From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Survive This! (2005)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we are here to talk about the 2005 direct to DVD Horror Film called Survive This! and the promo comic that was given away with it. This is one of those films that very few people know about as it went under the radar when it was released and is long out of print now. And with that if you readers are ready for this “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” quick update, we will head to Pirate Island and see what erotic horrors await us. I do have to take a moment and say that I miss the days when home media would place mini comics inside as an extra and I think companies like SOV Horror and Scream Team Releasing should do this from time to time with their releases.

The Captain and his Ghost Zombie Pirates are the dealers of death in this movie and they have ways of killing off those who cross them on their island. The Ghost Zombie Pirates first use their swords and sharp tools and weapons in order to slash and stab flesh and are skilled with these weapons. Being ghosts, they can appear and use their grisly appearance to strike fear into the hearts of their victims and make them panic and easier to stalk and kill. They also have super strength and can rip people apart with their bare hands. They also can swarm and attack, but are also just as deadly on their own. They are also very quiet and can use this silence to sneak up and attack their attended target. They also can use the water to travel around as well as land making them deadly on both. The only weakness shown by them is The Captain’s love for his bride and if her stolen and removed heart is returned to her body, the Ghost Zombie Pirates will return to the sea and unharmed anyone left and by all accounts defeated and will not return. The Ghost Zombie Pirates and their Captain are a deadly lot and know how to murder and kill any foolish living human who makes the mistake of being on their island.

As you can see, these Ghost Zombie Pirates mean business and sure do have zero issues on taking a life! And now that we talked about them I think we should now take a look at the film that spawned them, and as always, our friends at IMDB will be the movie’s plots and I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts. So with that, let’s set sail and see what this film is about.

Survive This! (2005)

“Cory Lodge is the supreme scam artist, who put his world on the line when he baits the multi millionaire television producer Mr. Jillbralta into putting up 500K for a new reality TV show… “Survive This…” Cory and his beautiful assistant decide to film their show from the legendary haunted, Pirates Island. Soon Cory and the contestants learn the hard way why this island has be deserted… As the show’s super sexy contestants begin to die… one by one. Tune in and see just who may “Survive This…”

Survive This! Is your typical low budget direct to DVD release that flooded the mark in the early and mid 2000’s that mixed both Horror and “Erotic” elements together and would add a dash of bad comedy always with a loud soundtrack from bands most have never heard of. The film was released by Regain Records on home media and was co-written and directed by Ed Wahl who was coming off a kids show called “Zebby’s Zoo” and would bring together a strange collection of actors and performers together as cast in the film are such names as The Naked Cowboy, Gina Lynn, Sharissa, Dale Resteghini and Jennifer Pedersen among many others. The film’s production was the normal low budget fare and when released on home media it pretty much went unnoticed by Horror Fans. The film was pretty much meet with negative reviews. I should also note that Udi Harpaz was the man behind the score for this film.

This film is not great, but you can tell that the creators and actors behind this film did have a blast making it so that goes a long way, and I like that at least they ended up giving their film the comic book treatment so credit for that. I watched this film the same night I watched Nightwing, Rattlers and Willy’s Wonderland and this by far was the film that got lost in the shuffle as it was pure cheesy stuff that’s main highlights was the topless women and some of the bad dialogue, some of the gore effects are good and I have to say the score was not terrible and had its charm. But while the film is really bad on almost all most accounts it tried hard to bring at least the Erotic elements but failed on the Horror as the Ghost Pirates pretty much are just guys with cheap grease paint make-up smeared on and fake scars on their faces and just kind of lumber around. This is the type of film that would have played late night on Cinemax and would have been hosted on USA Up All Night and I think you know what I mean. Not much to say about this film besides dental floss this plot, boring characters, no Horror and is an indie film that I didn’t enjoy but I am sure it has its fans.

Well now that we talked about the Ghost Zombie Pirates and their killing ways as well as the film they are from I think we should now take a look at the promo comic based on this film. I want to thank an Ebay seller who had this DVD and Comic in stock and made this update possible and would like to also 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, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, I can see some undead Pirates down the beach here on Pirate Island and we should start walking the other way and chat about this comic.

Survive This! # 1  **
Released in 2005     Cover Price FREE   Wallrocker   # 1 of 1

A couple are running for their lives on Pirate Island late at night and both meet a fate at the hands of the Ghost Zombie Pirates. We then join Cory Lodge and his assistant Jillian as they are pitching a competition reality TV Show set on the haunted pirate Island to producer Mr. J who agrees to help but will only fund half the million dollars that would be used for production and Cory has to come up with the other half that would be the prize money. Cory don’t have that money but cons his way into the show going into production and even picks up a guide named Ralph who will work for free, the set up crew on Pirate Island find themselves being killed by a Ghost Pirate. Its cleat that Jillian and Mr. J are fooling around, and Cory starts crushing and a contestant named Amanda all the while Ralph seems to be getting nerves and talking redemption to himself. As the all make it to the island Jillian is picking on Amanda who does not fit in with most of her fellow cast mates and when looking around the castle they are staying in Amanda sees a painting of a young woman and Ralph gives her a book to read about the history of the island and how a Pirate Captain fell in love with the woman from the painting (Elizabeth) and he wanted to marry her, but she has to stop as the show has started and Amanda has to play volleyball as well as tug of war and she keeps looses and is picked in the bottom three and has to spend the night buried in the sand neck down with a bucket on her head, but when the crew prank her again she quits the show. Meanwhile all of the celebrities who are suppose to guest on the show and who are lost on the island are killed by the Ghost Pirates are as well two local ladies who wanted to find the shooting location of the Survive This show and Ralph tried to shave but could not. The shows production is falling apart and Jillian is mad that Cory is paying attention to Amanda and calls in Mr. J who pulls the plug on the show, meanwhile Amanda finds out the rest of the Pirate Island history from the book and finds out what happened to Elizabeth and The Pirate Captain who were set up and killed on their wedding night by her father and the people of the island, they even removed Elizabeth’s heart. And Amanda finds out that Ralph is the spirit of Elizabeth’s father who wants to make right his wrong, but as night time falls the Ghost Pirates arrive in full force and attack and kill most of the contestants, Jillian and even Mr. J! But Amanda has an idea to save her and Cory as she finds Elizabeth’s missing heart behind the picture and they rush to the beach and throw it in, the heart finds the rotten corpse of Elizabeth and she can be happy again with her Captain husband and this as well stops the attack and the Ghost Pirates return to the see and the night of terror is over. Ralph fades away a sad spirit as Amanda and Cory embrace on the now peaceful beach.

First thing I have to say is that I liked this comic adaptation better then the movie as if cuts out lots of the long dragged out parts of the film…but it is flawed as well as all of the nudity and most of the bloody kills have also been removed for the comic. And I wished that they at least had kept the bloody kills in and even maybe amped them up a bit! The story as you can see is very basic the restless spirits of pirates are tormenting an island over being wronged and if the heart of the Captain’s bride is returned they terror would stop, and a young woman who is kind of an outsider is the one to find the heart and stop the madness. Cory Lodge is a con man who wants to make quick money and uses a terrible crew and a lack of ideas to bring what could be the worst reality game show the world would have ever seen, and even though he is kind of scummy he gets the lady in the end. Amanda is a woman who enters the contest, is picked on, quits, learns the history of the haunted island and is the one who unlocks the secret to stop the Ghost Pirates from showing up and attacking. Amanda is the only interesting character in the comic and film as at least she shows some emotions. Ralph is the spirit of a father who back in the day had his daughter and her pirate husband and friends killed, and he is kind of a ego driven kook who things that his daughter in death should come back to him even though he murdered her! The rest of the characters are just filler and around and are not flushed out at all with Jillian and Mr. J being shown to be scummy people as well. The Ghost Pirates who is the comics main bad guys show up very little and when they do its just glimpses in panels for the most part. The comic is not scary, but does have a classic spooky campfire tale feel to it and that makes it a fun read. The cover is cool but is also just the cover for the DVD so not much thought put into the DVD cover as I feel that it was the comic cover idea first, but I could be wrong. The interior art is done by “The Zombie” and is pretty good stuff and has a very cartoony look and I do like the way he draws the Ghost Pirates. Over all a cool promo comic that was slightly better than the film it was based on and if you like tales of Ghost Pirates and Haunted Islands then check it out. See the artwork below to see the style of “The Zombie” used in this comic.

Survive This! is a low budget film that tried to cash in on the world of Horror and Erotic and really did fail on both accounts, even though I have to say the ladies in the film are all very lovely. And while the Pirates in the film come off more like Ghost Zombies and in the comic they are pure Ghosts they have their charm in both. And with that I think if you like no budget films that has a sub plot of a reality TV Show then give this a read and a watch, or if you like adult film actress Gina Lynn checkout the film for her cameo. But with that, let’s leave Pirate Island and head to the world of Pro Wrestling as we get to see the Master Of The Heart Puncher himself Ox Baker be in the main event! So until next time, read a Horror Comic of three, watch a Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update as our year of Wrestling continues.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Halloween H20 (1998)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink.  We are getting so much closer to our big Halloween update and with this being 10 Years of Rotten Ink I knew that a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update was needed and that it had to be about my favorite mainstream horror movie series, Halloween! And did you readers know that Halloween H20 had a comic that took place in its timeline, if not, you soon will as that is the comic that we will be covering for this update. There’s something about the Halloween film series and its killer Michael Myers that keeps us film goers going back to the cinema to see what bloody rampage he will go on next, and in 1998 he did that just again and this time in the mood and feel of Scream, the then new kid on the block when it came to slasher films. So grab a plastic pumpkin and put on a spooky costume as it’s time for us to travel to California and not Haddonfield as Halloween this year is coming to the Golden State.

So let’s take a look at Michael Myers and his ways of killing in Halloween H20! Michael Myers is a normal man who has an urge to kill his siblings and anyone that stands in his path of murder and will use many weapons to do so including ice skates, corkscrew and of course a massive knife, and he will brutally slice and stab his targets until death occurs. His appearance also strikes fear into the heart of his victims as he wears a white mask and coveralls making him a very blank slate embodying the faceless horrors we all fear. He is also very strong and has above human strength as he can easily pick up, break and impale a human with brutal power. He is also very stealthy and can attack his target before they even see him coming, as he is cold and calculated. As far as weakness goes, Michael has very few but I would say his slowness could work against him and leave him open for counter attacks.  He also seems to only kill on a cycle making one safe for most months minus October for the most part. Being stabbed and the use of brute force can slow him down and while not be killed by these things, it does give you time to get away. As you can see, Michael Myers is a killing machine that cannot be stopped and will come back again and again to kill and butcher.

So as you can see, even the Halloween H20 version of Michael Myers is a killer that is at the top of the heap when it comes to dealing death to his victims. And now that we have taken a look at Michael Myers, I think that it’s time that we now take a look at the film this version is from. Just a reminder that the film’s write up will be taking from our friends at IMDB and after that I will write a little about the films production as well as my thoughts on it, so with that let’s head to Hillcrest Academy and see if we can spot Michael looming behind the trees and shadows.

Halloween H20 (1998)

“Twenty years after Michael Myer’s massacre in Haddonfield, Laurie Strode faked her own death, traveled to California, and took on the identity Keri Tate. Michael discovers Laurie’s new identity and travels to California to kill his sister. Laurie must now take on her brother with her son’s life at risk.”

The seventh film in the Halloween film series started being worked on during the pre-production of “Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers” and was being worked on by Daniel Farrands with the working title “Michael Myers: Lord Of The Dead” and would have taken place right after the events of the sixth film and would have had the whole town of Haddonfield being part of trying to control Myers and its up to Tommy Doyle to stop them, but after the bad reviews, fan reaction and displeasure of Farrands on the finished film of part 6, the seventh film was in limbo. The next attempt was by Robert Zappia as he wanted to make the seventh film a direct to video film that would have had a copycat Michael Myers killer killing woman at a boarding school and during one draft would have even added Laurie Strode to the mix and was originally being called “Halloween 7: Two Faces Of Evil” and would also be called “Halloween: Blood Ties” and this film as well was scrapped. And after these failed to see production, Kevin Williamson the creator behind the Scream films was brought in to work on a story idea and was going to follow the other films in the series and was called “Halloween 7: The Revenge Of Laurie Strode” and would have had Jamie Lee Curtis return to the role of Laurie and at one point they tried to get John Carpenter back to direct, but he wanted $10 million dollars and a three picture deal with in order to come back, he was quickly replaced with Steve Miner. And from there after some rewrites and changes to the script by both Williamson as well as main script writers Robert Zappia and Matt Greenberg. The film ended up cutting all ties to Halloween 2-6 and acted as a direct sequel to the 1978 film. When casting the film names like Adam Arkin, LL Cool J, Michelle Williams, Janet Leigh and Josh Hartnett (who was also filming the film The Faculty at the same time) were brought in to play lead parts. And Chris Durand was hired to play Michael Myers with his mask being done by many production houses. The films score was done by both John Ottman and Marco Beltrami with it being a mix of both men’s work with the changes done upsetting Ottman. The films budget was $17 million and it opened in theaters on August 5, 1998 and would be meet with mostly positive reviews from critics and fans alike and was the highest grossing film in the franchise at the time of its release brining in $75 million. In 1998 the film was # 41 at the American box office and beat out such films as “Mighty Joe Young”, “Practical Magic”, “The Faculty”, “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer”, “Urban Legend”, “Bride Of Chucky”, “Psycho”, “John Carpenter’s Vampires”, “Species II”, “Disturbing Behavior” and “Phantoms” to name a few. And still to this day Halloween H20 has a big and loyal fan base that rate it as one of the best sequels in the series. Oh and during this film many different Michael Myers masks were used as they could not find the right one to use as some had to big of eye holes, some were reused ones from part 2 and even at one point it was touched up with CGI!

