Blah Blah True Blood Comics Blah

Greetings, Inkers! Juliet here, with a look at a show and one of its comics that combines several of my favorite things. Zombies have dominated horror-centric pop culture for the past decade, and while fans’ appetites were already primed for the arrival of the Walking Dead television show in 2010, the years prior to that were devoted to another undead creature: the vampire. The bloodsuckers had already enjoyed quite the pop culture run in the mid to late 1990s with the film versions of Interview With a Vampire and Queen of the Damned and TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, among fan favorites. But after Buffy ended in 2003 and spin-off show Angel in 2004, it seemed that the vampire’s time in the film and television limelight was done.  But several series of books were already waiting for readers and waiting to be adapted by Hollywood, and 2008 and 2009 brought viewers the first film in the Twilight saga, the Vampire Diaries TV show, and the focus of today’s update, True Blood.  So warm up a bottle of your favorite blood type, and get ready to travel to Bon Temps, Louisiana as we talk about the TV show and its prequel comic.

In 2001, author Charlaine Harris began her Southern Vampire Mysteries series (also called The Sookie Stackhouse Novels) with the book Dead Until Dark.  The series, which would go on to have 12 novels total, was narrated by Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps who has telepathic abilities and falls in love with a vampire.  The series was set around the same time each book was published, but in this near-reality world, a synthetic blood beverage called Tru Blood made it possible for vampires to become part of mainstream society.  As the books progressed, werewolves, shapeshifters, faeries, and even a maenad also emerged, among other supernatural creatures.  

The series had been optioned for television twice before 2005, when producer Alan Ball, fresh off Six Feet Under (another of my favorite HBO shows), was embarking on a new deal with HBO to develop new content. Having read the series thus far, the Southern Vampire Mysteries was his first project under the deal, and production on the television show True Blood began.  

Like the novels, True Blood takes place by and large, in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana and begins by focusing on telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse, played Anna Paquin, who falls in love with vampire Bill Compton in a world where vampires are “out of the coffin,” and many other supernatural beings emerge.  That’s the simplest possible description I can give for the kickoff of a show that gets very complicated very quickly and stretches for seven (HBO-length) seasons.  As in the books, we meet werewolves, shapeshifters, faeries, a vampire hating mega-church-esque cult, witches, and yes, a maenad. The show is, however, a loose adaptation of the books with some big changes at the start and, like many books turned shows, True Blood’s plot definitely veers completely away from the plot of the book series at a certain point. 

In contrast to its teenage contemporary Twilight, True Blood is overtly sexy and puts sexuality in all of its forms at the forefront.  (Funny enough though, just as Twilight had Team Edward and Team Jacob, True Blood had Team Bill, Team Eric, and eventually Team Alcide.) Some people have chosen to interpret the vampires’ struggle for equality throughout the show as an allegory for the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights, though Alan Ball, who is gay himself, disputes that interpretation as being reductive.

When True Blood premiered in 2008, a service like HBO Go was merely a dream for fans like myself who had been hooked by the premium network’s still relatively new slate of dramas that came to prominence with The Sopranos and the aforementioned Six Feet Under. So that meant that viewers either had to have both cable and HBO to watch a show or wait for each season to come out on DVD. And so it was on DVD that I first saw True Blood.  Admittedly, I was a little uncertain about whether I was even interested; as a lifelong Anne Rice fan, I wasn’t sure anyone could do a Louisiana vampire story to my satisfaction other than her.  It took a combination of Matt buying me the first season on DVD as a gift, and the endorsement of several of my fellow Six Feet Under devotee friends for me to take the plunge.  And of course, it was love at first bite.

I was initially drawn in by the fictional world of Bon Temps, along with the idea of vampires and the world adjusting to each other.  But what kept me coming back season after season was in Shreveport: Eric Northman, Pamela Swynford De Beaufort, and their vampire bar Fangtasia.  I was honestly more invested in them than the main Sookie Stackhouse story, especially after the reveal about Sookie’s origin, which remains for me one of the weakest plot points in the show, and to that end, I should clarify that I was not at all interested in (translation = pretty adamantly against) Eric and Sookie’s romantic storyline.  While at first I loved the slightly kitschy atmosphere of Fangtasia and Pam and Eric’s delightfully snarky banter, it was their unique relationship as century long companions that kept me watching until the very end. 

Eric and Pam are also the reason I chose not to read the Southern Vampire Mystery books.  After watching the few seasons of True Blood, I strongly considered reading the books, but in doing a little research and finding out that their characters and storylines, among others I enjoyed, were very different than those portrayed on the show, I decided, to stick with the TV versions.  I typically don’t have this luxury as I usually end up watching shows based on books I already love and sometimes being disappointed at the translation.  Funny enough, as I was working on this update, AMC announced that they had acquired the TV rights to both the Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches properties.  So I’ll end up having the book to TV experience with a different set of vampires at some point.  

But back to Eric and Pam, or more specifically, back to Pam.  I mentioned before that there became different camps of viewers, and while I suppose I could be Team Eric, I am most definitely Team Pam.  When I start watching a show I really enjoy, there’s usually one character that from their first appearance I can instantly claim as my favorite, and Pamela Swynford De Beaufort is most definitely that character on True Blood.  It’s not a huge surprise as I have a “type” when it comes to favorite characters: sassy, in charge, but still complex and exploring their place in the world.  For me, Pam was also often a sounding board for the viewer (okay, maybe just this viewer), dryly commenting on some of the more ridiculous aspects of the story. And she’s got some of the most memorable lines (and outfits) from the show.  

Before we move on, I should note that while Eric and Pam are my favorite characters/progeny-maker pair/otp/imaginary vampire best friends, in contrast Matt is firmly on Team Bill Compton and Jessica Hamby.  I actually really like Jessica too, but the Bill vs. Eric debate raged on hilariously in our house through the entire run of the show.  

Another memorable thing about True Blood was the show’s use of music.  In addition to the sexy, swampy theme song “Bad Things” performed by Jace Everett, the show is beautifully scored by Nathan Barr.  Also, notably, each episode is named for a song that describes something about the story and appears as part of it, usually as punctuation right as the end credits roll.  These are often classic and new classic songs from the likes of Dr. John, Neko Case and the Talking Heads. Some of these, along with notable other songs from within the episodes appear on 4 soundtrack albums that are still available on CD.

During the height of its popularity, True Blood was known for a ton of merch and some really great marketing, and sometimes those two would go hand in hand.  Shortly after the show began, HBO began marketing bottles of actual, drinkable Tru Blood.  Okay, so it was blood orange soda, but the look and feel of the packaging was authentic to the show making it great for watch parties and collectors.  On the more traditional marketing front, the billboard and print ads for the show were always super distinctive and clever, opting for an attention grabbing image or phrase with the show’s signature red, black and white color scheme.  In the online/tv realm, there were several runs of “minisodes” used to bridge gaps between seasons.  The first was called A Drop of Blood and took place between seasons 2 and 3.  These 3 to 5 minute videos helped give viewers a look at smaller moments between the seasons.  In Eric and Pam’s, which was the first one released, we see them audition new dancers for Fangtastia and land on Yvetta, who we’d meet in season 3.  There was also an ongoing series of short videos that began in 2010 after season 3 and lasted until 2014 featuring Jessica.  These were vlog style videos in which our favorite redhead learned more about life as a vampire with Pam, Tara, Bill, and Ginger among her guests.

Along with the soundtrack albums, the soda and of course DVDs of the seasons, fans of True Blood could take their pick from a slew of official and unofficial merchandise including more shirt designs than I can count, drinking and shots glasses, coffee mugs, a cookbook (which I own), a makeup line from Tarte cosmetics (which I wish I owned), and a line of Funko Pops.  Fun fact: I held off buying Pop figures for quite a long time until they made Eric and Pam, and then the floodgates opened up and I now have entirely too many. 

True Blood also inspired several comic series. In both 2010 and 2012 IDW published comic series simply called True Blood, which were six and 14 issues respectively.  In 2011, there were two miniseries, also from IDW, True Blood: French Quarter and True Blood: Tainted Love, all of which spun off the TV show and used familiar characters.  But before all of that, there was True Blood: The Great Revelation.  This Top Cow comic was released in 2008 at ComicCon as a part of the pre-promotion for the show.  It’s a prequel to the show, and it’s the comic we’re going to look at here on Rotten Ink.

As a reminder, we comics on a scale of 1 to 4 and are looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So get a refill on your Tru Blood (or maybe some New Blood), and get ready to do some bad things.

True Blood: The Great Revelation # 1 ***
Released in 2008     Cover Price: Free    Top Cow     # 1 of 1

A centuries old vampire named Lamar is flying through the night sky on an airplane.  As his journey begins, he reflects on how strange it is for vampires to be out in the open and how Tru Blood is making that happen.  Lamar arrives in the Shinjuku District of Tokyo, recalling his first visit to Japan ages ago as he makes his way to his hotel. There he tells us more about the emergence of Tru Blood that led to the Great Revelation: when a group of Japanese vampires found out that human scientists were close to developing synthetic blood, they bought up the patents, invested in the company, and began to spread the word to vampires around the world.  Even now, however, Lamar isn’t sure that humanity is ready for vampires, and he recalls that his friend Samson was eager for integration between vampires and humans and paid for it with a stake through his heart.  Lamar finally arrives at the headquarters for the Yakonomo Corporation where he’s eager to show them a secret of his own.

