From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Wolf Blood (1925)

Posted on May 2, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. This time around we will be taking a look at a silent horror film that is also very much a romantic drama that was made in 1925 and is the oldest surviving werewolf film known as of this update’s posting. I am talking about Wolf Blood, a film that is often overlooked when people speak of early silent horror cinema. Now this update is going to be a little different as Blood Scream Comics the company I own and am the editor-in-chief of is the one who released this comic series, so I will not be giving the issues any kind of star ratings as I feel that would be very cheesy of me to do so. So instead I am just going to talk about the plot of the issue and “review” what is going on after as well as some of the twists that we added to spice it all up. So with that, let’s hike ourselves into these woods and let’s talk about a werewolves and people who get blood from wolves!

Before we dive too deep into this spooky update, let’s take a look at the “werewolf” named Dick Bannister! Dick is the foreman at Ford Lumber in the woods of Canada and is kind of new at his post but does have the respect of his men as he shows them respect and gives them chances even after they make mistakes. He also knows some basic medical care, and when his men are injured, he cares for them or sends for help in order to truly treat them. He is a skilled fighter with his fists and he very loyal to his co-workers as well as his boss Edith Ford who he gets a crush on, even though she is set to be married to her doctor boyfriend soon. But after a bad fight that leaves Dick almost dying, he has the blood of a wolf transfused into him to stay alive and this is when he starts having some mental issues as people fear him when word gets out. He also starts to get more angry and violent as he thinks the wolves of the woods are calling to him. But even in his state of madness, he is not dangerous and does not kill a living soul and is more of a danger to himself as he almost leaps off a cliff! Not a danger to a living person at all and not a werewolf, Dick Bannister is just a normal man who for a brief time has a mental break and can be killed like any normal person from shooting, stabbing, beating or burning making him one of the weakest killers or monsters we have covered on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update…but while he might not be a killer, he does throw a mean punch and that has to count for something.

So while Dick Bannister might just be a man with a mental breakdown for a short time, he still made his mark on werewolves in cinema. And now let’s take a look at the film that he is from and that’s the 1925 film Wolf Blood. Like always, we will be taking the film’s write up from our pals at IMDB and after I will write about the film’s production and my thoughts. So if you are ready, let’s wander into those woods and keep our eyes open for wolves as we chat about this underrated silent horror classic.

Wolf Blood (1925)

“In this tale of the great Canadian forest, Dick Bannister, the new manager of the Ford Logging Company receives a transfusion of wolf blood, followed by strange reactions that he begins to think he is neither beast nor man.”

Wolf Blood is a silent film from 1925 that was produced by the Ryan Brothers and was released by Lee-Bradford Corporation. It was based on the story by Cliff Hill with the screenplay by Bennett Cohen. The film is set in Canada and is about two feuding lumber companies that lead to a man being injured and to save his life he gets a blood transfusion from a wolf and this causes people to think that he will turn into a werewolf after false rumors are spread around and this drives the man mad. The film is a mix of drama, horror and romance and directing the picture was the team of Bruce Mitchell and George Chesebro, who would also play the lead role of Dick Bannister. And sadly the horror aspect is really cut down as they focus more on the romance aspect. Other actors brought into the cast include Marguerite Clayton, Raymond Hanford, Milburn Morante and Frank Clark. The main star George Chesebro was known for being a western actor and would have a very long career in Hollywood and would pass away on May 28, 1959 at the age of 70 and was pretty much active almost to his death. The film, while a werewolf film, more plays up on the mental madness of a man after getting some wolf blood to stay alive. He thinks that he is becoming a wolf even chasing after phantom wolves that act as his pack, so those who are looking for a transformation will be disappointed. The film was met with mixed reviews, and to this day it has that same reaction as many enjoy the simple story of love finding a way, while others wanted more scares with their horror. The film was released with such other horror films in 1925 as The Phantom Of The Opera, The Lost World, The Monster and The Unholy Three to name a few. While not a full fledged horror movie, thanks to home media this film as gained a cult following over the decades. And at some point I will be doing a Forgotten Reels update about this film.

