It’s almost Halloween, and this dark spooky night is filled with cold winds that chill the bones and bring the smells of the seasons with it. Smells like rotting pumpkins, damp leaves and bonfires are smells we have all come to expect, but on this night the smell of gingerbread is in the air and it’s bringing a cheesy cookie killer with it under this Full Moon. He will bring plenty of tricks but no treats…and I am sure by now you know we are talking about The Gingerdead Man, the character from a film series made by Full Moon Entertainment. We will be looking at the Action Lab Danger Zone comic mini series based on this pint size terror. This update will also lead us to reveal what our Halloween update will be, and who knows, maybe I will throw in a little more treats to make this a fun and spooky update! So I hope you like cheese and gingerbread because this update is sure to give you a sugar rush as well as maybe even scare you a little, well maybe not, but I am sure you’ll at least have a good time with this quick 6th 2016 Halloween Countdown update.
Before we go any further in this update, we first must get into the mind of our killer and understand who he is and why he is a killer cookie man. Millard Findlemeyer is a crazed killer who, while robbing a dinner in Texas, shoots and kills members of a family. Upon capture, this mad dog is sentenced to death, and thanks to the testimony of one of the survivors, he dies by the electric chair. After his death, Millard is cremated, and his ashes are sent to his mother who is a witch and in turn pours her dead sons ashes into gingerbread mix and places a curse on it and sends it to the bakery where the witness works. Once baked, her son becomes a killer gingerbread man! As the Gingerdead Man, he is even more sadistic, craves revenge and also has a foul mouth and a very dirty mind as he loves the ladies and to be honest, the longer he stays as the cookie, the more perverted he becomes. You can’t keep him down, because if any part of him gets baked again, he will return from the grave and start killing again. During his journeys into murder, he has slaughtered people at a bakery, an independent movie studio and even at a roller disco in the year 1976. When captured, he is kept under lock & key and bound like Hannibal Lector as his urges to kill and rape are too amped up. While a bad guy, he also has semi helped people and did battle with the Evil Bong, another of Full Moon’s cheesy characters. So while not as cool as the Puppets from Puppet Master, and not even in the same league as say Chucky from Child’s Play, The Gingerdead Man still has baked his way into Horror Film history and remains a favorite character for fans of Full Moon and B-Movie Horror.
Growing up I was hooked on watching and collecting Full Moon movies; my room was filled with many of their films on VHS, and I would watch the Subspecies and Puppet Master films all the time. I was such a fan, I joined the Full Moon Fan Club and wrote them letters many times, and what was so cool is they would write back and sometimes even send cool things like signed trading cards or other promo type items. I stayed a loyal fan even when their budgets were cut and their deal with Paramount Pictures went sour, renting them from the local video stores and buying them when I had the chance. I even stayed with them when they had a name change and started calling themselves Wizard again. hell, to this day I support them, and this leads us to the breakdown of the Gingerdead Man film series that has three official sequels in addition to our lead little cookie killer showing up in other films like Evil Bong. So let’s pre-heat the oven and pop in a CD from Richard Band or The Midnight Syndicate to add to this October day mood and learn a very little about The Gingerdead Man movies.
The Gingerdead Man (2005)
“An evil yet adorable Gingerbread man comes to life with the soul of a convicted killer – this real life cookie monster wreaks havoc on the girl who sent the killer to the electric chair.”
This horror comedy was directed by Charles Band and was released direct to DVD on November 8, 2005 of course by Full Moon Entertainment. Ohio’s own Danny Draven edited the film with Roger Ballenger doing the soundtrack. Gary Busey plays Millard Findlemeyer and also lends his voice to the Gingerdead Man puppet. Other actors in the film include Robin Sydney, Alexia Aleman and Ryan Locke. I first saw this film on a DVD that I bought from Blockbuster Video and can remember enjoying it for all its over the top nature and Gary Busey’s hammy performance.
The Gingerdead Man 2 (2008)
“The horrifying yet delicious and chewy Gingerdead Man causes murder and mayhem on the set of a horrible low budget movie set. It will take the determination of the studio’s young new owner to save both his company and well as the lives of his young new friends. Including a terminally ill young boy whose final wish it was to meet the studios stars – The Tiny Terrors.”