When I found out that a seventh film in the Halloween series was being made I was really looking forward to it, but when I heard that the film would wipe away all the sequels in order to be the new “official” part two I was super annoyed and then when I found out that Kevin Williamson was the writer I again was a little shaky on if the film would be good or not. But the film was all over Fangoria Magazine, TV with ads and even our local paper Dayton Daily News seemed to be hyping it up and with it being a new Halloween film and my then best friend Andrea wanting to also see it we headed to the theater opening weekend and both of us were ready for a good old slasher film on the big screen! I can remember the theater was packed and we found good seats and with our candy and drinks in hand we watched Halloween H20 on the big screen with a roomful of people who all loved every second of it as they cheered along to the kills as well as when Laurie Strode had enough and took the fight to Michael. And in the end when Laurie chops Michaels head off the room stood up and cheered and clapped so loud, and while Andrea liked the film, I was not a fan as in my opinion the film took away the elements that made Michael Meyers scary from all the films that came before it and I felt at times Jamie Lee Curtis just over acted! I was however impressed by Michelle Williams who was not only beautiful but also I feel the best actor in the film next to Janet Leigh who just had a small cameo role. Plus I felt that throughout the film Michael Myers starts off as a killer and by the end Laurie Strode knocks him around like he was part of the Three Stooges or even a robber in a Home Alone film and his threat level drops. And it took me years to finally warm up to the film and while it still would be low on my list it is not as bad of a watch for me now. And for fans of Kevin Williamson, the dialogue with the teen characters has his style and charm so you should really enjoy the film. I should say that some of the kills are really good in the film and they do bring back Dr. Sam Loomis well at least his voice as well as Nurse Marion Chambers so it does have the classic Halloween feel. So to sum it up while it’s not my favorite sequel and at first I really disliked it over the years I have lightened up and enjoy watching it from time to time.

Halloween H20’s version of Michael Myers to me is one of the least brutal in the series and by all accounts really does get beat up by his middle aged sister throughout it…but even if this version of Myers is flawed it’s still the iconic character and apart of his cinematic universe. Now it’s the part of this update that we take a look at the comic and this one was made for a Halloween convention that took place in California back in 2003 and it looks like the comic in part was made by Rehab54 a production company that made a documentary about Halloween. I want to thank Bell, Book And Comic for having this rare comic 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, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s have One Good Scare and read this Halloween comic.

Halloween: One Good Scare # 1 ***
Released in 2003     Cover Price None     Rehab54     # 1 of 1

Doctor David Loomis is the son of Sam Loomis the famed doctor of serial killer Michael Myers, and he is following in his dad’s footsteps and meets a new patient named Lindsey Wallace who survived Myer’s attack in 1978 and he is looking to help her as well as get answers about his father as she claims the Boogeyman is coming for her. David while treating other patients and Lindsey is digging deep into his father’s papers and learns that his father was obsessed with Michael Myers as he knew that he was evil and something just was not right. While walking the grounds with Lindsey she tells David about a night that took place a year ago were Michael Myers was in her home and all of this was after they found the body of Laurie Strode. David is finding himself getting in to deep with the thought and case of Michael Myers and this also has him building a bond with Lindsey, and when Halloween comes around she loses her mind and is medicated and David stays by her bedside, and promises her that he will not let anything happen to her. Michael Myers shows up to the Asylum and kills an orderly as well as two nurses before he sees his target Lindsey! David and Lindsey try and run away but find that they are trapped inside and while David hides in fear Michael Myers comes for and kills Lindsey and sends David a message that he needs to live in fear as some Halloween seen he will be the target of his rage.

This Michael Myers tale is dark as he after getting revenge on Lorie Strode he sets his sights on going after Lindsey Wallace, the young woman who survived his night of terror in 1978 and this time she is under the help of David Loomis, the son of Sam Loomis, who wants answers to why Myers has ruined and tormented so many lives over the decades. Lindsey Wallace is now grown up and has had a bad life that has been filled with drugs, bad behavior and going in and out of asylums all because of Michael Myers who seems to be her true nightmare and is now stalking her to finish what he started back in 1978, and she is write he really is after her and sadly she does not survive once he comes calling. And he of course kills her brutally with a knife and even leaves her body to be found like a sick piece of murder art. And it’s a shame as Lindsey’s life has been lived in fear all over a killer who is the one that ends up ending hers. Doctor David Loomis is trying to understand his father’s work and why he was so obsessed with one patient that ended up being a crazed killer and many people blamed for not making sure he never escaped the asylum that kept him, and while he acts like a hero he clearly is not as when he is faced with evil he freezes and hides like a coward and lets the woman he failed to protect die without even trying to help her. Michael Myers is as cold blooded as ever and torments and slaughters his target and also murders a few people that are in his way along the way, he seems to enjoy putting fear into the hearts of his victims and even likes to leave calling cards on who he will be coming for next. The comic has violence but is not the super bloody and does a ok job of capturing the slasher and mental games aspect of the film its based on. The cover is pretty cool and very eye catching for fans of the Halloween series as it showcases a mix of a jack-o lantern and Michael Myers mask. The interior art is done by Peter Fielding and while its good, its not my style at all and while Michael Myers and the feel is very dark I just like my art a little more lively, but keep in mind the art is good for it’s style. Over all this is an entreating Horror Comic read that does fit in with the film it’s based on and if you are a Halloween H20 fan I would say give this a read. Checkout the artwork below to see the style of Fielding used in this issue.

Halloween: One Good Scare # 1 was supposed to kick off a comic series that just never came about, and I am not sure why I would guess it came down to rights issues or just lack of interest from the creative team to continue on with it. And while it’s not the best Halloween comic, I would say that it was a very entertaining read and I am always game for a comic book that features Michael Myers. But for our next update, we will be leaving the world of Horror Movies behind and will be heading back to the Rotten Ink Arena to talk about a Wrestling Legend and one of my favorite Horror Themed wrestlers at that, the voodoo master Papa Shango will be the next update and will help lead us to our Halloween update! So until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for a spooky time in the squared circle.

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

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.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Eating Raoul (1982)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink! For this “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” we will be doing something a little different as the film and comic we will be talking about are not fully a horror film but a very dark comedy that has some major horror themes and is also one of those gems that I feel gets over looked and I am talking about the 1982 film Eating Raoul that was written and directed by Paul Bartel and would become a cult classic over the years. And Paul and the crew of this film did the right thing when they made a promo comic to go along with their move as I have always said Horror Films and Comic go hand and hand and comics are a great way to advertise for the film. With that said again I think it is time that we have dinner with The Blands and hope that it’s not human meat we are having for dinner!

Before we dive into the movie Eating Raoul we should first understand The Blands and their personalities and their ways of dealing death. Paul Bland is a highly intelligent man who loves wine and wants to open a restaurant with his nurse wife Mary who stumble into becoming killers by accident when they kill a swinger and learn that he has money that they need. Mary uses her sex appeal and good looks to draw in strange men and once she has them at the apartment Paul uses a frying pan to bash them on the head killing them, and yes even Mary used the pan to deal out death as well when she must. The two are super skilled and can only hit their victims once in the head with the pan to cause sudden death. They also have ways of getting away with the murders by hiding the bodies in the trash shoot as well as later given the bodies to lowlife conman named Raoul who sells the bodies, and yes even has helped them in a murder by using a neck tie to strangle the victim to death! Besides the Pan also at times things like a metal comb with a sharp end is used to stab into victims guts, and even electronics thrown into water tubs are used. And when in a tight spot to hide a body they have been known to eat the human meat! They are nice semi snobby people who are determined to open their dream restaurant and this also allows them to go under the radar, as no one would expect them to be killers. But while they are becoming skilled killers they are just human after all and run the risk of being caught and taken away to jail, and they can be killed by stabbing, shooting, burning, crushing and all other ways a normal human can die. Also Paul’s over protection of his wife can make him rush into things, and Mary’s want for sex can also cause some issues and drama. While not as psycho, unstoppable and brutal as other killers we have covered Paul and Mary Bland are still dangerous when they want to be and swing one mean frying pan.

So as you can see, Paul and Mary Bland are dangerous with a pan and are killers when money comes into play as nothing with stop them from getting their dream restaurant opened. But now let’s take a look at the film they are from the dark comedy horror flick Eating Raoul. Keep in mind that the film’s write up will be taken from our pals at IMDB, and after that I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on it. So with that, let’s pull up a seat at the Country Kitchen and see what is on the menu.

Eating Raoul (1982)

“When a Paul enters his apartment to find Mary fighting off a swinger who has gotten into the wrong apartment (and thinks that Mary is just playing hard to get) he hits the man with a frying pan, killing him. Their dreams of running a small restaurant seem to be in jeopardy until they decide to dispose of the body, keep the wallet, and to advertise for other sexually oriented visitors who are summarily killed, bagged, robbed and disposed of. This goes along quite well until one night a burglar named Raoul breaks in and cuts himself in for a piece of the action.”

Paul Bartel was a name in the horror and cult cinema scene throughout the 1970’s through the 2000’s and was a jack of all trades as he was a director, actor and writer in many films during his career including such films as “Private Parts (1972)”, “Death Race 2000 (1975)”, “Piranha (1978)”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979)”, “Killer Party (1986)”, “Chopping Mall (1986)” and “Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)”. And around the 1980’s he wanted to make a dark comedy film with a dash of horror and wrote a script with Richard Blackburn and had to raise the money that was put in by his parents and himself and they got around $230,000.00 raised. Paul Bartel, besides writing and co-producing the film, was also on board to direct and star in the film as one of the lead characters Paul Bland. Producer Anne Kimmel came on board as well, building the budget up to $350,000, and the film would be distributed by 20^th Century Fox. Other names brought into the cast included Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Ed Begley Jr., Buck Henry, John Paragon and Susan Saiger, I should also note that Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov ended up being casted together in many films after this film. When the film was done it was released in theaters on March 24, 1982 and brought in around $1.1 million dollars making the film profitable. The film was released the same year as other Cult and Horror Films as “Jekyll And Hyde…Together Again”, “Cat People”, “Beast Within”, “Amityville II”, “The Beastmaster”, “Halloween III”, “Death Wish II”, “The Thing”, “Creepshow”, “Blade Runner”, “Tron”, “Friday The 13^th Part III” and “Conan The Barbarian” to name a few. The film was also well received by critics and moviegoers alike and over the years has become a Cult Classic Film that is well loved by fans of Dark Comedies. And one thing also that I have to point out is that Paul Bartel hired underground comic artist Kim Deitch to make a single comic issue based on the film in order for promotion, and this is something that I think modern filmmakers should be doing to this day!

Eating Roaul was a film that I had always heard about and always wanted to watch, but never got the chance to sit down and watch it until I was much older. I think a part of me put it off due to the fact it was not 100% Horror and was a Dark Comedy and it just always seemed to fall down my to be watched list because of this and it’s a shame as I really enjoyed the film lots and I think it has just the right amount of humor and horror killer elements blended together to make it just work as a whole. The writing and acting by Paul Bartel, who was prefect as Paul, and actress Mary Woronov was the right choice as Mary as she is sexy and also just so good at playing the role of a housewife who has to turn sex object. Growing up I do remember that this movie use to play all the time on Cinemax and I also seem to remember that my parents watched it as I seem to remember them talking about it with my Mom not liking it. I also remember when I worked for Blockbuster Video people renting the film out on VHS and I always saying to myself I should use one of my free rentals to check it out. To sum it up I sadly do not have any past memories of seeing the film as I waited way to long to see it and now that I have I really enjoy it.

So now that we have talked about Paul and Mary Bland as well as the film Eating Raoul, I think we should dive into the promo comic about it and see what it has in store for us. I first want to thank a seller on Ebay for having this comic in stock and making this update possible, and then 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. I am very much looking forward to reading this comic as it will be a first time read for me and after seeing the film and liking it I want to see if the comic holds the same magic, so let’s dive in and see.

