Another Night Of The Living Monster Bash Vacation (2019)

It’s that time of the year again when Juliet and I pack our bags and put them into the old Mazda 3 and head to Cranberry Township to enjoy yet another Monster Bash Convention and some relaxing days in Cranberry Township taking in all the local stores, sights and restaurants the area has to offer. As always, I was very much looking forward to getting some time away from work, comic book making and filming and being able to sit back and relax and spend some time with Juliet as well as all the classic monsters at Monster Bash! This year’s theme was very heavy on Hammer Horror as guests like Martine Beswicke, Veronica Carlson and Christopher Neame were all on hand while other guests included Ricou Browning, Tom Savini, John Russo and Horror Host Son Of Ghoul! So if you are ready, grab a snack pack, jump on in and let’s have some fun as we celebrate the best Horror Con in the world and all of cool wonders around it!

We started our quest on June 20^th and hit the road at around 11:30am after eating a breakfast that Juliet from Dorothy Lane Market. Once on the road we chatted about wrestling, comics and goofy stuff! We also talked about our plans for the night and made a stop at our normal Ruby Tuesdays where I had a meal of Bourbon Salmon, Loaded Baked Potato and Dirty Rice and as always it was a good meal that helped give me energy for the road. At around 5:30pm, we made it to our hotel that was yet another new one for us to stay at as both of the ones we stayed at before were filled so we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, and I must say that first impression was it was nice and the staff was friendly! After relaxing for a few minutes, we headed out to go to New Dimension Comics so I could pick up a few good reads for the weekend. As always I found some cool comics that included issues of Thor, Uncanny Tales From The Grave, Tower Of Shadows and Comet Man from Marvel. From DC, I got issues of Batman, The Comet and Super Friends. And finally I also got some indie comics like Ex-Mutants, The New Krofft Supershow, Escape To The Stars and Radical Dreamer. For dinner we decided to have Eat’n Park and I had a Hot Turkey Sandwich with Mashed Potatoes and a Baked Potato! For the rest of the night I read some comics, watched some TV, chatted with Juliet and geared up for the first day of Monster Bash! Oh and I should note that the day was filled with lots of rain and muggy weather…making it a perfect day to hang out in the hotel and read and write.

On June 21^st marked the first day of Monster Bash and sadly the convention did not open until 3pm so in the morning we got up around 9am and after eating a quick breakfast from Starbucks, we headed out and our first place to visit was The Living Dead Museum in Evans City as its been a while since we got to visit it and when in the Pittsburgh area you have to spend time with the living dead! I really like The Living Dead Museum as it celebrates the rich history of the Romero Zombie films as well as zombies in Horror Movies in general. And when we arrived, Juliet and I were happy to see our friend and Nashville Horror Host Dr. Gangrene also waiting to enter the museum and even better he was going to be at Monster Bash and the area all weekend! The Museum was as great as always and after walking around and taking some pictures, we bought a t-shirt and a pin and headed back toward the hotel to gear up for Monster Bash. And after a meal at Max & Erma’s, we headed to The Bash!

As Juliet and I made our way to Monster Bash I wondered what statues would greet us and what cool car would be parked up front…if I had to make a guess on car I would say once more the Dragula from The Munsters, and as far as statues, I would guess Hammer Horror as it seemed like the theme of this year. And as we made it to the front of the hotel we noticed no car was in place yet and the wait to get tickets was not too bad. The dealer room was packed with people, and it was great to see so many people enjoying the world of classic movie monsters, and what was nice this year was I saw some younger kids in the crowd enjoying the likes of Dracula and Frankenstein’s Monster. After walking around to all the dealer tables and making several purchases (more on that later) we also took time to chat with our Horror Host friends Janet Decay and Grimm Gorri about Horror Hosting and cool classic local TV! Much like last year, some of the people looking around were kind of rude and would step in front of you while you looked, would stand really close and sometimes just stand in the way of items as they looked off into space or at their phone…while annoying, I have been to Horror Conventions where this behavior is a lot worse. As we were leaving, we ran into indie filmmaker and friend David “The Rock” Nelson and we chatted for awhile about the production of his newest film Howl Of The Werewolf. It’s always a blast to see David. Over all a very cool first day of Monster Bash that once more showcases why this is my favorite show. Oh and as for the statues, this year they did have Hammer’s Frankenstein’s Monster as played by Christopher Lee many of them were based on classic Universal Monsters as well as a few Silent Horror Icons and even one of Bela Lugosi from White Zombie!

So I am sure you are wondering what the first day’s haul was like…well it was really good! I picked up a Universal Mummy bendy toy by JusToys for $8.00, Masters Of The Universe He-Man drinking glass for $10.00, Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell Wooden Plaque for $25.00, The Werewolf from Sungold Monsters for $15.00, Two Knock-Off Mini Figures of Phantom Of the Opera and Yeti from a series called “Un Mundo De Figuras” for $10.00 each, Eerie Greatest Hits Graphic Novel for $5.00, The Tomb Of Dracula # 37 comic for $5.00, The Creation Of King Kong Novel for $4.00, Predator Movie Adaptation Novel for $3.00, The Adult Version Of Jekyll & Hide DVD for $7.00, two episodes of The Son Of Ghoul Show that has him hosting The Hideous Sun Demon & Lady Frankenstein for $10.00 each and what would Monster Bash be without me buying David “The Rock” Nelson movies as I got Mummy A.D. 1993 for only $20.00 and Howl Of The Werewolf for $25.00! So as you can see, this was a pretty amazing day 1 of Monster Bash goodies!

So for the first night we wanted to have Dinner and a Movie at the hotel so we chose to eat our favorite restaurant in this area, Wing Kings where I had Garlic Wings and Cheese Fries with a Coke to drink. The night’s film was Howl Of The Werewolf, the newest no budget monster movie classic from David Nelson. The film was over 3hrs and 30min long and was pure classic Rock stuff complete with Detective Rock eating and random attacks by the film’s monster. And I will give all you readers a little info on something very cool….Sparkle Comics will be doing some comic books based on David “The Rock” Nelson films and Howl Of The Werewolf will be the first one released in 2020! The script will be written by Juliet, and the art will be done by Don Stephenson. So keep your eyes open for more news soon on this comic release. Over all a great night of good food and a super fun film and this ended the first night of Monster Bash!

On the second day of Monster Bash we woke up early and had popped into Monster Bash really quick before heading to Pig Iron for an amazing breakfast! Once done we headed back to Monster Bash and soaked in all the amazing sights of classic monsters! This year I noticed that more vendors had DVD’s and Blu-Rays and people were buying like crazy showing physical media is alive and well. Juliet and I also were able to look around a little better as while packed again people seemed to be aware of others around them and this allowed us to shop for not only ourselves but also our friends. We then chatted some more with Janet Decay and Grimm Gorri and once walking around and buying some more we headed out of the Bash and into the world of Cranberry!

The second day of Monster Bash goodies was also great pick ups as I got a Phantom Of The Paradise Wood Plaque for $25.00, Two more Un Mundo De Figuras of Dracula and Werewolf for $12.00 each. A Scary Monsters Magazine Vampire Detection Kit for FREE and lastly I got two episodes of Gunga Jim of him hosting Revenge Of Dr. X and Assignment Terror on DVD for only $5.00 each! So while this time around I did not buy as much, they still are some great finds.

After Monster Bash we headed back to New Dimension Comics as they had a massive store sale so we loaded up on some comic books as I got issues of Silver Surfer, Roger Rabbit, Ex-Mutants and G.I. Joe all for only .30 each! After that we relaxed for a few minutes and then headed back out and ended up at Barnes & Nobles and looked around at books, magazines and POP figures all before we headed to get a tasty treat at TCBY Yogurt that is always a must for Juliet when we come to Monster Bash. The traffic on this day was terrible but at least the weather was nice and sunny with a high of only 73 degrees. Once back at the hotel we watched The Mummy Returns on SyFy and later for dinner Juliet wanted to have Moe’s and as always I had a Chicken Burrito, and as always it was a good meal and made us both miss Moe’s being in Dayton.

After dinner we ended the night with a Horror Host feature as we watched Son Of Ghoul hosting Lady Frankenstein! The art of Horror Hosting to me goes hand and hand with classic monsters, and I wish Monster Bash would do a massive Horror Host gathering at one of the conventions as this year was pretty great as on hand was Janet Decay, Grimm Gorri, Drac, Countess Carita, Son Of Ghoul, Gunga Jim and even Dr. Gangrene around! Always a fun time to end a Saturday Night with a Horror Host and why not do so with one from Ohio!

June 23^rd not only marked the final day of Monster Bash 2019 but also was the birthday of the late great Dr. Creep who was a great friend and a true icon in the world of Horror Hosting. For the last day we walked around for a few minutes and enjoyed the classic monster atmosphere as well as ran back into Dr. Gangrene and we chatted about classic amusement parks and roadside attractions. And after one more sweep through to pick up some last minute goodies we left Monster Bash for the last time in 2019 and looking back I truly feel that this is an event that if you love classic monsters should make the trip to as it’s a great and is filled with good times, great guests, top notch vendors and spooky monsters.

The final days Monster Bash Goodies was very small but pretty dang cool as I had to buy four more Un Mundo De Figuras figure and this time I got The Mummy, The Fly, Jack The Ripper and Swamp Creature for $10.00 each. These little things are amazing and I feel now I need to collect the whole set. And lastly I bought the double feature DVD of The Beast Within and The Bat People and the main movie I wanted on this set was Bat People and I paid $20.00 for this out of print MGM release. Another great year of pick up’s, as Monster Bash has never let me down!

After we left Monster Bash, we headed to a little amusement park called Conneaut Lake Park as they have a classic Horror Ride called “The Devil’s Den” and we heard about it thanks to Dr. Gangrene. It was around an hour away from Monster Bash, and the ride to it was nice and filled with some small towns and really beautiful landscapes, and when we arrived at the theme park it was everything we ever wanted and more! After parking in a field, we walked to the main gates and found that we had to buy the wristbands from a stand that is in the middle, and walking to the stand we saw many of the classic style rides like Tumble Bugs, Paratrooper, Music Express, Bumper Cars, Carousel and Blue Streak an amazing wooden roller coaster…and no joke people who grew up in the Dayton, Ohio area will know what I mean when I say my first feeling was “Wow, this has a Fantasy Farm and Americana Amusement Park feel”! And after a short line to get our admission wristband we headed straight to The Devil’s Den as this was the main attraction for us, and man I have lots to say so we will get to it shortly. The rides were also connected to a water park as well as a lake and all around us were families and couples having fun and this helped added to the great atmosphere of the park. Not to mention all of the park workers seemed very nice and helpful. After Juliet and I rode The Devil’s Den, she rode The Blue Streak and had a blast and from there we went and rode the train that went around Blue Streak and the park all the while we would pass wooden cutouts of famous cartoon characters. From there, Juliet rode the Tumble Bugs and after we ate some loaded fries and funnel cake from one of the food stands and just soaked in the park. After leaving Juliet and I both agreed that we will come back to Conneaut Lake Park as it was a very fun time!