I am going to start off saying that I am a big fan of Wolf Blood and can see what impact it had on early werewolf cinema as it deals with the mental strain that a person goes through when they fear the moon and what they may become once the beast side takes over. Actor George Chesebro plays the role of Dick Bannister so well that you believe his confusion and pain throughout his mental breakdown. I really think that George Chesebro is a silent actor that should get more credit as he was fantastic at his art and had that classic Hollywood leading man look. Actress Marguerite Clayton plays Edith Ford in this film, and she has that classic beauty to her. She does a great job in the film as many of the film’s key moments also fall on her performance, and she knocks it out of the park as she and Chesebro seemed to have good chemistry on the screen. And yes, I would have loved to have seen an early transformation from man to wolf in this film, but I can also step back and enjoy that the film plays more up on the mental disease of lycanthropy as well as the power of persuasion of how planting a seed in someone’s mind can grow to truly affect them and others around them as they might believe a little white lie that will grow into a full fledged nightmare. While the horror elements of the film are pushed to the back in order to play up the romance aspect of love can conquer all, there are still some truly great moments that are spooky for the time like Dick’s decent into the madness and even the phantom wolves that run around the woods can add a classic chill to viewers of the more early horrors of the world. One aspect that makes me laugh when watching this film that Edith Ford and Doctor Eugene Horton are slated to be married and quickly Edith falls for Dick Bannister and by the end of the film Edith acts as if Eugene owes Dick the apology for telling a lie that the wolf blood might effect him to her that Dick overhears…when in this film Dick steals Eugene’s lady, chokes him and without Eugene he would be dead…owed an apology indeed! The film’s finale is also very well done as Dick who is filled with madness after thinking he killed a man who was found dead in the woods runs with his phantom wolf pack to the edge of a cliff. If not for Edith, the crazed man would have fallen to his death, but it is she who holds him back and risks her own safety. This is such a fun film that is a quick watch as it only runs a little over an hour. While it’s not as iconic as many other silent horror films, I do think that it is one that is often over looked. If you have interest in seeing it you can find it on YouTub,e but I would suggest watching it on Physical Media as you can get it on DVD from Alpha Video or Grapevine Video. While not fully horror, I feel the aspects are there and because of its ties to early werewolf cinema it’s worth a watch for sure.

Now that we talked about not only the film Wolf Blood but also Dick Banister, the man who thought he was cursed to become a wolf, I think it’s time we talk a little about the comic based on the film by Blood Scream Comics that was written by me! That’s right, I wrote the story and along with artist Jeff Potter, did the dialogue. And boy did we make some changes, but I will save that for the “review” part of this update. Like I said before and just like with The Giant Gila Monster, I will not be giving these comics any kind of star rating as that just seems silly as I worked on the comic. But I wanted to cover this comic for two reasons: I am a fan of the film and wanted to chat about it and the other being that I had a blast working on this comic series and wanted to share it with you readers. I would like to thank Jeff Potter for creating this comic alongside me for Blood Scream Comics and making this update possible. I should also warn you that this will spoil some of the big surprises we have in this comic adaptation so you have been warned: read on at your own risk. So of you are ready, let’s head into the woods of Canada and see if we can find the old Ford Lumber Company so that we can talk about the tale that is known as Wolf Blood.