Eating Raoul # 1 ***
Released in 1982     Cover Price $2.00     Mercury Films     # 1 of 1

Paul Bland is working at a liquor store and watches as his boss shoots a robber in the head killing him and then start yelling at Paul for the type of wine he ordered. Meanwhile his wife Marry is working at he job as a nurse and is sexually harassed by a patient who is really scuzzy. After their shifts are over the two drive home and talk about the idea they have of opening a restaurant that Mary would like to call “Paul And Mary’s Country Kitchen”. As the arrive home they get stuck on the elevator with a bunch of people who are heading to a swingers party that is happing in their apartment building. Once inside Paul alerts Mary that he has lost his job just as they have a knock at the door and busting in is a man who thinks he is at the swinger party, and when he goes after Mary he is punched in the stomach and gets sick and almost drowns in the Bland’s toilet! Paul walks him to the right apartment and is surrounded by people making out and he himself is trapped by Doris The Dominatrix, and while this happens the creepy man returns to Mary and tries to attack her but he is brought down by the returning Paul with a frying pan! Worse is James their relator shows up as they have a dead body in the kitchen that they latter drop down the trash suet, and James has a place for their dream restaurant but they need $20 grand as a down payment in order to get the spot! And after Paul gets ripped off selling some of his wine from his collection and Mary does not get a bank loan approved they find that killing swingers might be the way to get the money after a creepy patient from the hospital follows her hope and they kill him with the pan! Between the first two murders they have already made over a grand from looting the wallets. And that’s when the talk to Doris and come up with a scam to lure people in and take their money after they kill them with the pan, but they are discovered by Raoul a man who changed the locks on their apartment door but really is a thief and they make a deal that they Blands keep the money and he will take the bodies and sell them to a dog food company and make extra money! One night Mary is attacked by a late customer as Paul has left to get them dinner and its Raoul who saves her, and before Paul gets back Mary and Raoul smoke a drug and end up having sex, and do it again the next day at her work. Paul while leaving a shop is almost ran over by a car that was being driven by a masking wearing Raoul and Paul gets revenge by given in saltpeter via Doris acting as a nurse so that he could not make love. But bad news comes when the place for their restaurant has another offer and they need $25 grand by Friday to get it! So Mary and Paul have an idea and they go to a swinger party and electrocute everyone there when they get into a hot tub and steal the money as well as sell all the cars. Once back home Raoul with a gun is waiting as he wants to run away with Mary and kill Paul, but Raoul is the one killed with the pan and is later survived as dinner to James as they sign the papers and the restaurant is theirs!

This comic is lots of fun and does a good job of capturing the characters and the dark humor of the film on its pages. The story follows the films pretty close and is about a couple who kill swingers and perverts with a pan in order to get their money to buy a home that they want to turn into a country restaurant and along the way they meet a sleazy thief who helps them but also gets a crush on Mary and ends up becoming dinner one night. Mary and Paul Bland are two people who live a simple life and work hard and have a dream to open that restaurant together and stumble on being serial killers by accident and when they learn that they can make quick money and ride the world of creepy sex perverts they get into their kills as it almost becomes just a normal job for them. And even though they are killers they enjoy wine, food and good talks and by all accounts are your normal boring married couple. Raoul is a scumbag who is always working a con and trying to get money fast and easy, and he also sets his sites on another mans wife and will do anything to get the husband out of the picture so he can have her. But because he is so slimy this is what leads to his head being bashed and his body being used for an important dinner meeting. James and Doris are around and add that extra background characters to the Bland’s life that makes their journey into killing a little more interesting. The comic does add way more nudity and does cut out characters and kills like the Bank Manger and lots of the kills in the comic are fast paced and are not bloody. The dark humor is there are some parts of the comic or so over the top that I found myself chuckling a few times. The cover is odd and yet great and eye catching and the interior art by Kim Deitch and while the characters don’t look like the actors some how his art does capture their personality very well. This comic is by no means a blood bath, but is a great read for fans of Horror themed comics based on films. Checkout the artwork below to see the style used by Deitch in this comic, and if you are a fan of the film track down a copy as its lots of fun.

Eating Raoul is a great Dark Comedy Film that has Horror elements to it that I feel people should checkout as while the humor is very dray in spots it just some how works so well and I truly think that it has the perfect combo of a good script and fantastic actors that make it as good as it is. While the comic is most ways follows the film the changes do make the comic fly by and in a faster pace to the murders and delivers a highly entertaining read. But with that I think its time that we leave Paul and Mary’s Country Kitchen as our next update will take us to the world of Silent Cinema as we will be chatting about the 1925 Sci-Fi with a dash of Horror classic The Lost World! So until next time read a Horror Comic or two, watch a Horror Movie or three and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as we have tickets ready and the Rotten Ink Cinema doors will be open to watch some dinosaurs running wild.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Mummy Returns (2001)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and this Blogs 10 Year Anniversary and this update will be a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update and is one that I have been thinking about doing for a very long tome and that’s The Mummy’s Return and the comic book from Chaos Comics that goes along with it called “Valley Of The Gods”! The Mummy Returns was the sequel to the super popular 1999 Action Horror Film The Mummy that spawned a franchise as well as a spin off franchise and even got not only the comic book treatment but also the video game kind. So with that lets head into the world of The Mummy Returns and talk about this Action Horror Film that is still to this day loved by its fans, so lets see what this Mummy has in for us in scares as well as ways to deal death.

Let’s start off by taking a look at Imhotep the supernatural Mummy Priest from this film series. Imhotep was a priest who was mummified and entombed alive after he had fallen in love with the Queen that lead to the murder of the King. Once brought back to life by an Egyptian Cult he is as mean and angry as ever. Imhotep has many powers that can deal death to humans with first being that he has an army of undead guards as well as cult members who will do his bidding and have no issues taking a life using knives, swords, staffs and even guns. Imhotep can also control the elements around him causing sand to bend and act to his will as well as water and these powers can cause serious damage to a person as they could drown or even be ripped to shreds by both. Imhotep also eats the life force from his enemies and this causes his undead skin to come back alive and as well can turn him human again. His rotting appearance as well is a great tool in his favor as is strikes fear and shock into the hearts of those who see him and leave them open for his attack. Imhotep is also very skilled in fighting in both hand and weapon and is very tricky causing him to be a foe one would not want to face. He is also a lair and will use false promises as well as lies to enemies to get things in his favor. But while Imhotep is powerful he does have weaknesses as when he is made flesh and blood again he can be killed like any other normal man, he also even as the undead Mummy can be killed via the spirits of the dead. Imhotep also has a very big ego that can lead him into being defeated and make mistakes. Say what you will but Imhotep is a very dangerous and an evil force of nature that ranks up there when it comes to dealing death to mortals.

So now that we have talked about Imhotep, we should talk about the second film in the remake series. So the films write up will be taking from our friends at IMDB and I will write a little about the films production as well as my thoughts of the film. So let’s get to The Mummy Returns and chat about this 2001 Adventure Horror Film with a twist of Comedy.

The Mummy Returns (2001)

“Many years ago, in Ancient Egypt, the Scorpion King led a menacing army, but when he sold his soul to Anubis, he was erased from history. Now he is only a myth…or is he? Rick and Evelyn O’Connell are still discovering new artifacts, along with their 8-year-old son Alex. They discover the Bracelet of Anubis. But someone else is after the bracelet. High Priest Imhotep has been brought back from the dead once again and wants the bracelet, to control the Scorpion King’s army. That’s not the only problem. Imhotep now has Alex and with the bracelet attached to him, doesn’t have long to live.”

Universal was ridding high when the 1999 remake to the 1932 monster film The Mummy did well at the box office as well as was loved by critics and fans causing them to want to rush a sequel to the silver screen while people were still very much into the adventure themed horror film and it was fresh in their minds so with Stephen Sommers returning to write and direct the film they were able to get the original cast Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Patricia Velasquez, Oded Fehr and Arnold Vosloo to comeback for the sequel and new names like Freddie Boath, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Alun Armstrong and more joined the cast. The production was your normal big production and was highly stressful and lots of stunts and later effects had to be added to make the film have that Horror Adventure feel that made the first film special. Some issues during production were The Rock getting food poisoning and the most serious being that Brendan Fraser suffered several injuries that plagued him for years. Once done Alan Silvestri was brought in to score the film and did a great job as his work helps bring the film alive. The film was released on May 4, 2001 and was meet with mix reviews from critics and was looked at more fondly by fans. The film would bring in $433,013,274.00 worldwide and was the # 6 grossing film at the US Box Office that year. The year it was released it beat out other Horror and Sci-Fi films like Jurassic Park III, Planet Of The Apes, Hannibal, The Others, Along Came A Spider, Scary Movie 2, Thir13en Ghosts, Jeepers Creepers, From Hell, Ghost Of Mars and Bones to name a few. The film would be released on VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital over the years and remains a popular film for fans of the Horror Adventure Film genre.

The Mummy Returns was a film that when released I judged way to hard as like the first film I felt that they took the Horror out of a classic Universal Monster and I was in full swing of protesting the film and not seeing it and even refused to for a very long while, and the crazy part is I went to the theater and seen “The Scorpion King” from 2002 a spin-off from Mummy Returns with my brother Bryan and our friend Andy Copp. Over the years I can remember seeing bits and pieces of the film at friends houses as they would pop in the VHS and DVD at parties and get togethers and I never paid it any attention, as I was still being a royal classic monster snob. And let’s be honest when already judging the film and seeing that cheesy CGI version of The Scorpion King from the film it was easy to dismiss the film as being bad. I worked at Blockbuster Video at the time as well and customers and my fellow employees when it was released on home media tried to get me to watch it, and I refused as again I was being a snob. It took many, many years before I truly gave the film a chance as well as the other films in the series and I have to say that I was foolish for judging these films so harsh as they are fun, fantastic films that while very different from the classic Universal The Mummy series they added their own touch and delivered films that brought some chills, laughs and high adventure. And for the time you have think the digital effects where considered good and while dated now they were state of the art back then. The film was super well casted and this also was the films that introduced me to actress Rachel Weisz who could be one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood to this day. To sum it up Mummy Returns is a great sequel to a great Adventure Horror film series that I was wrong about for many years and am glad that I gave it a chance, as it really is a film I enjoy watching.

So with that brief history lesson of The Mummy Returns and the killing ways of Imhotep we should now get to the comic review that was made possible by Bell, Book And Comic who had the comic in stock. I also would 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 with that lets head out with the O’Connell’s and dodge the wrath of The Mummy!

Mummy: Valley Of The Gods # 1  *1/2
Released in 2001     Cover Price $2.99     Chaos!    # 1 of 1

Professor Winter and his crew are in a tomb and are being lead by Ardeth Bay as they have already sent the Orb Of Destiny a relic to Rick and Evelyn O’Connell and that was a big mistake as they open a tomb evil soul eating animal spirits escape and they all have to run for their lives, but some of the crew are not that lucky and meet their fates. Meanwhile Rick is having a nightmare about the Scorpion King killing Evelyn when the phone rings and its Professor Winter asking them to come to Egypt and to please bring the Orb back with them. Once our heroes get back to Egypt they are greeted by Jonathan who is Evelyn’s brother, and they have dinner and catch up on what has been going on in their lives and the next morning they fly to the dig site location. And it comes out that Evelyn use to have a big crush on Professor Winter and this makes Rick a little uncomfortable on learning this but trusts in the love he and his wife have for each other. Once inside the tomb our team of Rick, Evelyn, Winter, Jonathan and Ardeth Bay are attacked by the weird spirit animals again and they are forced to try and shoot them to save their lives, but bullets are not working! Finally Rick picks up a stone tablet and is about to throw it at the spirits when the tablet turns out to be a map that sends the spirits packing as it has magical powers. The map says that it leads to a unknown place called the Valley Of The Gods and they all rush to the location only to find sand and two giant undead warriors who want them all dead.

I first need to say that this comic does not capture the characters nor the vibe of the films its based on at all and feels like a very generic story with very generic characters as Rick & Evelyn in this comic act nothing like they should, and there is barely any adventure or horror elements taking place in this first issue that does a very bad job of wanting readers to return for a second issue that never came, and I am guessing it never came due to the fact this first issue sold so poorly via word of mouth. The plot is about the Orb Of Destiny and a hidden Valley that is said to be the place of Gods and the O’Connell’s go to find what treasures and history awaits them, but instead find two angry undead giants and spirits of animals that eat souls. Rick O’Connell is our hero who is plagued with nightmares about his wife being killed, is worried about his wives old crush and somehow falls backwards into being the one who sends the spirits away as well as find a hidden map. Over all Rick is just very basic in being a hero and he lacks the charm and goofy nature the character has in the films. Evelyn is a strong willed woman who knows she can do whatever her husband can do, but also her character is all wrong as is her brother Jonathans and Ardeth Bay’s as they all just seem off and bland. Professor Winter is a man who clearly does not care about safety of his crew as he really just wants to uncover what the tombs have in treasures and if evil spirits attack its ok as long as he uncovers stuff, he also is very flirty with Evelyn and he knows she is married. The bad guys of the comic are the evil animal spirits that attack a person’s soul and two undead giants who do nothing as they only show up on the last page. The comic has zero blood, only one death and packs very little spooky moments and the worse sin zero appearances by Imhotep but we are treated to the Scorpion King…yeah. The cover is ok and is eye catching for the time it was released, and the interior art by Matt Broome and is ok but also does not look like the actors that play the characters in the film with them all really looking like generic muscle heroes from say a comic series like Gen 13 and has a pure 90’s look in their designs. Over all this is a very lackluster Adventure Horror Comic that does a very poor job of capturing the mood and feel of the films, and with that checkout the art below to see the style of Broome.

The Mummy: Valley Of The Gods was a comic series that was supposed to last a total of three issues and was cancelled after only one as if truly failed the readers as well as to capture the eye of fans of The Mummy Return. And I have to say while this is not one of the better comics he have read and reviewed on a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” it is one you should checkout yourself and see what you think. Well for the next update we are leaving the Tombs of Egypt and will be heading to a farm as we chat about U.S. Acres a very cool comic strip by Jim Davis. So until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. And hope you are ready to spend some time with Orson and his friends down on the farm like I am.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. For another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update and for this one I will be taking a look at the battle of the worlds two most popular Kaiju those being Godzilla and King Kong and their battle that took place in 2021 in the theaters thanks to Legendary Pictures, and like all good monster movies this film spawned not one but two comic graphic novels to help promote the film and each one showcased the individual monsters before they even meet up on the silver screen. And before we get into this update I want you to think about which of these Giant Monsters is your favorite now and growing up even, as truly here in America these two are the Titans that made the biggest impact in not only movies but culture and they still have massive loyal followings and both have made impacts worldwide. So with that let’s take a look at Godzilla vs. Kong and the two graphic novels this film spawned.