Like all cheesy horror film characters, you can’t keep em down and out if money is to be made. So with the cult success of The Gingerdead Man, three years later Full Moon Entertainment was back at it again with Passion Of The Crust. In the director seat this time was Silvia St. Croix with actor John Vulich doing the voice of The Gingerdead Man for the not returning Gary Busey. The film also stars K-Von Moezzi, Kelsey Sanders and Michelle Bauer. The film also has cameos from horror stars like Adam Green, Greg Nicotero and David DeCoteau. This sequel turns up the cheesy humor, and I saw it on a DVD that I was given as a Christmas gift. The film was released on July 4, 2008…so yeah, that year you could celebrate your independence with this cheesy low budget sequel about a killer cookie man.
The Gingerdead Man 3 (2011)
“The Gingerdead Man travels back in time to 1976 and carries out an epic disco killing spree.”
Full Moon returned to the cookie jar for a third time with this sequel that has the killer cookie man going back in time like he was in “Back To The Future”, but this time the director was William Butler who also did the voice of The Gingerdead Man! Other actors in this film include Jackie Beat, Selene Luna and Junie Hoang. It’s release date direct to DVD was on September 13, 2011, and once more I got this movie as a Christmas gift! It’s overly silly and to date marks the last in the Gingerdead man solo movie series, but I am sure Full Moon will fire up the oven again soon and start up na IndieGoGo page to have a fourth movie fan backed and baked.
The Gingerdead Man did not disappear after his third film in 2011 as in 2013 Full Moon decided to combine him in a monster fight movie when they made “Gingerdead Man vs. Evil Bong” and had the two cheesiest of their movie villains battle it out. The film was directed by Charles Band and had Bob Ramos doing the voice of the killer cookie. Like most Full Moon films, Gingerdead Man has also had his share of merchandise besides the DVD’s of the films like comics, statues, fake cereal box, poster prints and even a Halloween mask! Plus in 2014 as part of her “13 Nights Of Elvira” shows for Halloween, the one and only Elvira Mistress Of The Dark hosted The Gingerdead Man. So as you can see, this cookie doesn’t seem to be crumbling anytime soon in the eyes of fans…man, I have put so many lame cookie jokes into this review so far; what’s next talking about a slam dunk into milk?
Gary Busey is an actor that is very underrated when it comes to his work in horror and science fiction films, not to mention his work in action flicks! William Gary Busey was born on June 29 1944 in Goose Creek, Texas and during school was a football player, but his true calling in life was to entertain. His first big break came when he played drums for The Rubber Band and appeared on recordings of singer Leon Russell, but his first acting gig came in the 1968 film called “Wild In The Streets” and would continue his acting for many great films like “The Magnificent Seven Ride!”, “The Buddy Holly Story”, “D.C. Cab”, “Black Sheep” and “Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas” to name a few. But for me his roles in the following films are what made him a favorite actor of mine in my youth. Let’s start off with the 1985 horror film “Silver Bullet” that was based off a Stephen King short story and had Busey play the fun loving, yet screwed up uncle named Red. In 1990, he would play the arrogant DEA agent Peter Keyes who is on the track of The Predator while using a cover up of trying to stop a drug ring in the film “The Predator 2,” and of course his work as Millard Findlemeyer in the 2005 horror comedy film “The Gingerdead Man”. But those are just a drop in the hat of films he was in that made an impact on my film watching life as he also was in such classic films of my youth as “Lethal Weapon” in 1987, the 1991 action drama “Point Break”, the amazing 1992 Steven Seagal film “Under Siege” and so many others like “Surviving The Game”, “Lost Highway” and “Soldier” and not to mention he also returned to horror in 2012 with an appearance in “Piranha 3DD”! In Busey’s personal life, he has battled drugs and alcohol abuse, battled cancer and in 1988 had a very bad motorcycle accident that left him with brain damage and lucky to be alive. Busey is a man who speaks his mind and has lots of weird quirks and is now the butt of many jokes and memes, but for me he will always be an underrated actor and played many roles of characters that stick in my brain as great performances.
