From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Leprechaun (1993)

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day ! For this update I think we are going to revisit that nasty little movie monster killer The Leprechaun! Last time I covered him was way back in 2013 when I reviewed the very cheesy BlueWater Comic series and that was also for Saint Patrick’s Day. For this update, we will be looking at the Trimark promo comic released when the film hit theaters, and it will be a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update so we can really breakdown the 1993 movie as well as Leprechaun the character. I am also doing this update in honor of the SYFY network’s newest Leprechaun sequel that is being released today. So if you’re ready to drink some green beer and look for the pot of gold on the other side of the rainbow, let’s dive into this pint size terror killer.

To start off this update, we need to take a look at our title killer of the film, the one and only Leprechaun, and while he has been in several films, we will only be talking about his killing abilities and flaws from the first film only as that is what this promo comic is based on. The Leprechaun is an over 3 feet tall supernatural creature who has a wicked nature and a thirst to kill those who make the mistake in taking his gold from him. The Leprechaun is very cunning and is a trickster and can use his size and appearance to scare his target victims leaving them open for the kill once panic sets in and they notice they are being stalked and hunted by a mythic creature with a frightening face. The Leprechaun also uses magic in order to dispatch his victims as, while he is not earth shattering with his powers, he can in fact use them on those who stole his gold and ones that get in his way. He also has no issues using his bare hands nor any weapon or item he can find around him on the sad person who crossed his path. He also has razor sharp fingernails that can also be used in hurting a human as well as his teeth that he will use to chomp down with. And all the while he also makes puns and jokes during his violence causing the victim to feel helpless and weak. He also can regrow body parts that have been cut off and can heal from wounds pretty fast. Oh and lets not forget, he is also good at leaving traps to capture his victims! While The Leprechaun is powerful, he does have weaknesses like four leaf clovers hurts him and leaves him powerless and open to attacks and is the true way of stopping him if one is placed on him. If he is forced to swallow the clover, he melts from the inside out. He also has a weakness for dirty shoes as he feels like he must polish them, once more leaving him open for an attack or for a person to get away from him. He is also very much empowered by his gold and is weaker without it, once more leaving him able to be hurt from counter attacks. He also can be hurt/stunned with more direct attacks like using a gun on him. While he can be stopped, this pint sized terror is a force of evil and when stolen from he has no issues ripping your guts out!

So now that we have taken a look at the Leprechaun and his powers and ways of killing, we should now take a look at the original movie that spawned him. For this part, the film’s plot write up is taken from our pals at IMDB with the production notes and thoughts being written by myself. So if you’re ready, let’s travel back to 1993 and enter the world of the Leprechaun.

Leprechaun (1993)

“When Dan O’Grady returns to the U.S. after stealing some Irish leprechaun’s pot of gold, he thinks he can settle down and enjoy his newfound wealth. He thought wrong. The leprechaun followed him and O’Grady barely gets away with his life, having locked the little monster in his basement. Ten years later, J.D. and his spoiled daughter Tory move in. By accident, the leprechaun is released and almost immediately the annoying creature starts to look for his gold, not displaying any respect for human life.”

Mark Jones was a man who made his name producing TV shows and cartoons, and one day decided he wanted to direct and make a movie and choose the horror genre to make his debut. Inspired by the film series Critters and the breakfast cereal Lucky Charms, he went to Trimark and pitched the idea that became the company’s first home grown theatrical film release and brought them to the dance. Mark Jones wrote and directed the film and got a million dollar budget and began casting bringing in such names as Warwick Davis to play the Leprechaun, Mark Holton, Ken Olandt, Shay Duffin and a Jennifer Aniston in her first feature role! Gabe Bartalos was brought in to do the special effects that took three hours to apply and forty minuets to remove. One of the main shooting locations was Big Sky Ranch that was also used back in the day for locations for The Waltons and Little House On The Prairie. Before being released, the film received a massive push from Trimark as they really wanted this film to be a big hit and help bring them more attention and money to make future films. The film did okay for Trimark at the US Box Office bringing in $8,556,940.00 on a budget of only $1 million! The film ranked number 117 for the year and beat out such other cult films as Dazed And Confused, The Meteor Man, Children Of The Corn II, Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm, Surf Ninjas, Mr. Nanny, Warlock: The Armageddon and Ernest Rides Again to name a few. While this film might not have been a box office smash nor is Leprechaun as iconic as other Horror Killers like Michael Myers or Leatherface, he does have a cult following and has made a mark for sure in the world of horror.

