other strange powered and looking people that appear to be connected to the same man who might have indirectly been responsible for his own creation. Sludge while more human like still is super strong and seems to not be able to be fully hurt, while he does have aches and some pain now when it comes to combat. His mind and voice are clear and his one goal is to find a way to make himself back into just normal old Detective Hoag. Shelley Rogers is getting the story of a lifetime and it’s clear at this point that she has a friendship with Sludge and is willing to help him in his quest for answers. Vinaigrette and Organism 0.9B are very strange as Vinaigrette seems to sweating a slick oil like substance that makes her hard to grab onto while Organism 0.9B is a big silly looking bird who uses it’s head like a battling ram, while they were causing issues in New York I do not think they are baddies, and the same goes for The Bash Brothers who we do not get to see in action in this issue. Dr. Ferdinand LaLama is the man behind the toxic chemical and by the looks of it is also the keeper of the “freaks” it has created. While I am a fan of the classic muck monster Sludge, this more quick thinking version is a fun change of pace and is making for a good story of who and why he was created. And for some reason when reading this issue again I was getting Basket Case 2 vibes, if you have not seen the film its about a house of odd, strange and freaks living together in a home being cared for by a doctor. The cover for this issue is odd and yet catches your attention and for this issues interiors, Robb Phipps returns and does a great job, as clearly he likes to draw the ladies. With that let’s see what issue eleven has in store for us and if Sludge will get what he seeks from the mysterious Dr. LaLama.

Sludge # 11 **1/2
Released in 1994 Cover Price $1.95 Malibu Comics # 11 of 12

The Bash Brothers end up beating up on Sludge and knock him out for a brief moment, and that attack stops when Shelley informs them that they can to seek help, and once the Brothers take a look at Sludge’s face that is now starting to burn drippy and gooey again they see that they were wrong to attack and inform the two that Dr. LaLama is away and has been for some days now and none of them have heard from him for a week! So The Bash Brothers, Organism 0.9B and Vinaigrette join Sludge and Shelley on their hunt for the now considered missing Doctor, and the ride back to New York Vinaigrette tells them all about a Dr. Gross who is the one that made her the way she is, and how he is a very bad man. Once in the city Vinaigrette and Organism 0.9B break away from the group to get money, while the rest find a portal opened in the city land of Dr. LaLama and when they all enter it they find themselves in a weird world, but they do find Dr. LaLama! To return home The Bash Brothers and Sludge must stand on each others shoulders so Shelley can climb up them and get back through the portal to drop down a rope, and when she makes it up, weird water creatures bellow attack our heroes! They are able to fight off the water creatures and climb the rope and return to the lab where Sludge is starting to turn back into the muck monster so he quickly asks Dr. LaLama about the chemical he made that turned him into this monster. Dr. LaLama informs him that the chemical was created to heal damaged skin, and when he was shot an dumped in the sewer the chemical bonded his flesh and bone with that of the sewage, and he informs him that without the Zuke samples he can not help him…Sludge who is turning back into the creature leaves the lab to return to the sewers a defeated man.

In this issue Sludge who is starting to turn back into the muck monster goes to another world to find the missing scientist Dr. LaLama who is the one person who might be able to help cure him or at least give him the answers he seeks…but instead all he finds in disappointment and a one way ticket into turning fully back into Sludge! While the issue is fun and the plot moves the story along as we find out that the chemical was not toxic, but was a way to help injured people that just went wrong for Detective Hoag when his body was dumped in the sewer, I also feel that it was the one this far that kind of dragged and that was mostly do to the uninteresting characters called The Bash Brothers who ramble on with their smart talk and just kind of are dorks. The Bash Brothers are around way to much of this comic an take away from Sludge and his story, plus I just think that once Sludge left the home of Dr. LaLama to find him in the lab back in New York the only person with him should have been Shelley Rogers and not the rest of the weirdoes. I think with the Gang War being over and no appearances of other monster for Sludge to fight the pace of the comic just kind of stalls as his fights in this issue or so brief. While this issue for me is a little slow, we at least do get a little look into what the chemical was that made him as well as now see that he is turning back into the monster hero we all love. The cover for this issue is great and has Sludge’s face being it on both sides by the fists of The Bash Brothers and the interior artwork is once more done by artist Robb Phipps and is solid great work. Not much to say about this issue besides it’s the weakest issue in the series that does help give a little look into the sad life of Sludge who just wants to be normal again or at least find peace in death.

Sludge # 12 ***
Released in 1994 Cover Price $3.50 Malibu Comics # 12 of 12

A witch and her demon friend Phleeb have casted a spell and have Sludge under hero command, and as this event happens teenager Michael Green wakes up from a bad dream that was about Sludge’s cursed possession and this causes him to turn into the Ultra Hero Prime to go and investigate. The Witch orders Sludge to go to the museum and steal a stone tablet as if he joins that half they have with the half he has a smell can be done that will free the Witch’s son from another dimension and together they will take over the world. And with orders given the entranced Sludge makes his way to his mission and breaks in and gets the tablet, but Prime arrives on the scene and starts a fist fight with Sludge and for a brief moment Sludge snaps out of the mind control but quickly falls back under as the Witch uses her powers to do so as well as weaken Prime! The fight ends as Prime is getting weaker and Sludge makes it back to the Witch and she starts working on the spell to bring back her son as Prime recovers after many hours and goes back on the hunt for Sludge to finish their fight. Prime goes to the sewer and once Sludge appears the two start fighting with Prime being the one kicking butt, the Witch is bale to bring her son back who turns out to be a giant and he by accident crushes his own mom to death and this breaks the spell she had on Sludge who tries to stop the fight but is punched really hard and knocked out by Prime who gets out of the sewer and finds the city is being attacked by Demons! As Prime is fighting demons above ground Sludge wakes up and starts fighting them in the sewers before finding the witches body and then breaking apart the stone tablet sending all the demons back into their dimension. Prime and Sludge meet again in the witch’s lab and part ways once they figure out that neither have the answers on what just happened and why Prime is drawn to Sludge who wanders off back into the dark sewer tunnels.

And with this issue so ends Sludge is his own solo series and while this issue kind of just ends and the character just gets no breaks as this time around and old witch mind controls him to steal a tablet from a museum in order to bring her son and his demonic friends back from another dimension, but all this causes is for the witch to be crushed to death and for Sludge to get into a big fist fight with Prime, who is the strongest of the UltraHeroes. So the quest to be cured must be over for Sludge as he seems to not like it but has came to terms with the fact that he will be a muck monster from here on, but most of the issue he finds himself under mind control and only in the last few pages is he able to talk to Prime and clear his name. Speaking of Prime he was a nice guest star as he is able to slug it out with Sludge as well as the freed demons, plus his skin does not grow tumors when touching Sludge making him the hardest opponent that our muck hero has ever fought. And the side story of Prime for some reason being drawn to Sludge and as well kind of loosing control of turning form normal teenager Michael Green to the massive hero, and sadly in this series we are left on that cliffhanger and we never do get any answers. Sludge throughout this series goes from being a human cop named Hoag, to being murdered and covered in a toxic chemical, to having his body dumped in a sewer, to turning into a muck monster called Sludge, is in involved in a gang war, wants to die to wanting to be cured, fights monsters and so much more in-between! While this issue is a fun read I do also have to say that it is kind of a letdown when it comes to being a final issue as it seems like its more of a set up from a Prime story than a finish for the Sludge story. The cover for this issue is cool and has Sludge and Prime fighting it out, the interior artist on this final issue was done by Aaron Lopresti and it is nice to see him return to finish the series. I should also say that for the final villain for Sludge to fight with in his series being The Old Witch is also kind of a letdown as she is creepy and powerful and all, but is also very silly and dies at the feet of her own large demon child…I would have rather seen him tangle with Mr. Yu and his men or even a crazed madman on Zuke! But while this was the final issue in the Sludge main series we have one Christmas Special still to go, so our look at Sludge is not over yet!