The first thing I should tell you about this comic is that the story ends on a cliffhanger that was continued digitally as pre-promotion for the show.  Comic Con attendees in 2008 got the first read, and eventually these pages and the rest of the story were released weekly on HBO’s website to gear up for the show’s premiere.  Unfortunately, after lots of searching and several Wayback Machine fails, I was unable to find the rest of the pages beyond what’s in the physical comic, which is disappointing, but is also worth noting because some of the questions I have about the story may have been answered in those extra pages.  That said, I thought this was a really nice introduction to the larger mythos of True Blood.  I thought it was really smart to create a character that exists outside of the world of the show and to make the setting someplace other than Bon Temps because it didn’t fall into the clumsy trap of some prequel promo comics where the comic and show aren’t being written in sync so the characters feel off.  Lamar is a compelling character and the little glimpses of his backstory we got made me want to spend more time with him, and I definitely want to know more about the weapon he revealed in the last panel.  The backstory about the Great Revelation and origin of Tru Blood also felt really well in line with the show, albeit with a few elements missing – the vampire Kings and Queens are mentioned but the authority isn’t mentioned by name, likewise we only see vampires at the Yakonomo Corporation with no sign of Mr. Gus (or perhaps his father).  It is interesting that we get the name Yakonomo this early in the show’s history, however, as it’s only referred to as “a Japanese Corporation” onscreen until season six. 

The story is primarily told in “voiceover” style, which works nicely for this shorter story, especially since the whole point is to give a lot of background in only a few pages.  Jason Badower’s art is great, and the colors by Blond were particularly great because they captured the mood of the show and all of the early marketing materials ahead of the premiere.  Speaking of, there are several bonus pages that include a two-page interview with Alan Ball and several “ads” that tie into entities in the show and had accompanying web buildouts (some of which you can find on the Wayback Machine – yay!) like the American Vampire League and the Fellowship of the Sun. All told, this is a really great addition to the True Blood story, and fans of the show should have this in their collection.

It’s almost dawn, when, unless you’re Billith, all vampires need to find a place to hide from the sun.  And it’s about time that I hand Rotten Ink back to Matt.  For his next update, he’ll be revisiting the world of horror fan films with another batch of movies to tell you about.  In the meantime, read a comic or two, support your local comic shop and bank blood, and avoid any and all vampire emergencies. 

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: I Sell The Dead (2008)

Not all Horror Movies have to be scary; many are laced with humor, and Horror Comedies have been very popular with viewers many of years now.  One of these Horror Comedies is called I Sell The Dead and was released in 2008. While I Sell The Dead never reached the popularity of other Horror Comedies like Shaun Of The Dead or Zombieland, it has built a cult following and even spawned an Image Comic book one shot that we will review here on this From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update! So grab a shovel and pick a cemetery, it’s time to become a ghoul and dig up the graves of the undead for some quick cash as we dive into the world of I Sell The Dead.

Before we get into the movie, lets take a look at the monsters that make up I Sell The Dead as it’s filled with many different types. We will start with the weakest of the batch, the Alien Corpse that is freezing cold to the touch and even freezes the land it’s buried under. The thing about the dead Alien is once he is unearthed, he will be beamed up by a U.F.O and taken back to space. The threat of the Alien Corpse is not high as it will cause cold chills and once beamed up to the mother ship it will blind you for a moment and deliver a wicked headache to humans around. We next have the female vampire. This bloodsucker is killing machines who want to suck the blood of the living. She is super fast and strong. The harm she can do to humans is drain them of their blood and kill them. Her weaknesses are crosses, garlic and a stake to the heart! We also have zombies; these flesh eaters are primed to kill the living around them and will do so with their teeth and their hands with which they try to rip and tear flesh. Also their bite can turn humans into one of them, the walking dead. The zombies are not shown to have any weakness in this film so I’m not sure if head trauma would work to stop them. While this film is filled with many ghouls and monsters, none of them are major killing machines but each have their own threats to mankind to make them all a thorn in our collective side. The major baddy hands down would be the female vampire as she is quick, strong and deadly. Below are some pictures of some of the zombies and the female vampire from the film.

So as you can see, this small town in Ireland used to be crawling with all types of monsters who were undead and thirsty to kill the living. I should also note that while the monsters are indeed just that, the true evil is the rival gang of grave robbers called The House Of Murphy…but we will get into them during the comic review. We are now at the point where we need to chat a little about the film. As always we will take our film write up from our pals at IMDB and following that I will talk about the production of the film as well as my first time viewing and thoughts. So let’s not delay and take a quick look at I Sell The Dead, the movie.

I Sell The Dead (2008)

“18th century justice catches up with a pair of grave robbers. With only a few hours to go before his date with the guillotine, Arthur Blake tells his life story to Father Francis Duffy. Before long, Arthur spills the beans on how he got started in the grim corpse peddling business with seasoned ghoul Willie Grimes.”

I Sell The Dead was an independent horror comedy film that was written and directed by Glenn McQuaid.  It was based on a short film he made in 2005 called “The Resurrection Apprentice” and was a film production that was filled with love and allowed McQuaid to work with friends and crew members and actors he had worked with before. The film cast iconic horror actor Angus Scrimm as well Ron Perlman, Dominic Monaghan, Larry Fessenden and Heather Bullock. The film was filmed with no major set backs and when done, IFC picked up the film for distribution in the USA in 2009 and released in on DVD and Blu-Ray. The film was met with pretty good reviews from critics and fans and built itself a very good cult following.

I first saw I Sell The Dead in 2018 as I found out about it via Ebay when looking for comic books that were based on Horror Films and found the Image Comic based on the film listed. I ordered the comic and the movie from Amazon and both got to me around the same time.  Before I read the comic I wanted to watch the movie and chose a very cold late night in January to do so, and as the rain storm outside raged on I turned off all the lights and started to watch the film to see if it chilled my blood or tickled my funny bone….and I have to say that while it was not all that scary, it did have some goofy moments that made me chuckle. The acting was well done and seeing Angus “Tall Man” Scrimm in the role of an evil doctor was very cool as he was a very underrated actor. The film was not that bloody, but they use blood well when it does come into play as the effects are really solid for an independent film. My favorite side character in the film was Valentine Kelly, a white mask wearing female who was set on fire by an ex-lover who now works for The House Of Murphy as a grave robber and enforcer, but sadly I think she is down played really bad in the film. Over all I really enjoyed the film and even watched all the extras on the disc before going to bed that night. I would say if you like Horror Comedies, you should check this film out.

So now that we have taken a look at the film as well as the monsters that dwell in the universe of I Sell The Dead, we are at the point where we will be taking a look at the comic book based on it put out by Image Comics and see if it holds up the charm and fun spooky nature of the film. I want to thank an Amazon seller for having this comic in stock for this review and would like to remind you all that I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So we are in the graveyard and it’s time for us to read this comic based on a Horror Comedy.

I Sell The Dead  # 1  **1/2
Released in 2009      Cover Price $4.99      Image Comics      # 1 of 1

Our tale starts with the beheading of grave robber Willie Grimes.  His friend and helper of selling the dead Arthur Blake is in his cell being visited by Father Francis Duffy who is there to get the young man’s life story of crime. Over some wine Arthur shares his story that starts with him at a young age helping Willie get bodies from the cemeteries all for the super wicked Dr. Quint who pays the pair poorly  for the bodies and also is always threatening them with the law and death! One night Arthur and Willie find the body of a young woman with a stake in her heart, and after removing it, they find out she is a vampire.  After she attacks, they stake her again with some luck and deliver her to Quint who removes the stake and meets his fate…and this frees our grave robbers from his evil grip. Once free, they start stealing bodies for all types of clients and making more money than before. When stealing the body of an Alien, they have a run in with a UFO that steals the body.  They also start hearing rumors of crates that have zombies in them that the owners of the crates have lost some during a ship crash that have washed up on an island and they are paying to get them back! And while the money is good, the pair get a little scared when they hear that The House Of Murphy has been hired to get the boxes back.  The house of Murphy is lead by the father Samuel Murphy and his gang includes his son Cornelius, burnt faced Valentine Murphy and brute Bulger.  But they decide to take the job before them thanks to Fanny, a call girl who is their friend and wants a cut of the money. Once at the island Fanny sneaks up on Bulger and cuts his head off and as they start to remove the crates, a zombie escapes and bits Willie in the arm before they can force it into a cage. As they celebrate and before they can get another zombie crate, a knife is thrown and kills Fanny as Cornelius and Valentine are there, and they are pissed! But things go south as the zombies escape and kill Cornelius and Valentine as Willie and Author escape the island and are later arrested. As the story comes to an end, Father Francis Duffy shows that he is really Samuel Murphy and he is there to kill Author for leaving his gang on the island to die, but before Samuel can kill Author, the decapitated Willie, now a zombie, comes in and saves the day and the pair escape the jail cell. In the end Cornelius now as a zombie is coming from the water and wants revenge.

This adaptation does a great job of capturing the horror comedy aspects of the film and delivering it onto the pages of this comic. The main plot of this comic follows two goofy grave robbers who over their adventures have run into all types of strange creatures from aliens to zombies.  Upon being caught, they are to be executed for their crimes and besides the law they are also wanted dead by a rival gang of body snatchers who some of their actions have left members of that faction dead. Our main hero is Author Blake, a young man who from a young age has had to steal bodies in order to survive and always avoid danger and the law. While he has done bad things he really is not a bad person and has never killed in order to get money or to survive, but he also is not one to go out of his way to help others in need unless you’re in his inner friend circle. Willie Grimes is a gruff life long criminal who as well is not 100% a good guy nor bad guy and is driven by greed. But with him, he is willing to kill and even when a zombie he still remains his own goofy gruff selfish person. The comic is filled with lots of ghouls like a female Vampire who is hungry for blood and is pure evil.  We also have aliens who just want the body of their dead friend back and of course zombies who want to eat some flesh. But our main baddies in this comic are the House Of Murphy who are cold blooded killers who hate those who stand in their way and will do whatever it takes to get their job done. Samuel Murphy is the leader of this group and calls the shots, but when his son and “daughter” are killed, he finds a way to try and get revenge by acting as a Father! Cornelius Murphy is a mean man who is a master of knives and does like to kill! Valentine Murphy is a woman who was burned in a fire and must wear a mask to hide her disfigured face; she as well is a cold blooded killer. Lastly we have the super strong brute Bulger who is the muscle of the group. While they don’t get to really shine in this comic as being badass bad guys, the way the other characters fear them show that they are terrible people. Also Dr. Quint is a terrible person who clearly does not value life or death and uses people and bodies for his own causes. The comic follows the film pretty well, but does add its own touches in order to keep it feeling a little fresh and make it feel slightly like something new. The cover is okay and looks like a cheap independent zombie comic and does a poor job of letting you know it’s based on a film. Brahm Revel does the interior art and while it’s good and has it’s own style, it at times does not fit the mood of the comic. Over all this is a pretty good Horror Comic based on a Horror Movie and fans of the film will really enjoy it as well fans of fun natured zombie comics. Check out the artwork below to see the style used in this comic.