I have spoke many times over the years about comic companies that made quality horror comics that closed way too soon. Names like Dead Dog Comics, Fangoria Comics, NOW, Innovation, Xmachina, Northstar, Blackthrone, Arrow and Eternity all come to mind and make me wonder what could have been. But for fans of horror comics like me, the past few years have given me hope that the rise of the horror comic is coming back as companies like IDW have made comics based on the likes of Motel Hell, The Fly and Godzilla. Boom has done comics based on Hellraiser and King Kong, and even DC Comics have done several Swamp Thing series. Let’s not forget the smaller independent companies who are truly do outstanding work in bringing horror back like The Bloodshed’s comic series We Kill The Dead. Eibon Press is doing comics based on Lucio Fulci films like Zombie and Gates Of Hell among other original material. Rough House Publishing has brought back classic series like The Dead and Gore Shriek, and even my very own co-owned company Sparkle Comics via our Horror Comic branch called Blood Scream Comics has many great horror theme comics in the works including The Wolf Hunter and Shocking Macabre Theater! But here and now I want to talk about a company who for me is truly bringing horror comics back and that’s Action Lab Comics who have released comics of this genre like The Final Plague, Southern Dog, Snowed In and Zombie Tramp, plus the best of them all, the Full Moon Presents Comics! So sit back and let’s learn a little about Action Lab Comics and their Danger Zone branch that offers mature rated horror comics.
Action Lab Comics was started in 2010 by the combined forces of Shawn Pryor, Dave Dwonch and Shawn Gabborin, all of whom have independent self publishing backgrounds. The company’s first release was the graphic novel “Back In The Day” with the next release being “Fracture,” a comic that was crowd funded via Kickstarter. Many books followed including “Snowed In”, “Priceless” and the digital only title “Globworld” and best of all during this time the company was growing in the market and winning awards for their covers, stories and art. Many others amazing titles would follow over the years like “Bigfoot Sword Of The Earthman”, “Monsters Are Like Us” and “Jetta: Tales Of The Toshigawa” to name a few. And to keep the more scary, bloody and horror titles away from the more mainstream titles, they decided to open a branch called The Danger Zone, and this was to become the part of this company I would grow to love and look forward to picking up titles from. Many amazing titles have been released via the Danger Zone branch thus far like “The Final Plague”, “Ghost Town”, “Grave Digger”, “Southern Dog”, “Night Of The 80’s Undead” and “Bolts” among many others. But when they announced the Full Moon Presents line of comics with Puppet Master being the first of the releases, I knew this was my kind of comic company! During this team up with Full Moon so far we have gotten comic mini series based on “Trancers”, “Gingerdead Man” and “Oblivion” with more titles to be announced and coming soon. I have talked to one of the company’s founders and acting Editor In Chief, Shawn Gabborin, and must say he is a class act guy who took time to chat with this comic fan and is also the man who’s writing the Puppet Master comic series and is a Full Moon Entertainment fan himself. If you love horror comics, Full Moon or just good comic reads, check out the titles put out by Action Lab and their Danger Zone branch.
So I think we should pre-heat the oven to bake up a batch of Gingerbread Halloween Cookies, and while we wait for that, I want to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics for getting me these issue via my pull file and would as always like to remind you good readers that I grade these issues on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. Plus I should also say that I am pretty dang hyped for the coming year to see what Danger Zone and other comic companies have in store for us. I also can’t wait to see what’s in Sparkle Comic’s future releases as we have some cool ideas and deals in the works. But the buzzer just went off letting me know it’s killer cookie man time, so let’s get to it shall we?
The Gingerdead Man # 1 **1/2
Released in 2016 Cover Price $3.99 Action Lab # 1 of 3
Betty’s Bakery has been closed down for sometime now, and Synithia and her street gang have chosen it to be a hideout and a place to make cookies and treats with a new powerful green powder drug called Confection that cannot be used without dulling it down. As Synithia and some of the gang go to get ingredients to make the cookies, she leaves two of her goons behind to clean the machines. Meanwhile next door is the Cup Of Joe Coffee Shop where Kayla works; she tries to reach Billy, a young boy always in a hurry as well as deals with a crazy old man named Mister Gill who is ranting about the gang breaking in next door, as he thinks they are going to bring prostitutes! The left alone goons decide to use some old gingerbread mix they find and mix it with Confection, but this turns out to be a big mistake as baking it brings back The Gingerdead Man who goes on a brutal rampage, killing them with such things as an electric mixer. The crazy old man enters the closed bakery looking for paid sex, but finds death at the end of a knife as The Gingerdead Man butchers him. In the end Kayla, Billy and a customer next door hear the screams as Gingerdead Man cuts off the old man’s finger and attaches it to himself like a penis!