Sludge Red X-Mas # 1 ***
Released in 1994 Cover Price $2.50 Malibu Comics # 1 of 1

It’s Thanksgiving and Sludge is in the sewer with a muddled mind and is annoyed that heroes like Hardcase have floats in the parade, while people just fear him. While on the street Pistol stops a purse thief Shifty and almost gets a reword from the woman as he returns it, as Shifty gets arrested Pistol heads to a strip club to try and get work from it’s owner Cornwell to do collections…but no jobs are going on during the holidays. Sludge stops a criminal from beating a woman to death with a crowbar as the woman he saves is the lawyer that Lord Pumpkin hired when he was alive and running the streets of New York. While Pistol is watching after some of the homeless people who are being bullied as well as running small jobs to get cash for them all to eat. Meanwhile Shifty has placed a hit on the officer that arrested him for the purse theft, and Pistol ends up talking to Sludge and tells him that Zuke was from the same place Lord Pumpkin was from and then stops Shifty from shooting the police officer! Pistol makes it in the newspaper for being a hero but will not give his real name, but his father Mack a man leading a city wide strike is a scum bag who use to beat Pistol and his mother and now he wants his son dead before he can talk and tell his dirty secrets. Pistol gets kidnapped and the officer as well as the female lawyer get shot and hurt during the abduction. Sludge stops the attackers and even roughs up Pistol’s dad who was going to kill his own son, later Pistol along with his crazy homeless friends, the cop and the lawyer lady are all hanging out in a ally opening gifts as Pistol to himself sends a silent thank you to Sludge for saving his life.

For me this is the better way to end Sludge and should have been the final issue in the main series instead of a special issue as I feel we get a slightly better ending for Sludge as he is a hero and even helps turn a criminal onto a path of doing the right thing. The plot has young Pistol wondering the streets looking for work from the loan sharks, but he is also stopping others from doing petty crimes like purse snatching and bulling. But he becomes a hero when he stops an assassination attempt on a police officer, but this new fame brings Pistol’s abusive father out of the dark who is trying to lead a government strike and who wants his son’s life taken so that his past does not leak out, but thanks to Sludge this does not happen and Pistol finds himself on a good path and friends with the officer he saved. It is really cool to see the character of Pistol grow as he turns from a lackey of Lord Pumpkin who would steal and kill on his boss’s orders, but once away from the demonic pumpkin he finds the hold broken and him choosing to do the right thing. Sludge is back in the sewer with visions of his ex-girlfriend in his muddled head, and still helping the innocent from those trying to cause them harm. The sad thing for Sludge is that during the holidays he himself spends alone in the sewers, as it would have been nice to see him spending time with Shelley Rogers or even his homeless friends. Christmas Comics are lots of fun and I am glad to see Sludge get involved and have one as growing up I remember reading Holiday issues of Hulk, Spider-Man, Batman and Superman. And I am shocked on just how well the whole Sludge comic series held up for me as I still find the character interesting as well as his issues being entertaining and keeping the story moving along, and a major plus being that it barely had the crossover annoyance that plagued so many of the UltraVerse titles were they would force you to buy other characters issues in order to finish a story arch. The cover for this issue is a lot of fun as it has Pistol and Sludge who has a wreath around his neck standing in the snow. The interior artwork this time around is done by Mike Ploog and is great stuff as Ploog does a great job of drawing Sludge. Over all this X-Mas Special and the whole series is a very great Indie Superhero Comic reads and I feel Sludge just like Rune was Malibu Comics way of bringing in Horror themed characters to their UltraVerse universe. And have to say that if you have not read Sludge you should check it out! Take a look at the artwork below to see the style used throughout this comic series.

Sludge is such a cool indie superhero and is one that I wish was still around, as I really do not understand why Marvel Comics have never did anything with him or any other Ultraverse character they own. As I truly think Sludge would make a great character in the Incredible Hulk series as well as it would have been cool to see him battle with the likes of Man-Thing! But we all know that the Disney owned Marvel Comics at this point will never bring the characters back as they are so lazy even with their creative stories for their own big heroes and characters, let alone they lack the creative minds to bring the characters into the Marvel Universe or even bring the UltraVerse back in general…or maybe it’s Disney to blame…who knows. But our time with Sludge has come to an end and our next update will take us to the world of Sci-Fi Horror as we talking about the film “The Man From Planet X” and the comic book adaptation of it! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. I hope The Man From Planet X comes in peace!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Zombi 2 (1979)

Posted on October 31, 2020 by bloodlinematt

Happy Scary Halloween! For this year’s spooky holiday update I decided to do a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update based on one of my favorite Italian horror movies that was directed by one of Italy’s best directors, the godfather of splatter & gore, Lucio Fulci, and the comic series released by one of the world’s best Indie comic companies going, Eibon Press! I am sure that by now you guessed that I am talking about “Zombi 2.” This is one that is long over due and one that I have been looking forward to reading and reviewing here at Rotten Ink, and after a very terrible 2020, I figured why not make it this Halloween update as this is sure to make your holiday a little more spooky! So if you’re ready, let’s get on this boat the S.S. Eibon and set sail for the island of the dead. Along the way we have to watch out for sharks and the zombies of the ocean as they are both super hungry and super deadly. Oh, I do want to say that this update does have spoilers.

Let’s first break down the zombies of this film and their way of dealing with the living that are foolish enough to be in their paths. The zombies in Zombi 2 are undead reanimated bodies that range from freshly dead to the long dead and have a hunger for human flesh and guts that drive them to find their meal. In appearance, the zombies range from rotten flesh to bloody flesh and can use their looks to frighten and shock their human victims as, for example, they can be missing eyes and have open eye sockets complete with worms crawling out! The zombies will shuffle and stalk alone or in large groups and seem to also be smart in some of their attacks, not to mention that in a massive horde they could overtake and overwhelm a person or even a group of people. But I also do not want to downplay how dangerous they are on their own as one zombie could easily sneak up and take a bite out of you. These zombies can swim and walk under water. They do not need air and can take gunshots and massive hits to the body and still get back up to try to rip you apart. The zombies use their hands and teeth to rip away your flesh and do not slow down or get tired, making them super dangerous to the living; not to mention a bite from them can be toxic and lead to becoming one yourself. The zombies do have a few weaknesses though. The main way to bring them down is head trauma and that means a gunshot to the brain or bashing the brain in with a heavy object. They can also be stopped with fire; if you set them ablaze, they will eventually fall and not get back up. Like all zombies, the ones in Zombi 2 are very hungry and very dangerous and the more of them there are, the more your days are numbered.

Now that we all understand that the zombies of Zombi 2 are flesh eating terrors that will not stop until they are ripping your guts out and scarfing them down, we should now take a look at the cult classic film that they are from and that really is one of my all time favorite films from Italy. As always, I will be taking the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB and after I will write briefly about the film’s production and then share about my thoughts on the film. So sit back and alert the crew that the boat can leave now.

Zombie (1979)

“A zombie is found aboard a boat off the New York coast which belongs to do a famous scientist. Peter West, a journalist, travels to the Antilles with Ann, the daughter of the scientist. On the way, they meet with with Brian, an ethnologist, and Susan. When they arrive at Matul Island, they find Dr. Menard, and discover a terrifying disease which is turning the islanders into horrifying zombies which devour human flesh and seem indestructible.”

In 1978, George Romero with Dario Argento released Dawn Of The Dead as Zombi in Italy, and the film was a mega hit. With that enter producer Fabrizio De Angelis, who wanted to make a “sequel” and tried to bring filmmaker Enzo G. Castellari on to direct but he turned it down. And then enter Lucio Fulci who was coming off two very good splatter horror films and was making a name for himself as an up and coming horror director. The screenwriter was Dardano Sacchetti, who called the script “Nightmare Island” and was very much inspired by the novel The Island Of Doctor Moreau and classic zombie films like Voodoo Island and I Walked With A Zombie.