I Sell The Dead is one of those Horror Movies that many people do not know about and has slipped under the radar of many horror comedy fans and even I feel slipped past many readers of Horror Comics based on films as I only even found out about it this year. So while this comic and movie are not ground breaking, I do think that it should have a cult following and people should give them both a chance. For our next update we are leaving the world of the dead behind and will be taking a look at a Horror Host as we do an Icon update on Tennessee-based short lived host, Benedictine The Mad Monk! 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 for some quality time with a mad monk!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Legend Of Diablo (2003)

The Aztec culture has contributed many great monsters to films based around their ancient legends and practices including The Aztec Mummy and the evil demon Azar, who is the main movie monster from today’s film and comic, The Legend Of Diablo! In the last 10 years Hollywood has filled the cinemas with films about ghosts and possessions, and independent labels have flooded the DVD, Blu-Ray and streaming market with lower budget films of the same kind filling the horror genre with lots of films that carry a PG-13 rating and deal with the spirits of evil. The Legend Of Diablo is a possession film that pre-dates the big boom and was, instead, riding the coattails of The Exorcist, Stigmata and The Blair Witch Project making it a low budget clone of its own time. Also The Legend Of Diablo shows that no matter how big or small your horror film is, it could be made into a comic book and people will buy it as one things for sure, Horror Comic readers love what they love! So get ready to open the box and free the evil Azar and learn about the film and the comic and enjoy another “From Horror Film To Horror Comic” update.

So let’s take a look at what Azar is and what it’s capable of! Back in the time when the Aztec’s were still sacrificing humans and ruled the land an evil demon was among them that had the ability to raise the dead as well as brainwash the living. It was up to the Aztec Chief to defeat the demon who had claimed many lives and with this defeat he was imprisoned in a box for centuries. When in 2003 he is freed from the box thanks to a noisy researcher, he once more is on the prowl, this time in California, and possesses innocent people and have them kill one another and this is his mission as death and destruction is what it craves. Azar’s main power comes from creating zombies who will do his evil will and allowing his followers to defend him and cause their victims to become slaves as well. He craves human flesh and by consuming it his powers become greater. He also seems to enjoy playing mind games with his intended victims by using possessed loved ones against them as well as speaking to them via their mind. He can also teleport and jump from body to body when needed in order to avoid being defeated. The main body he takes in the film is that of a preacher who was trying to stop him and his spirit form has the view of seeing red. While in his ancient times he looks like a huge demon with horns and even a long sinister tongue. His weakness is the box and artifact that his being was trapped in for years, as he fears being trapped again and loosing his grip on his plan to infest the world with his slaves. He also has an ego and is on a power trip that leaves him open for defeat as spreading his work of possession clouds his judgment to truly win. While only a spirit, his evil body jumping ways makes his a true evil demon who can cause major havoc and destruction to any one and place that he sets his sight on.

So as you can see, Azar is pure evil and if unleashed could easily bring the world as we know it to an end! Plus besides the change in appearance as far as the eyes and voice, the demon Azar could be walking among us. But now that we understand who and what Azar is, I think we now should learn a little about the movie.  As always, the description will be taken from our pals at IMDB and after I will share my memories and thoughts about the movie, so let’s see what this Horror flick is all about.

The Legend Of Diablo (2003)

“The small California town of Diablo is plagued with mysterious deaths after Sheriff Roberts Lopez unearths an ancient box. Legend has it that the box holds the sixteenth-century Mexican demon named Azar.”

This is a movie that I can remember being on the shelves at Blockbuster Video when I worked for them.  It was what was commonly called shelf filler by my manager who would always laugh at the cheesy horror films that filled our new release wall. I never rented The Legend Of Diablo from work which is kind of shocking as I watched all the horror films I could get my hands on.  Plus I have always been into Latina Women and this flick has its share of them. Many years had passed and this film slipped from my mind and I forgot it even was made until one day working at Game Swap in 2017 it crossed my path again when a regular customer named Steve who loves horror films as much as I do thought about buying it but didn’t.  This lead to me seeing that it had a comic based on it and made it a perfect fit for a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. On a cold February in 2017 via a new DVD I bought for only $1.67 on Amazon. I watched this film for the first time and was amazed at just how low budget yet kind of charming it was, but while charming it is by no means a good. Azar for most of the film is just the POV of the camera with a red filter and when taking over bodies, the effects are nothing more than contacts and make-up and this is slightly disappointing as seeing a creature/demon version would have been pretty cool! The plus to the film was actress Calvi Pabon who played Mary Lopez who dressed in alternative Goth cloths, and this rocked! The film was released on DVD and VHS on March 2, 2004 and was lost in the shuffle for most horror fans as other films released that year were Seed Of Chucky, Dawn Of The Dead, Ginger Snaps 2-3, Tremors 4, Bone Sickness, Dracula 3000 and Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys to name a few and they all gained their cult status over this film. The Legend Of Diablo was directed by Robert Napton and stars Fred Estrada, Lindsey Lofaso, Mario Soto and Calvi Padon all who try their best with what they had to work with and that’s a very small budget with the DVD I have being released by Trinity. Over all this film may not be an amazing piece of horror cinema but no matter how small it still added to the genre as a whole.

So now that we have an understanding of Azar and the film that spawned him, The Legend Of Diablo, I think it’s time to go from the movie to the comic book that was released by Image Comics. The only reason I knew this comic book was made was again thanks to Game Swap and the customer who brought up the DVD that boldly states “based on the popular comic character!” And that sparked a hunt for what comic this film was based on and with the help of Todd The Fox we found it, but only after asking many comic reading friends of mine if they knew like Jason Young and Jeremy Hoyt and none of them knew…so Azar must not have been that popular of a comic character. I want to thank Lone Star Comics for having this issue in stock as that made this update possible. The Aztec spirits are wanting me to remind you all that I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So beware of the stalking red light that lurks outside as it could be Azar, and let’s dive right into this comic that helped spawn the film or is that they spawned each other!

Knights Of The Jaguar # 1  **
Released in 2004    Cover Price $0.00     Image Comics     # 1 of 1

The year is 1819, and the Aztec’s have called upon their warriors called Knights Of The Jaguar who, when wearing their helmets, become Jaguar men who’s main goal is to fight the evil of demons like Azar who tried to take over their land.  With their tribe’s chief they tried their best to defeat the evil demon and were able to trap him but not fully defeat him. Now in modern times Agent Vega takes the trial of the Jaguar and becomes a modern member of this secret order of warriors and heads to the city of Diablo in order to try and bring the war back to Azar and end his evil ways once and for all.

This short ashcan comic acts as a way to try and explain the legend and lore of Azar and the men who spend their lives trying to stop his evil rampage known as the Knights Of The Jaguar. The plot goes back in time when the Aztec people fought against the demon Azar who would corrupt many and that only brave warriors who would dawn the jaguar helmets are the ones who can save mankind form the evil. We then show modern times and a good Agent takes the trial to become a member of the order of the Jaguar and when he passes, he heads to a town that is rumored to house the spirit of Azar. Really the plot is that faced paced and really just acts as a tool for readers to rent or buy the film The Legend Of Diablo. The downside is besides the fact you know the Knights Of The Jaguar and Agent Vega are good guys and that Azar is an evil demon so you get no real time to bond with the characters or fully get to know them, and that’s the weakness of this comic as you really don’t get to care about any of them! The comic has little amounts of blood and is not really all that scary making it feel like it’s a horror comic that’s spinning its wheels and not living up to the demon possessed comic it could be. The art is pretty good and has a true 90’s feel to it and is done by Mike Choi who does a good job of making the story seem more epic.  The cover is cool but really does not represent the film and the characters in it at all and that’s odd as this comic was meant to be a tool to get readers to become viewers. Over all not much can be said about this comic besides Aazar is evil, the art is good and its way to short for its own good. Fans of the film might want to give this a read as it gives more back history to the demon Azar as well as Agent Vega. Your average horror comic reader who has zero clues that the movie was even made will probably want to stay clear, as it offers nothing for you besides more questions than entertainment. Below is art from this mini comic and shows Azar in all his glory.

So as you can see The Legend Of Diablo might not have set the horror movie world on fire it still got the comic book treatment, and I wish more smaller horror films and companies producing and releasing these films would take note and make comics based on their films as there are readers out there like me. While we leave Azar behind, we are starting our countdown to Halloween with out next update and I feel like we should take a look at another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” so I decided to take a look at the comic and slasher film The Orphan Killer! What better way to kick off a Halloween countdown than with a gory slasher comic and film…am I right? Well until next time, read a comic or three, watch a Horror film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update for a very bloody good time!