The Devil’s Den was everything in a classic Horror Ride I could ever want! We got at the park right at open so the ride had no line and Juliet and I were able to walk right up. Sadly the cars were tiny and we had to ride separately and as the worker pushed my cart into the track, the spooky ride started! Now keep in mind I loved the cart and while it would have been fun to ride with Juliet, it also was an amazing ride to experience alone. And Devil’s Den was filled with creepy paintings, spooky sounds, flashing lights, darkness, a gum caked wall and the Devil and his minions. This made me flashback to the old Horror Ride that was at Fantasy Farm and I had a massive smile on my face the whole ride as each dark turn made me come face to face with another monster. The highlight for me is when I got to see The Devil that looked just one straight from a B-Horror Movie. The ride had some great old school scare moments like string hanging down to touch your face in dark rooms and had lots of twists and turns. This was a fantastic way to feel like a kid again as I enjoyed every moment of this ride and I think that if you are in the Pittsburgh area, you need to take a trip to Conneaut Lake Park and pay the $10.00 entrance fee and do yourself a favor and take a ride on The Devil’s Den and after doing so soak up all the amazing attractions of a true indie amusement park. The pictures below come from the rides official Facebook page at CLP Devils Den so make sure to check it out and give it a like. No joke, this was a perfect attraction for Juliet and I to spend a good part of our day at….and oh yeah I also bought myself a Devil’s Den T-Shirt!

After Conneaut Lake Park we headed toward The Snowman as I needed a good old Yeti Shake and to my shock and sadness, the horses were gone! While I was sad not to see the horses again, the shake was fantastic as always! Later in the day we ate dinner at a restaurant called Burgatory and it was fantastic and I made a custom chicken burger that was one of the best I have ever had! The waitress we had was super nice and the restaurant itself was very welcoming and had a cool look. We ended the evening once more watching an episode of Son Of Ghoul that had him hosting The Hideous Sun Demon as I figured what better way to end the final day of Monster Bash than with a Horror Host program.

June 24, 2019 marked the first day of after Monster Bash blues, but marked the first full day of lets go do cool stuff in Cranberry! We started out morning with a breakfast from Einstein Bros Bagels and then made our way to see the remake of Child’s Play at Cranberry Cinema, as I have said before this is a great indie ran theater that has a great feel and no joke I also really enjoyed Child’s Play! From there Juliet and I had lunch at Moe’s and just like last time the meal was really good. After lunch we headed back to Evans City and visited the Cemetery, as it’s a must every time we are in PA. The drive to the cemetery is so peaceful and once there we soaked up the sun, nature and just the over all creative vibe you get when there. The cemetery was filled with chipmunks again and besides the caretaker, no one else was around and made for a very peaceful visit. After enjoying the wonders that is Evans City Cemetery we headed back to the hotel and waited for dinner…that was Wing Kings of course and then we watched WWE Raw on the USA Network.

June 25 marked our last day in Pennsylvania and on this day we started out by going to Target to pick up some road snacks. We then headed to Mars and had some coffee from Mars Brew House and walked around the small town for a few moments. Juliet and I chatted about our time at Monster Bash as well as talked about Horror Hosting and even about Rotten Ink. We then went and filmed the UFO in downtown Mars to send to my pal Victor for a project for Rockstar Pro Wrestling. But this was just the start of our journey back to home as I wanted to make a stop that was very important to me…and that was to visit the grave of a true wrestling legend.

Before we made the long drive back to Dayton we stopped at Christ Our Redeemer Catholic Cemetery in Pittsburgh so I could pay my respects to WWE Legend and Wrestling Icon Bruno Sammartino. For those who don’t know who Bruno was, I first want to say shame on you, as he is the longest WWE Champion in history and was one of the world’s most popular wrestlers in the 60s-80s and hands down is one of the best in the business. And after paying my respects Juliet and I walked around the massive cemetery and we talked about how important Bruno was and still is to the legacy of the WWE as much like Hulk Hogan he was what kept them in business for decades. And I am making a promise to all you readers that when Inverse Press finishes the comic series based on Bruno Sammartino I will cover it here on Rotten Ink and truly talk about this icon of the squared circle. Once we left the cemetery we headed back to Ohio, but not before stopping again at Ruby Tuesdays for a quick meal.

Once we ended up back home I had to deliver copies of the Sparkle Comics release of Spring Heeled Jack # 2 to local shops as well as spent some time with family and friends and even went to the theater to see Annabelle Comes Home! I also ended up filming a one off cheesy Horror Host show with my pal Damien…more on that in the future. But on June 29, 2019 we decided to have a Horror Movie Marathon that would be packed with some great Horror, Science Fiction and Thriller films. We started the marathon at 8am and started with the Universal Horror film “The Thing That Couldn’t Die!” that is about a cursed head tormenting a group of people on an isolated ranch. The second film was “Zarkorr! The Invader” about a massive space monster on a rampage to test earthlings that must be saved by a postal worker. We then watched “Golem” from 2018 that brings the silent film and classic Jewish folklore and is about a woman that brings to life a Golem to protect her village. The 1995 thriller “Mommy” starting Patty McCormack was next and was about an evil woman who will kill those who get in her young daughters way…and more so her own. Our fifth film was the Sc-Fi classic “Target Earth” about a group of strangers that wake up in a city alone during a mechanical alien invasion! “The 27 Club” is about a musician who sells her soul to the devil to get fame, but it comes with a price on her 27^th birthday. The shot on video film “Masked Mutilator” was next and is about a group of kids in a halfway house that are being killed by a crazed masked pro wrestler. Indie Horror Movie “Close Calls” starring the lovely Jordan Phipps is about a young woman who is battling drug addiction being grounded as strange and deadly things are going down at her home. Our 9^th film of the marathon was “Leprechaun Returns” the newest sequel in the long running series that has him coming back again to claim his gold and torments a group of sorority girls. And the final film was the 1975 fright flick starring Peter Cushing “The Ghoul” about a mansion that holds a terrible secret and a murderous thing in the attic.

This was another great Horror Movie Marathon filled with some great flicks and amazing food and snacks! After we watched the films, as always Juliet and I sat and talked about them and picked our best three as well as our Golden Turkey. For Juliet she selected Masked Mutilator as her Golden Turkey as she did not hate the film she just felt it dragged in spots, and I choose Zarkorr! The Invader as I found it to be a little to slow with a so-so hero and a lackluster final battle. My Top Films went as following # 1 went to Golem as I found this to be a very fun and bloody way to bring this classic horror icon back to modern viewers, plus it was well acted, well shot and the blood effects were really good. # 2 for me was Leprechaun Returns as I felt this was a fantastically silly and fun sequel and washed the bad taste of Leprechaun Origins out of my mouth, plus the film was way more gore in it than I expected. And my pick for # 3 was The Ghoul as I found it to be a fun spooky atmospheric classic style Horror Flick that once more showed why Peter Cushing is one of the best actors in Horror ever. And for me Close Calls was a runner up as I found myself still thinking about the film way after it ended as it left me thinking about what the ending meant. Juliet’s picks were as follows # 1 The Golem, # 2 The Ghoul and # 3 went to Target Earth, but she wanted to let you all know that the film The Thing That Wouldn’t Die almost made it on her list and was her runner up. So as you can see, another great Marathon and a great way to end my Monster Bash 2019 vacation!

This Marathon’s Golden Chainsaw Award for most kills goes to Golem as he had about 13 on screen kills and a ton of off screen! While he looked like a child this creatures was brutal and ruthless when it came to murdering those who crossed him or his creator. The Golem’s best kill for me is when he would make peoples heads explode into a mess of bloody goo filled with chunks of brains! So thanks Golem for not only being the best movie of the Marathon but for also making it a little bloodier!

It’s crazy to think that the world lost George A. Romero over two years ago. I mean the man delivered some of the most iconic zombie films of all time with titles like Night Of The Living Dead, Dawn Of The Dead, Day Of The Dead, Land Of The Dead, Diary Of The Dead and Survival Of The Dead, all amazing films in their own right. But many others love his none-zombie horror work like Season Of The Witch, The Crazies, Martin, Knightriders, Creepshow, Monkey Shines, Two Evil Eyes, The Dark Half and Bruiser all films that delivered chills and entertainment to viewers. They just don’t make filmmakers like Romero anymore who had a vision and brought a group of creative minds together like he did in the Pittsburgh area. While George might be gone and no one can make zombie films like him no matter how they try, his legacy will live on forever not only in his work but also in all those film creators who he inspired.

George A. Romero’s masterpiece of zombie horror cinema Night Of The Living Dead is truly a film that has inspired and has been imitated by so many filmmakers and media creators. I mean NOTLD is even a film that has been hosted by so many Horror Hosts around the world, and I would even bet that it’s the most hosted movie of all time! And oddly enough, beside the official sequels like Dawn of The Dead, Day Of The Dead and Land Of The Dead to name a few it has also spawned a remake from effects master Tom Savini and a ton of unofficial sequels that all branding the name Night Of The Living Dead….now I am sure your wondering how this is so, right? Well the film has fallen into the public domain and this allows creative minds to do what they want with the title and the film itself and this is how these “sequels” and “ different takes” are able to be made and viewed by Horror Movie viewers world wide. So let’s take a moment and talk about some of these films that cashed in and continued the legacy of NOTLD. And let’s talk about what we will call The Good, The Bad, The Ugly And The Turkey as I will pick what one I find to be the best, the so-so, the worst and the golden turkey! So be ready as they are coming to get you readers! They’re coming for you….look here comes the rip offs now!

The first film in these unofficial sequels is “Night Of The Living Dead 3D” that was released in 2006 and stars the likes of Sid Haig and Brianna Brown and follows Barb and college student Ben as they try and survive a zombie horde while finding shelter in the farmhouse of the Cooper family. But when the zombies arrive, things get bad for the survivors, as they cannot stop the living dead! Next up is “Night Of The Living Dead Re-Animation 3D” that was released in 2012 and is a prequel to the above mentioned film and stars Jeffrey Combs and Denice Duff and follows a mortician who foolishly exposes dead bodies to medical toxic waste that brings them back and hungry for the living. “Night Of The Living Dead Resurrection” was as well released in 2012 and stars Sule Rimi and Kathy Saxondale and is about a group of humans hiding in a farmhouse as the dead rise and they drama inside the house seems to be worse than the horrors outside. And lastly is “Night Of The Living Dead Darkest Dawn” that was released in 2015 and stars Danielle Harris and Tony Todd and is an animated fright flick that changes the location to New York as humans hide out in an apartment building as the dead try and get them! So these are the dirty undead four, and man all of them are the same and yet all so different! I would say The Good For me would be Night Of The Living Dead Darkest Dawn as it’s a weird take and the voice acting from some of the greats of the horror world was a nice addition. The Bad, who is not terrible but average, would go to Night Of The Living Dead 3D as it is cheesy and bad but Sid Haig is solid in it. The Ugly that is bad but not the worst would go to Night Of The Living Dead Re-Animation 3D, an underwhelming sequel to NOTLD 3D and is just nothing special and an average lower budget zombie film. And the Golden Turkey is Night Of The Living Dead Resurrection as it’s just very, very boring and is clearly a cash in on the namesake of NOLD. So there you have it, a quick rundown of the knock off films of Night Of The Living Dead…and if you want to see a good zombie film just watch the original or even the remake as they both are leaps and bounds better than all the films mentioned above.