Filming started in June 1979 in Latina, Italy with shots in New York City and Santo Domingo. Actors like Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, Olga Karlatos and Al Cliver were hired on with Fabio Frizzi joining to score the zombie fright flick. During filming, the producers lied to the actors as no trailers were provided for them and it was a very demanding film to shoot, with even the classic shark vs. zombie scene being shot without Fulci even knowing about it!

When finished, the film was rushed to Italian Cinemas for release on August 25, 1979. It would hit English speaking markets in 1980 and was a major hit world wide and built a very big cult following. In fact, in England the film was labeled as a Video Nasty and was banned! Years after its released it found even more success on home video, DVD and Blu-Ray, becoming a must have film for horror collectors.

When the film was released in 1979, it was joined by such Horror Classics as Phantasm, The Amityville Horror, Alien, Tourist Trap, Savage Weekend, Capture Of Bigfoot and Salem’s Lot, to name a few. The film was followed by Zombi 3 (that was also partly directed by Fulci) and then the series here in America would have more sequel numbers slapped on VHS boxes that really were just other films from foreign markets like After Death, Killing Birds, Absurd and A Virgin Among The Living Dead, to name a few. If you have never seen Zombie and are a major fan of zombie films or even Italian horror, do yourself a major favor and give it a watch.

I first heard of Zombie thanks to the book Gore Score by Chas Balun, who peeked my interest when he kept talking how about a splinter going into a woman’s eye changed his life and gave it very high on the gore level. I would see more coverage of the film in the pages of old Fangoria Magazines, and seeing pictures of the worm-eyed zombie locked it in my mind that I had to see the film someday! For years I waited for the film to play on TV as well as looked for it at video rental stores my parents visited and could not find it, and this was so frustrating.

Years would pass, and as a teenager, I was finally able to find a copy of the film on VHS at Suncoast in the Dayton Mall and I was hyped to get home and watch it. While the quality of the film transfer was poor, after watching the film I became hooked as I loved so much about it. The gore was fantastic, the zombies looked creepy, the score was top notch, the atmosphere was spooky and the ladies were beautiful with Olga Karlatos who played Mrs. Menard being stunning. Plus seeing the splinter to the eye scene that haunted the nightmares of Balun was as gruesome as I imagined and truly grossed me out. The crazy thing is that this film is a sequel to a sequel that spawned more sequels…and in reality this film has zero to do with Dawn Of The Dead and was a cheap cash in that ended up being really good and can stand on its own and became a cult classic. Plus I am not going to lie, I really do also like Zombi 3 that was its follow up, but Dawn Of The Dead’s follow up Day Of The Dead is my favorite zombie film of all time.

Over the years I have often recommended this film to my friends who enjoy horror films if they have never seen it and enjoy Italian films. And of course over the years I have owned this film on VHS and DVD and it still remains in my top 10 best zombie films of all time list! I will say that at times some horror fans tend to make fun of this film due to a scene of a zombie fighting a shark and hands down that scene is awesome and sets it apart from all the other undead films that flooded the market at that time. Over all this is a great film and if any of you readers have not seen this film, make sure to check it out!

Like all cult horror movies, Fulci’s Zombie has had its fair share of cool merchandise for fans that include posters, t-shirts, buttons/pins, toys, comics, hats, books, CDs, magazines and of course the film on all types of home media. Over the years I have had my fair share of items based around Zombie like the classic Blackest Heart Media soundtrack on CD, the original Zombie graphic novel, and t-shirts with worm eyed zombie on it. I own a rubber figure of worm eyed zombie that was made by Rubber Monsters, and I have the enamel pin that my cousin Stephen got me. Plus of course I have the full set of comics from Eibon Press that in my opinion are must own comics for any horror comic reader.

I also want to take a moment to remind readers about Eibon Press, the masterminds behind the Fulci Comic universe that not only includes Zombie but also mini series based on The Beyond, Gates Of Hell and House By The Cemetery!

Eibon Press is an indie comic company that is for fans of horror comics and horror movies as. They do a fantastic job of bringing these films to pages and keeping true to the source but also adding their own touches and adding to the classic stories delivering ghoulish nightmare soaked pages. They also have comics based on other film series like 1980’s Maniac and Laserblast, plus original series like Bottomfeeder and Wasteland 1989 proving they can also deliver original frights to readers. Shawn Lewis, who is also the main man behind Rotten Cotton, is the brains behind Eibon Press, and hands down if you readers and friends have yet to check them out, make sure to do so as they are doing some really killer horror comics. Make sure to support indie comic companies as they are the ones who are truly allowing creative minds to express their ideas and bring stories to life. They are also the ones who are not taking the cookie cutter route of Marvel and DC and making comics based on fresh ideas as well as cult classic films that go beyond Star Wars and other Hollywood blockbusters. Long live Eibon Press as well as all the other micro and indie comic companies that are making comic reading fun again!

Before we move on, let’s also talk about just how crazy the world of Zombi is and how it has sparked a truckload of sequels and re-labeled films shoehorned into the series!

So we all know that Zombi is the title for George Romero’s 1978 classic Dawn Of The Dead in Italy and that the Fulci film Zombi 2 called Zombie here in America is an unofficial sequel. But here is where things get crazy: the real Zombi 3 was directed by Fulci, and yet there is Zombie 3: Return Of The Zombies that is just the Paul Naschy film The Hanging Woman renamed and released in the U.S. on VHS.

The fourth film in the series, Zombie 4: After Death, is really just the film After Death that has the Zombie title slapped on it, and there is also Zombie 4: A Virgin Among The Living Dead, a VHS release here in America that is just a Jesus Franco film with the Zombie 4 prefix tacked to it! And the tacked on title of Zombie continued with the fifth film as Zombie 5: Killing Birds was an Italian film called just Killing Birds, and here in the U.S. on VHS we had Zombie 5: Revenge In The House Of Usher that is another Jesus Franco film. Now we are getting into the rest of the VHS releases here in America, all put out by T-Z Video with Zombie 6: Monster Hunter that is just the Joe D’Amato film Absurd!

Many other films have been tagged with the Zombie label such as Anthropophagus, Night Of The Seagulls, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, Zombie Holocaust, Nightmare City, Pulgasari, Panic, Burial Ground, Zombie ’90 and The Dead Next Door, to name a few! So as you can see, this series is a mess and is filled with tons of false sequels to the original films, and to be honest, someone in the indie filmmaking world should take up the mantel from T-Z Video of making and releasing zombie films with the Zombie brand taped onto the covers. Below are the covers for the films that have Zombie tagged onto the film by T-Z Video.

So as you can see, these zombies are true flesh eating soulless killing machines and are in one of Italy’s best horror movies ever made, and thanks to Eibon Press, they also got this comic series! First I want to thank Shawn Lewis and everyone at Eibon Press for doing these comics as the world needs more spooky comics based films and they are delivering and have many more to come. I also want to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head to this island filled with the dead and see why the dead are rising.

Zombie # 1 ***
Released in 2016 Cover Price $10.00 Eibon Press # 1 of 8

A voodoo ceremony is going down, and after a sacrifice, a zombie tribal priest type figure named Biacando comes alive! Doctor David Menard wakes up from a feverish dream of that event and then has to shoot a dead patient in the head that was bitten by his dead wife. This is when Menard knows that the dead have risen. We then cut to a boat in New York that appears to be unmanned. The harbor cop comes aboard, and they find that a fat bloated zombie is on the ship. He kills one cop and the other guns down the bloated zombie down who falls overboard into the cold water below. Reporter Peter West reports to work and gets an assignment to check out the pier near where the cop and the bloated zombie were killed. While at the hospital, the dead cop comes back and kills the two doctors, spreading the zombie infection. Near the edge of the water a homeless man is attacked by the bloated zombie, who is now also in New York! Meanwhile Peter West meets Ann Bowles, the daughter of the man who owned the abandoned boat, and together the sneak into the pier at night to see if they can get answers as her father has been missing for a while now while working on an exotic island and the police are being rude and no help. While on board Anne finds a letter from her father that tells of a disease, a native tribe and unknown things on the Island of Matul. Peter gets his bosses at the paper to allow him to travel with Anne to the island to break this scoop that could be the biggest story in the world. While in Jamaica, Anne and Peter hire vacationing couple Bryan Hull and Susan Barrett to take them to Matul as a man with a voodoo doll watches them sail off.