Wolf Blood # 1
Released in 2022 Cover Price $3.99 Blood Scream # 1 of 2

The Ford Lumber Company and Consolidated Lumber Company are at war with each other in the woods of Canada as they are very close to one another and their mangers Dick Bannister and Jules Deveroux have different ways of dealing with the job as Bannister wants his people to work safe and Deveroux is giving orders to his men to sneak into the woods and shoot to wound the lumberjacks that work for Ford. After another attack and having to give the camp’s guard, Pop Hadley who has a track record of drinking too much and passing out, another chance, Bannister sends a message to the Ford Company’s owner that they need help as well as need a doctor to take care of these bullet wounds. And meanwhile in a small town bar Deveroux and his men celebrate the attack and even attack an old man looking for work and his son at the bar just to be cruel. The call for help is answered as Ford Lumber owner Edith Ford, her doctor fiancé Eugene Horton as well as her Uncle head to the camp and start helping the wounded. This is when Bannister sees that his boss is a beautiful young woman, and he falls in love with her fast. Bannister at this time also is almost stabbed and crushed by a tree by Jacques Lebeq, who is a bootlegger and has been entering the camp and selling his liquor to his workers, and this makes the two men truly hate one another. Late at night Edith Ford also hears the howls and growls of the wolves that are all around in the woods, and this frightens her as it reminds her of a time in the city when an unknown man stalked her in the streets until she got home, and this is a story she shared with Bannister the next day after they toured the camp. As Bannister and Edith head into town with the camp’s Cook, the wolves attack and slaughter one of the Consolidated Lumber Company’s lumberjacks. In town Edith tells Bannister that she is to be married to Eugene and that their attraction needs to stop, and this breaks Bannister’s heart as once back at the camp he goes alone to investigate the Consolidated Lumber Company and learns that they are building a dame to block the Ford lumber on the river. When Deveroux sees Bannister, he orders his men to kill him, and after a big fight, Bannister is beaten badly and then tossed off a cliff where he is then bitten by wolves! When Bannister does not return, Pop and the lumberjacks set out to find him and it’s Eugene that finds Bannister who is dying from blood loss and is able to get the wounded man to a cabin that is owned by Jacques Lebeq who refuses to give his blood to save Bannister and the Doctor has to make the decision to use the blood of a wolf to save his life. The next day Eugene is able to get Bannister back to the Ford Camp where he is able to recover and tells Edith that he is in love with her! The next day Edith, Eugene and Pops all head into town when Jacques Lebeq enters the Ford Camp and spreads the rumor that Bannister is a werewolf due to the wolf blood, and this causes the Lumberjacks to riot and armed with axes they kill the Uncle and as the moon gets full Bannister turns into a werewolf and busts out of a cabin looking to kill!

This was such a fun issue to work on, and the plot is simple as we have two feuding lumber camps at war with one another and things get out of hand when attempted murder comes into play and that act causes a good man to have to get wolf blood in his veins and this turns him into a beast at the Full Moon! You also have a love story brewing as Edith Ford must choose her doctor fiancé or her new love, the rugged lumber boss that works for her company. And we leave you on a big cliffhanger as the Ford Lumberjacks are armed with axes and are worked up into a fearful rage of their boss who now is a werewolf with bloodlust in his eyes. Dick Bannister is a good man that is a great boss as well as will fight for the rights and lives of his men. He also is tough as nails and is a good fist fighter and has the heart of a champion…he also has a soft spot and that is his boss and the lumber company owner Edith Ford who seems to be all he can think about after meeting her. Bannister also proves he has the will to live as after being beaten badly, thrown from a cliff, bitten by wolves and getting a blood transfusion from a wolf, he still lives…but he is also now cursed to live his life as a werewolf! Edith Ford is a kind hearted woman who owns a big company and has a fiancé that is a doctor, but while her life sounds perfect, it is not as she is confused as she finds herself loving Bannister who is her employee. She is also living with a secret that she does not share with many and that is she fills her life with late night parties with friends out of fear as she was one night stalked by Nosferatu! Pops Hadley is a drunk that is trying to change after he failed at his job and allowed workers to be shot. Eugene Horton is a good doctor who helps the wounded and saves Bannister’s life, and Cook really loves talking about the deals he got on food from town! The comic has three real “bad guys” as first you have Jules Deveroux, a scumbag who is a bully and also a coward who gives orders to hurt and kill others that stand in his way. You have the bootlegger Jacques Lebeq who sells his liquor as well tries to kill Bannister and sets up the Ford workers to turn on their boss. And lastly you also have to say that the wolves are one of the biggest dangers in those woods as they kill anyone that they can surround and rip to shreds. The comic is very bloody and the kills are gory with my favorite kill in this issue being the death of lumberjack Henrique who is ripped apart by a pack of wolves! The cover is really cool and the art was done by Jeff Potter with the colors by Jason Gilmore and the interior art is done by Potter and is 100% what I was looking for when I wrote this adaptation story. To sum it up, this was a blast to write and is one of the Blood Scream Comics projects that I am the most proud of! Now let’s talk about the second issue in this series and see how this twisted tale of love, horror and lumber ends!