Action Lab has captured the over the top horror comedy nature of Gingerdead Man very well in this first silly issue. The comic’s plot is very basic and yet a perfect way to set up this mini series story. It has a street gang accidentally bringing back The Gingerdead Man who is blood thirsty and horny and slaughters members of the gang as well as a perverted old timer, all the while the innocent people next door at the coffee shop hear the screams and carnage and wonder what is going down. Synithia is the leader of the gang and has a bad attitude and wants to get her new drug on the streets so they can make money. She also is very much a bully and seems to enjoy bossing her braindead members around. Mister Gill is clearly a crazy old man who is quick to judge and condemn those who don’t understand or are of the criminal world, but is also the type who will want the thing he judges, in this case it’s the sex trade. But poor old Gill is punished for wanting to pay for sex and is destroyed by a knife. So far Kayla seems like a responsible young lady who is working a job and trying her best in the world she lives in. As for Billy, all we really know about him is that he likes firecrackers, is her younger brother and is kind of a trouble maker. The customer is a mystery and makes me wonder if he will just be another victim or will he be a hero. The Gingerdead Man is as sinister as ever as; from the moment he comes back to life, he is ready to slaughter and kill any human he can catch! His means of murder have all been items found in a bakery, and he does so with bloody glee. That’s one thing for sure, this comic loves the blood and gore with such brutal deaths as a head explosion, stabbing and a mixer to the back of the head with so much force the beaters popped out of the victim’s mouth! The humor in the comic is crude with the major laugh out loud moment being the finger penis as it’s so ridicules and silly, oh yeah and it’s also packed with baking puns. The cover is pretty eye catching and showcases our movie maniac with his mixer with a sinister grin on his face, with the interior art being done by Sergio Rios that looks fantastic and captures the mood of the film series this comic is based on. The story, as I have said, is very silly yet very entertaining and is done by Brockton McKinney who also does the rest of this series. This first issue is solid and good and is making me look forward to see just how this comic mini-series will play out. So let’s put another comic cookie batch in the update oven and see what issue two has in store for us this October night.
The Gingerdead Man # 2 **1/2
Released in 2016 Cover Price $3.99 Action Lab # 2 of 3
Kayla has called the police over the scream she heard next door, and the cops just think she heard screams from a horror film that Billy is watching in the other room but still decide to check it out. In the bakery, The Gingerdead Man has made a cookie dough woman and is getting his joys with her when the cops find him and his murderous rage once more comes out. He kills one cop with molten hot melted chocolate chips! The other cop is able to fire his gun and knock off The Gingerdead Man’s arm, but with a glee in his eyes, he forces the severed cookie arm down the throat of the other cop who, while choking, becomes crazed as he is now high on Confection! The Gingerdead Man uses a pizza cutter for his arm and orders the mindless slave cop to make more cookies as these will be his helpers and his army! Meanwhile Kayla and Billy are next door and arguing over the days events. As Synithia and the rest of the gang show up, they fight with the cracked out cop, and the commotion brings Kayla from next door to close up and peek next door just in time to see The Gingerdead and his tiny cookie army and cookie dragon appear ready to fight the gang.
This second issue adds more bloodshed and a little more light to the story of the war that is about to explode inside Betty’s Bakery! This time around the plot has cops investigating the noises from the bakery that leaves one dead and one a slave to the sinister Gingerdead Man. Add in the gang returning for their drugs and poor Kayla, and you have a set up for a final battle that will take place in the next issue that is also the final issue in the mini series. Once more Kayla is shown to be hard working and wants to do what’s best for her bratty brother Billy, who is foul mouthed and just a little jerk. Kayla also clearly wants to do the right thing as the noises next door not only freak her out but also could be something very bad. The cops are kind of walking blindly into a slaughter as they don’t think the noises Kayla heard were anything but from a horror film that was playing in the other room, but they should have been on better alert as one is killed and one becomes high on Confection and becomes a mindless goon for The Gingerdead Man. The customer from the last issues is not a player at all as he is gone in this issue and another random guy appears instead and offers nothing more than a background character. Synithia and the rest of the gang are very mad as they find their fellow members dead among other people as well as a cop high on their drug stash! The Gingerdead Man is as cruel and perverted as ever and not only kills but also makes love to a cookie woman…yeah, he is a little psycho pervert! I wonder how his cookie army and cookie dragon will slaughter the enemy in the next issue? The death in this issue has a cops face melting off by scolding chocolate; while cheesy, it’s is a great bloody death. This issue is filled with blood, gore, boobs (via the horror film Billy is watching) and lots of stupid puns and once more is just what fans of this film series would want in their comic book. The cover for this issue is okay, and the art inside by Sergio Rios is once more well done and fun to look at. Over all, another well done issue that still is holding the cheesy comedy horror charm that is needed for a series like this. Well the timer on the oven is almost ready to buzz that this series is over. So let’s take one last peek and see what treats await us in issue three.