Body Count The Forgotten Horror Series From Aircel

Welcome back to Rotten Ink, a place for me to share my past, present and future! On this update, I want to chat a little about independent horror comics and my love for them! Growing up I was a avid comic reader, and super heroes like “Captain America”, “Batman”, “Spider-Man”, “Superman” and “The Incredible Hulk” were what I was reading at almost any given time as those were comics that we could find at the local grocery stores and comic racks at convenient stores. Besides the superhero comics, I also read lots based on toy lines, books and cartoons like “G.I. Joe”, “Masters Of The Universe”, “Transformers”, “Conan The Barbarian” and “Thundercats” that were also easy to find. The only horror comic titles I had were copies of “Werewolf By Night”, “Swamp Thing”, “Tomb of Dracula”, “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not”, “Godzilla” and “Man-Thing,” all mostly obtained at garage sales that acted as another source of a way for me and my brother to get comics. Growing up in a small town like Waynesville made it super hard to find out about other comics as it did not have a comic store (besides antique store Spencers that carried back issues of Power Man and Secret Wars 2). The closest ones around were Dark Star in Yellow Springs, Mavericks in both Kettering and Centerville and my all time favorite store Bookie Parlor that was also in Dayton/Kettering, and my parents would only take us to these stores from time to time when I was really young and more so when I was around 12 or 13. I can remember discovering that comic companies like NOW, Innovation, Eternity, Malibu and Epic were cranking out comics based not only on super heroes but also horror and science fiction comics and being blown away at the huge selection that comic shops had us readers able to choose from as I was used to the magazine section of Big Bear and Hearts in Lebanon where I got most of my comics from other than the subscriptions that my Mom and Dad would finally break down and get me and my brother. The good old Marvel Comics subscriptions through the mail was where I would get my issues of Incredible Hulk, Captain America and Amazing Spider-Man delivered to my waiting hands, but the worst part about it was our mailman would fold the issues in order to place them in our mailbox leaving the issues with a bend down the center! But while I loved my super hero adventures, I was a Monster Kid so I also loved to read about the night time terrors of Dracula from the pages of Tomb Of Dracula, the inner struggle of Jack Russell the Werewolf By Night, the stomping rampage of Godzilla as well as the burning touch of Man-Thing who I always enjoyed more than Swamp Thing in the comic world…I know it’s because I am a Marvel Guy. The only independent horror comics that I owned and had access to were from Gold Key and Whitman and were such things as Ripley’s Believe It Or Not and some very beat up and in some case coverless issues of Boris Karloff Tales Of Mystery that my brother Bryan shared with me. But my love for horror comics really exploded when visits to the local comic shops started to happen more often and my parents started to enjoy the fact I was reading a bunch and encouraged me to choose comics and even paperback novels I would enjoy.

The first time I walked into the Bookie Parlor, I was a fan as the owner Hal and his wife Sue were super nice to me and my brother, and after coming in for a few times and spending money Hal would start to let me know when he got new back issues of Hulk and Captain America in. At the Bookie Parlor, I discovered Atlas Comics and its characters like The Brute, Son Of Dracula and their series like “Tales Of Evil”. And at Bookie Parlor is where I found comics by Epic based on the Clive Barker films “Nightbreed” and “Hellraiser” and started my obsession with the Nightbreed and Rawhead Rex cross over. It was also where I discovered Eternity Comics and the fact they made comics based on Full Moon Entertainment films likes “Subspecies” and “Puppet Master” that I had to have and read. Claypool was another comic company Bookie Parlor introduced to me who made comics based on “Elvira Mistress Of The Dark”!

At Mavericks Cards and Comics in Kettering, a place I would later work for, I met owner Jack who always treated me and my brother like we were his friends and would also give us discounts as well as free comics.  During these early years is when I met Jason Young who years later would be one of my closest friends as well as Jeremy Hoyt! While shopping Mavericks I discovered NOW Comics who made comics based on the TV Show “Twilight Zone” and horror film “Fright Night” as well as Innovation who did comics based on the films “Psycho”, “Child’s Play” and “A Nightmare On Elm Street”! Another independent comic company Mavericks introduced me to was Apple who did weird adult horror comics like “Dracula In Hell” and another company, Blackthorne, who shocked me with comics based on the film “Waxwork” and TV Show “Werewolf”. Between these two stores my want and need for horror comics was in full effect as I would buy whatever ones I could get my hands onto, from comics based on killer “Jack The Ripper” to ones based on classic monsters like “Phantom Of The Opera” and even ones that I had no idea what they were even about before buying like “Body Count.”  All I knew was that I needed to read them all! During this time I also started buying Topps Comics as they had many amazing titles out like “Dracula Frankenstein War”, “Bram Stokers Dracula”, “Satan’s Six”, “Jason Goes To Hell” and “Jason vs. Leatherface” and with Dracula Frankenstein War started my first ever comic store pull list. During this time was also the birth of me having to have all the comics based on horror films as many of the films I loved had adaptations and new comic killing adventures for them as such titles as “Re-Animator”, “Halloween”, “Army Of Darkness”, “Night Of The Living Dead”, “Blair Witch Project”, “Pumpkinhead” and so many more from many different comic companies all had comics based around them. For me the comic killing sprees for these movie monsters was another way to add to the characters’ legacy and a way for fans to get a little more while waiting for the next film.

During this time as well I didn’t give up on Marvel Horror as I went out of my way to get more and more issues of Werewolf By Night and the others as they also filled the need to read horror comics. During this time was a true magical age for horror comics as besides the companies mentioned above you had Arrow, Fantaco, Aircel, Northstar, Chaos, Dead Dog, IDW, Avatar, ONI, Fangoria and many others publishing and making horror themed comics from the late 80’s thru the mid 2000’s with each delivering blood and gore filled issues. But during what I call the Golden Years of Horror Comics also came the crash of the 90’s when Marvel and DC once more went to war to dominate the shelf space at comic shops and by putting out so much product, they forced many amazing companies to go under as did cut throat politics in the industry among small press companies. The companies that have fallen to the comic rack in the sky that I miss the most and wonder what they would be making now if still around have to be Topps Comics, Fangoria Comics and Dead Dog Comics all of whom were some of my favorite companies going and all who delivered some amazing horror comics into readers hands. During these years horror comics were coming out less and less, and many of them were not based on horror films as they were just original titles mostly based on vampires or zombies with 2003’s Walking Dead from Image being the biggest horror comic title in years.

We are now in 2017, and over the past two years, independent horror comic companies are back on the rise and are making some amazing and entertaining stuff. While the bigger companies like Image, IDW, Boom and Devil’s Due are putting out horror comics with titles like Lord Of Gore, Godzilla, Kong Of Skull Island and Walking Dead, it’s also the smaller guys who are coming into your comic shops and online stores with some amazing stuff that is bringing back the boom of these comics that has been long dead for to long.

My favorite small press company is Eibon Press, run by Shawn Lewis who is also the owner of t-shirt company Rotten Cotton.  They are doing amazing comic books with releases based on Italian director Lucio Fulci movies like “Zombie” and “Gates Of Hell”! They also have titles based on such films as “Laserblast”, “Maniac” and many more including an original series called “Bottom Feeder” in the works. Another cool thing about Eibon is that they have what’s called the Eibon Sleeve that is like a record sleeve for your comic.  They also back it with all types of great stuff like stickers, trading cards, bookmarks and even vinyl records!

Action Lab has a sub company called Danger Zone that has put out some great spooky series and mini series like ones based on Full Moon films “Puppet Master”, “Gingerdead Man” and “Trancers” as well as original titles like “Final Plague”, “Southern Dog” and “Blood & Dust”. While it seems at this time the Full Moon comic deal has come to an end, I have faith that their editor-in-chief Shawn Gabborin will unleash more horror themed comics to the market.

Small publisher Lion Forge has released the series “Night Trap” alongside other horror themed books like “Mad Balls” based on the spooky toys. This company prices their comics at a great price at $2.99 each and sadly seem to be gone or on hold as I have not seen much from them in Diamond Previews as of late. But while their fate of physical comics is up in the air, they still tried to make a small mark for Horror Comic readers.

Rough House Publishing run by Derek Rook has brought back two classic horror comics from the graveyard as they have released “The Dead Omnibus” as well as new issues of “Gore Shriek” with a comic based on the remake of the film “Nightmare City” coming soon. This is a company I cannot wait to see what else is coming from as rumors of music and other cool media items have surfaced as has lots of gossip about what’s in store for the comics they are doing.

The Blood-Shed Publishing has a series called “We Kill The Dead” on the way that showcases over 20 movie slashers from independent horror films doing battle with a government elite team. This is a mini series and rumors of new horror comics from them have been floating around. This is one comic company that is attached to a horror news website that you might want to keep your eyes on.

Space Goat is a company that has been around since 2014 making comics as well as board games. They have also delivered some great horror comic titles like “Evil Dead 2”, “The Howling”, “Zombie Camp” and “Forty Coffins” to name a few. And I also want to give a shout out to Titan Comics who have been doing their best at delivering entertaining spooky comics like “Anno Dracula”, “It Came” and even have Hammer Horror comics with “The Mummy” and rumor of “Captain Cronos Vampire Hunter” coming soon! Plus American Mythology is doing some great comics and even one based on the Adam Green film “Hatchet” as is Alterna who has titled like “Croak” and “The Chair” to name a few so as you can see the world of horror comics has lots of great companies doing amazing things.

When opening Sparkle Comics alongside Jason Young in 2016 and after getting friends and amazing artists like Damien Brunk, Jason Gilmore and Scott Scarborough joining the comic making family, I knew we had to make horror comics so we even opened a branch we are calling Blood Scream Comics that is slated to showcase gore and more mature style horror comics with the all ages and teen horror comics coming out via the Sparkle label. Sp far for Sparkle Comics, we have the free online comic called “Don’t Play With Monsters” that features foolish kids coming across monsters who are not as cute as they appear. “Shocking Macabre Theater” is an anthology comic that has Dayton, Ohio horror hosts Dr. Creep, A. Ghastlee Ghoul and Baron Von Porkchop sharing twisted tales with a stranded motorist. We also have “The Wolf Hunter” based on the shot on video film of the same name that was directed by Matt Hoffman who also played the title role and has The Wolf Hunter killing werewolves in the state of Ohio. We have a series called “Unknown Creatures” that features tales of cryptozoology creatures with the first issue being about the Flatwoods Monster! We also have 12 page issue # 0’s in the works that are based on shot on video films from Independent B Movie and Bloodline Video that will feature stories based on “The Sadness”, “Farmer Joe” and “Scars” and will allow our readers the chance to vote on which horror baddie will get a full # 1 issue! With many more amazing horror comic titles in the works, we hope to entertain readers with spooky, gory and twisted tales. One thing I am the most proud of is that via Blood Scream Comics we will be doing issues based on the films of Paul Naschy as well as have comics based on films from such companies as Warlock Home Video, Massacre Home Video, Brain Damage Films, Scream Time Films and Nevermore Productions in the works as well as comics based on pro wrestlers who fit the horror theme! So there are lots of great spooky reads are coming your way via Sparkle and Blood Scream Comics.