So to start this off right lets take a look at both Godzilla and King Kong and their styles of battle and killing! And we will start off first with Godzilla who stands at 393 feet tall and weighs over 90,000 tons and is a massive destruction Kaiju who lets nothing stand in his way. He is very aggressive as he wants to be the Alpha Titan and will attack any creature or human base that stands in his way of ruling as if he views you as a threat he will kill. Godzilla is massive in size and can crush people and things under his feet, his massive tail can also kill and destroy people and can be used as a weapon against other Kaiju’s that he comes across. Godzilla’s look also is very scary and this can freeze people in fear and this could lead to their deaths. While Godzilla don’t target humans for the most part those who are in his way learn that he can deal them the death card. Godzila also has super powerful atomic breath that can burn through the Earth, can level buildings and can burn humans to bits as well as can cause serious damage to fellow Giant Monsters that get into his way. Godzilla will also use his teeth and claws to attack and they both as well can cause some big damage to his fellow monsters. He can be fast on land when in a rage, but is always super fast in the water swimming. Godzilla is also smart but one of his weakness is that he is driven by instinct and as well ego as he wants to be the top Alpha among Kaiju and will kill any other creature that gets in his way and opposes his rule. But because of this drive he also heads straight into battle and will not stop until he or the other creature is dead. Godzilla can be hurt as well by atomic blasts, giant battle axes as well as attacks from other Giant Monsters. Godzilla does not have much weakness and this is why many call him King Of The Monsters.

King Kong while more friendly to mankind still is a Kaiju and can deal death to those that cross him or those he cares about. Kong is super powerful as he can use his strength to overpower his fellow Kaiju as well as can smash human war machines like planes. And do to his size standing 335 feet and weighs around 50,000 tons and this size alone makes him a wrecking machine if he chooses to be. Kong’s look that is a massive gorilla can also strike fear in the hearts of humans as they fear that he could smash them with his feet, hands and his razor sharp teeth is a frightful sight as Kong lets out his massive roar. Kong is super fast and moves much faster then Kaiju like Godzilla, and Kong is also very smart and can use his environment to his advantage. Kong also uses weapons wither it’s something like a tree or his trusty battle-axe that he finds in Middle Earth he is truly a force of nature that can deal death to humans and Kaiju if he chooses. He is an Alpha when it comes to Kaiju and he knows that he really is a King among them. But while Kong is massive he does have some weaknesses like that fact he is caring towards humans he bonds with, he can be hurt via atomic breath, he can be cut by fellow Kaiju’s teeth and claws and because he has normal skin he can be hurt badly by this. Kong also can be sent into a rage as he is a Alpha and that means he does have an ego that can lead him into fights that he might not win if not planned out. Kong also can hold his breath for a while but can be drowned and smothered, as he does need air in his lungs to survive. While Kong has some weakness it’s a matter of luck in order of getting the best of him and he truly is one of the most powerful Kaiju’s due to his smarts, strength and speed.

As you can see both Godzilla and Kong as super dangerous if they want to be to humans, but to be honest they both in the Legendary Monsterverse series acts as protectors to humans and only kill them when attacked or protecting…and well by accident. But as you can see when it comes to other Kaiju’s they can and will kill them to be the Alpha and to be the protectors that their instincts tell them to be. Well I think its time to take a look at the film that pitted these two against each other from 2021 and as always the films write up will be taken from our pals at IMDB and after that I will write about the films production as well as my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s chat about Godzilla vs. Kong an epic Kaiju film for the ages.

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

“Legends collide as Godzilla and Kong, the two most powerful forces of nature, clash on the big screen in a spectacular battle for the ages. As a squadron embarks on a perilous mission into fantastic uncharted terrain, unearthing clues to the Titans’ very origins and mankind’s survival, a conspiracy threatens to wipe the creatures, both good and bad, from the face of the earth forever.”

Godzilla vs. Kong had seeds planted in 2015 when Legendary Pictures was able to get Universal to let Warner Brothers release the King Kong reboot that they were working on as they had already done Godzilla with WB in 2014 and fans knew that Kong would be joining the planned Monsterverse and finally they announced that yes a Godzilla vs. Kong film would be in the works after a few films would be released based on them both in order to build up the showdown. And this caused Kaiju fans to be cheering so loud for this giant monster showdown, but they were told it would not come out until 2020…so a wait was in store for us all as they confirmed this in late 2015. The next major news came in 2017 when they hired Adam Wingard to direct the film and he was a good choice as he already had films “A Horrible Way To Die (2010)”, “You’re Next (2011)”, “Blair Witch (2016)” and “Death Note (2017)” under his belt and at one point he was even selected by Peter Jackson to be the director of his never made sequel to the 2005 King Kong remake. Next they started working on the script and after many ideas and rewrites it was Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein who got the job based on the stories of Michael Dougherty, Terry Rossio and Zach Sheilds and they all added elements from the past three films in the shared universe. And in 2017 through 2018 they started also casting parts in the film with Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler coming back in their roles and names like Julian Dennison, Alexander Skarsgard, Rebecca Hall, Eiza Gonzalez and Brian Tyree Henry among others all getting roles in key parts. The film began filming on November 12, 2018 and took place in Hawaii and Australia and was your normal big budget film shoot with reshoots coming later to even add and help to the story. And from there the film had the visual effects added by a massive team-up from companies Moving Pictures Company, Scanline VFX and Weta Digital and this had to be done by so many companies as Warner Brothers really wanted to release the film in 2020 like they first promised. And then the film was scored by Tom Holkenborg who did a fantastic job of adding new sounds to already iconic songs in some pieces and his new songs are fantastic. The film had big promotion around it and posters were shown and Comic Con even got to see a clip and the buzz around the film was at a fever pitch as fans wanted to see it bad, and when pictures of the toys by Playmates based on the film leaked on line it was on as new character where shown and fans started wondering what these new Kaiju were. But sadly Godzilla vs. Kong was not released in 2020 due to the pandemic and movie theaters world wide had to shut down in order to slow down the virus. And the film was pushed to 2021 and even then people thought that it might not even be release until 2022! But the film did make it to the theaters on March 31, 2021 and even with the annoying pandemic still being around it did really well at the Box Office, but on the same day released in theaters Warner Brothers and there parent company AT&T also decided to put the film on their terrible streaming service HBO Max and this was cool for people who was scared to go to theaters due to the virus and was understandable at the time. The film did $467,863,133.00 worldwide via its theater run and was # 2 for the year at the Box Office in America and was released alongside other films like “The Conjuring: Devil Made Me Do It”, “The Suicide Squad”, “Candyman”, “Mortal Kombat”, “Snake Eyes”, “The Green Knight”, “Chaos Walking” and many more. The film was pretty well loved by both critics and fans and was the first big movie for theaters once they were able to open once more. And once on home media I of course bought it and have watched a couple of times sense its release.

Godzilla vs. Kong was one of the films of 2021 that I was most looking forward to as it was one that my gal Juliet and I would talk about all the time as well as many of my friends as we all debated and took sides on who they wanted to win the big fight! And our household was split as Juliet was team Godzilla and I was team Kong and even before the films release I ordered us both shirts that featured the Kaiju we were cheering for, and yes, we wore them when we went and seen the film at a Cinemark Theater. I invited many of my friends as well to watch the film and it was a blast seeing it in the theater and all of us had a great time eating popcorn, snacks and having some drinks all the while watching the monsters battle on the silver screen for our entertainment. And while Kong should have won the fight I enjoyed the heck out of the film and that’s why it ranked #2 on my Matt Goes To The Movies 2021 update in the Horror section. The film made me feel like a kid again in the theater as watching two of cinemas biggest iconic giant monsters fighting on the screen was something very magical and truly was a film that needed to be seen in theaters and not at home via streaming! And it was great as everyone of my friends who came with me to watch the film enjoyed the hell out of it and the best part really being is how split we all were on who should have won, and even in the end when the winner was shown no one was rubbing it in the other sides face. The effects of the film were great and I think that Legendary Pictures has done a great job of showing the age progression of both Titans in each film and have done a fantastic job of also giving them personality and growth over the films that make up the Monsterverse. The thing that really worked in the film is that several times Kong and Godzilla fight and after each battle one of the Titans has the upper hand given fans of each of them something to cheer and feel good about and making neither look weak. I am glad that Legendary Pictures was able to get Toho, Warner Brothers and Universal Pictures to come together and allow this and the other films in the series to be made as they truly are “Event” films that are super enjoyable to watch in the theater and with friends. I hope that this is not the last we see of Godzilla or Kong as both have many more battles to be had in the Monsterverse. To sum it up I really enjoyed Godzilla vs. Kong and while in my opinion the wrong Kaiju won the battle it took the two to really bring down the threat that was a giant tech company and their Mecha monster.

As you long time readers know, both Godzilla and King Kong are big time favorites here at Rotten Ink as both are characters I grew up watching and will always be covered here and with Legendary Pictures and Legendary Comics making new media about both of them this is great news as they will always be covered here. And I want to thank Amazon for having both of these graphic novels in stock and making this update possible. I want to also 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 with that, let’s head to the world of Titans and see who has the better graphic novel!

Godzilla: Dominion # 1  **1/2
Released in 2021     Cover Price $16.99    Legendary     # 1 of 1

Godzilla is trying to protect his territory and find a new home and comes across the Titan Scylla who has been driven mad with hunger and has set her sights on a bomb at the bottom of the ocean and Godzilla knows that if the bomb goes off it will hurt the Earth as well as people and fights Scylla and makes her retreat into the ocean. Godzilla next appears to break up a fight between Amhuluk and Behemoth as they two are fighting over territory as well as are both hungry and as Amhuluk takes down Behemoth with plans on eating him Godzilla steps in and breaks up this could be feast and Amhuluk and Behemoth go their separate ways. Godzilla returns to the ocean and lets a strong current carry him as he rests and remembers back to a time long ago before man took over the world, and he then is attacked by meat eating giant fish that he ends up using his atomic breath and fries them. And as he continues his quest to find a new home Godzilla even remembers back to Mothra giving her life for his and that is when he runs into the Titan Na Kika as well as Warships and Helicopters that are attacking him once he surfaces, after defeating the war machines he once more finds a place to rest and recharges. Godzilla then finds his new home and must fight the Titan Tiamat in order to claim it and after a big fight Tiamat bows down and leaves Godzilla deep in his thoughts that is all about his real rival the one known as Kong.

Godzilla Dominion is a fun read and has some cool fights as well as features some other Titans that make up the Monsterverse. The Idea of this basically being a day in the life of Godzilla as he tries to find a new home is kind of a fun concept, but it is also flawed. While I really do want to stress that it’s a fun read and fans of Kaiju or should I say Titans will really enjoy all the monster fights as well as seeing many of the ones we are briefly introduced to in the 2019 film “Godzilla King Of The Monsters”, but the downside is that the comic feels like just scenes put together and at times it feels slightly underwhelming and also disjointed in spots. But while flawed in my opinion the comic still is a fun time if you love monster fights. Godzilla in this graphic novel is very much trying to be a protector to Earth as well as King of the monsters as he is trying to get them to behave as well as understands that their food source and territories are over lapping causing them to be at odds with each other. He also shows that he is a Titan who is always thinking as his past as well as the past of his bloodline is always on his mind and his hatred for Kong and his race is also boiling in his blood. The GN also has many other Titans with the coolest one for me to see being Behemoth the giant wooly mammoth with the long tusks, even though he looses a fight with a fellow Titan and almost becomes a meal, he still is my favorite of the other original Titans shown in this comic. I also like that this really feeds into the hatred that Godzilla has for Kong and it really does have to do with the history of war between the two races. The cover is really cool and has artwork by Art Adams and showcases Godzilla in all his glory. The interior art by Drew Johnson is really good and I love the way he draws all the Titans and also the way he draws battles is pretty interesting and well done. Over all this is a good read if you are a Godzilla fan and I cannot wait to see what the Kong graphic novel has in store for me. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Drew.

So now that we see what Godzilla has brought to the table in this Graphic Novel showdown lets head to Skull Island and see what Kong has in response.

Kingdom Kong # 1  ***
Released in 2021     Cover Price $16.99   Legendary     # 1 of 1

Monarch have called in their top pilots and are sending them to Skull Island on a secret mission as they might have found a new entrance to the Hollow Earth and they need a team to go in and secure the area so that scientist can enter and study the believed birth place to all the Titans. Audrey Burns a woman with a past dealing with Titans is selected to lead the group and they all run drills on Skull Island to get ready for the mission. Meanwhile Kong is around and a little annoyed by the new group of humans but still protects them from the likes of a Spirit Tiger that he ends up breaking the neck of. Worse a massive storm is heading the way of Skull Island and if it reaches the island it could cause death of many of the species that live on the island including the tribe of humans. The scientists also are starting to wonder if Kong is out growing Skull Island as he seems to be growing to large for the land to supply him with enough of a food source among other issues. When the drilling team starts to uncover the cave that could be the vortex to lead to Hollow Earth they soon find out that they have all made a big mistake as the winged Titan Camazotz is what was in the hole and he wants to challenge to make Earth his Kingdom! Meanwhile Captain Audrey and her men have a moment to chat about how Titans have effected all of their lives before they are sent out to check on the drilling crew that has went silent…and to make things worse the massive storm is now at Skull Island! Kong fights off Camazotz as Burns and her team enter the fight to help Kong against the Titan and his smaller minions while other get the drilling team out and safe. After Burns uses her airplane to hit Camazotz with a sonic boom, Kong finishes the beast off with a hit that crushes his skull and kills the evil creature. Once the battle is over Burns takes a leave to visit her best friend who was hurt in a Titan attack, the Skull Island Hollow Earth portal is closed as its unstable, Dr. Ilene Andrews takes over as head scientist watching over Skull Island and Kong and Kong himself gets fired up when he thinks about his bloodline’s past and knows Godzilla is out in the world.