The Gingerdead Man # 3 **1/2
Released in 2016 Cover Price $3.99 Action Lab # 3 of 3
The Gingerdead Man along with his mini cookie men are attacking Synithia and her men and are doing really well putting a hurting on the gang members! The gang members figure out that the cookie men can just be crushed and killed and that’s what happens until the little guys decide to go on suicide missions and force themselves down the throats of their enemies! The Gingerdead Man himself gets into the action and cuts off half of a gang member’s face and orders the mini cookie men to cut off the face of the other gang member fully and killing him. Synithia, armed with cookie cutters throws some to her half faced friend and they go on a slaughter of cookie men and even take down The Gingerdead Man’s pet dragon he named Fux with them. Meanwhile Kayla is back at the coffee shop gearing up to fight by arming herself with kitchen tools and keeping Billy safe in another room. While outside in front of the bakery, the war is still going on and Gingerdead Man has killed the half face gang member and has his mini cookie men combine to make a big cookie man and try and kill Synithia, but thanks to Kayla and Billy who made a cake filled with lit fireworks, they are able to kill the giant cookie man and Kayla in turn knocks The Gingerdead Man into a super hot cup off coffee and the killer gingerbread man’s rampage is ended as he melts. In the end as the cops talk to the survivors, a stray dog gets into the coffee shop and drinks the coffee with the remains of the Gingerdead Man and goes off into the woods and poops him out!
The third and final issue in this mini series is still as goofy as the others and turns up the blood, gore and oh yes the puns! The plot is more action than story, and the final battle between Gingerdead Man and his cookie army and Synithia and her gang as well as Kayla and Billy will leave only one of these teams walking out alive. Kayla, who witnesses the sinister Cookie Army’s rise, does what any respectable citizen would do and that’s make sure her younger brother is safe and then gear up with wooden spoons and egg beaters and get ready to kick some cookie butt. I really like Kayla as I found her very easy to bond with and seemed like your every day normal young lady working for a small coffee shop who is capable of defending herself if need be. Billy is still a brat but his love for fireworks does save the day as his cake laced with the boom sticks is what brings down the giant cookie man and saves Synithia’s life! Speaking of Synithia, she as well is one tough cookie and fights for her life as well as the lives of her remaining gang only armed with cookie cutters and does some major damage as she is the one who even takes down Fux The Magic Dragon. The remaining gang members try to stay alive but lose their skin on their faces and one loses his head…as in it’s cut off. The Mini Cookie Army, The Giant Cookie Man and Fux all fight with anger and the joy of killing and all lose their doughy lives in this war. The Gingerdead Man is calling the shots of this fight and not only gives the orders to kill but also commits murder himself! While he is corny and filled with one-liners, he still is very brutal and enjoys snuffing out human life, but it’s funny that he ends up dying in a hot cup of coffee and is later pooped out by a dog…so silly. But that’s what makes this comic mini series work, is the fact it realizes how silly the source material is and just goes fully in on being over the top and down right stupid humor and gross gore. The most brutal kill of the issue I would have to say is the one gang member who first gets half his face cut off by the pizza cutter that The Gingerdead Man is using for a hand, and then a short time later he has his head cut off by the killer cookie man. The cover is good and eye catching as it shows Gingerdead Man riding his pet dragon Fux, and the art done by Rios is as before very well done and really does capture the silly nature of this character. While not the best comic series based on a Full Moon movie I have ever read, it is however one of the most goofy ones I have read and was perfect to review and chat about this Halloween season. I would say if you like the movies or just looking for a crude horror comedy comic, this would be one you’ll want to check out. Check out some of the great artwork by Sergio Rios to see how good it is. Oh and I also want to share that this mini series subtitle is “Baking Bad,” a play on the TV Show “Breaking Bad”…oh the terrible puns and play on words from this series are eye rolling but entertaining.
So I hope The Gingerdead Man helped make your October a little better or is that spookier as I feel he truly is a character that’s so cheesy and he is a perfect fit for not only movies but also comic books. I want to also say that doing the countdown to Halloween updates is so much fun as I get to really dive into the world of horror comics and pick the things I think best fit my mood and the goings on of that year as in films released or custom comics being made. So for this Halloween update we will be traveling back to Texas and taking a look at the Avatar comics based on the 2009 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. So once more the saw will be law here at Rotten Ink and as always we will have other topics and surprises in store for you, my friends and readers. So until then have one good scare, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next time as Leatherface wants to see you all face to face again!
Rotten Ink 