While we took a look at the films that cashed in on the legacy of NOTLD, I also want to take a brief moment to talk about a cool tribute short movie called “Flowers For The DEAD” that was released in 2013 and is directed by Joe Barbarisi who clearly loved the classic work of Romero and even shot parts of the film in the Evan City Cemetery that the original film shot in. The films plot is about Linda a woman whose parents have passed away who finds herself in the cemetery during a zombie outbreak and to make things worse she is being stalked all through the massive cemetery by zombies who want to make her their dinner and she has no signs of help. Now Lisa must fight for her life and find a way to out step the dead and get back to her car! Does she make it out alive…or does she become another meal for the living dead…watch this film on YouTube and find out for yourself! This short film is well shot and making it black and white was a very nice touch as it helps make it feel right at home with NOTLD. The zombies as well are well done for an indie film with some being make-up and others wearing masks, and again this added to the vibe and feel of the film. I want to also say that I really dug the films score as it fit the film perfectly, and to be honest I would love to have it on CD! I love indie horror, and this was a fun one that someday I would love to show at an Indie Horror Showcase event that is put on by Horrorama Dayton and Blood Scream Comics! So I want to just say good work to Joe Barbarisi and his cast and crew for making such a fun and classically spooky Horror Short film.

So now that we have traveled to the land of the living dead once more and had a great time at Monsterbash, I think we should see what the second series based on Night Of The Living Dead by Fantaco has in store for us! So before we find a good crypt to hide in, I should remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. I also want to thank a vendor at Cinema Wasteland many years back for having these comics in stock. So if you’re ready to once more walk with the Living Dead, let’s see what this Fantaco mini series has in store for us.

Night Of The Living Dead # 0  **
Released in 1994       Cover Price $1.95     Fantaco     # 0 of 3

Actress Kate Koresh is taking a vacation in Haiti and becomes the target for a voodoo cult who wants to sacrifice her to zombies of the sea, and unlucky for her, they kidnap her and take her to the beach to do the ceremony. Meanwhile zombie hunter Randy Von Richtofen is also on a getaway in Haiti as he is staying at the hut of Papa Shaka while he is away, and Randy is lucky when he meets Amber and Bianca two beautiful women who are the trainees of Shaka. While relaxing in the hot tub, Randy hears the drums on the beach and rushes off and he and the ladies end up saving Kate from being eaten by zombies and they kill not only the undead but also the voodoo cult! In the end Randy and the ladies return to the hut as Kate returns to America never wanting to see a zombie again! We end with the government talking about a satellite in space and hope that this time around it does not start another zombie outbreak.

This quick read is an odd one as it was a fun read and really does capture the indie zombie horror comic feel of the 90’s from that time…but it also has a weird very cheesy over the top nature that is nothing like the spirit of Night Of The Living Dead as it all just seems a little off! The plot follows two people on vacation, one being an actress and the other being a zombie hunter who cross paths when a cult wants to feed and please the undead from the ocean. Our main hero is the sleazy and overly gun happy undead basher Randy Von Richtofen who is a man who has seen and done so much to rid the world of the zombies that have infested it. We know he loves the ladies, and he loves to blow away zombies. Bianca and Amber are two hot women who are loyal to their teacher the voodoo master Papa Shaka and who are very handy with guns and taking down zombies. Our would-be victim, the snooty actress Kate Koresh, is also a survivor as she as well fights for her own life and takes on cult members as well as zombies to escape. The Cult, who are the issue’s baddies, are silly and love bikinis and want to please the zombies of the ocean that are divers, swimmers and seamen and are no major threat as they are taken out with ease. The comic, while horror, also has a dash of comedy to it, as the over all feel really is cheesy as well as comic indie action moments. Thus far as well I am not 100% sold on Randy and am more cheering for Amber and Bianca who seem more like the heroes of the book and are not just into killing zombies to be macho and brag about it. I do like the nice addition of the government once more making a mistake in space and this could spark another zombie upraise and spell doom for mankind. The cover for this issue 0 is not all that eye catching and besides the name does not make one think of NOTLD! The interior art is done by Rik Rawling and is pretty standard indie horror stuff. Over all this is an average comic that offers some blood and kills but is not scary and was worth the read. Let’s see what this story arc has in store for us with issue # 1.

Night Of The Living Dead # 1  **
Released in 1994       Cover Price $3.50     Fantaco     # 1 of 3

The Government’s Star Wars satellite is set to be used in a foreign land in order to test if it can do mind control when the machine decides to choose another target and hits in California and hits the set of Kate Koresh’s TV show killing many of the crew as well as infects others to become zombies! Para-gliders Phil and Phred land and find that zombies are all around and want to eat some human flesh, and as they flee the beach they come across Kate Koresh who has returned from Haiti and finds herself as well being attacked by zombies and the two dudes with attitudes try and save her! After the pair kill the zombies attacking her the trio rush off to a house in the hills to wait out the outbreak! Meanwhile the Government is in damage mode and realize that they once more have created a undead uprising again and set to come up with a plan to neutralize it. Meanwhile the safe house for Kate, Phred and Phil is being swarmed by zombies, and the guns they are using to protect themselves are running out of bullets when they remember an ad in the newspaper and call Randy Von Richtofen who shows up and kicks some undead butt! They all team up and trick the infected townspeople into entering a meat factor and fill it with gas blowing it up and containing the outbreak in California, but the satellite has fired again this time in Florida!

The first issue in the series as well lacks the true charm of Night Of The Living Dead and once more is a little too sleazy/cheesy and not so scary, making me a little puzzled why they moved away from their first style of NOTLD comics and went for more of a The Dead and the original Walking Dead mood and feel. The plot has the satellite firing in California causing a zombie outbreak that once more poor actress Kate Koresh is stuck in, but she is lucky enough that two goofy dudes are around to protect her and that once more zombie killer Randy Von Richtofen is back in town as well! This issues main heroes are Phil and Phred who are a pair of beach bums who enjoy chicks and paragliding, but while goofy when the dead start to rise and crave human flesh these two step up save a life and protect themselves and others. Kate Koresh can not win to lose as she returns from vacation were she was attacked by zombies only to once more find herself on the menu for lunch, but just like before she defends herself well and has the survival instinct. Randy Von Richtofen is still the same as the last issue and is a butt-kicking machine with no real personality. The Zombies in this issue attack in hordes and are hungry for human meat and flesh, not much else to say about them besides they are lined up to be slaughtered by our heroes in gory fashion. The real bad guys of this issue are the Government as they with their Star Wars program are what has caused all this chaos, seems they learned nothing from the outbreak they causes in 1968! The issue has some great bloody and gory kills and the pacing is good keeping my attention throughout. The cover is eye catching for fans of zombie comics and the art by Rik Rawling is ok. Over all another average and entertaining zombie book that is an odd direction for one based on such an iconic film.

Night Of The Living Dead # 2  **
Released in 1994       Cover Price $3.50     Fantaco     # 2 of 3

The amusement park McKie Moose World in Florida is hit by the laser from the Star Wars Satellite next and this causing employees to turn into flesh eating zombies! Randy Von Richtofen sees the reports on the news and calls in a favor to Papa Shaka and his two trainees Amber & Bianca for help to rid the park of the undead. Meanwhile at the park, the President’s Daughter is enjoying here time when the zombies attack and she is stuck with a Secret Service who is scared and offers her no protection! Meanwhile when out zombie hunter group lead by Randy shows up they use the voodoo skill of Papa Shaka to flood the park and kill off the zombies who infested it. Meanwhile the Government tries to destroy the satellite and fail as now it begins to fire randomly all over the planet!

This second issue is a mix of horror, comedy and sleaze and comes together pretty well and is an entertaining read. The plot follows once more Randy as he takes care of a zombie outbreak that this time takes place at an amusement park. And he brings in voodoo master Papa Shaka and his lovely ladies to help! I really love the idea of a zombie outbreak taking place in an amusement park all the while the President’s daughter is stuck inside as the Government and a group of zombie hunters are the only hope for those stuck inside…and while this sounds fantastic right, the issue never offers any real moments of danger as they are easily killed and are wiped out by water! The zombies in this issue are not scary or a threat, the Government this time around come off more like fools and not major baddies leaving a void for any serious threat. Randy Von Richtofen shows slightly more of a personality when he knows that he is out numbered and needs help to take out the zombies that was eating people in Florida, a cool generic badass hero character that so far just doesn’t do much for me. Papa Shaka shows that he doesn’t need a gun as the man’s voodoo skills are great, and he wipes the floor with the zombies. Amber & Bianca are very much downplayed in this issue and are more eye candy than zombie fighters, very disappointing as they could be very cool characters. Again the setting for this issue is great, the feel and mode are off, the comedy didn’t work for me and the horror is very slight. The cover is great and eye catching for fans of 90’s Horror Comics and the interior art done by Rik Rawling is the same level as the other issues. Over all this issue was slightly better than the previous two and was worth reading, let’s see what the final issue has in store for us.

Night Of The Living Dead # 3  **
Released in 1994       Cover Price $3.50     Fantaco      # 3 of 3

Outbreaks are taking place all over the world as the Star Wars Satellite has gone crazy and fired its ray all over creating zombies everywhere! The American President knows that things are bad and that under his watch this terrible thing has happened so he calls Randy Von Richtofen to help give pointers to S.C.U.D (Specialist In Cannibal Undead Destruction) a team that is government based and are ready to save the world. Randy agrees to give them some pointers and is shocked when he finds that actress Kate Koresh is one of the team’s leaders and he soon finds that he is being forced to join her group of soldiers as they head to Germany to ride the area of zombies that are breeding! The team is made up of Jane Redhawk, Jimmy Woo, Waylon Creole and Lunk. Once there they find out that the zombies are way more powerful and that this mission is going to be very hard tor pull off and survive. Kate takes Randy and Redhawk on a recon mission and they pair soon finds that they are at odds with each other as both have different ideas on how to deal with the zombies all around them, as those who are left behind at the base camp must fend off a wave of zombies. Once they make it to a massive tower made of dead humans that is acting as the base for the zombies, they find that the undead are reproducing at a fast pass and the only way to bring them down is to get into the tower and blow it up! Once back at camp Randy leaves the group behind as he thinks this is nothing more than a suicide mission, and Kate gets super mad and leads her team on the mission and to her horror one by one they are taken out by the zombies! Kate starts to lose her mind and shuts down as Redhawk is able to get them both to the center of the tower and as the zombies close in Randy appears again with his zombie bashing car and saves Kate as Redhawk sets off a bomb killing herself and also bringing down the tower and the zombie horde around it. In the end Randy and Kate stand at the graves of her fallen soldiers and pitches the idea of her and Randy becoming a team as he gives a none committed answer.

This final issue in this mini series goes out as average as it started as the story wraps up with no major impact nor does it have horror in sight. The plot of this issue has Randy joining Kate as she leads a rag tag team into the heart of a major zombie outbreak in Germany that is the worlds last defense to truly get this undead emergency under control. And I must say that the stakes in this final issue are bigger and it does feel as if the dead could truly win the final battle as they are all over and ready to kill and eat our heroes. And this is refreshing as through out this mini series I never found the zombies to be a threat nor dangerous as they were easily taken down and barely killed any one who could see. Our series main hero is Randy Von Richtofen, who is a man who enjoys killing zombies and has no real personality at all, and while I did not hate this character, I also had no real connection to him as he also just felt to dang generic. Our second main hero would be Kate Koresh as she grows as a character and goes from cheesy actress to leader of a military team! She is way more interesting of a character she just lacks the major will to kill like Randy does. The side characters in this series are pretty good and I would say my favorites would be Jane Redhawk, Amber & Bianca as they all had potential and all could have been better used in this series. As you long time readers know, I am a major Horror Comic reader and have always enjoyed a good zombie comic and love Night Of The Living Dead and its legacy and I think would have enjoyed this series a little more if it did not carry the NOTLD name as the comics holds none of the spirit of that film and again really comes off as a clone of other dark indie zombie comics that came out before it. The series does have some great moments of carnage and bloodshed, but does not get too overboard. The cover for this issue is just okay and is nothing special, the interior artwork is again is good normal indie style done by Rik Rawling. The best way to sum up this comic mini series is that it’s entertaining and also very disappointing. If you like dark horror comedy comics this might be one you will want to check out, if you’re a pure NOTLD fan you might find yourself finding this one a little of a letdown as even the zombies just feel all wrong. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Rawling used in this series.