Kingdom Kong feels more like your traditional Kaiju comic and follows humans on a mission as well as the featured giant monster doing what they do best and that’s fight, protect and be a giant scary creature in the eyes of humans. And in this comic Kong is as awesome as ever as he tries to protect life but also has no regrets on taking lives of threats to him or what he views as those in need of his help. The way he snaps the neck of the Spirit Tiger shows that Kong does not mess around, and the fact he fights off another Alpha Titan shows that he is not one to turn away from a fight. The main evil Titan in this issue is the winged terror called Camazotz who hides in the dark and wants to make the planet Earth his kingdom and also feels that by beating Kong he as well will become a Alpha Titan, and while he is a threat to Kong he ends up dead thanks to a crushed skull! The human parts of the story do drag a little mostly in the Scientist stuff, with Captain Burns and her crew being a little more interesting due to their PTSD over Kaiju attacks they faced in the past. The Titan fights are great and while at times in some panels the fights do loose a little of the impact as the art sometimes is mudded up with other elements. It was cool to see characters from the film make appearances like Dr. Ilene Andrews, Jia and we even see Dr. David Lind the brother of Nathan Lind who dies trying to enter the Hollow Earth as spoke about in the film. The cover is great and eye catching as its Art Adams artwork again and his stuff always looks amazing. The interior artwork is done by Zed and is solid stuff and I love the way he drew Kong as he captures the Titan very well. Over all this is a really good comic that captures that magic of Kong and tells a pretty interesting story that leads into the events of the film pretty well and also builds the hatred that Kong has for Godzilla. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Zed used in this comic.

So as you can see, while Godzilla might have won the battle in the film Kong won the showdown between the two Titans in the world of Graphic Novels as his was just a better read and had a more solid plot that did not have that random scenes thrown together feel like Godzilla’s did. But I do feel that if you are a fan of either or both of these classic giant movie monsters you should give these graphic novels a read for sure as both are entertaining in their own ways and are a great lead in to the epic film and act as a fill in for the gap that takes place between the film series. But with that we have all survived another Kaiju attack here at Rotten Ink and our next update will take us all to a place to relax around a camp fire enjoying a bowl of chili and watching a classic western film released by Alpha Video and the first of our new Wild West Round Up update theme. So until next time read a comic or three, watch a Kaiju film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you on the ranch for a War Of The Range!

From Horror Manga To Horror Film: Tomie (1998)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. For this update we will be taking a look at a manga that spawned one of my all time favorites Japanese horror film series, and a manga that has been reprinted many times for readers over the years to enjoy and be not only spooked by, but also grossed out by! The film and manga I am talking about is Tomie, a film series that has truly creeped out readers and viewers since the late 80’s and still does to this day for those who uncover it. And this is one that I have been looking forward to covering for a very long time as it’s one that I think all fans of horror manga and Japanese horror should read and watch. So it’s time for us to get really spooky and creepy as we talk about Tomie in this From Horror Manga To Horror Film update!

Let’s start off by talking about Tomie Kawakami and her powers of killing and warping the lives of those she enters. Tomie in appearance is a cute young lady who uses her charming good looks to seduce and give her attended victim comfortm, letting her get close to them. But when the evil side of Tomie is coming out, her appearance changes in the way she smiles as well as her eyes change a creepy yellow demonic color causing those who see her to be frightened. She has the power to make men fall in love with her and become obsessed with her as she flirts her way into their hearts and brains. Once Tomie has you, she drives you to do terrible things like murder and will also force you into killing her as she can clone and regenerate herself! So if you remove Tomie’s head, her body will grow back, if you chop Tomie up, she will grow back as well as clone herself into more versions of herself from the other pieces and blood. Her hair can also go inside the bodies of her victims and clone itself and destroy the organs of the person before busting out of them. Tomie gets joy knowing that she is immortal and can live on forever and takes pleasure in killing, causing pain and ruining people’s life. She loves driving them mad and forcing them to kill her, themselves or even others. Tomie is pretty much unstoppable because if you kill her, she will return again and again so knives, guns and chainsaws are useless. The only way that she can be stopped or at least rumored to be stopped is by setting her on fire and having every part of her burn up, every single piece because if even a skin cell survives, she will return. So while she does not look like it, Tomie is one of the most dangerous and evil killers we have ever looked at here on a From Horror Comic To Horror Movie update!

As you can see, the demon known as Tomie Kawakami is dangerous and will not only take your life but can also take you soul as she will drive you to murder. But now that we have spoken about Tomie herself, let’s talk about the film she inspired! I want to remind you that I will be taking the film’s plot from our friends at IMDB and then will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts about the film. So if you are ready, let’s dive deep into the evil mind of Tomie.

Tomie (1998)

“A traumatized young woman is trying to recover her memories with the help of a psychiatrist. During her hypnosis sessions, she repeats the name “Tomie” but is unable to recall where she knows it from.”

Tomie started out as a manga that was created by the mastermind of creepy horror Junji Ito back in 1987 and would be long running and would scare readers up until 2000 when its original run would come to an end. In 1998, filmmaker Ataru Oikawa decided to direct and write a film based on the manga that he would call a “fairy tale in bad taste” and would work alongside creator Ito in doing this spooky film right as he had his own vision of what Tomie could be that included taking out the graphic violence and adding more of a spooky teen drama feel. He also decided that he was not going to adapt the manga directly and would rather make it almost a sequel to the events that took place on the pages. When casting took place names like Mami Nakamura, Yoriko Douguchi, Tomorowo Taguchi were tapped to play key parts and actress Miho Kanno was hired to play Tomie Kawakami direct by Junji Ito who thought she had the look he wanted for the character on the big screen. The film went into production and was your standard lower budget shoot and was released in theaters on October 6, 1998 and was met with pretty good reviews as well as a lower decent box office in Japan. It would make its way to America first on the grey market via bootleg VHS and later would get a legit DVD release around 2004 and this allowed American horror fans to become a fan of the film. The film would go on to have about eight sequels and would gain a major cult following. The year Tomie was released in Japan, it was joined by such films as Ringu, Spiral and Tumbling Doll Of Flesh. I also would like to say that actress Miho Kanno only played Tomie once but did take a role in another horror film called Saimin (The Hypnotist) that was released in 1999.

I first saw Tomie when it was released on DVD in 2004. I was working at Blockbuster Video at the time and bought it from one of our used sales bins. At the time of the release (at least in my circle) Japanese horror was very big and my friends like Rick Martin and Andy Copp were all about them. So I had seen so many Japanese horror films leading up to watching the film, and this made me want to see Tomie when it was there right in front of me. I can remember I also bought a bag of Tom’s Hot Fries and a bottle of Coke and got home after work and watched the film in my room late at night. I had all the lights off, and it was late so the stars and moon was out. The glow of the TV filled the darkness and the film began, and I was glued to the film from start to finish and by the time the film ended I was hooked and became a major fan. I told all my friends who were into horror to check it out and every time a sequel was released I was in line to buy it! Miho Kanno who played Tomie was fantastic and her evil grin alone could chill one’s blood. I also loved the odd nature of the film’s plot as Tomie, no matter how she is killed and no matter how many times, keeps coming back and repeating her ways of driving people to kill. I also liked the weirdness of the pieces of the puzzle as to what is going on really falling into place all out of order and randomly as it kept me on my toes. For me the big four 90’s Japanese horror series are Godzilla, Ringu, Ju-On and Tomie, all of them are fantastic in their own ways and I feel Tomie is the one that is often overlooked and it’s a shame as it’s a fantastic film series that if you like the style of Japanese horror you should check out!

Tomie is a sinister character who invokes violence and murder in those whose lives she enters, and that’s what makes her film series so interesting as no matter what you do, you can never get away from her! And now it’s time for us to take a look at a comic book version of the manga, one that was given away at Halloween Comic Fest in 2016 to get readers hooked and make them want to buy the massive graphic novel that Viz Comics was gearing up to release. The comic is 32 pages of the story, and I chose this as I found it to be an interesting release and will give us only a taste and I hope will also make it so that you my readers will want to check out the manga as well as the film. I want to thank Gotham News Stand Books, an Ebay seller, for having this comic 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, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, I am ready as we have a meeting with Tomie planned, and you don’t want to make her wait as you will not like her when she is mad.

Tomie # 1  ***
Released in 2016     Cover Price FREE     Viz Comics      #1 of 1

Tsukiko returns to town. Her camera has been stolen, and her friend Yamazaki has been missing for sometime. Once she is back and walking down the street lost in her own thoughts, a car pulls up and the driver is Tomie! Tsukiko is shocked to see her so soon again and then tries her best to ignore her, but when she says that Yamazaki is at her home and is very weak and sick and has been asking to see his friend…Tsukiko against her better judgment gets in the car with Tomie and they head to her home. Once inside Tsukiko meets Tomie’s “Dad” an old man who also has her stolen camera and informs her that she can have it back as he wants her help to find out why his daughter comes back from the dead, can multiply and why she uses her charm to seduce men into killing her! He then shows Tsukiko a bowl of acid that houses a mutated Tomie head and claims that the acid stops it from growing! Tsukiko has no interest in helping the father as she wants zero to do with Tomie, and when she is told that Yamazaki is not at the home she gets mad and starts to leave. But Tomie has plans of her own as she uses some of the acid from the head bowl to burn her father’s face (who turns into a young man) and then brainwashes a person in a suit of armor to attack Tsukiko who is forced to run up the stairs in order to not be chopped up by the knight’s sword. While trying to hide, she finds an old man in a cage who informs her that Tomie and her friend took over his home and have done experiments on his daughter and that the one saying he is her father is not and is a young man with shape shifting powers. Tsukiko promises the old man she will save him and then runs back into the knight who by accident lets out the home owner’s daughter who now is a massive creature that has many Tomie heads growing out of her. She takes out the knight and Tsukiko comes downstairs to see Tomie and her friend waiting on her as from behind the creature is making its way downstairs. Tsukiko grabs her camera and uses the flash on Tomie and then wakes up outside the mansion! By the time the police show up, they are able to rescue the old man from the cage, but Tomie and her madness are long gone.

This story is called Tomie: The Mansion and is one of many creepy Tomie stories from the mangas, and man I have to say I loved every second of it! The plot of this issue has Tsukiko who has been a target for Tomie for years being tricked to go and be stuck inside of a mansion with the idea of having her be experimented on in order for Tomie to understand the mutations that are happening to her body now that she has returned from being murdered so many times. Throw in a creepy dead eyed teenage boy who can take on the look of others, a poor teenage girl who was experimented on that is now a massive misshapen creature that bares the cursed look of Tomie with many heads as well as a old man in a cage, and you have this twisted tale. This story has really does have a haunted house feel to it and that adds a true classic horror feel to it and by throwing in a creatures locked in a room and a knight wandering the halls it feels like it could be a William Castle film! Our hero is Tsukiko Izumisawa, who was a school mate of Tomie’s many years ago who loved taking pictures, over the years she has escaped the wrath and attempts at her life by the demon Tomie and in this one once more she has luck on her side as she escapes her trap. Tsukiko shows that she is a caring person as she puts herself in danger in order to check on a friend and that her love of picture taking is what helped save her life. The Old Man in the cage and his poor daughter are sadly victims of Tomie as the daughter made a big mistake of letting her into their home on a rainy night, and for her kindness she was turned into a grotesque creature and her father forced into a tiny cage. The daughter is really the saddest character in the comic as her life is over and she is no longer normal but is now a massive monster who has lost her soul and her own identity thanks to mad scientist type experiments and tests. The shape shifting teenage boy is a creepy young man with black dead eyes who almost wears a false skin to take on another appearance. He is also wanting to find out why his friend Tomie is the way she is and he is cold and cares nothing for human life. Tomie in this issue is as evil as ever as she uses, lies, charms her way into getting what she wants and she takes pleasure in torturing those who cross her path. She as well even hurts her own friend with acid to his face in order to make him turn back to his normal look. She also has zero love for her own clones, and you can tell she really wants to kill and make Tsukiko suffer as she hates her one time classmate. Tomie is just so evil it’s hard to explain; all I can say is that she is cold and uncaring. I do like how mad she gets about her picture being taken with the flash on, as she gets so made she even starts name-calling! I wish Viz would have released more and more Tomie comics for Halloween as it would have been great to get one every year. Plus it would be a great way to try and get more and more American readers into the story of Tomie. The cover for this FREE comic is pretty cool and is black with Tomie is silver in the background and the interior artwork is done by Junji Ito and is fantastic stuff! If you are a fan of Japanese manga horror or even want to test the waters and see if you like it, track down a copy of this comic and give it a read. Also take a look at the artwork below to see they style and the mood of this comic by the one and only Ito.