This first issue of Zombie brings elements of the Lucio Fulci film as well as original plots from the mind of writer Stephen Romano! The plot of the issue has zombies infecting the island of Matul as well as later New York and a journalist and a missing doctor’s daughter are traveling to get the answers they seek after reading a letter written by her dad and left on a boat that washed into NY’s harbor.

The new plot elements that break away from the film show the natives of Matul bringing on the curse of the undead, complete with a clearly powerful zombie named Biacando! They also add in the fact that Peter West had a brother that was murdered on his first day out as a cop by a drug pusher, and that they were close…I smell the dead brother returning from the grave in a future issue. They also show the classic bloated zombie coming out of the water and making his way into New York and also stress that he is in fact the one who starts the zombie invasion in America.

Peter West is a goofball who admits to himself he is bad at his job of being a reporter and if not for his uncle owing the paper, he would have been fired long ago. But while bad at it, he still has the heart and right frame of mind when he gets wind of this story that could be the biggest the world has ever read if all works out right.

Ann Bowles is a strong willed woman who is not taking crap from the cops and wants to find her father and figure out why his boat was being sailed by someone other then him, and she even will team with a reporter she doesn’t know in order to get what she seeks.

We are only introduced briefly to Doctor David Menard, who worked with Ann’s father on Matul and who is stressed out and worn down by the zombies, as well as Bryan and Susan, the married couple who are enjoying life off the island of Jamaica, as Bryan is a retired Green Beret and Susan is a journalist for a nature publication.

The zombies are flesh hungry and brutal in nature as they just don’t eat the living, they massacre them! It’s great seeing the bloated zombie come alive in comic pages, and plus I want to know more about Biacando, who I am sure is a major force in what’s spreading this disease, as with every zombie kill, it seems maybe his spirit is around.

The comic does not shy away from blood, guts, gore and nudity and each kill is done in a glorious splatter fashion, and fans of comics like The Dead (Arrow Comics) and the original Walking Dead (Aircel Comics) will surely be pleased in the gore department. The cover for this first issue is very eye catching and will surely please fans of the film as it showcases the film’s most popular zombie. The interior art work is top notch and is a team up of artists Michael Broom with additional art by Derek Rook, and these guys capture the gritty nature of indie horror comics as well as Italian horror movies really well. To sum up this first issue, I will say that it’s a very solid horror comic that is doing the film its based on justice thus far and the creators adding their own touch makes it feel fresh and new. Let’s see what issue two has in store for us via story and gore!

Zombie # 2 ***
Released in 2016 Cover Price $10.00 Eibon Press # 2 of 8

Doctor David Menard is once more having a dream about the tribe and the undead Biacando, who is doing more and more brutal sacrifices, and worse Doctor Menard finds that the hospital’s radio is no longer working and his wife Olga Menard is now upset. They get into an argument as she wants to leave and he wants to stay as he thinks he is close to finding a cure! And when things get too heated, Doctor Menard slaps Olga and she alerts him that she hates his guts! Later that night Olga is home alone taking a shower and unbeknownst to her, zombies are outside watching and looking for a way inside. They break in and force her eye onto a giant wood splinter and end her life. Meanwhile Peter, Ann, Bryan and Susan are on the boat heading toward Matul when Susan asks them to stop so that she can dive and get some underwater photos. Once in the water, a zombie attacks her and she only escapes from by using razor sharp coral that she scraps across its face. As Susan swims back to the boat and tells her story of a bloody man in the water which insights Bryan to be mad at Peter as he feels the reporter is not telling him the truth on what is going on in Matul. Meanwhile, the zombie ends up fighting with a shark! After Peter shares what he knows about the island and the rumor of the undead curse, they get on a rowboat and head toward Matul as Doctor David Menard watches them approach.

In this second issue our “heroes” are almost to the island, and while taking a break, they find a zombie under water. The threat of voodoo and the undead really starts to sink in, while Doctor David Menard decides that he will find a cure, even if it costs him his marriage and life.

The second issue once more is mostly based on the cult film from 1979, and once more the Eibon Press crew added their own touches to it that add a fresh layer to the comic and also adds more of a backstory to many of the characters! First, they show that David Menard was a man who really only has cared about experiments and even was a part of some in World War II. Olga Menard was shown to have been a lady of the night way before she married Menard and has looked at all these people who used and abused her as monsters. Lastly they hint that Susan was assaulted by her father when she was a youngster…adding many dirty secret layers to them.

Peter is one of those “hero” characters that have somewhat good intentions, but along the way he comes off as a snarky smartass. At one point when Bryan is upset that his wife was attacked by a man at the bottom of the Ocean and looks to Peter for answers as its on his request they are heading toward a cursed island that will only really benefit Peter (and somewhat Ann) as he will get a story that will make him famous. Ann kind of takes a backseat in this issue and is on the boat but keeps mostly to herself besides trying to keep Susan calm after seeing the zombie in the water. Bryan and Susan at first seem to be game to drop their paying guests at the island and start to second guess their decision when they notice that the legends of the island could be true.

Doctor David Menard is a man on a mission for answers, but sadly his want to find a cure is not fully in order to help mankind as its more to fulfill his ego to be the best. Poor Olga Menard; we hardly get to know her before she becomes dinner for zombies.

This issue again pulls no punches on the blood and guts and delivers the splinter to the eye death and its done pretty damn well! The cover is cool and eye catching and features another key zombies from the film, and the interior art is top notch and done by Michael Broom with others. So far this is very great series, and I cannot stress how cool it is that this adaptation has some new fresh elements added to the plot to deliver a familiar and yet new experience. Let’s see what issue three has in store for us!

Zombie # 3 ***
Released in 2017 Cover Price $10.00 Eibon Press # 3 of 8

Doctor David Menard has the island’s new guests in his jeep and is heading back to the hospital when he tells Ann about the death of her father that had him being taken into the tribe of Biacando and that he along with the hospital crew went into the tribe and shot all the undead including Biacando and returned her father to the hospital where he was infected and turned into a zombie and Menard himself pulled the trigger when he reanimated. The boat crew was sent to New York for supplies and had orders to dump infected bodies into the ocean, and Menard says they must have been infected before they arrived in America. Once back at the hospital nurse Stephanie runs out and alerts Menard that his friend Fritz is inside in bad shape. Menard gives his guests the keys to the jeep and asks them to check in on his wife and to wash up as he will come for them a little later as he rushes inside. Peter, Ann, Susan and Bryan take the jeep and head to his house, and they don’t think his story of voodoo adds up. Things get worse for them as they enter the house and find his wife being eaten by zombies that are now all over the place as they are hungry and they are on the menu! Bryan snaps and grabs a shovel and smashes zombie skulls, and the group makes it safely to the jeep as the voodoo drums once more fill the air. Unlucky for them, a little way down the road the jeeps engine just stops working and they know they have to get to the hospital for shelter as the zombies are coming. While at the hospital, Doctor David Menard has to shoot his injured friend who turns into a zombie and orders his two helpers Lucas and nurse Stephanie to lock all the doors and windows. Meanwhile Peter and the rest are making a run for the hospital and have to go through an old cemetery, and as they take a momentary breather, the ground beneath them starts to rumble. The long dead are also coming back to life, and one with worms in one of his eye sockets takes a bite out of Susan’s neck, killing her! Peter and Ann help the shocked and sad Bryan as more and more zombies are coming.