So while this Fantaco NOTLD comic series has not the best zombie comics I have ever read, it still delivered an entertaining read for this update. It’s odd that no comic company is making comics based on Night Of The Living Dead as it just lends itself to be an amazing comic series. I want to also stress that if you love classic movie monsters, comics books and cool old toys you need to do yourself a favor and go to one of the Monster Bash Conventions as they are great events that deliver a spooky good time. So to keep up my love for classic monsters I think our next update we will be taking a look at the Marvel Horror character The Golem! So until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a classic monster movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update for my first Marvel Horror Showcase.

The Platinum Chainsaw Massacre Of Texas!

Welcome to this haunted and spooky Halloween update here on Rotten Ink.  This year we are going back to Texas and revisiting Leatherface, or should I say visiting another Leatherface named Thomas Hewitt who took up the chainsaw back in 2003! Along this back road Texas ride, we will be making many stops before we get to the Hewitt farmhouse at a Creepypasta, 5 Questions with a Horror Host and a few other spooky and fun things. It’s hard to believe that it’s Halloween 2016 and that the ghouls and ghosts are wandering the streets looking for candy or a trick to pull. This year has proved to be very cool for fans of horror films as new entries in the Blair Witch, Ouija, Phantasm and The Purge are hitting theaters.  Video Games will be delivering some frights this year with Resident Evil 4 coming to disc on the PS4 and even a NES Homebrew game called Batman vs. The Predator attacking its way to a retro home console. Not to mention the amazing amounts of horror comics that landed in readers hands like Puppet Master, Gingerdead Man, Night Trap, Psycho Path, Lord Of Gore, We Kill The Dead, Zombie and many more! This time of the year really should spark the want to be scared, whether that is from going to a haunted house, going on a spooky real life ghost hunt, reading a horror comic, playing a survival horror video game or just watching some horror films at home, I hope you have had a fun and spooky Halloween time, and I hope this blog update at least added to your holiday. So pack some chainsaw repellent and gear up for coming face to face with Leatherface one more time!

Let’s make our first stop on a strange sinister story of the Internet’s version of campfire tales. This year’s Creepypasta is based around a video game character that was super popular with not just me but many of the kids around the world.  That character is Sonic The Hedgehog, and the story is called “Sonic.exe.” Now I am sure many of you are wondering just how could Sonic be creepy as he is beloved by the youth of today, but once you hear this story, it will make you truly wonder if it’s real or not and if Sonic really is a hero character. Our tale starts with a Tom, a young gamer who loves playing Sonic game and one day in his mail is a CD-R with a game called Sonic.exe that was sent to him by his close friend Kyle. Along with the CD-R was a note written by Kyle in bad shaky hand writing that begged him to destroy the CD-R as he explains that something fast is after him and that the game on the disc is pure evil and must be destroyed. Kyle ends it begging his friend to not play the game. Thinking his friend had lost touch with reality, Tom, who was a Sonic fan, decided to play the game and when putting it into his PC and opening the game, he noticed something was wrong once he hit start.  The title screen turned twisted with blood instead of water and 666 appearing around a black sky and Sonic himself had turned sinister looking with red eyes in jet black sockets with bloody tears coming down his twisted face. The game once started was a mash-up of many of the sonic games and the music was not cheerful, being played backwards, and the player could only select from Tails, Knuckles and Dr. Robotnik! Thinking this was some odd hacked version of the game, Tom selected Tails and was greeted by a creepy laugh before the level started.  All seemed a little odd but turned gruesome when Tails came across many massacred small animals and the music once more became more and more dark till finally Tails runs into Sonic who looks like he did on the evil title screen and plays a game he is calling “Hide And Seek” that leaves in the end Tails crying and being killed by Sonic! Tom was disturbed but continued to play, this time playing as Knuckles and once more Sonic leaves the character crying and later dead.  This whole time Sonic is leaving messages for Tom and his character saying things like “Found you” and “So many sould to play with, so little time…would you agree?” making Tom more and more uneasy. After the death of Knuckles, the PC Game was stopped and Tom decided to take a nap and get the images out of his mind.  But he has a nightmare of the evil Sonic laugh and the cries of help from Tails and Knuckles echoed in his ears making him feel bad that he played this game and allowed two of his favorite characters to meet such a sad and sick end, and when evil Sonic confronted him he woke up and like in a trance had to play the game one last time as Robotnik! But sadly, while Robotnik might be Sonic’s worst enemy he as well meet a terrible end by the hands of this evil video game character who know was looking right at Tom from the computer screen….blood, sharp teeth and blood red glowing eyes being shown and creeping Tom out more and more as the seconds passed and finally the message “I am God” appeared and Tom knew he was played by something very evil. Tom in the end is tormented even more by Sonic who makes him see the sadness of the three characters he had lead to their deaths and even shut off his computer. Finally in the end Tom hears a whisper in his room that says “Try to keep this interesting for me, Tom” and when he looks to see who said it, on his bed is a Sonic plush doll who looks like the Evil Sonic from the game! First, I want to say that this is one Creepypasta that I for sure can say is not real as I don’t believe that a Sonic plush doll was about to torment Tom.  It just seems to much like Chucky from Child’s Play to me. But I will say I enjoy the creepy nature of the hacked Sonic game that chills the player’s blood as a character kids love is killing and tormenting not only fellow characters but also the player. While this game was a hoax, many fan made versions of this game have been made to go along with the story and to me that’s pretty cool and creepy stuff. A good Creepypasta that is sure to creep out young gamers.

In strange news that took place in Ohio, on June 2016, a rodeo bull named Dumpster Diver from Clearcreek Township escaped from its pasture and roamed the land of Warren County’s woods and roadways. The bull was loose for over a week, and people lived in fear that the large animal would charge them.  On many occasions it even ran out in front of cars almost causing auto accidents during its rampage or freedom! The bull was large and hiding out in the area and sparked many sightings that kept the local cops on their toes as he could have been a major threat if he decided to charge and become aggressive. But sadly, this story does not have a happy ending as on July 8th the police shot and killed Dumpster Diver as they were unable to tranquilize him and many cars almost hit him. So I am waiting for people to start the rumor of the ghost of Dumpster Diver roaming the roads to appear online soon. But like I said not scary, just a strange thing that happened here in this wild and unknown state we all call Ohio.

So now that we talked about a Creepypasta featuring the Sega video game character Sonic as well as a bull on the loose named Dumpster Diver, I think we should chat a little about an independent horror comic called The Killer Pumpkins that I got off of Ebay sometime back. I really enjoy picking up small press horror comics as sometimes you can find some really spooky and creative stuff and at the very least be entertained. The Killer Pumpkins is released by Middle Atlantic Comics, and I was able to pick it up for a very good price.  I saved reading it for a while as I wanted to share it here with you all on this special update, so let’s grab our carving knives and see just how killer these pumpkins really are!

The Killer Pumpkins # 1  **
Released in 2014     Cover Price $0.00    Middle Atlantic    # 1 of 1

The Wilson family is hiding out in the woods near the pumpkin patch on Halloween night in order to steal some of them. As the workers leave, they lock the gates behind them, but the father is not worried as he has a skeleton key that he believes will unlock the gate. As the father, mother and son all grab pumpkins, the teenage daughter questions why they are stealing pumpkins and not just buying them and is quickly told to shut up by her father. With stolen pumpkins in hand, they attempt to leave but learn they can’t get out as the gate has no keyhole! As the clock strikes midnight, the pumpkins come to life and kill the family one by one with beheading the mother, crushing the son with a falling tree and stabbing the father and carving him up like a jack o lantern! They let the daughter go as she never wanted to be in the pumpkin patch, and she runs through town screaming about her parents being killed by pumpkins and everyone just thinks she’s crazy.

This is a silly short comic that was a fun read on this Halloween day as it takes place on this very holiday. The plot is simple: a family is locked in a pumpkin patch on Halloween night and are attacked at midnight by the pumpkins that come alive and want revenge on humans who carve and smash them on this spooky holiday. The Wilson family seem like they are a bunch of cheapskates who want to steal instead of buy, and the parents are teaching their kids that it’s okay to steal. The father seems like the worse of them as he is clearly the shot caller who enjoys stealing as well as bossing his family around. The daughter is the only one who has half a brain and thinks what they are doing is wrong and does not steal, and this is why she is spared when the pumpkins start their rampage of murder. The pumpkins are mean spirited and make short work of the Wilson family and commit the murders with cold vegetable hearts. The comic has lots of death.  It’s not done with over the top gore and blood but does not shy away from character deaths. The comic’s art is done by Robert Bennett, who has a very independent style to his work, which is very fitting for this style and budget level of a comic book. While not super scary or what horror comic readers would expect to read about killer pumpkins, it’s a standard average read that I am sure would be entertaining for fans of independent comics. Below is some art from this comic.  Check it out and see Bennett’s style.

My Birthday is in early September, and to celebrate, I decided that I would have a epic Horror Movie Marathon that would have Juliet and I having a pre-show as well as an after party in addition to the main day of frights on our TV screen! The Pre-Show was on September 5^th 2016, and after a typical day at work on Labor Day and leaving early at 5pm, I came home and we started our pre-show at around 7:00pm with the film “Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival” that was about a brother and sister visiting a strange small town where their brother died in a crash and has left them strange clues to uncover about the town’s sinister past.  As they search, a killer called Black Peter who is supposed to be Santa’s evil brother is killing people in the streets. The second film was a supernatural slasher film called “Holy Terror” directed by Massimiliano Cerchi that has a landlord at the mercy of a demon nun renting a house to a young couple who find themselves and their friends, who are over for a home welcoming party, the target of her rage and murderous ways. The final film of the night was from Full Moon Entertainment that was at one time a lost film called “The Evil Clergyman” about a priest who has a sinister pact with a rat with a human face that set up women to kill themselves so they can take their souls as well as their flesh. After this fun pre-show, where we ate loaded baked potatoes and a flat buffalo sauce chicken while watching these terrors of the screen, we sat and talked about each film breaking them down and we both agreed that Silent Night, Bloody Night 2 was the worst film of the night as it had many strikes against it from the poor acting, the over use of flashbacks from the original film and even having the killer be a returning character from the first film and was so misused, it was mind numbing! While the first film was a fun slasher with twists and turns, this sequel was just boring, bland and predictable. Juliet and I also agreed on the best film of the night as we both loved The Evil Clergyman as it was a well directed film by Charles Band who captured the raw mood and atmosphere of the H.P. Lovecraft story it was based on. The score by Richard Band was well done and fitting for the mood, and actors Jeffrey Combs, David Gale and Barbara Crampton turn in amazing performances. Over all this was a really fun night of watching horror flicks, and going to bed, I was hyped for what horrors the next day was going to bring.