Tomie is a great spooky manga as well as film series and is one that you should really check out if you are into Japanese horror as it really is up there with Ringu, Ju-On and One Missed Call and will surely send a shiver down your spine and become one of your favorite foreign film series. And I for one would love to see more Tomie movies and manga to come out soon as after the terrible past couple of years I think we all could use a good fright. For our next update, we are leaving the horror behind and will be entering the world of Hanna-Barbara cartoons as we take a look at Inch Eye Private Eye as well as his one old school comic appearance! So until next time, read a horror manga or two, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time as we have some cases to solve with Inch High!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: WolfCop (2014)

Halloween is drawing closer, and this countdown to this spooky holiday update will be about the Horror Comedy film WolfCop and the Dynamite Comic series based around it! WolfCop is one of those indie films that I was alerted to early on and knew I needed to see it as I am a mega werewolf fan and also enjoy a good Horror Comedy from time to time. But after a short limited theatrical run and me not liking digital movies, I had to wait a while and finally was able to get it on DVD, and after watching it I was a fan of its fun over the top nature. And when thinking about what film and comic should get the “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update treatment I knew I had to cover WolfCop sooner then later and now here it is, so grab a drink, sit back and relax as we are going on a crazy werewolf crime busting adventure with Sergeant Lou Garou or as we all really know him WolfCop.

Let’s take a look at Sergeant Lou Garou aka The Wolfcop and his way of dealing with criminals that get in his way, as he does not kill the innocent. As human Lou Garou he is an officer of the law who spends more time drinking and getting drunk than busting crime and is over all looked at as a failure and joke. But once he is turned into a werewolf and called WolfCop he is still a drunk but also is some how a better officer! WolfCop can use his super senses like smell and hearing in order to track down his targets as they can run but cannot hide, as he can also move pretty fast for a drunken werewolf. WolfCop is also really strong and can use his strength to toss around as well as rip apart criminals and cult members alike. While WolfCop can use handguns and shotguns to deal death his main tools are his razor sharp teeth and claws that can rip and tear flesh like rice paper. WolfCops can also scare criminals with his appearances as well as his howl that can chill their bones and freeze them with fear. WolfCop is also fearless and will walk into danger and as he is not only has a don’t care attitude but also has liquid courage as he is drunk at all times. WolfCop not only gets his powers from the full moon but also booze and oh yeah he loves doughnuts. It should also be noted that normal bullets and stab wounds does not kill him. WolfCop does have weaknesses as he is human most of the time, and there for can be hurt and killed. Magic and Silver weapons of death can also kill him as again he is a werewolf and he hates silver. WolfCop also cause he is drunk can also be outsmarted and set up allowing his enemies to attack or escape him. WolfCop is a pretty strong killing machine and while he only kills the guilty those on the wrong side of the law have lots to worry about.

So as you can see, WolfCop is one law enforcement killing machine who while a raging beast is still on the side of the law and does what’s right and slaughters the bad people of the world. But now that we have talked about WolfCop the creature we need to now dive into the film that spawned him! I will be taking the films write up from our pals at IMDB after that I will be writing about the film’s production as well as my thoughts of the film. So let’s talk WolfCop the Full Moon Avenger Of Law Enforcement.

WolfCop (2014)

“It’s not unusual for alcoholic cop Lou to black out and wake up in unfamiliar surroundings, but lately things have taken a turn for the strange…and hairy. WolfCop is the story of one cop’s quest to become a better man. One transformation at a time.”

Lowell Dean was coming off his first feature film “13 Eerie” that was released in 2013 and had the bug to make another film. He wanted to make a film that as well did not rely on computer effects and wanted practical and being a horror fan he wanted to stay in that genre but also add in a touch of comedy. The film was shot in the same location area as 13 Eerie and was your typical independent filming production. Lowell did a great job of casting as he hired Leo Fafard to play Lou Garou/ The WolfCop as well as such named as Sarah Lind, Jonathan Cherry and Amy Matysio in supporting roles. He also got the scoring and music skills of Shooting Guns to do the soundtrack. The film was released on June 6, 2014 and was meet with great reviews from horror fans and critics as always was split on it with most given it praise. The film was released along side such films as Dracula Untold, As Above So Below, Last Shift, It Follows, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night and What We Do In The Shadows to name a few. The film would be released on DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital and find even more of a following.

WolfCop was a film that I first heard about thanks to Horror Movie websites that I visit all the time sites like Gorezone, Bloody Disgusting and Dread Central to name a few and the coverage they were given it, and then once I seen the trailer I knew I had to see this film as werewolves are my favorite classic monster and the film looked crazy and funny as well. Of course no local theater in my area picked it up when it had its limited run theatrically so I had to wait for home media before I was able to view it and did so at a Horror Movie Marathon and the film was a big hit with everyone in attendance enjoying! And the shocking part for me was that I really liked it and laughed at several of the over the top moments as well as crude gross humor, and that’s shocking as for the most part I am not a mega fan of the more modern Horror Comedy films that was spawned after Shaun Of The Dead. And even more shocking is when the sequel Another WolfCop was released in 2017 I as well really enjoyed that one as well! Besides the gross humor what really worked for me was the look of WolfCop as well as the blood and gore as the film had no CGI effects and the practical effects made the scenes more gruesome and made the humor pop more. Plus you can never go wrong with the films end theme being a rap about the films character, man more movies need to do this. If you like werewolves, dark crude gross humor, indie Horror flicks and cool effects I say make sure to check out WolfCop! Oh and Lowell Dean were is WolfCop 3?

WolfCop is a film that I think every Horror Movie fan with a weird sense of humor should see at least once in their lives as I think much of the over the top goof gore and kills will put a smile on your face. Now it’s time that we take a look at the comics based on this film and I would like to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics for getting me these comics for my pull file and making this long overdue update possible. 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, its entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready, let’s go on patrol with WolfCop and see what violent calls we will get while he is on duty.

WolfCop # 1  ***
Released in 2016     Cover Price $3.99   Dynamite     #1 of 3

Just outside the town of Woodhaven, a door-less police car is speeding away from the town and behind the wheel is the drunk Sergeant Lou Garou who is guzzling liquor and with him is his friend Willie Higgins who is a little scared of Lou’s poor drunk driving skills. The car ends up dying and the two are stuck out in the middle of nowhere just in time to be harassed by a motorcycle gang that has two young ladies kidnapped, Lou being an officer of the law tries to save the ladies…but he and Willie are overpowered and are as well taken. While tied up and placed in a cycles sidecar the moon comes out and Lou turns into WolfCop and slaughters all but one biker who ran away and saves the ladies, while one lady runs off if fear the other tells them that the bikers were taken them to a place called The Meat Locker and that many people before them had been taken to it and have never returned. The Meat Locker is ran by a fat cannibal who has the bikers kidnap people and bring them to this place so he can eat them, and once hearing about WolfCop he gets a craving for werewolf meat! WolfCop takes Willie and the woman to the Meat Locker on a stolen bike and rushes in and takes out many of the henchmen and butchers with ease, but he finds that the man in charge is really a monster a giant Boar monster and its strong, real strong and even worse hungry! WolfCop and The Boar Monster clash with WolfCop coming out the winner with a well-placed bullet to the creature’s brain! In the end the young woman frees all the hostages that were to be eaten as Willie and WolfCop ride off on a motorcycle.

This first issue in the WolfCop mini series is a fantastic read that is filled with lots of blood and guts as well as humor and shows that Horror Movie characters like WolfCop are perfect for comic books. The plot has Officer Garou on the run along with his close friend Willie who stumble onto a biker gang who are taking people to a place to be killed and eaten by a man who is really a monster boar, really the plot is that crazy and that fantastic. WolfCop is a werewolf of few words besides when he wants a hard drink and lets his actions speak for themselves, he is not afraid to rush into danger as well as has zero issues with massacring bad guys. As human Lou Garou he is nothing more than a drunk who loves taking a drink one after another. Willie Higgins is a loyal friend to Lou who watches out for his friend not only as a human but also as a werewolf and is willing to risk his own life to help out his pal. The Biker Gang are just evil minions for a Boar Creature who is brutal in nature and loves to eat flesh and is always hungry for blood and meat…he is massive when turned into the creature and all those who were to be eaten have to think WolfCop for coming and saving the day and their lives. The comic is very bloody and has lots of blood splatter and even flesh eating making it truly feel like a horror comic straight of the 90’s indie scene. The pacing of the issue is also really well done and feels like a fast read with lots of action and a cool fight between monsters with a good payout. The cover is really great and super eye catching not only for fans of the WolfCop film but also for fans of Horror Comics! The interior art is done by Arcana Studios and is top-notch work and captures the awesome look of WolfCop really well. This comic is a nice fit and feels like apart of the film universe and shows that Horror Comics based on films can be done right when the right creative team is behind the creative wheel.

WolfCop # 2  ***
Released in 2016     Cover Price $3.99   Dynamite     #2 of 3

Lou and Willie are in a small town trying to get his old beat up police cruiser fix when they meet Madame Faye at a strip club and she invites them to stay at her place for the night while the car is being worked on. They get to her home and see that it’s filled with beautiful women and she also has a mountain of a man named Sammy who acts as the houses security guard even caring a massive sword. As Willie goes off to a room with all the ladies, Lou heads off with Madame Faye and things start to turn bad real bad for the friends! Madame Faye is some sort of witch and uses black magic to bring the werewolf out of Lou as well as keeps him in place with a spell, as poor Willie ends up having to fight for his life as the women he is with are all zombies! After killing all the zombie women Willie makes his way to Lou and finds him stuck and now as WolfCop the beast in mad and wants something hard to drink to try and break the spell, but all they have is a little booze left in a flask. Willie tries his best to free WolfCop but is found out by Madame Faye and Sammy and pays with his life as Sammy cuts Willie’s hand and head off, and this enrages WolfCop who breaks free and kills Sammy in return who can not be kept down as he is some sort of demon, and worse for WolfCop more Zombie woman are around and the house is no on fire! WolfCop is able to get the Sammy Demon outside and finds some booze that he quickly drinks that gives him the power to rip the heart out of Sammy killing the demon. He leaves Madame Faye in the burning house as she is being attacked and killed by her zombie women as the flames close in. WolfCop is upset and gives a call to Sergeant Tina and alerts her that he is coming back home to Woodhaven.

This second issue puts WolfCop into another very dangerous situation as he this time around must fight off an evil powerful Witch, her Demon sidekick and a horde of female zombies hungry for flesh all in a small town at a whorehouse and witnesses his best friend be killed before his eyes! So as you can see this was a really bad night for WolfCop who allows his rage to take over, well as well as lots of booze in order to break a spell he was under and escape and kill those who ruined his night. WolfCop in this issues not only uses his claws and teeth to cause death but also uses his gun to bring down the evil all around him. It always makes me laugh when WolfCop uses his addiction to booze to be more powerful as a werewolf and it works for him as the drunker he is the more skilled he is. Poor Willie who is the babysitter for WolfCop was looking forward to bedding some beautiful women, instead is attacked by them as they turn into zombies and then become the victim of a beheading at the hands of a demon. The Demon Sammy is a killer who listens to his master and uses his sword to deliver death as well as has a burning body that can inflict pain as well. Madame Faye is a witch that uses her black magic to kill people that come to her brothel and control a demon and zombies. She is powerful but also when she gets weakened by a gunshot wound she finds herself the lunch buffet for her own zombie ladies. This issue is lots of fun just like the first one and has a fast paced silly Comedy Horror vibe that captures the film series really well. The comic has blood and guts and even has the death of a character that was a fan favorite for readers and viewers. The cover on this issue is just ok and is a little lacking and while eye catching does not do the issue justice. The interior art is well done and is done by Allan Otero and is well done and his WolfCop drawings are on point. Over all another great issue in this WolfCop mini series and I like that this one ends with him returning home and who knows what creatures he will face in the next and final issue.

WolfCop # 3  **1/2
Released in 2016     Cover Price $3.99   Dynamite     #3 of 3

WolfCop returns to Woodheaven and once out of his car kills off some gang members before entering Willie’s old gun store to find Willie alive inside as he re-spawned after getting his head cut off by Sammy at the brothel. You see Willie who is a shape shifter has an unknown amount of returns in his life. Once inside the shop WolfCop and Willie talk about the curse the witch placed on him that now keeps him stuck as a werewolf! Just then Officer Tina shows up and notices that Willie has all types of illegal guns and warns them both that they need to leave town as they are wanted for many murders. As WolfCop and Willie are heading to the car to once more leave town a sniper using high-powered ammo opens fire on WolfCop who shrugs off the bullets and ends up killing the sniper. A homeless man from nowhere shows up and is upset that the sniper failed and as he keeps getting mad he changes into a monster with a massive mouth filled with razor sharp teeth and many tentacles legs and goes for WolfCop as he wants to drink the werewolves blood. Tina and Willie try and help their friend by shooting at and even hitting the monster with grenades, but while it slows the monster down it does not stop him! WolfCop is loosing as the monster is way to big and strong, but Willie tosses WolfCop a grenade launcher and lycan cop fires right into the monsters mouth and kills it. In the end Willie and WolfCop are leaving town and Tina watches them walk away as WolfCop asks for doughnuts.