Sorry for being so long winded; it’s just I really do think that it’s a great time to be not only a horror comic reader but also just a comic reader in general. And I really do feel that horror comics have a bright future with many of these companies turning out very high quality comics that are well written and well drawn driving the market back up for the independents. But let’s get focused on the comic I have chosen to review for this spooky epic update and that’s Body Count, a silly horror comedy comic that I discovered at Mavericks Cards And Comics when I was a teen and bought and read and enjoyed for the wacky killer and the large chested heroine…oh and the over the top kills. I want to thank Bell, Book And Comic, Ebay and Lone Star Comics for making this update possible and having these issues in stock so that I could own them again and cover for this review. So if you’re ready, check your brain and taste at the door and let’s dive into a late 80’s and early 90’s horror comic that will have you screaming with fear and laughing after with joy. I also want to note that even as a youngster I never could find the 4th and final issue so this will be my first time reading how this story ends! Oh yeah I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story! So lets take a look at Body Count!

Body Count # 1  **1/2
Released in 1989    Cover Price $2.25    Aircel Comics    # 1 of 4

Winter Falls College is a high priced school where the students are watched by the hotheaded Dean Burns and make fun of simple minded janitor Wanker. Professor Chill is a science teacher and has caught the eye of his student and assistant Becky who will does what she can to get him to notice her.  From short shorts to tights shirts, she brings her A-game, and together they are working on a formula that will in theory turn a nerd into a jock.  After they leave to get some dinner, a pair of students looking to steal knock over the formula and rush away telling Wanker about the mess in the lab. Wanker, being simple minded, takes a taste of the formula goo and it starts to melt him and flings his body into a deep sea divers suit.  He dons the helmet and becomes a crazed killer, and his first victims are the two thief kids that meet their ends with a mop through the head and a telescope through the eyes! When Prof. Chill and Becky return to the lab they find the dead bodies as well as the missing formula and call Dean Burns who heads to the lab to cover up the murder. Meanwhile Wanker is still on his killing spree and drops power cables into the pool killing three students by electrocution causing a power outage and as he is leaving the pool area, he catches Dean Burns and makes him drink Drano! As Chill and Becky leave the lab, they find the bodies and guess that Wanker must have drank the formula and is now a killer and is headed toward town!

This comic is just as silly and over the top as I remember it being when I first read it in my mid teen years. The plot is very much like an 80’s B-movie horror film as a geek puts on a mask and murders those who tormented him, the setting is a college, and the victims are all mean spirited and selfish people who are killed in horrific ways. Professor Chill is our hero, and while smart, he is also pretty goofy and has a hint that he does not really know what they heck he is doing in the lab.  While a goof, he still remains calm with all the bodies pilling up around him and it’s clear he is thinking of ways to stop the killer. Becky is a typical hot chick who showcases her amazing body and uses it to get her way, but when the killing starts she also becomes hysterical and screams her head off in fright! While she is just a scared woman now, it’s clear that she is in for the long haul with her man Prof. Chill. Wanker is just a simple minded janitor who is mistreated by both staff and students and after tasting the foul smelling formula goo, he transforms into a brutal killer who is on a rampage of revenge.  He also turns ugly and disfigured from the goo and wears a diver’s helmet as his killing mask. Wanker is cold and brutal with his best kill being the telescope through the eye as it’s so brutal and gross, it made my own eyeballs hurt! The gore is slightly over the top.  Not on the level of Arrow Comics’ The Dead but it’s more brutal than IDW’s The Fly: Outbreak so Gorehounds have a little splatter to make them happy. The true nature of the comic is also horror comedy as many silly lines are delivered by characters as is cheap sexual jokes that are fitting and add to the cheesy fun of the comic. The cover is okay and does not truly do justice to what the comic is about and the art inside is cartoonish and done by Dave Cooper, fitting for this style of horror comic. Over all, this is an above average horror comedy comic that acts as a build up for this four issue mini series.

Body Count # 2  **1/2
Released in 1990     Cover Price $2.25     Aircel Comics     # 2 of 4

Professor Chill and Becky, along with a device they created that picks up the chemical that created the killer Wanker, head out into town to see if they can find him before he kills again. Meanwhile two fisherman in a boat are not so lucky as the now farting and stinky Wanker sets his sights on them and kills one by crushing his head and leaves the other in a state of shock wandering the roads when he runs into Chill and Becky who take him into town and try to warn the law of the killer on his way. Meanwhile Wanker has found a new pair of college victims who are on a motorcycle joyride as he decapitates the man with a fish and causes the woman to be flung from the bike and smash into a tree! Chill arrives at the police department, and the Sheriff and Deputy rush off to the College before they even could hear why they are running! As Prof. Chill and Becky wonder what they can do to stop Wanker, the police run into the killer that leaves the Deputy dead from a ricochet bullet and the sheriff is bull rushed into some bushes, After the screaming stops Wanker appears, this time around bigger in size!

The rampage of Wanker continues as he makes his way closer to town with murder and destruction on his sick and twisted mind. Professor Chill and Becky come up with a tracking devise that goes off when the killer is around and can also be used to save others, as it’s a warning to the approaching death dealer. They also try the best they can to get help and rush an injured scared to death man to the local law office only to be greeted by the world’s worst police officers! So as you can see the pair of scientists have done all they can up to this point to try and save lives of the townspeople. The Sheriff and Deputy are as backwoods as they come and think everyone is an alien or a communist and are easily slaughtered and out smarted. Wanker is now turning worse and is smelling terrible, becoming more ooze-based with even more of a thirst for blood. He is slowly making his way to the town and killing almost anyone that gets in his way, but oddly enough he allowed one of the fisherman to live! It’s shown that bullets can’t kill and stop Wanker as he is shot a number of times by the Sheriff and simply shrugs them off like Michael Myers from Halloween. Plus at the end of the issue, he grows in size and makes you wonder: did he eat the sheriff or can he body jump like in the films The Hidden and Jason Goes To Hell. The best kill in this issue has to be the decapitation of a collage age brat on a motorcycle with a fish! It’s an over the top and dumb kill but is hands down my favorite in the issue. The blood and gore is once more present and not terribly over done. The cover this time around is better and shows Wanker in all his slimy glory, and the art once more is done by Dave Cooper and is well done for this style of horror comedy comic. And just like the first issue, this one is holding up to what I remember and was a fun read and makes me look forward to reading the next issue again after all these years.

Body Count # 3  **1/2
Released in 1990    Cover Price $2.25    Aircel Comics    # 3 of 4

Becky and Professor Chill are at the bar in Winter Fell and trying to get the locals to believe them about the Wanker Killer that is heading their way, but no one does no matter how hard they try. Meanwhile Wanker stalks and kills a young man on a date by ripping his head off and than turns his attention to the young man’s girlfriend who is running toward town to warn others. Chill and Becky next try to warn the town barber shop of the killer’s rampage but she as well meets her fate by the hands of Wanker who snaps her neck. Chill and Becky run around town trying to warn people of the killer after the barber shop also gives them the high hat as does the post office and the mayor who allows his bodyguard to beat up Chill on his front lawn. In the end Chill and Becky spot Wanker now in town and run to the town’s switchboard operator, and they phone the National Guard and talk to General Howitzer who tells them they are on their way.

The plot thickens as now Wanker is in town and no one believes the warnings being given by Chill and Becky who try every major place in town to spread the coming of a killer. Chill, who feels responsible for the Killer as his formula is what turned a nerdy janitor into a head crushing killer, must push as hard as he can to inform the townspeople as their deaths would be on his hands…kind of. After being beat up and called a communist by all the towns people he almost just walks away to let them deal with the approaching death, but he is reminded that he loves this little town that has acted as away for him to score with collage chicks and get away from his nasty wife. Becky tries to help spread the warning the best she can, but sadly she is just eye candy and no one really listens to her. Wanker is shown to be using the Sheriff’s body as a suit as he has half way crawled up the bodies back and controls it. Wanker is stronger now and after killing a couple on a date has entered town to cause some major damage. This issue only has two deaths and while violent, they are not super gory and a little toned down, with the best being the head rip off from the shoulders of the boyfriend. The story in this issue reminds me of “Invasion Of The Body Snatchers” and “The Blob” as no one is listening to our heroes as everyone thinks their story is to over the top, and this brings more of the B-Horror Movie aspect out of this comic series. The cover is pretty good and once more captures what this series really is all about and the interior art is still done by Dave Cooper and is fantastic for this goofy, gory comic. This issue is filled with lots of humor and once more is a mix of redneck humor, slap stick and adult humor all done at the expense of Becky. Another fun issue just like I remember it and is the lead up to the last issue in the Winter Fell rampage of Wanker and his over sized divers helmet. So let’s move onto the fourth and final issue and discover how Wankers is stopped…or is he, as this will be the first time I have read issue four as I never could find it, so it will be a first time read for me!