Wolf Blood # 2
Released in 2022 Cover Price $3.99 Blood Scream # 2 of 2

Dick Bannister is now a werewolf and is killing all the Ford Lumber Camp workers and his howling has also brought the wolves to join in the bloodshed. Giovanni is a lumberman who runs past the bodies of his friends and finds an old train freight car in the woods and uses it as shelter to get away from the werewolf and his wolf minions. While at the cabin of Jacques Lebeq the bootlegger has a visitor; he is selling Deveroux the boss of Consolidated Lumber tons of whiskey as he wants to have his workers to celebrate the downfall of Dick Bannister, but the two are quickly greeted by the werewolf who bites the head off Deveroux and then burns the face of Lebeq on the stove before throwing his body to the wolves to be ripped apart. The next morning Edith Ford, Eugene Horton and Pop Hadley arrive back at camp to find the massacre, and when Eugene finds Dick still alive and asleep in bed, he tells the others the truth about the wolf blood flowing through the veins of Dick and that maybe he did turn and cause all this death! Pop does not want to hear it and heads into the woods to hunt the wild animals he thinks did the killing while Edith tells Eugene that she is in love with Bannister and wants to be with him, and the confused lumber man hears this all and runs into the woods as he does not want to change in the coming full moon and hurt anyone else, and Edith goes after him. Meanwhile a lumberjack from Consolidated rides up and says that they are closing down for good after they found the mangled bodies of Deveroux and Lebeq and he warns Eugene and Edith that they should leave as well. As Giovanni takes supplies from the now dead Lebeq’s home in order to survive and wait for help in the rail car, while Eugene thinks of his life without Edith and decides to end it with one bullet. Meanwhile in the woods Edith runs into Pops, and they two are surrounded by wolves. As Pops tries to fight them off, he is overwhelmed and ripped to shreds as Edith runs from them and ends up meeting the werewolf and she knows that her love Bannister really is a beast now…she tries to talk to him to bring the human side back…she fails and gruesomely pays with her life. The next night Dick Bannister is back human and is about to leap off a cliff to end his life when he is stopped by Nosferatu himself, Count Orlock, who informs him that he has need of a man with his talents.