I can remember in 1993 when Leprechaun was being released to theaters as of course my brother and I wanted to see it and our Dad laughed at the trailer of it, and this of course meant we did not get to see it in theaters! When I was a young Monster Kid, movies with weird creatures and monsters were ones I always felt like I had to see and Leprechaun fit that bill. And of course not much has changed as I still love these style of movies! When I was finally able to see Leprechaun, it was when it came out on VHS and my brother Bryan rented it, and I can remember we both enjoyed it for all its cheesy goodness and years later I can remember watching it with my friend Jason Gilmore and he as well always really enjoyed it! In 1993 I can also remember clipping the newspaper ad from Dayton Daily News and keeping it along with other Horror Movie ads for a short time. Later I bought the film on VHS as well as DVD and even at one point remember owning the movie score on CD that was sadly stolen during a move. Even now in 2019, I find myself enjoying the original film as well as most of the sequels with the reboot Leprechaun: Origins being my lest favorite, and I really cannot wait to see the new film coming to SYFY called “Leprechaun: Returns” that should be premiering the day this update goes live. It’s odd to think that growing up the Leprechaun films have always been a part of my childhood as I have so many good memories of this series like hanging out with my friend Dave Wean watching Leprechaun 3 and eating Spaghetti-O’s while off from school, and watching Leprechaun In Da Hood and making out with my then girlfriend Misty on our couch right after moving in together and even watching Leprechaun Origins with my gal Juliet while a thunderstorm was going crazy outside. While not my favorite of the lower level Horror Movie series, it’s one I do enjoy and recommend watching them all if you like a little cheese and humor with your horror.

The Leprechaun was such a cult hit that even Saturday Night Live got in on poking fun at it via their Wayne’s World skits that were the shows most popular at the time and was based around two goofy guys Wayne and Garth and their cheesy public access show called Wayne’s World. And during some episodes as well as the second movie as Wayne armed with a flashlight would torment Garth by acting as if he was the Leprechaun! The segment on the show was really funny and Juliet and I break out reenacting the segment at home from time to time. I don’t want to spend too much time on this but also wanted to show it a little love and respect.

So now that we have chatted about The Leprechaun and his ways of murder, I think it’s time we take a look at a promo comic that was released by Trimark in order to help promote the film. I want to thank an Ebay seller who had this comic for sale and I am happy to say that the money I spent on this film went towards a charity. I also want to remind you all that I am grading this comic on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you’re ready lets dive into this first comic based on the horror movie Leprechaun.

Leprechaun # 1  **
Released in 1992       Cover Price FREE       Trimark      #1 of 1

In Ireland Farmer O’Grady follows a rainbow to the end and finds a pot of gold and rushes to sell it to the local jeweler and gets a large sum of money for it all, but unbeknownst to them all, the Leprechaun has arrived and wants his coins and jewels back! The Leprechaun starts off with burning down O’Grady’s farm and then starts his killing spree starting with the Jeweler and makes the terrified man’s fingers turn into snakes and attack himself. Then he goes after all those who bought his gold and jewels from the shop! His path of death includes decapitating a woman, makes a man’s head explode, drives one crazy and even electrocutes another! We then find out that Farmer O’Grady is on a plane on his way to start a new life in America, and in the baggage area The Leprechaun is hiding as the Farmer has kept one of the coins…and he wants it back!

This super short Horror Comic acts as a prequel to the film and sets up how the gold coin got to America as well as how The Leprechaun did. The plot is pretty paper thin and has a farmer finding the gold of Leprechaun and the sadistic little killing machine wants it back. Farmer O’Grady is a man who falls into luck when he finds the gold at the end of a rainbow and is able to sell it off and better his life even moving to America with the money he got…but sadly, we do not get to really get much character development from him as he is just kind of a bookend character for this short comic. The Leprechaun is filled with rage when he finds his gold missing this shows that this rhyme speaking mythical creature will kill in brutal ways! I like that it shows he very much enjoys killing people and even likes to get creative with his kills. The comic is filled with violent acts but does not show blood and gore and the kills are done in shadow, off panel or in a comedic way making the comic safe for readers of all ages. While this is a quick and fun read that does do a good job of feeling like it is a part of the film it’s based on, its small page count and rushed story also kind of hurts it as the kills fly by way too fast. The cover is fantastic and is just a drawn take of the film’s poster and is 100% eye catching for fans of the flick as well as Horror Comic readers. The comic’s interior art is done by William Clausen and is well done in spots as The Leprechaun looks great…the victims not so much, but to be fair it all does have a very underground comic book look and feel to it. Over all this promo comic is a fun read and captures the silly spooky nature of the film it was made to promote and is great for collectors who love comics based on films. Check out the art below to see the style of Clausen used in this comic.

So as you can see, Leprechaun makes a great character for comic books and while this Promo Comic nor the BlueWater Comics could do him full justice, they both show that with the right writer and artist a solid comic could be made and could help add to the character’s Horror legacy. I hope you enjoyed drinking your green beer and reading about this Horror Flick icon of murder on this update, and I also hope you get home safe and watch Leprechaun Returns on TV! And I have said it once and I’ll say it again, I do not understand why more companies don’t do promo comics to advertise their upcoming film…and I am not just saying this about Hollywood films, I am also looking at you Indie creators! I mean so many amazing Horror Movies have been put out over the past years that would make for a great comic series or promo that readers and fans would love to get their hands on…but yet nothing! That’s why I do want to send a big shout out to comic companies like Eibon Press, IDW, Blood Scream Comics and Dynamite who do deliver some amazing Horror Comics based on Horror Movies. For our next update we are going to stay in the world of Horror and do another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update as we take a look at the promo comic for The Giant Spider Invasion! So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for an arachnid good time!