Body Count # 4  **
Released in 1990    Cover Price $2.25     Aircel Comics     # 4 of 4

Professor Chill and Becky wait in town, and the pressure hits Chill who feels bad about the rampage of Wanker as his formula goo is what created him! But before they can wonder if the Army can stop the rampage, they show up lead by the crazed and kill hungry General By-God Dry-Heaves McArthur who’s first plan of action is to blow up the bar with his tank as Wanker is inside killing off drinkers, but his attack fails to stop Wanker! The next target is the barbershop as Wanker enters it and kills off the barber and a man looking to get a shave, this time The General hits the business with a missile from a helicopter…it as well fails as Wanker is spotted again alive and unwell! Chill informs them that if they can capture it alive he might be able to cure Wanker and the Army turns on the Professor calling him a monster lover and boot him and Becky off the tank and head back into the hunt for the killer. As Becky and Chill hide the Army finds Wanker who is not scared of the tank and guns and charges causing The General to panic and order for the big bomb to be dropped, as the plan does so and the atomic bomb goes off our story ends with Chill hugging Becky and wondering what effect the radiation will have on Wanker!

The final issue is by far the weakest issue and I am pretty sure even in my middle teens I would have not been a super fan of this overly plotted army based issue that seemed to be rushed and with a very weak ending for the killers rampage. Prof. Chill and Becky are once more thrown to the side when the army gets mad that they want to cure the killer and not kill him like they want to do, but by the army turning on them and chasing them off is what saved their lives as they were able to hide as the bomb was dropped. These lovers are more just waiting to be saved as they have done all they could to save the townspeople and watch in horror as not only Wanker kills those who were rude to them but so does the army! The Army and their leader General By-God Dry-Heaves McArthur are fools who like to blow things up and really have no plan of action of how to really stop Wanker besides just that blow things up…reminds me of the army in Return Of The Living Dead. The townspeople are all crazy and rude and none of them want to believe that a killer is heading their way ready for mayhem and murder, and they get what’s coming to them for being such scummy people. Wanker who is still using the body of the Sheriff as almost a suit of armor is finally in town and wants to make his body count rise hire and hire by knocking off the towns people, and he proves that he is not even scared of a whole army as when they finally have him cornered he don’t back down he lunges forward to take them all one and their tank! His brutal and quite nature makes him like Jason Voorhees (Friday The 13^th) and Michael Myers (Halloween) but not taken as serious by the writer and creators of this comic mini-series. The issue has some blood, guys and kills but they seemed very toned down this issue as does the art done by Dave Cooper that seems very much rushed and lacks the appeal and moody nature of the issues that came before it. The cover as well is not all that great as it just showcases the army…yep, not the killer or even something that shows it’s a horror comic at all! While this might not be the best Independent Horror Comic series of the late 80’s and Early 90’s and by most accounts I am sure this is forgotten and issues can be found in .25 or $1.00 boxes around the world at comic shops, to me it is one that stands out and one I can remember picking up from Mavericks all those years back and reading them while sitting in my room in Waynesville and wondering just how the story was to unfold as I never could find this final issue….and after all these years finding a copy and reading it, while I am little disappointed in the way Wanker’s rampage came to an end I do enjoy the fact it was left wide open for another mini series that sadly never was made. If you love horror comics from the 90’s that have a hint of humor in them, I suggest you check out Body Count, as it is sure to please or at the very least entertain you slightly. Below is some artwork samples from the Body Count series and I should also note that artist Dave Cooper is known for his work on such comics as Suckle and Bent as well as he worked on Nickelodeon Magazine and co-created the cartoon “Pig Goat Banana Cricket” for the station.

I see lots of great horror comics on the horizon for us readers, and it really is a great time to be alive and a comic book fan. Body Count was one of the early independent horror comics I read and after all these years, it kind of holds up as I still find it entertaining, silly, bloody and gory with a lackluster ending. I would love to hear from you friends and readers about what horror comic you first remember reading when younger and even what horror comics are you reading now.  Leave me a comment as I would love to hear from you about this. So for our next update we are leaving Winter Fell behind and joining a underrated Superhero from DC Comics, the super android The Red Tornado! So until next time, make sure to read a comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you soon for some DC Comics talk…

Kevin Nash The Master Of The Jackknife Powerbomb

Here on Rotten Ink we have covered some big men of the squared circle of Pro Wrestling like Andre The Giant and King Kong Bundy, and now I think it’s time we take a look at another as we step into the ring with Kevin Nash who hands down was one of the most popular wrestlers of the late 1990’s and through out the 2000’s in both WWF and WCW and even made his mark in TNA as being a main-eventer and a wrestler who put asses in the seats. Nash has been a very topical wrestler as some fans, critics and fellow wrestlers don’t like him and claim that when he was WWE World Heavyweight Champion, he was not a draw and that he was lazy and only knew a limited move set.  Others put him at the top of their favorite wrestlers and find his matches entertaining. Here on this update I will try and cover it all from his biggest match as Wrestlemania XI, to the Finger Poke Of Doom and even ending Goldbreg’s winning streak, it will all be covered! So once more lace up your boots and step over the top rope as we take a look at another big man of Pro Wrestling and the Image Comic based on him.

Kevin Scott Nash was born on July 9^th, 1959 in Detroit Michigan and had a pretty normal life besides sadly losing his father in 1968 from a heart attacks.  Kevin was only 8 years old. Nash was a great student and went to the University Of Tennessee where played center for the basketball team from 1977-1980 even making it to the NCAA Sweet 16, but his prankster attitude and clashes with authority took him out from playing for a fourth year. After moving to Europe and playing pro basketball for many years, he tore his anterior ligament, and this caused him to have to retire.  He took many other odd jobs overseas like 202^nd Military Police Company where he guarded a NATO facility, and back in the US he managed a strip club and worked for a Ford factory. Nash eventually decided to try and become a Pro Wrestler and was trained by Jody Hamilton aka Assassin # 2, and in 1990 Nash was able to get a job with WCW.

With grease paint on his face and an orange Mohawk, he became Steel and teamed with his partner Iron to become The Master Blasters that would spend a few months feuding with Mike Rotundo and Tim Horner. But Iron was not working out and was replaced by Blade, and the team was undefeated for a time making them a tag team to watch as they had the power and look.  Their first loss came by the hands of Tom Zenk and Brian Pillman. Even after the loss, they ended up getting a tag team title shot against The Steiner Brothers and would not be able to take the straps from the champs. By 1991, their push as a tag team came to a end and so did the tag team as Steel would now just be called Master Blaster and would have single matches against the likes of Brian Pillman and Junkyard Dog only to lose.

Master Blaster was gone by February 1991, and Nash would get the second gimmick of his career as he became Oz! As Oz he had a weird old man Halloween mask, silver hair, dressed in green, was managed for a short time by The Great Wizard and was based on the book/movie The Wizard Of Oz.  He was a powerhouse of power and made his debut at the 1991 Clash Of The Champions where he started his short undefeated streak…that was until The Great American Bash 1991 when he faced Ron Simmons, and after this loss he became a jobber for the wrestling stars like Dustin Rhodes, Rick Steiner, Bobby Eaton and Bill Kazmaier. And 1991 went that way for Oz, as what was supposed to be a big grand gimmick turned into a cheesy one that was used as enhancement talent. Rumor has it that Oz’s push came to an end over money, and it was also said that the whole gimmick was a rib (prank) on Nash to try to get him to quite WCW. I can remember watching that Clash Of The Champions when Oz premiered and thinking just how amazing his entrance theme was…while the gimmick was lame, it still is one I remember.

At the start of 1992, after Oz was sent packing back to the Emerald City, Nash got yet another change this time becoming a wise ass gambling mobster type named Vinnie Vegas who was quickly placed in the A Half-Ton Of Holy Hell stable along side Vader and Mr. Hughes and was managed by Harley Race. But as fast as this stable was created it was also disbanded a month later.  Vegas ended up going to the stable The Diamond Mine along with The Diamond Studd (Scott Hall) and Scotty Flamingo (Raven), and their leader was Diamond Dallas Page! This stable lasted for a short while, and after they broke up, DDP and Vegas formed a tag team named The Vegas Connection.  This lasted until Page was fired. Vinnie Vegas floated around for a while longer losing matches and being forced into teams with such wrestlers as Big Sky. But his luck was about to change as he had some powerful friends in the WWF, namely Jim Ross and Shawn “HBK” Michaels, and they pulled some strings so Nash was able to get out of his contract and his wrestling career was about to blow up! Kevin Nash’s first run for WCW saw him as an orange Mohawked goon named Steel, then the silver haired Oz and ended it being a parody of a mobster named Vinnie Vegas…say what you will about his first run characters, but they are what makes wrestling fun with their cheesy outlandish appearances. Check out below for pictures to see the evolution of Kevin Nash in WCW wave one.

Kevin Nash entered the WWF in 1993.  He grew out his hair and dawned black leather and became “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel, the bodyguard for Shawn Michaels.  The pair became Two Dudes With Attitudes, and he helped Michaels deal with good guy wrestlers who were looking to beat up on the Heart Break Kid. In the 1994 Royal Rumble, Diesel entered the Rumble at # 7 and lasted for 18 minutes and tossed out seven men that included Owen Hart, Rick Steiner, Bob Backlund and Billy Gunn. Over the months Diesel would win the Intercontinental Championship from Razor Ramon and with Shawn Michaels captured the Tag Team Titles from The Headshrinkers, making Diesel a double champion!! This was a short feat as he would lose the IC belt back to Razor, and after a tag match his partner, HBK landed a super kick to his chin, breaking them up.  They forfeited the belts and Disel was no longer his bodyguard.  This marked his turn from heel to face as the crowd began cheering Big Daddy Cool. Things were going great for Diesel as he would go on to win the WWF World Heavyweight Champion from Bob Backlund in 8 seconds at Madison Square Garden only three days after breaking away from Shawn Michaels. He would defend his belt and retain it via a draw against Bret “Hitman” Hart at the 1995 Royal Rumble that would see Shawn Michaels winning the Rumble and getting a title match at Wrestlemania XI that we will go more in detail about a little later in this update. Diesel would hold the belt for a little while and would defend it against the likes of Sycho Sid and Mabel.  He would also reform his friendship with Shawn Michaels, and they would go on to capture the tag team titles again and with HBK also being the intercontinental champ, the pair held all of the major titles! But this time at the top was coming to an end as he and HBK lost the tag titles to Owen Hart and Yokozuna on a technicality and Diesel would lose the WWF World Heavyweight Champion on November 19 1995 to Bret “The Hitman” Hart as Survivor Series.  With this loss, Diesel turned heel again and had matches against the likes of The Undertaker and Bret Hart and would leave the WWF after WrestleMania XII losing to The Undertaker and jobbing at house shows before his contract expired. Kevin Nash’s first WWF run lasts from 1993-1996, and while many would say he was a low drawing champion, he certainly made his mark in the promotion’s history with multiple title wins and some classic matches as both a face and a heel.