This third issue is super action packed as the plot has our heroes meeting the island doctor who gives them answers to some of their questions. They discover the half eaten and mutilated body of the doctor’s wife, battle their way through zombie and lose one of their own to the series’ top zombie in Worm Eye! And this all happens super fast.

We also get more of a look into Biacando whose voodoo that is causing all of this and who is the one who infected Ann’s dad with the infection that lead to his death and then re-death at the hands of his own friend.

It’s clear by this third issue that Doctor David Menard is a man on the edge as the stress and the horrors he has seen on this island are starting to really get to him, and being the kind of guy he is, giving up and running away is not an option. I mean it’s crazy as so far in the series, he has had to shoot two of his close friends in the head after they have returned as zombies, not to mention all the other villagers he has had to do this with and soon he will find out his wife as well has fallen victim to this infection!

Bryan and Susan are clearly second guessing themselves as they went to this cursed island only because strangers offered money and they had a intriguing story…but thus far all they have gotten is Bryan losing his mind and flashing back to his military days and Susan ends up dead with a bite hole in her neck! Peter and Ann have gotten answers about the death of her father as well as a little about the infection that is bringing the dead back to life, but they don’t fully trust what they have been told! Also it’s clear that they are now also starting to fall for each other and that they all must watch out for one another if they want to get off the island alive.

Poor Stephanie and Lucas are trying to help with the sickness and the dead at the hospital, but it’s clear they are scared out of their minds.

The main attraction of course is seeing the Worm Eyed Zombie do his thing and take a chunk out of Susan’s neck! Like before, this issue adds its own touches to the adaptation like showing Ann’s father was under the cursed charm of Biacando and Bryan going crazy with a shovel and bashing and smashing zombies at Menard’s home. The jeep’s engine fails, and they don’t crash into a tree like in the film. Those are just some of the small and big changes. The story is reaching the fever pitch of what is to come with the living against the dead in a showdown of survival, and this comic series is doing a great job of building the hype! The cover is eye catching and once more showcases a zombie from the film, and the interior art by Michael Broom and Derek Rook is top notch and is perfect for a horror comic based on a film. This issue also pours out the blood and guts on the pages and has some true splatter moments! So let’s see what issue four has in store for us.

Zombie # 4 ***
Released in 2017 Cover Price $10.00 Eibon Press # 4 of 8

Peter takes charge in the cemetery as Bryan is breaking down over the death of his wife Susan while zombies are surrounding them. Finally Peter is able to get them all to run and make it to the boarded up hospital. Inside Doctor David Menard is getting Stephanie and Lucas to get bottles and kerosene to make molotov cocktails, and then lets in Peter and the others who inform him that his wife is dead and that the hospital is being surrounded by zombies! Doctor David Menard informs Bryan to go to a closet to fetch guns to arm themselves, and then the Doctor wanders off and records his final message before being eaten by a zombie as he has embraced death. Poor Stephanie and Lucas also get attacked and eaten by zombies leaving Peter, Ann and Bryan to fend for themselves. The three hold their ground and use guns and the molotov cocktails on as many of the undead as they can, and once the hospital is burning down, they run out the back door and standing there is the zombie of Susan…who bites Bryan. Peter shoots her, and the three rush back to the boat and set sail to get back to New York. Meanwhile Doctor David Menard is now a zombie and gets the call from Biacando, who clearly had more plans for the dead. As Peter and Ann listen to the confessions of war from Bryan, he dies, and they store his body in the belly of the boat to use him as proof of their story. As the couple get close to New York, they hear on the boat’s radio that the zombies are now in New York and have started to slaughter and kill and that things are really bad. As they listen, zombie Bryan busts out of the door and charges for an attack as we end this issue with hordes of zombies entering the city.

The adaptation part of this comic series comes to an end with this issue, and it goes out with a massive bang and does a great job of building up the excitement of what is to come as it’s clear the zombies are many and mankind needs to take a stand to try and end this terror. And I have to say that writer Stephen Romano did a fantastic job of capturing the feel and spirit of the Fulci film as well as added his own touches that truly brought a new level of fright to the story. The stuff he added was well done as he fleshed out the characters of Peter West, Ann Bowles, Doctor David Menard, Olga Menard among others and this was wise as it made you understand the characters better and showcased some of their dark secrets.

I also like how he added the touch that maybe the zombies are not being brought back by voodoo or an infection as it could also be the fault of toxic waste that has been hidden on the island thanks to Doctor David Menard and his shady war crime past. That’s the thing, Doctor David Menard clearly did some terrible things during war and should have been jailed, but thanks to his knowledge and friends in dark places, he and his wife were spared paying for what he did…it’s also crazy as he is now a zombie, and I am sure he will be coming back into play later in the series. To me it seemed like when he got the news that his wife was dead and zombie food, he lost the will to live and was sick of running from his past.

Peter West is the story’s main hero as he fights through the fear and doubt and does what he can to keep Ann safe as well as watch after Bryan who is losing it due to the killing of his wife. Peter shows great growth as he starts off as a snarky reporter and by the end he turns into a reluctant hero.

Ann and Bryan are great backup characters, and I like that Bryan at the end is a zombie and could continue on in later issues. Biacando, the zombie witch doctor, is also still around as Dr. Menard as a zombie goes to him, and this is cool, as I cannot to see what Biacando is and why he is!

The end of New York being attacked by zombies is truly awesome as it’s a bloodbath of flesh and blood being spilled all over the place and shows just how easily a zombie apocalypse could be upon us all if one would to break out. With that said, the issue does not shy away from blood, guts, gore and some nudity delivering a truly classic horror comic feel. The cover is great and showcases another amazing zombie from the film, and I cannot praise the interior artwork of Michael Broom and Derek Rook enough as their style is so fitting for a comic like this. I have to say that the first four issues of Zombie is really great stuff and everyone at Eibon Press and the creators who have done this series should be proud of it, as it truly is a treat for horror comic readers! So with that, let’s see what issue five has in store for us and where this series goes beyond the movie’s plot as I am really hyped to read and find out!

Zombie # 5 ***
Released in 2017 Cover Price $10.00 Eibon Press # 5 of 8

The zombie of Doctor David Menard is now under the orders of zombie witch doctor Biacando who has chosen Menard to continue his experiments this time, on zombies…and has replaced his fingers with needles. Meanwhile in New York, the city is overrun with zombies. Peter has taken Ann on a date to a fancy restaurant. When zombies bust in, Peter guns them down and after clearing them out, the couple is confronted by Colonel Louis Fulci who at first thinks that Peter and Ann are looters but soon after killing more incoming zombies takes them along to their base. Meanwhile in a cemetery William West, who is Peter’s brother who was a cop and murdered while on duty, has returned from the grave and is mad when he flashes back to his funeral and the fact his brother did not cry for him. Now the zombie cop wants answers! Back at the base camp, Colonel Fulci informs them that he and his men are the only hope right now of keeping these zombies in New York, and Peter tells him about the Island as well as how they had stayed on the boat for months after killing their friend Bryan again once he turned into a zombie. He says that after running out of food they had to come to shore to get something to eat when he and his men found them. Colonel Fulci then alerts them that he has heard of Doctor David Menard and is looking for a toxic waste dump site that is said to be what is bring the dead back to life! Colonel Fulci’s campsite is a grindhouse movie theater and he takes his two new allies out and shows them the street that is filled with thousands of zombies. He and his men open fire on the zombies as well as blast them with flamethrowers, after many of the zombies are down for the final count, Ann informs him she might have an idea where the toxic dump is!

Months after the events of the film, the state of New York is in really bad shape as the zombies are all over and have killed most of the living. A group of Army soldiers lead by a tough as nails Colonel is our only hope, and Peter and Ann find themselves in another blood soaked adventure as they tag along for the ride with the soldiers.