The day’s food was set as once more breakfast casserole was for brunch and a slow cooked crockpot roast was on tap for dinner. We woke up before 7am on September 5^th and started our marathon off with a 1946 film “Valley Of The Zombies” that was about a crazed man who was believed to be dead that must get blood transfusions in order to stay alive. The second film of the day is “Frankenstein: Day Of The Beast” that has Frankenstein’s Monster traveling to an island to kill Elizabeth, the bride of his maker, on their wedding day and must also fight off his hired guns that are paid to protect her. The third film of the day was a 2015 shot on video soon to be classic film from David “The Rock” Nelson called “Fishman” that follows the creature on a warpath to kill those who mocked him for wanting to become a fishman and also goes toe to toe with Detective Rock. The fourth film was “Evil Bong: High 5” and has that sinister Evil Bong once more setting her sights on conquering the world by trying to have her slaves raise a million dollars for her in just 30 days, also throw in the Gingerdead Man. The fifth film was released by Massacre Home Video and is the 1986 direct to video classic “Mutilations” about a college professor and his students fighting for their lives against aliens in a small town during a field trip. Unlucky number six is “Platoon Of The Dead” about some soldiers who find three women and an abandoned house and must hide from an army of the dead and their demon leader.  The film stars Ariauna Albright, who is one of my favorite b-movie queens. Troma Entertainment release “Plutonium Baby” was the seventh film of the day and is about an evil corporation trying to hush a family who has a lawsuit against them for radiation poisoning, and they soon find out radiation causes more than death as it also spawns mutated monsters! 1976 Greek Giallo film “The Wife Killer” was the eighth film and is about a man who wants his wife dead to get her money and hires a serial rapist and killer to do the deed, but things do not go as planed as backstabbing and greed stand in the way of the perfect murder. The ninth film of this spooky day of horror was “Blood Night: The Legend Of Mary Hatchet” about a urban legend of a woman who went mad when she would have her period and would kill all who stood in her way.  Not 20 years after her death she is back and wanting to spill more blood or is she? The tenth film was shot in Middletown Ohio at Land of Illusions and starred Robert Englund. It’s about serial killers getting free from an asylum and taking over a haunted house called “Funhouse Massacre”. Number eleven was “Last Shift” about a rookie cop having to work the old now empty police station that is haunted by the spirits of a satanic cult leader and his followers. And the final film of the night was a shot on video film called “City Of The Dream Demons” that followed a punk kid and his friends who have to do battle with nightmare demons coming into our world. The main event was lots of fun and filled with lots of different styles of horror from shot on video all the way to black and white chillers, and at one point Juliet even praised me for the depth of the day’s films.

As always after the films we sat and discussed each film and what we liked and disliked about them and picked our best and worst film of the day. Juliet picked Evil Bong: High 5 as her worst film of the day as she found its silly over the top pot humor and merchandise placement for the Full Moon product Badass Dolls to be annoying…and sad to say she is right on both accounts. My worst film of the day would be City Of Dream Demons and while it is by no means a terrible shot on video film, it did seem to spin its wheels a lot with the plot.  While the cover to the DVD looks badass, the demons in the movie just have grease paint smeared on their faces and just could have been so much more than what it was even with the no budget they were working with. My best films of the day are in this order: # 1 is Last Shift – the mood and atmosphere of this film was great.  The sprits of the cult members were creepy in spots as were the ghosts of their past victims.  Add in great acting and twists, and this was a great late night watch! My # 2 was Blood Night: Curse Of Mary Hatchet as it was a cool super natural slasher film that was filled with likeable characters, hot women, cool gore effects and a killer who can not be stopped as well as a twist baddie character, not to mention this film starred Danielle Harris! My # 3 was a little harder to pick as three other films almost closed in on this spot but in the end The Wife Killer won out as I found the plot to be very enjoyable and the twists kept me drawn into the plot not to mention plenty of hot Greek women and a killer who was a perv and a total scumbag! My runners up were Funhouse Massacre, Plutonium Baby and Mutilations all who had their charms and made the day of Horror all the more enjoyable. As for Juliet’s picks: # 1 was The Wife Killer…# 2 was Funhouse Massacre and her # 3 was Valley Of The Zombies with her runner up being Last Shift. After the main Horror Movie Marathon we went to bed and prepared for the first ever After Party!

We woke up around 8am on September 7^th and started the first ever Horror Movie Marathon After Party at a little after 9am.  Sadly we had to cut two films from the line up as Juliet had to go to work and in the evening do her radio show on WYSO. The first film of the after party was the found footage film directed by Ohio’s own Danny Draven called “Specters” about a behind the scenes movie crew getting lost on the set that is an old abandon haunted mental asylum and being stalked by evil ghosts! The second film of the day was a no budget slasher film directed by Joel D. Wynkoop called “Slasher Weekend” about a killer on the loose in the woods that is hacking and slashing any one who dares to enter, but is there more to the killer than meets the eye? And the third and final film was another found footage film that was directed by my good pal Henrique Couto called “Alone In The Ghost House” about a ghost hunting couple picking the wrong site for their next episode as something sinister seems to be waiting for them. The after party was really a cheesy slasher film sandwiched between two found footage horror flicks and each had their own weird charm to them. But like always we had to pick our worst film as well as our best, and this one was easy for the worst as Juliet and I both picked Slasher Weekend as it was a horror comedy that was not all that funny as well as the killer seemed to be lumbering around like a 80 year old man with bad knees and jokes went on way to long and were driven into the ground.  The only plus this film had going for it was that some of the actresses were very good looking and the gore was good backyard style effects. For me the best film of this day was Alone In The Ghost House and that’s not just cause my friend directed it, and to be honest I co-produced it, but because the acting was well done with once more Erin R. Ryan stealing the show (really she is one of my favorite independent horror actresses who I am proud to say is also a friend) and the atmosphere was really creepy and the main characters all very likeable! Juliet’s top pick for the day was Specters as she felt that it packed a creepy mood and great characters! But she did want me to stay that Alone In The Ghost House was very close to taking her top pick of the day! So over all a very fun way to celebrate my birthday as well as add to the Fall and Halloween season! Do yourself a favor and get a group of your friends together and have yourself a Horror Movie Marathon soon as you will as well find yourself having a great horrific time.

Well it’s time for our Halloween update standard and that’s 5 Questions with a Horror Host.  This year I choose to talk to Cleveland Ohio’s very own Janet Decay.  I first meet Janet at a Cinema Wasteland some many years back as I was working with Andy Copp at his table and later would speak to her from time to time on Facebook where her past show “The Daughter Of Ghoul” would send me copies to play on DATV as part of the Horror Host Underground Block. So with pleasure I bring you this fun and amazing part of our Halloween Update that I call “5 Questions with Janet Decay”!

Matt: So tell us about your show “The Mummy And The Monkey”, and how long have you been an undead Mummy Horror Hostess?

Janet: Well I host The Show The Mummy And The Monkey with my ape-man co-host Grimm Gorri. Together we bring our brand of offbeat weirdness all while giving you a slightly nostalgic fuzzy feeling. We play old monster movies and perform comedy bits in between. Think Elvira meets Pee Wee’s Playhouse meets Big Chuck and Lil’ John.
Janet Decay, my alter ego is Cleveland’s FIRST horror hostess and the city’s “Yummy Mummy”. The character herself is a mystery. She was a silent film actress that was supposed to be in a Cleopatra picture, little did she know that the Egyptian set props were actually ancient Egyptian cursed relics and they mystically transformed her into a real life undead mummy woman. I originally made the Decay character in 2010 for a charity zombie walk. The rags and makeup she wears I designed and put together. The tiara is made by a talented artist named Kathleen Kelley-Ottobre and some of my props were made by a little help from some other friends.
Grimm Gorri used to be on public access in Rhode Island but was really Cleveland born and raised. He came back to his hometown and ran into Ms. Decay and the rest is history.

Matt: So what horror hosts of the past inspired you to become a host yourself?

Janet: Well, all of them I suppose. Of Corpse here on the North coast we had The Ghoul, Big Chuck and Lil’ John, Superhost, Son Of Ghoul, and the older folks with more wisdom remember being glued to the TV as Ghoulardi filled the boob tube in the 1960’s. So there must be something in the Lake eerie water that does this to people.

Originally I auditioned for the hostess role for a now cancelled show on Time Warner public access called “The Daughter of The Ghoul Show”. I never really agreed with the name and received a huge backlash from it, but for a little while (2013-2014) it was a lot of fun! Decay still hosted it and I’ve always kept the rights to my own character. After the show was cancelled this little ghoul branched out and started a show with a sweet simian named Grimm Gorri and we’ve been accumulating a following.

Matt: What has been your favorite movie to host thus far?

Janet: The Screaming Skull so far, but I’m sure they’ll be new ones I enjoy just as much.

Matt: Who has been the one movie star you have been most hyped to meet at your many convention appearances and what Horror Host as well?

Janet: This is very hard to answer because there’s so many I’ve been hyped up to meet. I really can’t pick one, but I can choose a recent one. In March of 2016 I finally met in person a famous Cleveland movie host from WBNX 55, The Ghoul, Ron Sweed. I used to watch him in the 90’s on Friday nights. This guy was always wacky and goofy on TV, yet in person very polite and sweet to the fans when Grimm and I were there.

Matt: Who plays the best Mummy: Boris Korloff or Christopher Lee?

Janet: Eeek! Another tough one! They are each lovable in their own way.

I want to thank Janet Decay for taking a few moments to answer these questions for me on this update.  She has always been a very sweet and amazing person, and if you readers get a chance to meet her at say Horror Hound Weekend or Cinema Wasteland, make sure to do so! Also check out her official website here: http://www.themummyandthemonkey.com/ and get your own Mummy and Monkey DVD’s, T-Shirts and other cool merchandise. She’s very talented and one of the best modern horror hosts going, and I recommend viewing her show. Once more thanks Janet for giving us this interview as well as being who you are and keeping horror hosting alive in Ohio!

As always around this time of the year, my cousin Stephen Alexander and my good pal Josh Weinberg decided that we needed to go to a haunted Ohio location and see if the legends and stories were true or if it was just a tall tale told to scare kids around camp fires or the glow of their flashlights during a sleepover. It took me a few months of looking over websites, books and maps to choose the location for this year’s haunted excursion and finally I selected a haunted road called Lick Road in Cincinnati that is supposed to be haunted by a young murder victim named Amy. The story, like most legends, has multiple origins but the core is the same and has Amy as a young woman who was murdered and raped on the road by her boyfriend on prom night.  Her body was left at the street’s dead end, and it’s said her spirit wanders the area in search for help and to torment those who taunt her. It’s said if you park on the bridge and wander away from your car that by the time you come back the windows will be fogged up and a message written on the window from the inside will read “Help Me”.  Also if you stop on the bridge on the street and say that you have Amy’s baby, she will appear and chase you as she is upset that her life came to an end before she could have a child and finds you saying this is a way to insult her. Other versions of the story have Amy being killed by her evil stepfather and another is that she was killed by a serial killer who dumped her body on Lick Road….so is this legend true? Is a ghost of a female named Amy really waiting for us on Lick Road? Check out below for my pal and Sparkle Comics artist Jason Gilmore’s take on what Amy of Lick Road looks like!

