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

Posted on October 2, 2024 by bloodlinematt

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

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

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

Return Of The Living Dead (1985)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mari-Cookie Smothered In Gravy

Posted on November 18, 2014 by bloodlinematt

It’s getting close to Thanksgiving, another great American holiday filled with family, stories and food and some great times spent with my family. When I was younger, we would have Thanksgiving a lot of times at both my grandparents’ house (mostly the Brassfield side) and even at my Aunt Laverne and Uncle George’s, but as for the most part for the past 10 years or so we have had a very small one at my parents’ house. It’s always a fun time of chatting with my parents and my brother and his family about work, pro wrestling, MMA, TV Shows and movies all the while football is on the TV and great food is on the kitchen table ready to be eaten. The food highlights of what my mom fixes are the Thanksgiving classics mashed potatoes and turkey, glazed ham that is super tender and this corn dish that has boiled eggs and italian sausage in it…I think it is my favorite holiday dish. So for this pre-Thanksgiving update, we are going to take another look at a Draculina Photo Comic based on yet another Jess Franco shot on video film called “Mari-Cookie And The Killer Tarantula.” So grab a turkey leg and load those mashed potatoes with gravy, ’cause this is going to be one cheesy filled quick and fun read.

Mari-Cookie And The Killer Tarantula aka “Eight Legs To Love You” is a 1998 shot on video film by Jess Franco that is a mix of horror and comedy and stars many great aging scream queens like Michelle Bauer, Lina Romay and Linnea Quigley as well as 90’s B-Movie actress Amber Newman. This was yet another cheapie, shot fast and put out direct to video in the US market by the company Sub Rosa who was releasing many of his 90’s video work. The film is about two missing people that are trapped by a human spider…yeah it’s as odd as it sounds. I first saw this film on a DVD that I got as a screener from Sub Rosa as I was a movie reviewer at the time and invited my pal Jason Gilmore over to watch it as he enjoyed watching terrible films like this with me. I can remember that both of us were amazed by the train wreck we were seeing on the TV screen as Lina Romay wore all types of silly outfits and wigs, and we were both wondering what Quigley and Bauer were thinking when they signed on to make this film as I am sure the money could not have been that good. The film was neither scary nor funny and was in fact more strange and laughable due to just how dumb the script was and not for the humor that was intended. If I remember on the review I did for the film on the Independent B Movie website, I gave it 1 out of 4 stars and was by no means a fan of the film nor was Gilmore, making this another miss for me of “modern” Franco work. Look below for some screen shots of the movie as well as the DVD cover.

Linnea Barbara Quigley was born in Iowa in 1958 where she spent most of her youth until 1976 when the family moved to Los Angeles. She began working for a health spa, and her friends pushed her into doing some modeling that lead to her first major acting role in 1979’s “Fairy Tales” that lead to more roles in horror style b-films like Don’t Go Near The Park, Graduation Day, The Black Room, Savage Streets and Silent Night Deadly Night to name a few. But in 1985 when she played the part of punk rock chick Trash in the zombie film Return Of The Living Dead is when her popularity exploded and lead to many other classic roles in 80’s horror films like Creepzoids, Nightmare Sisters, Sorority Babes In The Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Dead Heat, Night Of The Demons, and Witchtrap to name a very few. During the 80’s she became one of the biggest horror actresses and was considered the top scream queen of that decade. In the 90’s Quigley’s roles didn’t slowdown as she was in such films as Innocent Blood, Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings, Stripteaser, Jack-O, Burial Of The Rats, Death Mask, The Killer Eye, Kolobos as well as Jess Franco’s film Mari-Cookie And The Killer Tarantula . Throughout the 2000’s to present day she continues to work in major and minor roles in many types of B-Films on all types of budget levels. Some of these films that fans would know include Blind Target (another Franco film), Corpses Are Forever, the 2009 remake of Night of the Demons, Terror Toons 3 and is rumored to even be in the remake of the film Crazy Fat Ethel. Some cool things you may or may not know about Linnea are the following: she was in two rock bands, one before she acted in films called Mad Whistle and one after called The Skirts. Linnea was also a Playboy flashdancer and shared a photo with other dancers in a 1983 issue. Linnea has a very tiny cameo in A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master where she is the topless soul trying to bust out of Freddy’s chest in the end shot. Linnea and fellow Scream Queen Brinke Stevens in the 80’s did many adult photo shoots together even one for Playboy. In 1978 Linnea did a nude spread for the biker magazine Easyriders. I have meet Linnea many times via my convention travels and must say she is a sweet, down to earth real person who took her time to always talk to me and treat me as if I was a friend. And while she does that to every fan she meets, it still makes ya feel special and makes you respect her for all she has done in film and beyond. Here is to you Linnea Quigley, thanks for all the years of entertainment and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Speaking of Return Of The Living Dead, did you know that at one point a comic sequel based on a original 1985 script by actor Don Calfa who played mortician Ernie in the original film was in the works in 2008? I didn’t either until earlier this year, and man was I let down when I found out it was completed with a total of 70 pages and that for some reason even in 2014, the comic has not found it’s way out into the hands of the fans of the film and horror comics. The story of the comic would have the military missing dropping the bomb at the right place and by doing this, all the characters you love from the first film are alive and well and trying to figure out a way to stay alive in the zombie filled world around them. The art is done by Gary Smart who later went on to write the book “The Complete History Of Return Of The Living Dead” as well as the upcoming book based around Hellraiser called “Leviathan: The Story Of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II” showing that this comic had the combination of a great script and great artist who knew the source material and knew the characters better than anyone. Years would pass and besides some of the the art work and covers for the graphic novel and even normal comic style covers, no release date was ever set, and last I heard about it was in 2012 when on a message board and a Myspace post said that the comic was stuck in limbo due to the film’s rights holders not being found and getting back to Don and Gary. It’s 2014 and still no comic and all I can say is for godsakes please some comic company get the rights to this comic and get it into all our hands…you owe it to Tarman to do so.