Peter and Ann are clearly a couple now and just want to have a little bit of normalcy to their lives as they live on Bryan’s boat until they run out of food and only then adventure into the city only to find it a wasteland of death and destruction.

Colonel Fulci is a man on a mission to kill all the zombies they see and get to the bottom of this undead nightmare, though he clearly has a dark side as he has a very bad reputation that is known by Peter West. On a side note, I love the fact Colonel Fulci looks like director Lucio Fulci as it’s a great touch to let the true godfather of gore’s memory stay alive. I also look forward to seeing more of Colonel Fulci’s history unfold and if the world can really trust him.

The zombies are truly everywhere now and are looking for blood and guts as they want to show that this is their world now and that mankind is coming to an end. Biacando is using his voodoo to bring the zombies all together on the island as well is forcing the undead Doctor David Menard to do some experiments that I am sure will help make the zombies even more unstoppable. I also like that Doctor David Menard has embraced his undead nature and even removes his own fingers to replace with needles. Something tells me what ever they are up to on the island will be very bad for the world.

The use of 42^nd Street in this issue is also really cool as the street back in the 70’s and 80’s was very much filled with many adult theaters and shops and was the place to see grindhouse films…so it’s great seeing it the way it was not the tourist stop it has become. The issue is filled with lots of blood and gore like before, and we even get cameos from The Worm Eyed Zombie as well as the Bloated Zombie and they are always welcome additions to see in issues.

Writer Stephen Romano did a great job making this feel like it belongs in the Zombie universe and ties it into the film really well by delivering classic characters in a new storyline as well as bring in new ones with a plot that has depth. The cover is fun and has Peter and Ann looking like they just stepped out of a James Bond movie poster, and the interior art is done by Pat Carbajal and is great as his style does a great job of capturing the likeness of the actors and characters. Over all this original story kick off in the Fulci Zombie universe is well done and feels like a true sequel to the film series. Let’s see what issue six has in store for not only us the readers but also the characters!

Zombie # 6 ***
Released in 2018 Cover Price $10.00 Eibon Press # 6 of 8

Doctor Menard is being followed by zombies as they enter a hut of a female villager and her son. It’s clear that Menard is not like the other zombies as he can talk and takes the life of the young boy and alerts the mom that the future is here! While back in New York the fires still burn as Colonel Fulci goes on the news and explains that it’s up to him and his men to save the world from the undead. As Ann and Peter argue over the tactics he is using to do so, Colonel Fulci shows up with a gun to the head of Peter as the Colonel alerts Ann to the fact that Peter is the one who got him thrown out of the military and his story lead to the death of many soldiers! Colonel Fulci then says that he is going to kill Peter as all he really needs is Ann to find the island of Dr. Menard! Meanwhile Dr. Menard has taken the woman from the hut and has her rigged up to machines and then shows her his grand plan of making the zombies more powerful with upgrades. He also speaks of time travel and the ways of the past with the ways of the future. Menard then shows that if he injects his blood into the zombies it makes the stronger, and their power comes from their eyes…he also shows that he has saved Worm Eyed Zombie and places one of the zombie’s worms into the eye of the mom and alerts her that he is the kid’s father and once they had an affair that lead to the child…but the mom fights off the infection, and this is interesting to Menard. The President Of The United States is then shown to be the one who sent Colonel Fulci into New York. He wants the zombie hordes taken care of fast as he is worried the press will figure out the he ordered the attack on the city by the rogue military that has left many civilians dead! As Colonel Fulci and his crew head to the island, they push Peter out of the helicopter into the middle of Central Park with a gun that only has six bullets, and unlucky for him, the park is packed with tons of zombies! Ann meanwhile has had enough and when the soldiers are ordered to torture her for information on the island, she snaps and kicks some ass, which even leads to Colonel Fulci being shot. She alerts him that her mom was a Marine and now she is in charge of this mission. In the end Peter watches as a escaped zoo gorilla rips apart zombies, and when the beast sets his sights on him, his undead zombie cop brother shows up and starts fighting the beast!

This series is getting more and more crazy as the lore of the Zombie universe gets more and more dark and weird!

The plot of this issue has Dr. Menard doing experiments on the dead to make them more powerful as he is preparing for war and wants to take down the world as we all know it! While Peter and Ann are stuck with a crazy man and his army that are secretly being given orders by the American President!

Dr. Menard has changed so much thus far in the series as he starts out as a man trying to crack the code of what is causing the dead to rise. By now he himself is a undead mad scientist who loves creating this new type of zombie and even as a man he took advantage of a young village girl and had a child with her! Speaking of that villager, her name is Jamilya and she was only 16 years old when he met her, and with the promise of teaching her medicine he seduced her, got her pregnant and now has turned their son into and zombie and wants to do the same to her, but she seems like a fighter!

Colonel Fulci is a sadistic madman who clearly doesn’t care about human lives and only cares about finishing his mission, plus it’s now clear he is the hired gun for the President! Ann and Peter are prisoners of Fulci, and when Peter is shown to have a past with Fulci that gives him a death sentence and Ann shows that she is sick of this all and proves she can take care of herself!

Plus the issue features Worm Eyed Zombie, Bloated Zombie and as well as zombies based on other cool zombie film characters! Now I have to say that I feel that the machine experiments are a little blah as I like the voodoo aspect of the curse more, but with that said, I cannot wait so see how it plays out and makes me wonder where this is going…and I guess I should also say it’s an interesting twist to add these wires and machines and takes it out of the classic style of zombie films and comics. One really cool aspect of the comic is that the President looks like one of my favorite horror actors Joe Spinell and the Gorilla is based after the look of King Kong from 1976! Oh I should also say that Peter’s undead cop brother fighting the gorilla is the Zombie vs. Shark moment for this comic series.

The cover for both the Eibon Sleeve and the issue are great and show case zombies as well as the Kong inspired Gorilla! And the interior art by Pat Carbajal is fantastic like before. I have to stress that thus far Eibon Presses Zombie series is a fantastic read and is the best comic series that features zombies I have ever read…and is way more entertaining then Image Comics Walking Dead Series and more bloody and creepy than it as well!

Zombie # 7 ***
Released in 2018 Cover Price $10.00 Eibon Press # 7 of 8

Jamilya is fighting hard to not become a mindless zombie and watches as Dr. Menard and Biacando take the heart of her son and place it inside a weird humanoid that was born from her when she threw it up! She escapes her bindings and runs off into the jungle after taking out a few zombies and promising to return for her son. While back in New York, Peter and his undead cop brother William team up and with a bullet to its brain kill the rampaging gorilla. Peter is in shock as he watches his brother speak and the zombies around listen! While in Washington D.C. the President has a plan to use a nuke on New York to stop the zombies, and when questioned about his motives, he shoots and kills a general and continues with his attack plan. Back at the base, Ann has Fulci tied up and is torturing him with his own sword, as she has ordered some of his soldiers to go back to Central Park and rescue Peter and if her boyfriend is dead, she tells Fluci that his life will also come to a bloody end. When the Helicopter arrives Peter along with William are on board, but so is a horde of zombies that attack Fulci and his remaining men who become lunch! While Jamilya uses her own voodoo knowledge to try and beat the curse on herself and gears up for war against Biacando! Back at the base Ann along with Peter know that they have to return to the island and end this undead curse once and for all.They soon learn that Colonel Fulci and his men are now zombies and willing to be the army needed to fight against Biacando and burn Matul to the ground!

The war between the living and the undead is about to go off, and this issue is the build up to that war and sadly also to the final issue in this series!

Ann, Peter, William and the undead Colonel Fulci and his men are gearing up and ready to go to Matul and wipe out the evil voodoo curse that is plaguing the world. Ann is showing that she is one tough lady as she proves she has a killer instinct when she tortures Fulci and barks orders at his men that are listening to her orders!