The second issue of Wolf Blood is all about the slaughter as our hero Dick Bannister truly loses control and becomes a werewolf and slaughters almost all his workers (minus one who escapes and hides away in a steel trail freight car) and after he is done making Ford Lumber a slaughterhouse who makes sure to swing by his enemies home and kill both of those who wished him death as a man with that being Deveroux and Lebeq who are both killed very brutally. And even a little later in the issue the werewolf rips apart his true love and allows his wolves to attack and kill his best friend Pops! And all of these werewolf and wolves attacks are done super gory to truly show you the savage nature of these creatures as their bloodlust is out of control and it also shows that once the moon is full the caring and hard working Dick Bannister is not longer in control and in his place is a killing machine that wants to annihilate all that’s in his path. And poor Doctor Eugene Horton is another victim of Dick Bannister and while he is not killed by razor sharp teeth and claws he is broken spiritually as his whole world is taken away by Bannister as he steals his lady love away, and she cruelly has fallen out of love with the man who has given her everything…and he thinks his only way to find a way to end his pain is by a self inflicted gunshot to the head. Deveroux and Lebeq are truly two scumbags who enjoyed trying to not only take Dick Bannister’s life but also try to ruin everything about him, but they really do get their comings when the werewolf comes howling around and they find themselves begging for their lives to the one person who is now a creature that they never showed any mercy to. Poor Pops Hadley stays loyal to his friend Bannister and does not believe the tales of him being a werewolf, and even before dying by a pack of wolves, he still tries to save the life of Edith…poor drunk old fool. You have to also feel bad for Cook as he is killed during the slaughter at the Ford Lumber Camp, and by the looks of it, he really was ripped apart! And for those wondering about the fate of Giovanni, you will find out what comes of him in a future comic as his tale is not yet finished and his fate is yet to be shared. This issue really was a blast to work on as artist Jeff Potter and myself were able to showcase the idea of Bannister becoming a fully fledged werewolf, something sadly the classic silent film did not do as they played up more on the aspects of it all being in his feverish mind. And while the first issue was bloody, we upped the gruesome level to 11 with this second issue! I am sure you also have noticed that in the Silent Film Universe by Blood Scream Comics, the one and only Count Orlock has been appearing and is almost recruiting people for some sort of sinister plan, and this will unfold in every issue of these comics based on Silent Horror Films. The cover for this issue showcases The Werewolf as well as Edith Ford and the colors by Jason Gilmore make it pop! The interior art is done by Jeff Potter who is a fantastic artist and who has brought many comic alive for Sparkle and Blood Scream Comics as his work includes such titles as Adventure Man, Curse Of The Beast, Spring Heeled Jack, Eternal Sleep, Farmer Joe and Shocking Macabre Theater, to name a small few. The way Potter draws the werewolf is fantastic and reminds me of the classic Creepy and Eerie Magazines, and the gore we draws rivals that of the indie horror comics from the late 80’s and early 90’s. While Nosferatu # 1 started the Silent Universe for Blood Scream Comics the Wolf Blood series is amping up the chills and blood spills, and this is just the start as you readers have not seen nothing yet. Check out the art work from Potter below to see his style in this series.

So as you can see, we truly put the horror first in this reimagining of Wolf Blood as we have Dick Bannister turning full force into a werewolf and he ends up killing everyone at the Ford Lumber Camp and also his true love Edith Ford, and by the end is taken away by Nosferatu himself Count Orlock as this is just one of several issue we have in store for you as Jeff Potter and I have more twisted tales in our Silent Universe to bring you! We released “Haunted House 1908” for Halloween 2023, and we screened the movie with a new score by musician Todd The Fox at Horrorama! If you have interest in ordering Wolf Blood # 1 and 2 you can do so here, while it remains in print that is. And yes, I will also do a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update for Haunted House 1908 as I love sharing my love for silent horror cinema with you readers. Well as you can see, this update has come to an end and for our next update we will be heading to the world of cartoons as we will be talking about the 1966 Captain America series. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a silent horror film or two and as always support your local horror host. Oh and remember when Captain America throws his mighty shield, All those who chose to oppose his shield must yield!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Love At First Bite (1979)

Posted on September 23, 2022 by bloodlinematt

It’s almost October and that means we are so close to Halloween 2022 and I have to bring you readers and friends another Countdown To Halloween update and of course that also means another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update and for this one I choose one of my favorite Horror Comedy films that I have enjoyed sense I was a kid and was even released the year I was born in 1979, a film that spoofs Count Dracula and I am talking about Love At First Bite a super silly, super fun look at Dracula coming to New York. And something I am sure many of you are not aware of is that Love At First bite was given the Photo Comic treatment in a paperback book, and that’s what we will be reviewing! So if you are ready lets put on our best cape, slick back our hair and head to a New York dance club and see what Count Dracula is up to as I proudly bring to you From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Love At First Bite!