Man I really hope that comic can find a distributor soon. I mean Horrorhound Magazine, if they ever decide to get into the comic game, would be perfect for the release as would IDW if they would have stayed with the MGM Midnight Movie comic lines. But only time will tell if and when this comic will see the light of day. So let’s get to the main event of this update, a look at the photo comic for Mari-Cookie done by those fine sleazy folks at Draculina who also brought us the Lust For Frankenstein photo comic we reviewed back in May 2014. And before we get into the review, I want to give a list of the actress that play parts in this film: Lina Romay plays Mari-Cookie and The Tarantula, Amber Newman plays Precious, Michelle Bauer plays Sheriff Marga, Linnea Quigley plays Tere and Analia Ivars plays Queen. I want to thank a seller on Amazon for having this comic in stock, and I want to remind everyone once again I grade these on a standard 1-4 star rating and am looking at how well the comic keeps to the source material, its entertainment value, its art and story. So with no more wait let’s get captured in the web of Mari-Cookie And The Killer Tarantula.

Mari-Cookie And The Killer Tarantula # 1 1/2
Released in 1999 Cover Price $4.95 Draculina Comics #4 of 4

The Tarantula is the Dock’s newest and hottest stripper but with her appearance also has come disappearances that are rocking the community. Mari-Cookie is a goofy woman who is married to Martin and is the prime suspect in the missing person case that female Sheriff Marga wants nothing more than to solve. Mari-Cookie and Martin have a terrible sex life, and her best friend is Tere who just so happens to have a knockout for a daughter named Precious who seems to have caught the eye of many of the town’s females. Sheriff Marga and her Deputy Barney alongside one time most popular stripper Queen are all trying to figure out who The Tarantula is and if she really is linked to the missing people. So Queen uses Precious to attract The Tarantula as she and Martin follow the two, also on the trail is Sheriff Marga who is with Tere who is upset to see her daughter making out with another woman and not with her! In the end The Tarantula, who in fact is really Mari-Cookie and has the power to turn into a spider, convinces the women to throw Martin out of the mansion and Sheriff Marga , Queen, Tere and Precious all join The Tarantula in a orgy.

Oh My God! This could be the worst comic I have ever read and makes the last Draculina Photo Comic for Lust For Frankenstein seem like a masterpiece! The plot is so rushed and basically at no point do you ever feel like any of the characters matter nor do any of them make any sense. The plot or paper thin story is this: people go missing after visiting a strip club and all are seen with the town’s most popular dancer who in fact is a real life spider who can trans-morph at will who also hides out in the world playing the part of a dim witted blonde housewife. She is being tracked down by a group of females who by the end of the issue all are in love with her and want to make love to her and her silly Rick James like wig. Mari-Cookie/ The Tarantula is the main baddy of the comic, and she is not scary nor really threatening as all she really wants to do is capture women and some men and make love to them, and forces them to drink a brew that is filled with puss and monkey balls. Her look as The Tarantula is silly as she wears a terrible wig and walks around pretty much nude; she is a bland character. Sheriff Marga is a stuck up mean spirited woman who seems to enjoy making out with women and wants to solve the case not for the good of the town but for her own gain of getting power in the ranks of government. Queen is a hot bitter stripper whose only motivation is to help bring The Tarantula down so that she can be the top stripper again. She also seems to have some love affair going with Precious who she uses like a dumb dog. Precious is the daughter of Mari-Cookie’s best friend who is hot but also dumb as a box of rocks. Tere is Precious’ mom and friend to Mari-Cookie who likes to suntan by the pool and at some point has fallen in love with her own daughter…yep it’s a sick one. Martin is a waste and is just the husband of Mari-Cookie who likes to screw around behind her back. Deputy Barney is a nobody who does zero in the hunt and there is also The Tarantula’s driver who loves to lick and suck on female toes. This whole comic was such a waste and sadly the only highlight was all the nudity of the Scream Queens. The comic as zero art and most the pictures used are okay with a few being blurry. The cover is eye catching, and if you’re a Lina Romay fan the image of her will draw you in. This so far is the lowest rated comic I have ever reviewed here on Rotten Ink and was not worth the money I paid for it let alone the original cover price nor the printing coast of the issue. I would say skip it unless you want to take a look at one of the worst comics in history of Horror Comics. Oh yeah the humor in the comic doesn’t work and it never made me smile let alone laugh. And I should say the comic follows the film pretty well, but is a more rushed version with even a character name change as Precious is named Amy in the movie.

Well I hope this warm up to the main course of November’s updates didn’t turn your stomach too badly. I mean while the comic was terrible as is the move it’s based on we did get to take a look at Scream Queen Legend Linnea Quigley as well as talk about the needs to be released Revenge Of The Living Dead comic so those are two big pluses. But next will be our Thanksgiving Day update and to keep the tradition of the first, we will be looking at Hercules again this time based on the TV show “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” with comics done by Topps. So make sure to check back! Until then read a comic or two, support your local Horror Host and watch a horror film because any thing is better than Mari-Cookie!