The third and final issue of WolfCop has him returning home in order to pick up his friend Willie who has re-spawned back to life their after being killed. Once in town he is attacked by yet another monster and even gets to see is old partner Tina. The Monster in this issue is a weird looking almost H.P. Lovercraft creature that wants to drink the blood of WolfCop and spends his time also talking down to the officer while beating him. The Monster is way to cocky and that’s what leads to him being exploded into pieces is the fact he thinks he is unbeatable. Willie Higgins returns and he is happy to be back to life and is as goofy and gun loving as ever, and because he loves guns and weapons is how they are able to bring down the monster that was attacking and killing his friend WolfCop. It’s also great to see Officer Tina in action as she is a very important character in the films series and plays a smaller role here in the comic, but still great to see her. WolfCop in this issue is stuck being a werewolf and is not drunk enough and is hungry for some good old doughnuts, but even with these cravings he still has the mindset to kill some punks as well as try and fight a monster that was bigger then he was! Through out this whole mini series WolfCop as always backs down from no fight and goes into them with no plan and no fear and always comes out the winner. I mean think about this just in these three issues he has killed a Cannibal Boar Monster, Bikers, A Witch, Female Zombies, a Demon, Punks, A Sniper and a Monster…see WolfCop is a drunken badass! This issue has some blood and violence but is not in the same league as the last two issues that had way more gory deaths. I feel like Dynamite really dropped the ball by not making WolfCop an ongoing series as it would have been awesome to see it continue and even maybe crossover with Army Of Darkness, as who wouldn’t want to see WolfCop team with Ash and fight the deadites! The cover for this third issue is pretty good and shows WolfCop crashing through a window looking very pissed off and ready for a fight. The interior art is done by Allan Otero and like before is very well done, and for those wondering Allan is an artist who has done so much for Zenescope Comics. I really enjoyed the WolfCop mini series and really do feel that more issues should have been made and that a third film should be as well, and I will say if you like WolfCop or Another WolfCop you should give this comic series a read. Check out the artwork below to see the style used in this series.

WolfCop and Dynamite Comics come together to once more prove my point that comics based on Horror Movies are a great way to not only promote the film as this one was a great way to build hype for the sequel Another WolfCop that was coming out soon as well as helps bring readers to the comic company that released it, as fans of WolfCop would go on to see Dynamite release Jeepers Creepers and Pumpkinhead as well as their long running Army Of Darkness series. That is why in my opinion companies like Eibon Press, IDW and Blood Scream Comics are doing it right as they deliver not only great original comics but also amazing must read ones based on Horror Films. But enough of that I don’t need to bring out my soapbox here to talk about Horror Comics, as our patrol with WolfCop has came to an end and I need to alert you all that the next update that will be about the 1996 shot on video film “A Night Of Total Terror” that was directed by James Rolfe! So until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. Man, I really hope that you readers are ready for a Night that is packed with Total Terror!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Snakes On A Plane (2006)

In the year 2006 horror cinema was alive and well with many films hitting theaters as well as video rental shelves, and all styles of horror were covered from slashers to horror comedies and of course the horror action thriller had its fair share of releases. I mean hell, even I released my shot on video film The Sadness that year! And one film that was released that year had a whirlwind of online press, a catchy name, a big name star attached and was an animal run amok action, thriller horror film, and I am sure you guessed that I am talking about Snakes Of A Plane! And back when the film was released in 2006 comic company WildStorm that was a branch off DC Comics who is owned by Warner Brothers who owns New Line Cinema released a two issue mini series based on the film and that’s what we will be reviewing here for this From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update. So if you are ready to take the frightful flight of your life that not only has Samuel L. Jackson on board but also a whole lot of snakes, so stock up on anti-venom and let’s take to the skies of Horror Comics.

Lets first take a look at the Snakes that took over a plane and killed numerous passengers that was in their site. The Snakes are of many breeds that include King Cobras, Rattlesnakes, Pit Vipers, Coral Snakes, Pythons among other snake species and are in high numbers on the plane. The Snakes are very sneaky and can hide in small areas as well as use said small areas to travel around and target their prey as they attack not only singly but also at times attack in packs making them even more dangerous. The snakes are made to be super aggressive by pheromones and this makes them act as if anyone in their sight is really the enemy and drives them mad. The Snakes have many different ways of dealing death with many of them having venomous bites that can leave people dead in a matter of minutes to hours while others will squeeze and devour those foolish humans that could not escape. The snakes are just animals that have been made to be aggressive and because they are just living creatures they can be killed by any normal means such as being shot, burned with fire, cut and stabbed by a knife and even smashed. And because they are just creatures does mean they are not as deadly as some of the killers and creatures we have chatted about on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update, but with that said they still are very deadly and can make those poor souls stuck with them on a plane meet the Reaper.

So now that we have talked about the killer snakes from the film and their death dealing ways its time that we talk about the film they are from. As always I will be taking the films plot from out friends at IMDB and I then will write about the films production as well as my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready lets take a Plane trip with some very dangerous snakes.

Snakes On A Plane (2006)

“While practicing motocross in Hawaii, Sean Jones witnesses the brutal murder of an important American prosecutor by the powerful mobster Eddie Kim. FBI agent Neville Flynn persuades him to testify against Eddie in Los Angeles. They board the red-eye Flight 121 of Pacific Air, occupying the entire first-class section. However, Eddie dispatches hundred of different species of snakes airborne with a time-operated device in the luggage to release the snakes into the flight with the intent of crashing the plane. Neville and the passengers must struggle with the snakes to survive.”

At University of Pittsburgh back in 1992 an administrator by the name of David Dalessandro was working on a film script that he called “Venom” that was originally about a brown tree snake loose on a plane before becoming more about tons of snakes loose on a plane that caused issues for the passengers. He shopped the film around for years and its rumored that by 1995 over 30 Studios rejected the script! In 1999 he finally found a producer at Paramount took interest in the script and New Line Cinema took over the production, that’s right the studio called The House That Freddy Built was now involved in “Venom”. When originally looking for a director Ronny Yu was on tap and from early on actor Samuel L. Jackson signed to be a lead in the film because he loved these type of films as a kid and thought the title was great that was changed to “Snakes On A Plane” after a brief time of it going to be called “Pacific Air Flight 121” and Jackson was not having it and made New Line change it back to the title that was getting tons of internet buzz. The film brought on David R. Ellis to direct with John Gutierrez and John Heffernan coming in to touch up the script. The casting of Samuel L. Jackson also attracted a few more names that fans knew including Julianna Margulies, Nathan Phillips, Sunny Mabrey, Kenan Thompson, Rachel Blanchard, Lin Shaye, David Koechner, Tom Butler and Kevin McNulty to name a few and the buzz from bloggers made New Line Cinema think they had something very big on their hands even ordering days of reshoots in order to turn the film from PG-13 to rated R thinking that they were giving the online world what they wanted. The film opened on August 18, 2006 and was the # 1 film for that weekend but quickly dropped and under performed at the US Box Office only doing $34,020,814.00 on a budget of $33 million for New Line Cinema and causing it to be one of their biggest misses for a Cult Thriller Action Horror Film in some time. While the film did ok with critics and fans the film just did not draw at the theater and it was over all a bomb with it really building a cult following once on Home Media. This was an example of a Hollywood studio trusting the online community and it backfiring. On a side note it’s said that at a screening of the film in Arizona someone let two rattlesnakes loose, lucky for moviegoers no one was bitten or hurt. The film was the # 93 grossing film of the year and did beat out such other Horror films as The Decent, The Wicker Man, Stay Alive, The Black Dahlia, Pulse, An American Haunting, Black Christmas, See No Evil, Slither, The Return, Turistas, BloodRayne, Basic Instinct 2, Hard Candy and Night Of The Living Dead 3-D showing that while it was not a hit, it still beat out some great Horror Titles.

Snakes On A Plane was one of those films that when released I was so annoyed with as all my friends would go around in bad Samuel L. Jackson impersonations talking about “Being Sick Of Mother F’N Snakes On This Mother F’N Plane” and it made me want to stay clear of seeing the film at the theater, so I was one of those who did not watch on the big screen. And to be honest it was one that it took me a very long time to get around to watching as it was not high on my radar of must see films, and while it would be on at friends houses during hanging out I never did truly sit down and pay attention to it, that was until 2021 when I made myself sit down and watch it on DVD that I truly got to soak the film in. And after watching the film I found it to be a fun silly rides that was filled with your normal style disaster movie characters, lots of CGI snakes attacking and was a more modern day animal runs amok film set on a plane that gave the film a Closter phobic feel. I think Samuel Jackson is great in his role as FBI Agent Neville Flynn and plays the role pretty normal for almost the whole film and does not yell and scream his lines until the end and seeing Julianna Margulies as flight attendant Claire Miller was cool as well as seeing here in a fright flick again after the 2002 film Ghost Ship. But while I found it to be a good watch I also did have some issues with the film as the CGI Snakes look terrible and in most shots ruin the scene with how bad they standout, and the cussing comes into play at the very tail end of the film and feels tacked on by New Line Cinema to get the R rating and to play up on people wanting to hear Samuel L. Jackson drop the F-Bomb. Plus we have the films bad guy Eddie Kim who beats a man to death with a baseball bat and then also is the mastermind of releasing the snakes on a plane that kills man gets his justice off screen. I would also say I can see why it dropped so hard after opening weekend in theaters as the hype train that was around the film built it up so big in the eyes of viewers who were a little underwhelmed once seeing the film and that letdown word of mouth helped it tank. New Line Cinema use to be a great company for Horror Films and they use to take some chances under the run of Bob Shaye, but now under the watch of AT&T they are a shell of what they are in the world of Horror with only The Conjuring universe being the bright star. Over all Snakes On A Plane is a silly movie with a silly title that was very fitting for the time of Horror at the cinema.

Now that we have talked about The Snakes on the plane and the film about them being on said plane I think its time we get to the two issue comic mini series that is about it all. And once more proves that any and all Horror Movies or even films with Horror elements can and should be turned into a comic book. I would like to think Game Swap Kettering for having these comics in stock and would like to also remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready lets see if we can survive these killer snakes.

Snakes Of A Plane # 1  **
Released in 2006     Cover Price $2.99     WildStorm    # 1 of 2

Sean Jones is riding his dirt bike around Hawaii when he witnesses the murder of a Prosecutor from LA at the hands of feared and violent gangster Eddie Kim who ends the mans life with a baseball bat, and Sean is able to escape just in time as Kim and his men spot him leaving and track him down thanks to DNA he left behind on a energy drink can. Eddie Kim wants Sean dead and sends two very dangerous goons to his apartment to put a bullet in his brain, but lucky for Sean also in his apartment is F.B.I Agent Neville Flynn who makes out the hired killers and talks Sean into going to LA in order to testify against Kim to send the crime lord to prison for life. The plane is flight 121 and crewmembers aboard are Tiffany, Ken, Grace and Claire who is on her last flight as she is leaving to become a lawyer. The pilots on this plane are Captain McKeon and Rick and its also filled with some odd passengers like rapper Three Gs and his bodyguards Troy and Big Leroy, socialite Mercedes and her pet dog Mary-Kate, Young kids Curtis and Tommy, Chen a kick boxer, mother Maria and her infant baby daughter Isabella and a handful of more and for all of them they now have to ride coach as first class is now taken over by the F.B.I as Sean is escorted by Agent Neville and Agent John Sanders on the flight and that area gives them also a phone in order to contact to Special Agent Hank Harris who is working the Kim case. As the passengers get the news of their seating class change they are also all given leis and welcomed aboard. During the flight a clock counts down and once at zero tons of angry venomous snakes are let loose from boxes in the luggage hold! A young couple having sex in the bathroom are the first humans to die from the snakes bite and then the Captain while fixing a issue in the belly of the plane falls victim, the snakes even kill a poor cat who was in the hold! When Rick finds that Captain he calls for the help of Agents Neville and Sanders and they all think he has past from a heart attack. As Rick takes over the flight all hell breaks loose as the Snakes come out to play their deadly game both in the cockpit as well as the rest of the plane!

The first issue of Snakes On A Plane is a very quick read and sticks pretty well to the film its based on making some changes mostly in the way of flow, and by that I mean it moves at a very faster pace and lands us pretty much in the middle of the films plot in just one issue. They speed up the boarding of the plane and cut much of the interactions that the passengers have with each other as well as even the moments of friendship that the crew have with one another, and we also skip much of the moments of Sean and Agent Neville starting up a friendship and talking about surfing and such, plus they get to the snake attacks and invasion of the plane way faster. The major downside to this speed up approach is that I feel they make Claire feel less special and they also don’t quite capture the scary moments of the turbulence and death of the Captain that well. But they do a better job really showing and speaking about just how much of a scumbag Eddie Kim is as he enjoys dealing death and they even talk about how he in the past feed an eyewitness against him to pigs. I also like that Agent Harris is talking about being in a bidding war against a kid for a Billy Idol velvet painting, I would totally buy a Billy Idol velvet paiting. Now that I am writing this I feel that almost all the characters are not flushed out and that hurts the reader to get a bound with any of them, and while the film didn’t do a great job of doing so the comic does even less. Agent Neville Flynn is a guy who is good at his job and wants to bring down Eddie Kim and will do what it takes to protect the states star witness. Sean Jones is a young guy who likes dirt biking and surfing and is caught up in this murder case and is not fully ready for all this danger, but wants to do the right thing has a price is on his head. The snakes are really mad and are dealing out death to anyone in site and by the end are all over the plane ready to attack. None of the other characters really stand out and are hard to talk about. The cover for this comic is very fitting for WildStorm Comics circa 2006 and is eye-catching if you liked the film and the interior art done by Gordon Purcell and is pretty good stuff as he does a good job of capturing the likeness of the actors with out being to specific on their looks. Over all a good issue that was a fun read and as I have stated while the story and characters are condensed I still very much enjoyed the comic, so lets see what issue two is like.