Lets take a look at the one and only Count Dracula from this film and his way of dealing with humans that cross his path or ones he sets his sights on to become one of his vampire brides. Count Dracula has many ways of dealing with the living like he can change into a bat or dog and cause fear and chaos to those that cross him. He can use his cool and calm voice to help put his victim into a trance and make them do his bidding like fall asleep. He also has the ability to control devises like phones and TVs causing distractions and cutting off those from calling for help. He can call on “The Children Of The Night” like bats, rats and wolves to use against his victims, as he can also call on his faithful butler Renfield to help attack, get information from and subdue the target. He can also use a very powerful breath to push back against attackers as well as keep them off balance making them easier to bite. He has a super charm that makes humans feel at ease as well as draws them to him. And his main way to deal death is via his sharp fangs that he can drain the blood of his victim or even turn said person into a vampire and be under his control. But Dracula does have weaknesses like sunlight that will burn him up, he also can be killed with fire as well as a stake to his heart, he can also be stunned by a cross and garlic as both are very irritating to him. He also is very much out of touch with the times, is egotistical and sarcastic and this also leads him to trouble and can give his attackers a chance to stop him once and for all. Also this version of Count Dracula lacks the killer instinct and makes him less likely to take an innocent life and therefore not a massive threat as all he wants is love from his chosen lady, and that as well is a weakness. While this Count Dracula is not the most dangerous creature I have covered here on Rotten Ink he still is one that can deal death as well as charm the pants off any woman he wants.

Count Dracula from Love At First Bite is more of a lover then a killer but we have to keep in mind he still is a blood drinking vampire so he is dangerous. Now that we have taken a look at Count Dracula lets now take a look at the movie he is from and I will be taking the films plot from our friends at IMDB and will then write about the films production as well as my thoughts on it. So if you are ready lets take a night on the town with Count Dracula in New York!

Love At First Bite (1979)

“This vampire spoof has Count Dracula moving to New York to find his Bride, after being forced to move out of his Transylvanian castle. There with the aid of assistant Renfield, he stumbles through typical New York City life situations while pursuing Cindy Soundheim. But her boyfriend, Doctor Jeff Rosenberg, realizes she is under the influence of a vampire, and tries his bumbling best to convince police Lt Ferguson of what is going on, and to help him stop Dracula.”

This Horror Comedy started out when George Hamilton was doing an impression of Bela Lugosi for screenwriter Robert Kaufman and the pair laughed and decided that they should write a Romantic Horror Comedy that was about Count Dracula! The story they created had Count Dracula in New York during the 70’s falling in love with a woman who is engaged. When shopping the script around Melvin Simon was interested and bought the script for $1000,000.00 and while he was only a man who made his money from shopping malls he had a passion for films. Melvin Simon was the money man behind many cult classic films like The Manitou, When A Stranger Calls, The Stunt Man, Zorro The Gay Blade and all three Porky’s films, but later in life Melvin Simon would say producing films was a mistake as he lost millions of dollars doing so. When casting of course actor George Hamilton was hired to play Count Dracula and actress Susan Saint James was hired to play his love Cindy Sondheim and fellow actors Richard Benhamin, Dick Shawn, Arte Johnson and Ralph Manza were brought on to complete the main cast. The director brought on was Stan Dragoti who would go on to direct Mr. Mom and Charles Bernstein was hired to do the score, and he would go on to score such films as The Enity, Cujo, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Deadly Friend, April Fool’s Day and Rumpelstiltskin. The film brought in $43,900,000.00 at the box office on a $3 million dollar budget and was the 13^th highest grossing film in 1979 in America. It was released alongside other Horror Movies that year like The Amityville Horror, Phantasm, Tourist Trap, Nosferatu The Vampyre, Alien, Driller Killer and The Brood to name a few. The film was met with mostly positive reviews from critics and fans and was the top grossing indie film until the release of Amityville Horror that same year. The film would gain a following when released on cable and home media and is still well loved by classic Horror Comedy fans to this day.