Colonel Fulci, who is an S.O.B., is mean spirited all the way until the very end, and even when he gets his eye poked out and faced slashed up, he still trash talks! And oddly enough, once he is attacked by zombies and turned into one he seems to be more on track to team with Ann and Peter to head to the island and bring it all down. Peter and his zombie brother William are a team once more, and we learned that they moved to America after they defended themselves and left one person dead. Now William can speak to the dead and some zombies seem to follow his orders.

Jamilya..what can be said about her besides she is awesome and not only does she escape the zombie hell, but she also shakes off the infection with her will and own voodoo powers and is also on a one woman warpath to save her son and end these zombies’ reign of terror.

Dr. Menard and Biacando are showing they are pure evil and are mixing old voodoo with modern technology and medicine to create super zombies whose eyes are the key to their souls. And the President clearly doesn’t care about the lives of the people as he is willing to drop a nuke on New York to kill the zombies and save his own hide and bury his dirty little secrets.

This is a great read and I am cheering for Jamilya as she is a great original character created by the Eibon team, and I am sure will be joining with Ann and Peter in the fight against the evil zombies. The issue has a lot of blood and guts, and sadly the Gorilla meets his end with a bullet to his brain, and it’s a shame as it would have been awesome to seen the Gorilla turn into a zombie and go on a rampage in New York and end up being around the Empire State Building before being gunned down. That would have been amazing and played more into the King Kong connection. Writer Stephen Romano has really has killed it with this series so far and did the film adaptation portion justice and then has added new layers to the characters and lore. The super talented Pat Carbajal did the interior art again and he captures the savage nature of this story and his gore art his great. Well we only have one more issue in this series to go and it’s a shame as I wish it had more then 8 issues! So let’s see how this war of the dead and living ends.

Zombie # 8 ***
Released in 2018 Cover Price $10.00 Eibon Press # 8 of 8

On the island of Matul, the zombies have all been treated and are ready to march into the ocean and start a war with the living, and Biacando is leading the way and even smacks down Dr. Menard when he gets too cocky about his blood being part of what is giving them the power. Jamilya meanwhile is in the jungle watching the rift in the ranks between the two zombie leaders and plans an attack with the goal to save her zombie son and return his heart. Ann and Peter are in a helicopter that is on its way to Matul to start a war, and Peter notices that Ann has changed, as she is now so cold and filled with the want for revenge. Back in Washington, the President has killed many of his aids and now is forcing the last two to help in his plan to blow up New York. When the helicopters get to the island, they find that over a thousand zombies are on the beach, and Colonel Fulci orders for fire to be fired into the horde, and he does so in waves taking down many of the zombies! Biacando is not having it as he uses the two zombie kids in order to get into the minds of all the zombies and causes the helicopters to crash and William West and Colonel Fulci to lead their undead army against the remaining island horde! William West was in bad shape after fighting the gorilla in New York, but after biting and tasting the blood of an island zombie he regains his missing limbs and leads them to victory. Meanwhile Peter and Ann find themselves in the jungle and being stalked by Biacando who in turn is being stalked by Jamilya! Biacando and Dr. Menard are at it again when Jamilya armed with a bazooka fires on the pair and then stabs Menard in the eye killing him once and for all! She then gives her own life of immortality to her son and turns him normal. Ann and Peter show up just in time to witness this act of love and this triggers Ann to give her life in order to stop Biacando once and for all. In the end Peter watches out for the son of Jamilya as The President goes ahead and nukes New York!

Wow, what an ending for one of the best comic series based on a film. I mean it – the creators as Eibon Press nailed this one out of the ballpark as they not only captured the mood and spirit of the Fulci film but they also added a new level to the over all story and allowed us to see what happened to some of the characters we became attached to in the film!

The biggest change comes from Ann as she goes from being a worried daughter to a survivor and ends by being a hero who brings the terror of Biacando to an end…and even gives her life to end his madness.

Peter loses so much in this series as he loses his job and story because New York is blown up, his brother has returned from the grave and is now a zombie commando and worst of all, he lost his true love Ann! Peter also faces death many times and cheats it and by the end he ends up having to watch over a child who’s mother he watched be eaten by a zombie kid including the one he is watching over now! Peter is a character that you start off thinking is a scumbag and by the end you find yourself cheering for him as well as Ann as what started out for them as a missing persons case turns into a fight to save the world from evil voodoo and zombies.

I love that Jamilya is able to save her son’s soul and life, plus she gets her revenge on the terrible Dr. Menard, but I do wish she had survived, as I would have loved to see her character continue on in more zombie comics or even other releases from Eibon Press.

Dr. Menard in this series goes from a drunken doctor trying to dodge his past and doing what he can to make up for his sins, to being an undead right hand man to Biacando who has a god complex because his blood is what gives the zombies the extra power. Biacando is pure evil and shows his voodoo power is very strong and wants to be the only one in power of the army of the dead, and want to give to credit to Menard and his science. I also like that Biacando can use his powers to take over the body and souls of the living to keep his powers strong and to give his evil spirit a vessel to live in.

William West and Colonel Fulci are zombies who lead other zombies in war and in the end becomes supped up on the blood of Dr. Menard and have a mission to stay a team and make the world safe. The President is…well, crazy, and to be in charge he kills all his men and then still blows up New York thinking he is ending the war for everyone, and more importantly himself.

Now let’s talk about the over all series as it’s fantastic on almost every front as the writing and art are top notch and I cannot stress enough that it does the film its based on justice. The characters are likable and have growth and the ones you are suppose to despise you do as the baddies are truly evil and have no redeeming quality. The blood and gore is brutal as so many eyes are popped like grapes, guts are ripped out, blood is splattered and violence happens to men, women, animals and children. So in other words, gorehounds will love this!

The comic is fast paced, and the 8 issues fly by as the story draws you in, and that to me is a sign of a good comic mini series.

Now I have to point out some of the issues I have with the series and they are pretty few and far between as the only thing I wished for is that some characters got a little more panel time as sometimes with some characters like The President it would have been really cool to see why he is such a self centered ass. And my major complaint is this…I wanted more than 8 issues as they were just not enough as this could be an ongoing series and I for one would be game to get every issue! I mean imagine Peter being placed in the situation of Zombi 3, like what would he doing during the events of that film…and what if he would be mixed in with the survivors of that film in future issues of Zombie…just saying, Eibon GIVE US MORE ZOMBIE! The cover and the Eibon Sleeve are great and eye-catching, and the interior art by Pat Carbajal is great as always. To sum it all up, if you love the films of Lucio Fulci, love indie horror comics, love great art and story telling then do yourself a big favor and check out this series, hell, check out all the titles from Eibon Press! Check out some artwork below from this series.

Eibon Press is really one of the best Indie comic companies going as they really do make some of the best horror comics today, and they clearly care about what they make and it shows in every issue. Not to mention, they pack each Eibon Sleeve with some amazing extra goodies like stickers, trading cards, bookmarks, posters and even CDs that have soundtracks for the comic and or the film its based on, giving you more bang for your buck! But with that said, let’s leave the island of Matul behind and head into the world of myth as our next update will be about the titan Atlas and a Dark Horse Comics mini series based on an adventure on modern Earth. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a Fulci film or two and as always, support your local Horror Host. Wait, if Atlas is in a comic book who’s holding up the sky?

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Ghoul School (1990)

Posted on March 24, 2018 by bloodlinematt

Ghoul School is one of those lost gems from the early 90’s shot-on-video, direct to VHS releases that seemed to never get the respect nor attention it deserved. The film was a Horror Comedy that had many amazing independent talents working behind the scenes like David DeCoteau, Matthew Jason Walsh, J.R. Bookwalter and Michael Raso, to name a few. Not to mention that the film was directed by Timothy O’Rawe who did the film The Basement that is also very underrated! Grab your school books and bring some lunch money as Rotten Ink is going back to school and not just any school as this is the Ghoul School! So take your seat and get ready to learn this important From Horror Movie To Horror Comic lesson.