On September 3, 2016 after a day of work at Game Swap, a quick meal at Applebee’s and some quick planning, Stephen and I loaded into Josh’s SUV and set out for this year’s ghost hunting adventure. The drive up their we all chatted about the legend of Amy a little and about life in general.  Finding Lick Road was super easy.  The road sits off a little from the main roads, but turning onto this haunted road things started to go south real quick as we noticed lots of houses and even a very large horse training and breeding farm….and this was just the beginning of the downfall. We drove slowly trying our best to get a spooky vide from the road and hoping to get a glimpse of Amy but all we found was no bridge and no chills. By the time we hit the dead end that lead to the park, the mood of the road was gone and we so wanted something to happen. So we got out of the SUV and snapped a few pictures, once we turned off the SUV and waited to see if the windows got fogged and Help Me to be written on the windows we walked around a little bit and nothing happened once we checked the windows, a total bust! Stephen and I were walking around as he tried to snap some more pictures when we heard a male voice from the woods mumble something at us very sternly.  We waited for a few moments and listened to see if he said something again and decided to leave. Over all while the story and legend of Amy on Lick Road is well done and a cool story to tell, the reality for us was that the road just was not spooky and besides some male voice from the park woods, nothing creeped us out and all of us would give the location thumbs down.

After we left Lick Road feeling cheated on getting a spooky good time, Stephen looked up other nearby haunts, and we choose to visit a road that was about five minutes away from Lick called Buell Road that had its own creepy legend. Buell Road is filled with lots of twists and turns, and the story goes that in the part of the road that is straight if you park you car and flash your lights three times and than sit in complete darkness a ghost boy riding a bike will appear from behind you.  If your don’t turn your lights back on before he touches your car you will die in seven days. The urban legend reminded us a lot of the film “The Ring,” and I am sure that the story sprang up after that movie, but we decided that why not got for two haunted locations for this Rotten Ink Halloween update and wash the disappointment of Lick Road out of our minds. So did the boy on the bike ghost show up? Read on and find out. Also below is Jason Gilmore’s take on the Ghost Bike Boy.

After stopping and getting some gas we headed to Buell Road and we soon learned that the road was filled with lots of twists and turns and that if traveled at night you could easily loose control and wreck, as we approached the straight away in the road Stephen spotted some crosses at the side of the road and started to snap some pictures before thinking he seen approaching lights behind us causing Josh to drive on as we had seen a park ranger near by. As we drove the topic of the crosses filled the car as we wondered at first if they were placed their to mess with thrill seekers but when returning and seeing names and a date we realized that sadly this was also the location of an accident were people lost their lives as well as the spot of a local urban legend. While the mood was a little down at that point we moved up a little and did as the legend demanded and flashed our lights three times, turned off the car and waited for the Ghost Boy on the bike to show up…the air was still and the road was pitch black and the three of use focused on the road waiting to see this bringer of death approaching, looking over at Josh I seen he had his hand on his lights and the other on the ignition ready to speed off if the ghost appeared. We waited and waited and nothing happened and after about 5-6 minutes we decided to just call it a bust and head out. On the way out I Googled the accident that took place in that spot in 2007 and we learned a little about the two young ladies who passed away, and we all said our respects to them as it was a sad tragic event. The atmosphere of the road was pretty good as it was super dark and the woods around the road added a creepy factor that was way better than Lick Roads! After this we drove around a little longer looking for any other creepy roads or bridges from the area and found nothing of interest, and this ended our 2016 Ghost Adventure! While Lick Road was a major bust and letdown at least Buell had a creepy feel to it. Who knows what spooky adventure awaits us next year! Below are some pictures from Buell Road as well as one of the memorial crosses in honor of those young ladies.

On October 15, 2016 Horrorama turned 20 years old and this marked about the 15 or 16^th year of me helping on this iconic charity event that I have long time now been one of the programing organizers of and this year once again we were at Danberry Cinema in Huber Heights. This year alongside Juliet, Matt Joseph and Rick Martin we decided to spice up the event and give power to the people and allow them to vote on what films they wanted to watch at this iconic event. The first and last film were voted on via Facebook months ahead of the event with “Creature From The Black Lagoon” winning the opening spot and the cheesy classic “Death Spa” getting the honors of closing the night. The event was a huge hit and we dang near packed the house and brought in lots of money for the charity that helped homeless and needy pets in and around the Dayton area. After the Creature ended the first live vote was for a 80’s Monster flick and had such films as C.H.U.D., Pumpkinhead and Hobgoblins battling it out but The Blob remake won out and entertained the crowd with its gross effects and science fiction fun nature. Next up was a Hammer Horror film that had up for vote films like Twins Of Evil and Legend Of The 7 Golden Vampires but we really shocked the crowd as “PhantasmV: Ravager” was added and won hands down! After that surprise I had many people coming up to me and thanking us for showing it on the big screen! The final voting of the night before Death Spa was for an Italian Horror flick and films like Nightmare City and Torso lost out to Fulci’s masterpiece “The Gates Of Hell”! This monumental event I helped not only in the projection room but also hosted along side Rick and my pal Henrique Couto who I felt really should be up their with us. Plus in the crowd was many of my nearest and dearest friends like Josh Weinberg, Stephen Alexander, Theresa Daniels, Nick Williams, Mike Ritchie, Alia Eckhardt with the biggest surprise being my School Days main crush Tina Manning who brought her niece, very cool to see Tina as she is a wonderful person. Thanks to everyone who came to this years Horrorama as this one was for Andy Copp and Barry “Dr. Creep” Hobart as they I am 100% sure were with us all in spirit. Below is some pictures from the night from Phantasm on the big screen, the outside marque and Tina and I all taken at the event.

I am sure many of you are wondering what Baron Von Porkchop did this Halloween season, am I right? Well sadly this year is the first year that we did not get to do a new Halloween Special as a stream of events caused it not to happen but we did put together a marathon for DATV of classic Halloween Specials of Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre as well as episodes of Moraine Playhouse Theater hosted by The Creeper! Baron Von Porkchop also hosted a four-course dinner for local Dayton restaurant Lily’s Bistro that featured such dishes as Bone Marrow, Squid Ink and even a dish called The Evil Eye! So while new episodes of Baron Von Porkchop has been short coming this past year, he still has been out and about and meeting with his fans and that’s one cool thing for this blogger to see. And Baron and I promise that we are working on new episodes and that 2017 season three will be finished and aired for you all to see. Also keep your eyes and ears open as we are working on a new “Black Friday Special” that will air on DATV for the Horror Host Underground Marathon on November 25^th. Below is some pictures of Baron at Lily’s for the meal that he hosted so give them a look and enjoy!

So now we are at the Hewitt farmhouse and it’s clear that Leatherface is home as I can hear the screaming coming from the basement and the faint noise of chainsaw is also filling the air. So before we go any further this far on this Halloween update lets take a quick look back at what we have taken a look at this far that was meant to chill your blood and send shivers down your spine as we chatted about a loose bull named Dumpster Diver, explored the Sonic.exe Creepypasta legend, reviewed a independent comic, visited some haunted Ohio roads, shared a Horror Movie Marathon I had and chatted with Horror Host Janet Decay! So it’s clear that it’s time for us to take a look at who Thomas “Leatherface” Hewitt is and what this remake of a classic is all about so while the screams from the basement echo in the night air lets take this moment to chat about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 2003.

“Driving through the backwoods of Texas, five youths pick up a traumatized hitchhiker, who shoots herself in their van. Shaken by the suicide, the group seeks help from the locals, but their situation becomes even more surreal when they knock on the door of a remote homestead. It’s quickly apparent the residents are a family of inbred psychopaths, and the unlucky youths suddenly find themselves running for their lives. In hot pursuit is a disfigured, chainsaw-wielding cannibal known as Leatherface.”

Texas Chainsaw Massacres was released on October 17, 2003 and was released by New Line Cinema with it being directed by Marcus Nispel and starring Jessica Beil, Erica Leerhsen, Johathan Tucker, R. Lee Ermey and Andrew Bryniarski as Leatherface. The film grossed $80,571,655.00 at the US Box Office on a $9.5 million dollar budget. While Foreign Box Office brought in an additional $26,500,00.00 bring the worldwide total of this film to $107,071,655.00 making it a hit for New Line Cinema. The film ranked as 37 of the year and beat out such cult films as Kill Bill Vol. 1, Bad Santa, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Underworld, Final Destination 2, Lost In Translation, 28 Days Later, Jeepers Creepers 2, Monster, Wrong Turn, Cabin Fever and Darkness Falls to name a few. This 2003 remake was met with mixed reviews as many enjoyed it while others ranted about it like it used a chainsaw on their mothers! And this was also the treatment it got from Critics and Reviewer’s as it was a clear showdown of the pro supporters for this new direction for the iconic horror series. The same split was happing as well with my friends and I, but we will get to that a little later. Love it or hate it Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2003 was a film that sparked the Horror Remake Boom and allowed Platinum Dunes to sink their blood sucking fangs into making many other remakes of other classic Horror films like “The Amityville Horror” in 2005, “The Hitcher” in 2007, “Friday The 13th” in 2009 and “A Nightmare On Elm Street” in 2010 and they all as well have a very split ratings with Horror fans. The film also sparked a pre-equal in 2006 with the film “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning”.

I can remember that in 2003 when it was announced that New Line Cinema was teaming up with Platinum Dunes a company created by director Michael Bay and producer Brad Fuller to make a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre film my friends and me were really hyped for it. But soon when news started coming out that it was a remake and being directed by Marcus Nispel who only directed music videos and documentaries for such artists as Janet Jackson, Spice Girls and Billy Joel I started to worry as did my friends. Then when the casting was being talked about things again started to take a turn even more toward the worried zone when the lead actress was Jessica Biel a great actress but known for the time as Mary Camden on the cheesy show “7^th Heaven” and during interviews to hype the film the producers and crew clearly didn’t know the source material but were claiming they were all huge fans. On opening night Andy Copp, Josh Weinberg and my brother Bryan and his girlfriend (wife now) Bel and me and my girlfriend at the time Misty all went and seen it in the theater that Andy was helping out at. I can remember sitting in my seat with popcorn and a Mountain Dew to drink waiting for the film to start in the packed theater sitting next to Misty and Josh talking about Horror Films in general and what we were hoping from this film. The crowd was buzzing with talk and chatter of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and discussions of how this had to be better than Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation and how it will compare to the original. As the theater lights went down and the trailers played we all sat and watched Leatherface and his family The Hewitt’s do what they do deep in the heart of Texas. After the film was over and the crowd was mixed as I heard many people talk about how it was the best Horror Movie they have ever seen with others complaining about how dumb and silly the film was and seemed like a CW show mixed with horror. After the theater was cleared we all stood in the lobby and we were all split in our reactions to the movie, “the haters” were Andy and Bryan, the “it was ok” was Josh and Me, “the loved it” group was Misty and Bel. Bryan and Andy hated it as they felt it was generic and that scenes were over the top and poorly set up. The talk lasted for around 30 minutes before we all went our own ways, and when home Misty talked about why she loved it some much as she found the characters likeable and Leatherface spooky and brutal and this made for a good watching experience for her. Over the years I have went from thinking it was ok to hating it to liking it and repeat that cycle over and over, but now I can officially say that I find the film ok while not my favorite in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre it does have some great moments and Leatherface is very menacing, the part that still to this day bothers me is the over use of R. Lee Ermey as Sheriff Hoyt, his constant screaming just is over blown and super cheesy in my opinion. I know that that’s not a popular opinion as many Horror Fans credit him for why they like the film for me he is one of the reasons its just ok, if the character was used less and not as a main focus as at times the movie seems to have him as it’s top villain and Leatherface is more of a background killer. But say what you will about the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for this Horror fan it was a fun watch in the theater with friends and has been fun to re-watch on DVD and has sparked many cool comic book series based around it and it’s characters.