Love At First Bite no joke was a film that I have loved sense I was a kid and I cannot count how many times I watched it when it aired on HBO or regular TV! I can remember laughing at how silly the film was and this flick also made me a life long fan of actor George Hamilton as he was perfectly silly as Dracula and played the part straight faced for the most part no matter how goofy the world around him started to get. And for years a rumor has been going around that a Love At First Bite sequel was in the works and that George Hamilton got the rights for the film back in 2009 and it would take place in modern times and have Count Dracula going to Hollywood for his sons wedding and meeting the brides family that are TV preachers…sadly as of this update the film has not been made. The scene in Love At First Bite that always gets me is when the character Dr. Jeffrey Rosenberg goes to visit his one time fiancé Cindy Sondheim at her apartment and she tells him that she is marring Count Dracula and were they have registered for wedding gifts and he is a rage is screaming about how they will get nothing from him as he leaves on the elevator, no kidding I laugh every time. Also actor Arte Johnson who plays Renfield does a great job of being creepy, spooky and his laugh is based on Dwight Fryes with a touch of his own style. Richard Benjamin who plays Dr. Rosenberg is hysterical and next to Dracula almost steals the show with his crazy humor. And even Susan Saint James is funny as hell as Cindy Sondheim, and Susan I remember mostly from TV Show “Kate & Allie” as I remember my parents use to watch that one in the 80’s. I think that when it comes to straight Horror Comedies I would place Love At First Bite over such films as Dracula Dead And Loving It, Shaun Of The Dead and Dead Don’t Die but would say its not as funny as Young Frankenstein and Zombieland to name a few on both sides of the fence. If you like Dracula, Horror Comedies, George Hamilton and just having a good time make sure to check out love At First Bite.

So as you can see Dracula from Love At First Bite is both dangerous as well as humorous and this really is a fun and silly film that I am glad got the Photo Comic treatment so that I can make this From Horror Movie To Horror Comic possible. I would like to also thank an Ebay seller for having this FotoNovel in stock. I would also like to remind you readers that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready lets head to New York and spend some time with Count Dracula.

Love At First Bite # 1 **1/2
Released in 1979 Cover Price $2.75 Fotonovel # 1 of 1

Count Dracula is in his castle in Transylvania with his assistant Renfield who delivers the mail including a fashion magazine that has model Cindy Sondheim on the cover and Dracula has fallen in love with her even though he never meet her, but yet maybe he has because her soul is an old one and keeps being reborn! At one point in time Cindy was even Mina Harker and many other loves of Dracula. Later that night Dracula get a visit from the Government who informs him that he must leave his castle as they are taking it over as a training camp for athletes. In two days time Dracula walks to his carriage as the towns people insult him and this forces him to use his breath to keep them at bay. Dracula and Renfield head to New York to find Cindy and while in his coffin in the luggage area Dracula tries to read up on the lingo of the 70’s in order to fit in. And once in New York a mix up happens and Renfield takes the wrong coffin with him to the hotel and Dracula ends up in a church in Harlem and has a run in with some people before finally finding his hotel and Renfield. The next day Renfield gets Cindy’s location from her agent thanks to his pet cobra and Dracula shows up and when held back by the cops as Cindy models he turns into a dog and gets close to her, but it taken to the pound for his efforts. Dracula is depressed as he drank the blood of a drunken homeless man that made him sick and has decided to just give up, that is until Renfield gives him the address of a club that Cindy is at and when meeting her the two fall in love and start an affair as Cindy is the girlfriend of Doctor Jeff Rosenberg who is a descendent of Van Helsing and when he notices the bite on the neck of Cindy he knows he has to stop Dracula before biting two more times as if he does so she will be damned to be a vampire forever. Cindy is in love with Dracula and while at a dinner out Jeff comes along and he and Dracula have a showdown at the dinner table, and their argument leaves Cindy to leave the pair and Jeff alerts Dracula to who is bloodline is. Later that night Dracula comes to Cindy’s apartment and tries to bite her for the second time but sunrise stops him, and this causes Jeff to have to try and get the help from the police and even breaks into Dracula’s hotel room and sets his coffin on fire with him still inside! Jeff is then arrested and taken to an Asylum and once out he tracks down Cindy and Dracula at a restaurant and shoots three silver bullets into the chest of Dracula and this attack fails and causes Cindy to faint and as Jeff is arrested Dracula takes his soon to be bride away and bites her for the second time. Jeff is taken back to the asylum and along with the cops tries to stop Dracula from taking Cindy back to England for the third time, and they even have a run in with Renfield. In the end Jeff confronts Dracula at the airport but before he can drive a stake through his heart Dracula bites Cindy for the third time and the pair turn into bats and fly off into the night as Jeff can do nothing but watch, and well take Dracula’s cape that he left behind.