The Flesh Eating Ghouls are our villains of this horror comedy film, and they mean business. These chemically made ghouls are made up of high school students with the first batch of kids to become ghouls being the swim team, and from there it spreads to others that come in contact with the contaminated water and the ghouls. The Ghouls are killing machines that movie quickly, have pointed razor sharp teeth, unlimited stamina, bluish grey skin with some also having a zombie look. Their appearance alone strike fear in the hearts of their victims with their main way of killing being to rip apart their human meal with their bare hands and sharp teeth. Some of the ghouls even can use weapons like guns in order to try and snag their prey for a quick meal. The Ghouls also do not talk but make noises much like crazed animals that is also can shock humans. But while the Ghouls are killing machines they as well can be stopped and killed with multiple gun shots being the most effective way of stopping them once and for all. But while they can be killed they much like Zombies grow in numbers as the water of the town has been infected with the same toxin of the school making them grow in numbers and as we all know packs of any kind of killing hordes is a very bad thing. So in other words The Ghouls are a very menacing ungodly force of nature who want to kill and eat every human they come in contact with.

The Ghouls of Ghoul School are nothing to take lightly and really are a horde of foul creatures! But now we should break down this underrated film of shot on video cinema. This micro budgets film write up is coming from our friends at IMDB and after that I will share my thoughts and memories of seeing Ghoul School for the first time. So let’s take a look at Ghoul School a film that has now been turned into a Horror Comic!

Ghoul School (1990)

“Sex, babes and rock ‘n roll! Two thugs in search of hidden treasure mistakenly unleash a chemical into the school’s water supply, causing everyone it comes into contact with to become flesh-eating ghouls.”

The first time I saw Ghoul School was thanks to Alternative Cinema who sent me a DVD copy for review from their Camp Motion Picture line of releases. I can remember being super excited as I have always been into Shot On Video Movies, and one that featured flesh eating Ghouls and Howard Stern’s own jokester Jackie Martling I knew would be up my ally. I can remember I watched it along with several other releases I had gotten in for review and really enjoyed it. The thing about Ghoul School that I really liked is it felt like the movies Demons and Demons 2 and took place in a school instead of a movie theater or high-rise apartment complex. I can remember also enjoying the film’s gore effects and the characters were fun and funny when supposed to be. After watching the film I can remember giving it 3 stars out of 4 on the website and even showed the film to my friend Jason Gilmore who also enjoyed it. It’s crazy it took me many years after the film’s release to see it, but sadly none of the video stores in my area (Waynesville and Dayton) had the movie for rent and it was not until the DVD that I was able to. I want to also note that before Alternative Cinema released this film on DVD, Tempe did as well. In 1990, when this shot on video micro budget movie was released, it was lost in the shuffle among such titles as Basket Case 2, Bride Of Re-Animator, Child’s Play 2, Exorcist III, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, IT, Nightbreed, Psycho IV, Tremors and many more. So if you love low budget horror films make sure to check out Ghoul School as it’s a fun film from the 90’s that delivers laughs, chills and blood spills. Oh yeah and you can’t go wrong with a film that has a cheesy 80’s Hairband preparing for the school dance that ends up helping our surviving kids against the ghouls…this film is silly spooky fun and really does remind me of a fan film version of Demons.

So as you can see, these Ghouls pack a wicked bite and are true terrors of micro budget horror cinema. And now that we have taken a look at the Ghouls and the film they appear in, I think it’s time we take a look at this comic adaptation of the film that was just released this vary month by Seduction Cinema Comic’s new branch called Camp Comix! I want to thank Alternative Cinema for having this comic in stock and Michael Raso for making this new comic branch possible for Horror Comic readers. I want to also remind all you blog reading Ghouls that I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you’re ready lets see what these Ghouls have in store for this horror comic school.

Ghoul School # 1 ***
Released in 2018 Cover Price $9.99 Camp Comix # 1 of 1

Steve and Jeff are the monster kids of their school as they spend class time reading horror magazines. After school one day, they are going to sneak into the AV room to watch a zombie film as some of their female classmates are going to sneak into the auditorium to meet the band The Bloodsucking Ghouls who will be playing the school’s dance. Meanwhile two thugs have entered the school and have killed the janitor for hidden money he has and by mistake have pushed a button that puts harmful chemicals into the school’s water! This causes members of the swim team to become zombie ghouls. They attack and kill their coach as well as his assistant and then start to roam the hallways looking for more victims! Steve and Jeff come across some of the ghouls and fight back killing one with an ax and trying to get the principal to call for help as he thinks they are on drugs! Meanwhile the Ghouls have attacked the basketball team, and after killing most of them with the coach escaping, they are now attacking the girls who were waiting on the band! Jeff and Steve meet up with the coach, and they get to the auditorium to save the girls as the ghouls attack and kill the principal and some cops. Now they want to kill our remaining kids! In the end, the ghouls attack and it’s all our war for survival as the coach becomes a meal as does one of the girls. Jeff, Steve and the remaining two gals escape and find that the whole town is overrun, and the military is dropping bombs leaving the fate of our survivors looking not good.

Ghoul School the comic is a little different than the movie and these changes help make this adaptation something of its own and a great read for fans of the film who always wanted a remake or a sequel. The plot of this comic is pretty simple and classic horror stuff as we follow two friends who are stuck in a school while flesh eating ghouls that are not only infecting the school but the whole town. The comic plays up on the comedy aspect of the film and cuts out many characters including the rock band The Flesh Eating Ghouls and comedian Jackie Martling and adds three schoolgirls who are there for sex appeal and comedy moments. Our main characters Steve and Jeff are likable gorehound students who enjoy everything the horror movies have to offer and are clearly best friends who bond over watching a good scary movie. What’s nice about them is that they are nerds of the school but fight back and save lives showing that these horror fans are heroes. The girls are just around to be sexy and ditzy for the most part as they try and survive and do what they can to help. The Coach, Principal, Thugs and all the other side characters are well done and fit for their roles to further along the horror and comedy. The Ghouls themselves are very bloodthirsty, as they want to eat flesh and are cracking cheesy one-liners and jokes along their murdering rampage. The Ghouls are great villains for this horror comic as there are lots of them and they are brutal in their kills, as this comic does not skip out on the cartoon violence. The cover is very eye catching and brings out the horror and humor of the comic. The interior art is like a twisted version of Archie Comics done with gore and big chested women and is done by the talented Noel Scotch Anderson who has done all the comics for Alternative Cinema at this time. His style is cartoonish and holds a classic comic feel to it, and while the characters he draws don’t look like the actors who played them, it gives them a whole new life of their own as he makes them stand out and be the same yet different. Over all to sum up this comic adaptation, it’s a fun and humorous horror comic that I really enjoyed and I feel fans of this 1990 film will also enjoy. Can’t wait to see what’s next for Camp Comix as I know I will be buying whatever they release. Check out some of the artwork bellow to see the style of Noel.

Camp Comix is a cool new comic branch created by Alterative Cinema that has lots of potential to be a great Horror Comic company that will be great for readers who enjoy comics based on Horror Movies and get issues from Eibon Press and Blood Scream Comics. I for one am really looking forward to what Camp Comix has in store for us with future releases as Video Violence, Slime City, Cannibal Campout, Babysitter Massacre, The Basement and Beauty Queen Butcher could all be possibilities for future comics. If you’re a fan of Ghoul School and love Horror Comics, you’ll eat this comic up so make sure to get your copy from https://www.alternativecinema.com/ as it’s the only place to have it. For my next update we will be leaving the Ghoul School and heading into space as I turn the blog over to Juliet so she can talk about her all time favorite science fiction film, Forbidden Planet and the comic adaptation based on it! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a Camp Motion Picture or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you guys all in space!