With WWF owning the rights to the in ring name Diesel and not wanting to return as Vinnie Vegas or Oz, Nash made his return to WCW on the June 10, 1996 episode of WCW Monday Night Nitro when he joined his pal Scott Hall (formally Razor Ramon) to form the invading tag team known as The Outsiders and simply went by his real name Kevin Nash! You see WCW was now going head to head with WWF on Monday Nights, and the storyline at first acted as if WWF had sent the pair over to cause chaos and to bully their talent. But after the WWF threatened to sue them, the storyline changed that they were just there to take over WCW and they had a mystery partner waiting to come out and help with the takeover. At the PPV Bash At The Beach, Kevin Nash along with Scott Hall teamed with a mystery partner to take on Sting, Macho Man Randy Savage and Lex Luger, and it was soon revealed that Hulk Hogan was the mystery partner.  The world of pro wrestling’s biggest face turned heel, and so began The New World Order (n.W.o).  Kevin Nash would become one of the biggest draws for the company winning the Tag Team Title as well as the World Heavy Weight Title and would have feuds with the likes of The Giant, Lex Luger, Rey Mysterio Jr., Goldberg.  Nash became one of the company’s biggest draws and flipped many times from being heel to face and back again. Not only was he a part of The Outsiders and n.W.o but also was the leader of the n.W.o Wolfpac, which had such members as Sting, Lex Luger, Macho Man Randy Savage and Konnan. Nash was a staple of WCW Nitro and Pay Per Views and was always a main event attraction. And unlike his first run with the company, he held the cards and was able to control the creative control of his character and was making the most money of his whole pro wrestling career. But also during this time WCW was beating WWE in the ratings and almost put them out of business.  Kevin Nash was one of the pro wrestlers leading the charge of bringing in the ratings, but when the tide turned and the end started to come crashing down on WCW, they ended up the ones being closed and bought out by their rivals, and Nash sat out his contract instead of jumping onboard and joining the WWE for the Invasion storyline. Kevin Nash’s second run for WCW was a major success and lasted from 1996-2001. And while this tiny history lesson on his second run for World Championship Wrestling might not be 100% in detail, I suggest you do yourself a favor and get the WWE Network and watch old WCW events and live or in most cases relive the history of his run.

After WCW closed in 2001 and was bought out by WWE, many wrestlers who had long-term contracts with Time Warner had decided to stay home and not sign new contracts to wrestle for WWE during the WCW Invasion angle. Nash decided to stay home and collect his guaranteed money for the remainder of his contract and made his return to WWE in 2002 as part of the n.W.o alongside Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall who were also making their return to the company as part of Vince McMahon’s plan to poison his own company because he had to share the power of running it with Ric Flair…or so the storyline went. The n.W.o stayed around for a short time feuding with the likes of The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin and even Hulk Hogan as Nash and Hall turned on him after he lost his match at Wrestlemania X8 to The Rock. But a string of injuries left Nash out of action, and by this time Hall was let go from WWE.  The n.W.o was no more when he returned, and instead he was put into an angle that had two of his best friends Triple H and Shawn Michaels at odds with each other.  This lead to a feud with Triple H that gave him title shots that he was unsuccessful at capturing. His next major feud was with Chris Jericho, and his final match was in an Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton and Chris Jericho. Nash was the first to be eliminated, and after neck surgery, the WWE did not renew is contract making his second run with the company lasting from 2002- 2004.

After being let go and healing from his surgery, he went to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and made his debut along side Scott Hall to help Champion Jeff Jarrett retain his title at the 2004 PPV called Victory Road. Nash, Hall and Jarrett called themselves “Kings Of Wrestling” which lasted a short time until Hall left in 2005, and Nash wanted his shot at the title and turned on Jarrett to feud for the title. And just like before, Kevin Nash became a major draw for TNA and had matches against some of the company’s top talents like AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Monty Brown and Randy Savage. Nash also not only wrestled for them but also acted as an on-air character delivering comedy bits and showing his joker side. Nash had some solid matches, and his fans stood beside him during his time with the company that seen him as a member of such groups as The Band and Main Event Mafia and would have him in the spotlight in main events as well as helping push younger talent. Kevin Nash’s run for TNA was not as iconic as his time with WWE or WCW but it was entertaining and him being with them helped make them seem like a major player in the world of Pro Wrestling. Nash worked for TNA from 2004-2011 and from what Nash has said in interviews, his time there was just not a highlight of his career.

Kevin Nash as Diesel made his return to WWE on January 30, 2011 at the Royal Rumble as a surprise entrant and did not win. Nash was given a WWE Legends Contract and made appearances for the company off and on and had a few matches during his return most notably against Triple H who was feuding with CM Punk at the time.  Nash interfered in a match causing Triple H to turn on his friend who was trying to help him win. He would induct Shawn Michaels into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2011, helped in NXT as a guest match commissioner from late 2012 to early 2013, entered the 2014 Royal Rumble and lost again as well as inducted his long time friend Scott Hall as Razor Ramon into the Hall Of Fame and made many more appearances on Monday Night Raw as well as WrestleMania. Kevin Nash himself was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2015, and he still is under a Legends deal with the company as of this update. While his return to WWE might not have had him as a main eventer and had him in very little matches, it is nice that he is home in WWE, a company they he belongs in and who helped make him a household name.

Over his long career as a top draw in the world of Pro Wrestling, Nash has had his share of drama and moments that live on that anger some and entertains others. The first being that he was a member of a backstage group called The Kliq in WWF alongside Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, Triple H and 1.2.3 Kid who are said to have bullied talent and manipulated Vince McMahon into big contracts, screwing over other wrestlers like Vader, The Patriot and Shane Douglas, to name a few, from getting their proper pushes. When he left WWF on May 19 1996 at Madison Square Garden, Nash as Diesel on his last match in a steel cage against Shawn Michaels broke character at the end of the match when Diesel and Triple H who were “heels” hugged Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon who were “faces,” and this allowed people to see that Pro Wrestling was….you know the F word….I don’t want to say it as I have respect for what all wresters do to entertain and much like Horror Hosts I like to have the veil over my eyes. Lots of wrestlers would go on record and claim that he held them back from getting bigger pushes as he was worried about his spot at the top. He is said to have smacked Rowdy Roddy Piper in the face backstage in WCW in front of management and talent causing the legend to back down, breaking his tough guy image…or so Nash says. He is the man who many claim pulled strings to be the first to beat Goldberg in WCW, who was on the worlds longest winning streak in pro wrestling. Nash is the man who in WCW de-masked the luchador legend Rey Mysterio Jr.! Nash was considered to be very lazy by many dirt sheet writers who claimed Nash would put no effort in his matches in WCW and was handed titles due to his high-end contract. Many wrestlers and managers behind the scenes have had very harsh words about Nash and his attitude and ability like Jim Cornette, Matt Bourne, Ricky Morton, Ultimate Warrior and Bob Holly to name a few. But one thing he did in his career has been said to have been the final nail in WCW is the “Finger Poke of Doom” where Kevin Nash oversold a finger poke to the chest by Hulk Hogan to put the belt back on the Hulkster and start up their n.W.o friendship once again.  People saw this as once more being a lazy move and storytelling by Nash and the bookers. But say what you want about Nash and his mixed bag of popularity with fellow workers and critics, but this Pro Wrestling fan was always entertained by his matches and gimmicks, below is a gif of the infamous Finger Poke of Doom.

The build up to Kevin Nash’s biggest WrestleMania match was played out for almost a year before it happened.  It was between him and HBK, and their on and off again friendship had to come to a massive end and this match was to be it. Kevin Nash, as Diesel, had Pamela Anderson in his corner taking on Shawn “HBK” Michaels with Jenny McCarthy and Psycho Sid in his for the WWF World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XI that took place on April 2, 1995 at the Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut. The match’s set up was Diesel was the champion, and he had to defend against his one time best friend Shawn for the final match of the feud as HBK had become jealous of the way the crowd was more behind Diesel.  He felt that it took the spotlight off him during their friendship. The match was the second main event of the PPV and was a back and fourth match that showcased Diesel as a powerhouse as well as made it clear that Michaels could hang with the bigger wrestlers in top main event matches. The matched ended with Diesel using his finisher the Jackknife power after about a 20 minute match that in the end had Diesel leaving with both Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy and locked in as a true world champion. While this match would never be on anyone’s top 5 list of best WrestleMania matches, it still was a good solid match and was Kevin Nash’s best at the worlds biggest pro wrestling event.