This is a fun Photo Comic Novel that does a pretty great job of capturing the film’s goofy nature, but in comic form I do have to stress that much of the film’s humor is lost and does not pack the belly laughs. The plot is very simple: Dracula is kicked out of his castle and comes to New York to fund a Super Model he has a love for only to win her heart and must fight off her boyfriend and the cops in order to have his blood drinking happy ending with the love of his afterlife. Count Dracula is a vampire who is sick of being lonely and finds his true love in a model form New York and travels to try and win her heart, and yes along the way drinks a little blood from those who are in his way. He is not pure evil, but does have a little bit of an ego that tends to flare up. Renfield is loyal and dimwitted and does whatever Dracula tells him to do, but also it’s clear that he and Dracula are also friends. Cindy Sondheim is a magazine model who is a party girl who loves the night life and is drawn and falls for Dracula even though she is the on again off again girlfriend of a Van Helsing! And Doctor Jeff Rosenberg is our hero of the story a psychiatrist who is the grandson of Van Helsing and is part crazy, but also will do whatever he can to save his lady from the bite of Dracula, but does also have his folklore mixed up and fails many times to kill Dracula. As I stated before the humor is there, but is a little lost on the pages as the delivery from the actors is lacking. The Horror parts are still intact as they are light hearted to begin with and I do really like the parts in this Photo Comic Novel that has Dracula and Redfield stealing from the blood bank as well as the moment of him waking up in the coffin at the funeral in Harlem. The Photo Comic is bloodless and that’s fine as the film is as well, and for the most part this was a fantastic and fun read and a great way to kick off of Halloween Season for 2022! While elements of the film are missing in order to fit in this comic and at times the story jumps very awkwardly it is a must-read for fans of this very underrated 1979 Horror Comedy film. The cover is very cool and eye catching and the photos used in side are well selected. Give this one a read if you can find it, and check out the photo below to see the style of this Photo Comic Novel.

The Fotonovel version of Love At First Bite is a fun read and while it does not fully capture the silliness of the characters humor and feel of the film fully, it does do a great job of entertaining the reader. I for one would love to see a full comic book done based on the film with a solid artist on board like Jeff Potter, but sadly I don’t think that would ever happen. Well for our next update we will be leaving Count Dracula and New York behind and will be covering something that I have been working on for a very long time and that’s my list of my Top 20 Lost Silent Horror Films! This is something I really have wanted to talk about for so many years now and I think my blog’s 10 Year Anniversary is the perfect time to do so. Plus let’s be honest, it’s a great way to kick off October 2022 and I hope helps bring awareness to these lost films and one day they become found films. So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Comedy or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for a talk about Silent Horror Cinema.