Lets now take a brief look at the Leatherface of the Platinum Dunes set of films. Thomas Brown Hewitt was born on August 25, 1939 to Slone a worker at the Blair Meat Company in Texas on her shift and when born his mother died and Thomas had a skin disease and her boss tossed him into the dumpster still alive! Thomas is found in the dumpster by Luda May Hewitt and taken home and were she raises him as her own. Growing up his facial skin disease got worst and his attitude turned violent as he is mute and has retardation and worked for the Blair Meat Slaughter House until it’s closing. Thomas to cover his face would wear a cow leather mask and would listen to what ever his adapted family would tell him to do and that included killing, cooking and eating people as the town was dying and food was hard to come by so they turned cannibal. Thomas also has a tendency to harm and mutilate himself and is easily persuaded to do bad things by his Uncle Charlie aka Sheriff Hoyt. Thomas during his killing and grilling human ways discovers that he can make masks out of human faces and cover of his disfigured face getting the nickname Leatherface. In 1973 while killing a group of young adults Thomas chases a woman into the long closed Blair Meat slaughterhouse and has the table turned on him when she uses a meat cleaver to remove his arm! Thomas was last seen sometime later when he kills a Cop and his cameraman who where sent to investigate the Hewitt farmhouse. While missing and not captured Thomas “Leatherface” Hewitt is still one the loose and eating and stealing peoples faces. Below is the three faces of Leatherface from the 2003 film to show you how his appearance changed throughout the film.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre is not just a series based on the lead killer Leatherface but also the fellow demented family members who make up his twisted household! The original film had Grandpa, The Hitchhiker and The Cook! The second film had ChopTop, The Cook and Grandpa! The third had Tex, Tink, Little Girl, Alfredo, Grandpa and Anne! Even the fourth film had solid family members like W.E, Vilmer, Grandpa and Darla helping Leatherface on his task of killing. The first three films that last name of the family was Sawyers with the fourth film Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation changing the last time to Slaughter and with the Platinum Dunes series their last name is Hewitt and the newer films its back to Sawyer…so as you can see this series is as jacked up as the characters that make it up but the main thing is the family was always around no matter what they name each was a crazy as the others. The 2003 family is lead by Charlie Hewitt Jr. who after killing the towns only police officer starts going by Sheriff Hoyt and is the master mind of the family killing and eating people so they will not go hungry, in the past he was a solider in war and what he seen during the war has twisted him into a terrible human being who enjoys torturing and messing with the minds of his victims. Luda May Hewitt is an older woman who is the adoptive mother of Leatherface and runs the gas station of the dying town. Monty Hewitt use to drive the towns tow truck but after an accident his legs are removed and now he is wheelchair bound. Jedidiah Hewitt is a weird bucktoothed kid who is treated like a dog by the family, while a Hewitt he seems to hate all the killing. The Tea Lady and her daughter Henrietta Hewitt live in a trailer and live a normal life of watching TV and drinking tea….and oh yeah they steal babies! All sick and all twisted in their own way and each help add to the crazy blood soaked world of Thomas “Leatherface” Hewitt.

Andrew Bryniarski in 2003 dawned the human skin mask and picked up the chainsaw to portray Leatherface for the remake film as well as it’s follow up film, making him the only actor to play the role twice up to this point. Andrew started his career in the spotlight as a body builder and started his acting when visiting a friend in Los Angeles a talent agent spotted him and got him a role as Butterfinger in the 1991 film “Hudson Hawk”. That same year he landed a role in “Necessary Roughness” and before that in 1990 he had a tiny role in the film “Dragonfight”. Many great roles followed in such films as “Batman Returns”, “Cyborg 3” and “The Program”. In 1994 he played the live action version of video game character Zangief in “Street Fighter” and would go on to be in other films like “Scooby-Doo”, “Pearl Harbor”, “Rollerball” and “Any Given Sunday” until landing the role of Leatherface in 2003’s “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” remake. Many other horror film roles followed including the 2004 film “The Curse Of El Charro”, “Seven Mummies” from 2005 and the 2006 pre-equel film “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” and his last major horror role he played Count Dracula in the 2008 film “Bram Stoker’s Dracula’s Guest”. Over the years and during my many convention bookings and ones I attend I have meet and seen Andrew many time over the years and oddly enough many fans love his big over the top nature and on the other hand I have heard very negative things about him from fans who found him to be a jerk! I have never had an issue with him and any time I have seen him he has always treated me with respect and in a friendly manner. But Andrew has had his share of controversy as in 2012 he ran into some issues as he was arrested for hording dogs, or so the charges against him tried to say. But in 2015 when actor and original Leatherface actor Gunnar Hansen passed away Andrew took to twitter to mock fans who were upset over Hansen’s passing as the two actors did not have any love for each other and had taken shots at each other before and this caused a feud between fans as some showed support for Gunnar and others took up for Andrew and his lack of sadness for the horror icons death. For me Andrew’s commits of “Boo Hoo” and telling a fan of Gunnar’s this in response to him defending the deceased actor this “Zero F*cks Given, s*ck his dead n*ts” shows that he has no common sense, but to be fair we all have said dumb things in our lives. Was Andrew Bryniarski the best Leatherface…for me no that will always belong to Gunnar Hansen as he was the original and set the bar that all actors had to follow who wore the skin mask and wielding a chainsaw, but Andrew was a new generation’s Leatherface and did his job well and helped make his films what they are. While now mostly doing B-Movies Andrew is still somewhat active in the acting game.

So we are still outside at the Hewitt farmhouse and I can hear the chainsaw starting up again in the basement so my guess is we are now at the comic review part of our big Halloween update that brought us back here to Texas to re-visit Leatherface or at least some one called Leatherface! I want to thank Mavericks Cards and Comics, Bell Book and Comic and Lone Star Comics for having these comics in stock and making this update possible. So while Lionsgate is playing games with the release of their upcoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel, me on my blog Rotten Ink decided that we should have a TCM and Avatar Comics kind of Halloween! If you listen coming from the Hewitt living room window you can here good old Sheriff Hoyt telling Uncle Monty this “Matt grades these on a f#&$!ing star scale of 1 to 4 and is looking for how damn well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story.” And I hate to say it he is right on how I grade these comics. So stay low and don’t make a sound as we once more take a peek into the sick and twisted life of Leatherface.

TCM: Special # 1  **1/2
Released in 2005     Cover Price $3.99       Avatar Comics     # 1 of 1

It’s 1972 in Fuller, Texas, and a group of convicts have escaped prison and are driving toward Mexico to avoid being re-captured and along for the ride are two female friends, one of whom helped with the escape. Hardy Miller is a convicted drug dealer, Ellery Watts a convicted rapist and Rufus Kimoni, a member of the Black Panthers, make up the criminals while Darlene is Hardy’s girl and Charity is a sweet young woman caught in a bad car filled with nuts! They stop at the small store run by Luda Mae Hewitt and before the criminals come in to rob her, she is able to call her home for help.  When they find she has no money, they go to leave and soon find that their car is now destroyed in a matter of minutes! Miller and Darlene go one way and leave Charity using the restroom and Ellery missing. Rufus goes back in to question Luda Mae but is chopped to death with meat cleavers by Luda Mae and Tea Lady! Meanwhile Ellery tries to rape Charity and is killed by Leatherface who chops him up with his trusty chainsaw. Charity runs to a small trailer home and meets Henrietta Hewitt who tries to calm the girl as she knows that the young woman is pregnant. Darlene and Miller make the mistake of entering the Hewitt house hoping to find a car to steal and are both knocked out by the wheelchair bound Monty Hewitt who swings a mean brick. Leatherface and Henrietta force Charity to the farmhouse as Sheriff Hoyt forces Miller to snort kitchen cleaner, and they give Darlene to Leatherface who kills her in the basement.  Lastly, after the terror makes Charity lose the baby, she becomes the final victim to taste the saw blade of Leatherface.

The crazy Hewitt family is at it again, this time setting their twisted sights on a carload of criminals who escaped from prison and are dumb enough to stop in Fuller, Texas! The plot is really that simple and has the Hewitt’s killing off a carload of terrible people who are killers in their own way with only one of them being a good person in a terrible situation. Hardy Miller and Darlene are bad people who get a joy of selling drugs and robbing people to get what they need and want.  While not the worst of the group, they get it pretty brutally with Miller getting the worst torture of it all as he has to snort dangerous chemicals that eat away his sinuses and then is chopped up like a hog! Rufus Kimoni is a killer who was part of the Black Panthers and seems to be very trigger happy to end someone’s life as he even wanted to kill Luda Mae when they attempted to rob her as she didn’t have enough money for them. Ellery Watts is a sleazy creep who gets what’s coming to him for trying to rape Charity, but to be fair I wish he got it worse as he took pleasure in his victim’s fear and screams and is a true scumbag.  Charity is the only likable character and is pregnant and just wants to get to Mexico and hitches a ride with her friend Darlene and her criminal friends.  She is truly the one you find yourself cheering for to make it out of this massacre alive. But as we all know, none of these characters make it out alive and are all turned into meals for the Hewitt family. Leatherface is a pure slasher killer in this issue and stalks and kills whoever is not a part of his family.  The rest of the Hewitt family are also very blood thirsty, and each one shows they take joy in killing as even the overweight Tea Lady uses a meat cleaver to murder a man. While the plot is simple and for most accounts very cheesy, the gore and blood level is turned up and it’s pretty brutal with the issue’s best death being the murder of a unknown female at the start of the issue that is cut in half by Leatherface in the family’s basement! Like all Avatar comics, there are like a million covers, and the one I have is called The Bloodbath Cover and is pretty dang eye catching.  I am sure it drew in many horror comic readers in 2005. The art is done by Jacen Burrows and is pretty great stuff with the film’s story being written by Brian Pulido who is known for being the creator of Lady Death and the owner of Chaos Comics. Over all a nice single issue story that is sure to please fans of the TCM series as well as gore hounds who enjoy bloody and brutal comics.

TCM: Fearbook # 1  **
Released in 2006     Cover Price $3.99       Avatar Comics     # 1 of 1

A car is zooming down a road in Texas with Charlie behind the wheel and his passengers Sahara, Lucy and Jeb are having a good time.  Jeb is having the best time as he is dropping acid! They all stop at the little gas station, and Lucy and Jeb go inside to get snacks but soon are harassed by Luda May and Sheriff Hoyt who also punches out Charlie and arrests him after he finds the young man disrespectful in tone once he enters the store looking for his friends. Sheriff Hoyt takes Charlie to the old farm house where he and Monty talk down to their prisoner.  Meanwhile Sahara follows Hoyt to the farm, and this is a big mistake as it just leads them to be trapped in the house and for Leatherface to have his fun! Leatherface guts Charlie with his trusty chainsaw, cuts off Jeb’s legs and causes Sahara to go into a panic and fall from the top of the steps and break her neck! Leatherface takes Lucy to the basement and wears the face of Charlie and nails the face of Sahara to Lucy, and the issue ends with him dancing is the basement with the corpse of Lucy.