Besides Pro Wrestling Kevin Nash has also found his calling in acting and has been in a number of TV shows as well as movies. His first movie role came in 1991 when he played Super Shredder in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze”, with the next playing Quixo in the 1992 episode This Old House Of Mayan for USA Network show “Swamp Thing”! 1992 also saw him act in the TV show “Super Force” playing the characters Lau and Iau in two episodes. And 1995 saw him play a Male Phone Caller in the made for TV Film “The Weinerville Chanukah Special”.  In 1997, he had a cameo in a TV Show playing The Giant in the episode The Crucible on “Sabrina, The Teenage Witch” and later that year would play Jackhammer Guy in the film “Family Plan” and be an unaccredited character in the Indian film “Aar Ya Paar”. Nash played a character named Rocky Williams on a 1998 episode of “Love Boat: The Next Wave” and would follow that up with starring as The Big Easy in two episodes of the show “Nikki” from 2000-2001. One of his biggest roles in a film came in 2004 as The Russian in the comic book flick “The Punisher,” and this helped mark him as a true actor as he was praised by fans and critics for this role. This lead to roles in films like “The Longest Yard” 2005 remake, “Grandma’s Boy” the 2006 comedy, “DOA: Dead Or Alive” as Bass Armstrong that was as well released in 2006, 2011’s “Monster Brawl” and “Rock Of Ages” in 2012 to name a few. His next big role was as well in 2012 as he played the male stripper character Tarzan in the film “Magic Mike” and would reprise the role for its 2015 sequel. And these titles are just a drop in the hat as he has been in many other films as cameos and through out this year of 2017 is also on tap to act in all types of flicks. So not only did Nash conquer the squared circle he also made his mark in acting.

Kevin Nash as well as his ring name Diesel has had much merchandise made in his image and had made it into his fans and collectors hands. He has graced the covers of many magazines from WWF Magazine all the way to Pro Wrestling Illustrated. He has had VHS and DVD’s made about him, showcasing his “best” matches. He has had action figures made in his image by such companies as Toy Biz, Mattel and Jakks Pacific as well as has been on Pogs and Slammers, posters, t-shirts, video games and so much more! Growing up, my favorite Nash merchandise I owned was a long sleeve n.W.o Wolfpac shirt that I wore for years until bleach and age caught up to it. So of you’re a fan of Nash’s lots of great stuff is out in the world to add to your collection.

For as long as I have owned a video game system, some of the must-buy releases for me are wrestling games, and Kevin Nash has made many appearances in them with many companies from WWE all the way to TNA. The first game I can remember him in was “WWF Raw” that came out for Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis and a number of handheld systems, all made by Acclaim. I can remember him in two WCW games for the N64 “WCW vs. n.W.o: World Tour” that was released in 1997 and “WCW/n.W.o Revenge” that was released in 1998 and both released by THQ. For the Sony Playstation, I remember him in the 1998 game “WCW Nitro” as well as “WCW Thunder” that was released in 1998 as well, both made by THQ. Later on for Playstation and N64 I remember him in the EA games “WCW Mayhem” from 1999 and “WCW: Backstage Assault” released in 2000. From here Nash would show up in WWE games on the PS2 for the Smackdown series and has made many appearances in the WWE games made by THQ and 2K and has been on systems like Game Cube, WII, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. And he’s even in the most modern game WWE 2K17! Nash also was a part of the “TNA Impact!” game made by Midway and released on PS2, PS3, WII and Xbox 360. So as you can see, if you’re a gamer and a Nash fan, you can have him in your modern storylines in WWE 2K’s Universe Mode and maybe just maybe make him take a fall by the finger poke of doom!

As you can see, Kevin Nash has made his impact in Pro Wrestling, acting, video games and merchandise and even made his leap to comic books, thanks to Image Comics! Back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the wrestling boom caught the eyes of comic companies big and small, and many titles were made based on wrestlers like The Rock, The Road Warriors, King Kong Bundy, The Undertaker and more so why not give Kevin Nash his own comic series that had him act as a vigilante. I want to thank Dark Star and Lobe Star Comics for having these issues in stock, and the referee is wanting me to remind you all that I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So let’s climb into the ring with the man who named himself Big Sexy and see if he can jackknife powerbomb himself into having a solid comic series. I want to also note that Image Comics released a preview issue for Nash that was nothing more than a write up and unfinished pages from issue # 1 so I decided to skip it for this review.

Nash # 1  **1/2
Released in 1999     Cover Price $2.95     Image Comics     #1 of 2

The world is coming to an end all thanks for a secret Cabal called The Citadel run by the evil Cyrus Storm who has made the worlds food supply run short and he and his goons are keeping the poor down and wanting them to die off! Citadel driver Seventeen is on a run when he finds some poor starving people and kills off the old woman and is about to kill her grandchild when Nash comes to the youngsters aid and makes a bloody mess of the driver. But even for the rich things are not all that well as Storm is in a power struggle with Minister Parch who’s food truck has gone missing! Storms daughter Tara takes the message that Parch and his men are going after the truck and are going to kill Nash who is out in the wasteland with the poor starving people. The Minister sends his right hand man Trax and a fleet of airships and soldiers to kill Nash and this legend of the wasteland fights them all off and just when he thinks he has won the fight someone shoots him several times in the back, ending out first issue on a cliffhanger as the shooter is in the shadows and Nash has been wounded bad.

The first issue of Nash will take you by surprise as not once is it said that he was once a Pro Wrestler and in the comic he is more like Mad Max as he wanders the wasteland and wants to help the weak and poor while sticking it to The Citadel. The underline plot of the comic is a statues war as the rich who are all members of a church have all the water and food while the normal low income people are forced to live in the wasteland a place were no food will grow and water is contaminated. The only hope for the poor is Nash a man whom the powerful fear and the weak idolize. Nash in the comic is a man who is trying to do the right thing but his macho ego still makes it hard for him to connect to those he is helping, he also loves the ladies and seems to 100% knows how to defend himself and will get as brutal as he needs to be. The Citadel clearly are people who crave the power over others and use their God as a way to justify their terrible deeds of killing and looking at the poor not as humans but as bugs that need to be exterminated. I kind of like the fact that they have not touched on the fact Nash is Kevin Nash from WCW and superstar of Pro Wrestling as this makes Nash’s violent acts more believable as well as fitting in the world the story has created. Another thing I like about this issue is that it has some bloody moments from an old woman taking a shotgun blast to her guts all the way to Nash blowing up the head of one of his enemies and each kill shows blood and slight gore! The things that don’t work for me as a reader is the fact the story seems very cookie cutter and seems like writers Kevin Nash himself and Marat Mychaels rented a bunch of Post Apocalyptic movies from Blockbuster Video and took elements they liked and mashed them together like potatoes on Thanksgiving. The art done by Marat Mychaels is ok but has that 90’s dated look and is in the style of early Image Comics. Over all this issue was a fun way to kick off the series and makes me wonder how they are going to wrap it up in one more issue? So with that lets see what they have in store for us in issue # 2 and who the man is that shot Nash in the back.

Nash # 2   **1/2
Released in 1999     Cover Price $2.95     Image Comics     #2 of 2

Nash has a few slugs in his back and it was Trax who shot him and as Nash is about to embrace death his enemy turns on his own men and kills them! Trax tells Nash that he can only die when he allows it and that he himself is trying to gain power and will take down Minister Parch when he is ready. As Trax returns back to the city Nash and the poor come together to become an army and try and fight back against The Citadel and as they are on the move Tara Storm in a warship beams Nash up and informs him that he can end all this fighting and killing if he would just forget about the poor and join them once more and be a warrior for Storm! Nash turns down her offer and once placed back down with the poor people he decides that he needs to have sex with many of the women in the group, only to wake up and find almost all of them dead besides one who is an assassin for Minister Parch and has been hired to kill him! Nash and the female killer fight back and fourth and this leads to the young boy he saved in issue one being killed and Nash in a rage kills the female killer and promises that he is going to bring Minister Parch down once and fore all.

This second issue was suppose to lead to an issue three that never came to the light and left the story of Nash vs. The Citadel unfinished and questions never answered. The story this time around has Nash learning that Trax wants to be a player in ruling this new world as well as finds out that Tara Storm loves him and wants him to rejoin The Citadel and ends the issue having to kill a female killer who has been hired to kill him off in the name of The Minister. Nash in this issue is filled with even more ego and spends more time wanting to bang women than to protect and fight alongside the poor. It’s great as Kevin Nash once more was the co-writer and he in both issues has it that he is scoring with women and even that he has made it with Tara Storm the daughter of the series main bad guy! But while this is laughable bad that he would make himself a ladies man, it also is fitting for Nash and his style of humor. The female assassin is cold blooded and not only kills a few women but also kills a young kid all the while doing these acts in a tank top and panties, silly! Trax as well is cold as ice as he guns down his own men in order to fail on his mission on purpose so that he can use Nash as a tool to upset Minister Parch who he wants to overthrow. One odd thing is that Nash is spoken about as if he is a legend and savior but in both issue people die around him and again he seems more interested in scoring than defending. The art is once more done by Marat Mychaels and looks just like last issue with that pure 90’s Image cheese look. It’s a shame that this series just ended before the full story could have been told as I wonder what Marat Mychaels and Kevin Nash had planned to bring The Citadel down….I am guessing that it just would have had Nash bedding ladies till he finally could power bomb Minister Parch through a table all the while Tara Storm and random women giggled about Nash being a legend in bed. I am sure I am not to far off on my guess, but it really would have been nice for Image and Next Entertainment to have finished the story. This issue as well has some bloody moments and to sum it all up “Mad Nash: Beyond Wasteland Food Shortage Dome” as I have dubbed it was a fun read and took a Pro Wrestler and turned him into a comic book hero. Check out the art below to see the style this comic has to offer, and I would say if you’re a fan of Nash and cheesy end of the world comics you might want to give these two issues a read.

So while Kevin Nash might not have taken the comic shelves by storm like he did the world of Pro Wrestling, it’s still very cool that he added his touch to series based on wrestlers. But it’s time to leave the wrestling ring and step back into the world of Horror Hosts as out next update is one I am super hyped to bring to you. It will be about The Creeper, who hosted Moraine Playhouse Theater here in Dayton, Ohio via public access in the late 80’s! Until next time make sure to read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and support your local pro wrestling federation! Next update prepare to meet The Creeper as he is a true favorite Horror Host for this monster kid.