Snakes Of A Plane # 2  *1/2
Released in 2006     Cover Price $2.99    WildStorm    # 2 of 2

The Snakes are now biting passengers and panic is running wild, as Agent Neville armed with a stun gun rushes to coach to try and help people, he tells them to head toward the front of the plane and to try and use baggage to make a wall to keep the snakes in the coach area. During the madness many people are bitten and some die youngster Timmy and Big Leroy are bitten and Agent Sanders is bitten and dies! As the passengers build the wall of bags they are scared and at each others throats, as Rick is worried that the snakes could cause electric issues and cause the plane to crash and Agent Neville has the duty to called Agent Harris to inform him of the attack as well as the death of Sanders. While the bitten and wounded are treated Agent Neville and the others find what they can to use as weapons that include broken bottles, golf clubs and fire extinguisher and get ready to fight off the attacking snakes. Meanwhile in LA a plan is in the works to get snaked expert Dr. Price ready with some anti-venom for those bitten, but Agent Harris finds out that this will be way more hard as each snake has its own cure shot and the serum is harder to get for the snakes that are not from the US. All the passengers rush to first class and come up with the idea to use Mercedes phone camera and send the pictures of the snakes to Dr. Price via email, but as they work on this Rick is bitten by a snake while flying the plane causing it to start to go down! While Claire and Agent Neville try and get the plan back on track, Sean tries to help the people that are being knocked around and things get worse when a giant Python crashes down from a light and an old bitter passenger throws the dog Mary-Kate for the snake to eat, but also finds himself being killed by the massive snake. Once the plane is taken out of the nose dive Rick wakes up and takes over the flying as now Agent Neville has to go to the cargo hold and reseat the planes air and while down there he figures out that the snakes were brought aboard via flowers and as he fights of the snakes Agent Harris in LA finds the mane who used pheromones on the snakes to make them aggressive and also raids his anti-venom case as he is a snake from around the world collector. New gets to Agent Neville that they have the shots ready for them when they land, but things get bad again when Rick this time is dead from multiple snake bites and Agent Neville and bodyguard and video game player Troy have to try and land the plane at LAX! But before they do so Agent Neville has everyone buckle in and then shoots out a plane window that sucks out all the snakes and causes the landing to be even harder, but the pair do so! When they land Sean is attacked by a snake but is once more saved by Agent Neville and all the bitten are given their shots. In the end Agent Neville and Claire start a relationship, Sean is ready to help put Kim behind bars as well as hooks up with Tiffany and Sean and Neville end up going surfing.

The second issue continues to cut and cram as much of the movies plot into the pages of a comic book and to be honest the cuts in this second issue really does take away the Horror and Drama and just delivers a very water downed story with one dimensional characters that as a reader I could not connect with any of them as they had zero personality and even Agent Neville seemed very plan and paint by number like taking away the edge and coolness he had in the film. Many characters that meant something in the film are thrown away and have zero impact to the story like Maria and her baby as well as Grace who gives her life in order to save the baby from the snakes, this was a big moment in the film that is removed for this comic. The drama of some of the passengers freaking out on each other is also removed and so many characters are just wasted background bit players who could have been removed and it would not have affected this comic series. I feel that even the friendship between Agent Neville and Sean is none existent and the love that Neville and Claire build for each other also makes no sense in this mess of a comic. While I enjoyed this first one pretty well this second issue is not as good and for the most part skips around like a ball in a pinball machine. The snakes that are the creatures of death in this comic series also seems to be none factors over all as they are barely seen and used as the death venomous death machines they are in the film. And that really sucks as I would have liked to see more Snake mayhem in the comics as the comic has no blood and no major scares. And I wish that the creative team behind this comic took the adaptation a little more serious and delivered a better comic series then what we got. I also wish that WildStorm would have chosen to do more Horror Comics based on New Line Cinema Horror Films from 2005 and 2006 as we could have gotten ones based on such films as Final Destination series. The cover for this one is good and eye-catching and the interior art by J.R Klebs is good stuff and is fitting for the time of release comic art for DC and WildStorm comics. Over all I would say that Snakes On A Plane is a very lackluster Horror Comic adaptation that is a cool read for fans of the film who would like to see just how WildStorm could water down a films plot to fit into two issues. Check out the artwork bellow to see the style of Klebs used in the second issue.

Now that we have landed this Horror Comic plane and we found out that WildStorm just filled it with rubber and garden snakes I want to say that while I was not a big fan of this comic adaptation it does not mean you wont find the faster pace better then the films, so I would still say check it out if you are a fan of the film or just like comics based on films. But now that we are off the plane we will be leaving the snakes behind and will be taking a look at a classic comic character that got the DC treatment and that’s Peter Cannon aka Thunderbolt! So until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as we take a look at a classic hero.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Meathook Massacre III First Hunt (2017)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink.  For this update we will be having another look at a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” and will be talking about the film Meathook Massacre III and the comic based on it! That’s right, an indie film that was smart enough to understand a comic book is a great way to promote the film and helps add extra excitement for fans and can also add to the lore of the film and its characters. So if you are ready to dive deep into the world of the Meathook Massacre, we should put on a butchers apron to avoid the splatter and see what this killing family and this comic have in store for us, as this will be a first time watch as well as read for me and I am looking forward to both! So let’s sit back and look at the first comic based on Bubba Fleisher and the Meathook Massacre film series.

Let’s first take a look at the Fleisher Family and their ways of killing people off before we get to deep into this review. The Fleisher Family are cannibalistic backwoods hillbillies who kill innocent people in order to harvest their meat in order to eat and survive. Pa Fleisher is a man who cares about his family very much and while he doesn’t like the killing he has to do all that much, he will do what he has to in order to put meat on their dinner table for them to eat. Pa seems to really enjoy his chainsaw when it comes to dealing death to his victims. He also has a short temper and has a killer instinct when it comes to people messing with his family. Sister Fleisher is one mean young lady as she seems to enjoy the killing of others and almost gets off on it. She is also very loyal to her family and will use her stunning good looks to draw victims in and then use her trusty switchblade knife or kitchen knife to end their lives. Bubba Fleisher is simple minded but once he got the taste for killing, he loved it and can not stop, Bubba wears the skinned faces of some of his victims and this tends to freak out people before he makes the kill with his choice to deal death being meat hooks. The Fleisher Family as a whole are very odd people and use their hunting styles in order to hunt, stalk, lure and slaughter their targets and besides Bubba when wearing a human skin mask, none of them look like they are about to cut your belly open. While Ma is a killer as well, she lets her family do most the killing unless she is pushed or feels as if someone has wronged them. The Fleisher Family do have weaknesses as they are just normal humans and can be killed with any kind of weapon from gun to a knife. They also at times seem to be in their own world and if you are smart enough, you can escape them as well as even in return fight back against them. While The Fleisher Family might not be the most dangerous killers we have ever covered here on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update, they are hands down still very skilled in the art of killing and should be taken very seriously.

So now that we know about The Fleisher Family and their ways of dealing death, let’s take a look at the film they are from and that’s the third in the Meathook Massacre series…also keep in mind Bubba is the series’ main killer and has been in all of the films. I will be taking the film’s write up from our pals at IMDB and will then write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on the film. So sharpen your knives and let’s dive into The Fleisher Family tree and try dodging all the knives, hooks and chainsaws coming our way.

Meathook Massacre III (2017)

“Meat the whole family and see where it all began as Pa takes Bubba on his first hunt!”

The indie series Meathook Massacre started in 2015 and was brought to life by filmmaker Dustin Ferguson who was known for his films “The Legacy Of Boggy Creek”, “Terror At Black Tree Forest”, “Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival” and “Demon Dolls” before he made the first film that built a cult following. Dustin would go onto make Meathook Massacre II in 2017 and director Jim DeVault made Meathook Massacre III the same year! What set DeVault’s film apart is that it acts as a prequel and broke away from Ferguson’s style of filmmaking of flashbacks of past films. Jim DeVault was coming off of making such other Indie Horror films as The Sisters Four (2008), Jebadiah’s Axe (2013) and the Blood Reunion film series. Meathook Massacre III was the only film I know of that Jim did with Dustin and this film is well liked among the fans of the series.

The Meathook Massacre series was an indie film series that has always been on my radar as I have seen images of the film as well as trailers and even a NES Video Game based around it, and when finding out a comic was made about one of the sequels I knew I had to track it down and cover here as I have always said more Indie Horror Films need to use comic books as a way to promote their films! I have to say that after watching Meathook Massacre III: The First Hunt I understand why this series has a cult following as its very low budget but has a Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Wrong Turn feel to it, and you can tell that the makers of the film put their heart and soul into the production. Now a few things that did throw me off is at times the editing was a little off and scenes seemed disjointed as did the story at times, plus characters seem to always make very dumb decisions that always leads to them dying when they could have easily gotten away, but welcome to indie horror. I will also say the digital gore effects are a little off as is some of the practical, but they did not take me out of the film. The acting is your typical low budget fare as at times you can see actresses trying not to laugh or smile as they are talking to each other about murder. The two best actors in the film hands down were Robert Lankford who played Pa Fleischer and the shining star was the beautiful Leah Gradney who played Sister as she was good in the role and just easy on the eyes…I say more Horror Filmmakers should be casting her. I also like that in this film Sister is so good in bed that a young man helps the Fleischer family kill his own mom and sisters…this guy is a goof! Not much more to say about Meathook Massacre III besides it’s a fun and cheesy indie slasher film that makes for a good watch on a late Saturday night.

It’s now time to have dinner with the Fleisher family and I heard they have meat on the menu…wait I am sure the meat they are serving is not the kind we would want to eat! So maybe we should just order a Pizza. But I want to thank Creamy Rat Studios for having this comic in stock and 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, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s hang out with Bubba as its suppertime!

Meathook Massacre: First Hunt # 1 **1/2
Released in 2017   Cover Price NA   Creamy Rat Studios   # 1 of 1

Pa Fleisher, the owner of a Gas Station, is talking to his young son Bubba who is a mongoloid that the family is running very low on meat and that today he will be come a man as it will be his first kill! Pa gets out all types of weapons used to slaughter and Bubba grabs himself a meat hook as Sister Fleisher is in the background hurling insults at her younger brother and his intelligence. The family heads to a lake and Pa tells Bubba not to attack anyone if there is a group of more than two people, and Bubba with hook in hand heads into the woods looking for a kill. A young woman is naked near the lake as someone is watching her, she calls out and Bubba comes walking out with a goofy grin on his face and he also shows off his two meat hooks! The woman then knocks Bubba to the ground and starts beating him up when Pa comes from out of nowhere and helps his son and they kill the woman as Pa goes to get the truck Bubba skins the woman’s face and wears it like a mask. Pa returns and is proud of his son and they load her into the back of the family pickup truck. When they get home Sister Fleisher has captured a man who was sneaking around the station and they decide to keep him as meat for the future as well as to allow Sister to have some fun with him.

The story of Bubba and the Fleisher family comes alive in this comic that also acts as the first part of the movie…well give and take a few moments that is. The comic’s plot is that we get to see the first kill that Bubba ever made as well as get to see his family and understand why they are they way they are. This Indie Horror Comic based on a Indie Horror Movie is a super fast read and is sure to please fans of the film. The differences between the comic and the film is that the first kill is a naked white lady in the comic and a bathing suit wearing Asian lady in the film also Bubba in the comic his more deformed and in the film he is just a strange acting kid. Bubba in the comic is a young kid who enjoys pain and likes to kill once he gets the taste for it, he also likes to wear faces and eat human meat. Pa Fleisher is a man who takes pride in his family and wants to keep his family feed and the only way he knows how is by hunting humans and turning them into dinner. Sister Fleisher is also very sinister and loves killing and also likes picking on her younger brother. The comic has some pretty gory moments as chainsaw and meat hooks slaughter the woman who becomes meat and the blood pours out from her wounds. The comic does a great job of capturing the characters of the film and just the whole universe in the Meathook Massacre film series. The one thing I will say as well is that I wish it was a bit longer and almost a full 22-36 page comic that was a full adaptation of the film as it reads so fast leaving you wanting more, but on the other hand it does a great job of making you want to see the film…so I guess it did its job! The cover is pretty eye catching and has the family posing with a person they caught by a lake as if they are a fish, the interior art by Joe P. is good and has a cool raw style to it making it feel truly like a indie comic. This comic feels like a true promo comic that does what it can to add to the world of the film its based on and for that I would say check it out if like the Meathook Massacre film series. Check out the artwork below to see they style of Joe P.

While Meathook Massacre III might not be a household name when it comes to Horror Movies it proves that even cult films and low budget ones can benefit from having a comic book or series based around it! I am sure when Dustin Ferguson first created Bubba and The Fleisher Family, he never fully dreamed it would become a shot on video cult classic series that has entertained thousands of people all over the world. And something also has to be said for director Jim DeVault who made a great sequel that helped build the story of Bubba. But our time with The Fleisher Family has come to an end and supper is over, so as we make our way out of the house I should tell you all that the next update we will be staying with the From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update and will be taking a look at Snakes On A Plane! Also before I sign off I want to once more stress that if you are a Indie Filmmaker and are working on a Horror Film and want a great way to help promote your film do a comic book…I can not stress this enough! So until next time read a Indie Horror Comic or three, watch a Indie Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for a trip with some damn snakes on a damn plane.

UPDATE: I was told by Creamy Rat Studios that the comic came before the film and that the film was really based on the comic! Very Cool!