This Fearbook is nothing special and to be honest is a very middle of the road read, as the story is just a watered down version of the Specials with way less character development and less gore. The story is a group that makes the mistake of stopping at the gas station run by Luda May and gets lured into a trap at the Hewitt farm house that leaves them almost all dead by the blades of Leatherface’s chainsaw. Charlie and Sahara are mouthy unlikable people who are disrespectful and have attitudes toward law enforcement and anyone with authority. Jeb is a hippie drug addict who spends most of his time in the comic tripping and talking about his hands…yeah, your typical druggie in a horror comic/film. Lucy is the most likable as she doesn’t like the drug use and tries her best to smooth over the drama and tension between the Hewitt’s and her friends. Luda May and Monty are barely in the comic, and as always, Sheriff Hoyt takes the main focus and cusses and belittles our characters until his nephew Leatherface can dispatch them. Leatherface makes quick work of these victims and seems to want to relax and “cosplay” as members of this group and dance the night away. The comic does have blood, guts and gore with the best kill being Leatherface using a hammer and nails to attach her friends face to Lucy’s…sick and twisted and a good kill. The cover I have for this issue is okay and features Leatherface in front of the house with the moon in the background.  The inside art is done by Daniel Hdr and is good with a story by Antony Johnston that is generic. Over all this is just a so-so issue that feels as if Avatar was just quickly cashing in on the popularity of Texas Chainsaw Massacre…let’s see what The Grind has in store for us as I hope it’s better than this issue!

TCM: The Grind # 1  **1/2
Released in 2006     Cover Price $3.99       Avatar Comics     # 1 of 3

The Milsap’s are driving a bus full of choir girls, and Julie Ann is the outcast, the dark haired girl whom the other girls make fun of and spread rumors of, even her own adopted sister Sadie joins in. When the bus gets a flat tire Mr. Milsap goes for help and makes the mistake of entering the Blair Meat slaughterhouse and is killed by the chainsaw of Leatherface. Night comes as the girls and Miss Milsap and her young daughter Ellie wait for Mr. Milsap’s return with help that never comes.  This causes Mrs. Milsap to go walk for help, and she as well meets a bloody end at the slaughterhouse thanks to Leatherface. At the bus, Sheriff Hoyt appears and plants drugs on the bus and takes all five choir girls and Ellie to the slaughterhouse and locks the older girls in a walk in freezer and then gives Ellie to Henrietta Hewitt who runs off with her. Poor choir girl Louise is set free by Hoyt, and he gives her to Leatherface who of course chases the young woman around the slaughterhouse and finally meets her end by his chainsaw! Sheriff Hoyt opens the freezer door and lets them know that Leatherface needs another playmate…

A choir team on their way to a concert has a flat tire that leaves them broken down and in the hands of the Hewitt family who have targeted them for death and food. The plot is that simple but somehow is pretty fitting for this kind of comic based on a series of movies that have very similar plots. The Milsap family seems to be good-hearted people who enjoy singing and spending time with each other as well as with their students who make up the choir group that has almost won many competitions. Sadly Mr. and Mrs. Milsap are killed off before we can get too attached to their characters as well as really know them. Ellie Milsap is a little girl who loves her parents and enjoys hanging out with the older choir singers.  Once she is taken away by Henrietta Hewitt, we are not sure what her fate is yet. The Choir Girls, while snooty and always picking of Julie Ann, still stick together when the odds are against them and danger is clearly present. Julie Ann oddly enough keeps writing to her foster dad that is making her adopted sister mad as something bad must have happened. Henrietta Hewitt is as creepy as ever and wants to collect young kids, and Sheriff Hoyt as always sets up the victims and treats them terribly with insults and abuse. Leatherface in this issue just wants to kill and kill and by the end of the issue has a body count of three already! The gore and blood is toned down and not nearly as brutal as the Special and Fearbook.  Pretty disappointing as the gore could have added to the brutal nature of the characters and story. The cover I have is called the Wrap Around and is just okat and nothing too special.  The art inside is done by Daniel Hdr and looks pretty dang good, and the story was written by Brian Pulido who thus far is making the plot pretty entertaining. The Grind so far has a pretty good start, and this first issue left me wanting to see what is going to happen next! So let’s see what brutal deaths and body count issue two has in store for us.

TCM: The Grind # 2  **1/2
Released in 2006     Cover Price $3.99       Avatar Comics     # 2 of 3

As Sheriff Hoyt tries to bully one of the girls to leave the freezer and get chopped up by Leatherface, it’s a hidden pencil by Julie Ann that frees the girls as she stabs Hoyt in the hand and they all escape and split up into groups of two in order to try and survive. Julie Ann and Rosa go one way as Sadie and Marsha go another while Sheriff Hoyt and Leatherface split up to catch them. Julie Ann and Rosa make it out of the slaughterhouse and end up seeing Ellie in the grip of Henrietta but have to run away before they can save her as Leatherface is on their tail.  When Rosa gets her leg stuck in a bear trap, she becomes another victim to Leatherface’s chainsaw, and her body is taken to the Hewitt house and her face is cut off. Meanwhile Sadie and Marsha are not as lucky and are caught in the slaughterhouse by Hoyt who takes them to the farmhouse leaving only Julie Ann safe and their only hope to live through this cannibalistic crisis. Sheriff Hoyt is going to kill the girls, but upon getting into an argument with Leatherface who is wearing the face of Rosa now Luda May, calls them both inside to yell at them.  This allows Julie Ann to save Sadie and Marsha, and the girls hide in the barn to come up with a plan to escape but are soon found by a very pissed off Leatherface!

The girls must keep their wits and do what they can to survive as the Hewitt’s are now in killing mode and want to teach these choirgirls a lesson in southern respect. Plus this time around we get a little more background on Julie Ann who had been arrested before being one of the choirgirls, and we find out that Sadie’s dad was a molester and that Julie Ann put a stop to his ways and that’s why she went to jail, protecting her adopted sister! Julie Ann is a character you find yourself liking as she is to the point and understands that they must fight to stay alive as well as knows when to run, as she sadly had to do when Rosa was caught in the trap and killed. Sadie, Rosa and Marsha do not have the killer instinct and that’s why they are in constant danger of being killed. Sheriff Hoyt is as sleazy and power hungry as ever and loves to talk down and torment these young ladies as you can tell it makes him feel in charge. When he takes a pencil to the hand that causes so much pain his fake teeth fall out, I found myself cheering even more for Julie Ann to make it out of this alive. Luda May and Henrietta are around but play more of background characters, but it does show that Luda May is the true family member with power as both Hoyt and Leatherface listen to her. Leatherface is still blood-thirsty and wants nothing more than to chop up these young ladies and maybe even wear their faces! I do like that in this issue Thomas does wear the face of a young woman, and this angers us Uncle Hoyt who doesn’t want his nephew to look girly. The blood in this issue is toned down even more and only one kill takes place as Rosa is chainsawed and face cut off but none of this is shown on panel and if it is, only shadows are seen. Wonder why the blood and gore is so lacking in this mini series? The cover is cool and has Leatherface coming after Julie Ann, and the team of Daniel and Pulido made it come to life. Over all another good issue with only one more issue to go with four more girls left to be killed! So let’s see if any of them get out alive or if they all will fall to the chainsaw.

TCM: The Grind # 3  **1/2
Released in 2006     Cover Price $3.99       Avatar Comics     # 3 of 3

The three girls manage to get away from Leatherface and hide, that is until the fear gets a grip on Marsha and she makes a run for it and pays the price with her life as Leatherface chops her up. Julie Ann and Sadie make a run for it as well but are captured. Tea Lady and Henrietta use garden tools to knock them out. When they awaken, they find that they are tied up in the farmhouse, and Sheriff Hoyt has read the letter Julie Ann was sending to her adoptive father.  Sadie is being hit on and tortured by Uncle Monty who who ends up killing her leaving only Julie Ann left who is forced to eat dinner with the Hewitt family! During dinner Julie Ann is given away to Monty who ties her to a bed and tries to assault her but she is able to break free steal a chainsaw, rescue Ellie and run away from a very mad Leatherface.  While Ellie keeps running Julie Ann is able to get a ride into the next town where she is blamed for the murders of her fellow choirgirls and the Milsaps thanks to her letter that was to be sent to her father that tells of her murderous thoughts! In the end Luda May and Sheriff Hoyt are happy that the Hewitt family is not exposed and some one else is to blame for the murders.

This final issue’s plot has our remaining girls being captured, some killed and one promised to be the bride of the wheelchair bound Uncle Monty, and when escaping and saving a young child’s life she in turn is blamed for the murders of her friends and sister! The story is good, and Brian Pulido does a decent job of making the girls likable and the Hewitt’s unlikable making this tale work. Julie Ann once more shows that she has what it takes to survive and does all she can to help her sister and fellow choir members to make it out alive, but only succeeds with saving the youngest Ellie. The fact that her homicidal thoughts are used against her and in turn makes her out to be the killer to the police is the nice twist this story needed…but I must say I would have loved to seen a follow up that had her escape jail and try and get her revenge on the Hewitt family. Sadie, who loves her adopted sister, is the last of the choirgirls to get murdered, and sadly she gets it slow and sleazy as Monty jokes her with a string all the while licking her face and sticking his gross tongue in her mouth. Marsha is just brain dead as she makes a run for it screaming and causing her own death as it alerts Leatherface to her whereabouts. Hoyt, Monty, Luna May, Tea Lady and Henrietta are all sick and demented and while they murder people, they have a strange family pride and traditions that include praying at dinner! Luna May and Sheriff Hoyt are the masterminds of setting up the framing of Julie Ann and shows that while their minds are dark they have a sinister way of thinking that protects their kin. Leatherface is what he always is, a simple minded killing machine who uses his chainsaw to chop and dice his victims who sadly stumbled in his family’s way. The gore is stepped back up in this issue and has two deaths with the bloodies being the chainsaw death of Marsha, but the best kill is Sadie by the hands of Monty as it’s just creepy and sleazy and feels so wrong. Daniel Hdr does the art again and looks great.  His Leatherface 2003 is not as good as Jacen Burrows who did it for the special, but still holds a gritty feel to it. The cover on this issue is called “Terror” and has the girls scared of Leatherface who is coming in for the kill. These comics based on the 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre have the same appeal with me as the movie where they are nothing special but are okay when just looking to kill some time. Below is some artwork from this series so you can see the look and feel of this comic version of Leatherface.

So while Thomas Hewitt in my opinion might not be as iconic nor creepy as Leatherface Sawyer, he made for one heck of a good comic book character for Avatar and even WildStorm some time later. Thanks for spending a small part of your Halloween with me here at Rotten Ink as it’s always a fun time to write these updates and share spooky comics with you as well as a hand full of other amazing terror tales from my ghost hunting adventures to Creepypastas and everything in between! But while the chainsaw noise is fading off into a distance, the ghosts and goblins are still roaming the streets so I think it’s time for me to find a safe house and eat left over candy from last year and tell you that our next update is about a failed superhero for Marvel called Solarman! So stay safe on this Halloween Night, and I will see you back here for the next update. So read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two, play a Survival Horror Game and as always support your local Horror Host! Happy Halloween!!!