Who All Read the Leprechaun? Say Yeah!

It’s St. Patricks Day 2013, and what better way to celebrate than to take a look at a 4-issue miniseries based on the LionsGate horror film series Leprechaun! Am I right or what?  Sure, many of you would love to be out drinking green beer with friends at pubs and bars like Blind Bobs or The Pub, but some people have to work or don’t drink like myself.  So for those who are not having a drunken good time, this update’s for you, and for those out celebrating, this is also for you. Besides this holiday that really has nothing to do with drinking, Ireland has also brought us the folklore of a tiny elf/fairy that loves keeping gold coins in pots at the end of rainbows, making shoes and pulling some wicked pranks.  Leprechauns are believed to be no taller than a small child and when captured by a human are said to grant three wishes in return if you let them free.  They are known for wearing green or red coats, having long beards and at some point in the myth’s lifespan, they have also been linked to four leaf clovers. It’s hard to say if these creatures are in fact real or were real and many accounts have been written over the ages about encounters making one wonder if they do/did exist. Now that we spoke about the folklore and myth aspect of the Leprechaun, let’s take a look at pop culture and what we have turned the myth into.

In 1964, cereal company General Mills released a cereal called Lucky Charms that was one part toasted oats and one part marshmallows.  It’s mascot was a leprechaun named Lucky who was used in animated TV commercials as well as plastered on the box.The marshmallows are in the shape of things that are considered magical or lucky like horseshoes, the moon, clovers, shooting star and more playing up on the old saying “The Luck of the Irish”. The brand is still going strong today.  Not only is it a hit with kids, it also has a solid adult eating base that is helping the cereal to remain in the aisles at the grocery store. The TV commercials are what I remember growing up as they would play them during cartoons after school or on Saturday mornings trying to dig into my young brain so that I would ask my parents to buy me a box…like that would work…yeah, I remember kid eating Lucky Charms as a kid.  While it was good, it was no Sugar Crisp or Count Chocula, and Lucky was not as cool as Sugar Bear. In late 2012, I decided to start eating some of the cereal from the past and gave Lucky Charms a shot.  It still is pretty dang good all these years later. Good job General Mills, for keeping Lucky and Lucky Charms alive and well for all these years and letting a new generation of kids enjoy its sugary good taste.

But I should also say shame on General Mills who in 1975 took away Lucky as the mascot for a short amount of time and replaced him with Waldo The Wizard! Kids didn’t like Waldo either, and he was quickly replaced by Lucky who was and is everything to Lucky Charms.  It shows you that without him the cereal is nothing…well it’s still something and still would taste the same, but the cool appeal of having an iconic mascot would be lost. I have an idea that in 2014 they should do ads with both Lucky and Waldo and add back all the marshmallows that they took out for a short time that includes the evergreen tree and the whale! Who’s with me on this one?

Sports was always super popular at Waynesville, and in school many kids would be wearing shirts, jackets and have backpacks with sports teams on them.  One that would always stick out to me was The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame football.  I was never a really big sports watcher, and to this day I am not.  I will always watch the Super Bowl with my Dad and have always liked Boxing, MMA and Pro Wrestling but never got into watching Baseball, Hockey, Soccer or Football.  Even when I was buying old wax packs of sports cards, it still never pushed me into wanting to watch. One thing I always did like about sports was the mascots and logos like the orange screaming bear of the Chicago Bears to Mr. Red Legs of the Cincinnati Reds and the Irish Leprechaun from Notre Dame who always looked pissed off and ready for a fight as he had his arms up in the old boxing style. It’s weird how the school’s mascot is that of a prankster Leprechaun who they turned into a pissed off ready to fight badass. I even had a sweatshirt and sweatpants of Notre Dame because of this logo. Plus I always remember for some reason kids in the gym locker room talking about how hot the cheerleaders of Notre Dame were. Odd, the weird things you remember from being a youth. 

Now on a funny side note about Leprechauns is a spotting that happened in 2006 in Mobile, Alabama in which residents in a neighborhood claim to all have seen one running around at night that disappears when light from a flashlight hits him.  He was thought to have lived in a tree as well has to have had a pot of gold that many of the eyewitness wanted.  Many other suggestions of what it could have been included a shadow to a crackhead who was freaking out after getting ahold of some bad stuff. The event of the spotting was so big that the local news came down to look into it and even a man armed with a magic flute and ready for a magic war came to help the neighborhood! Sadly the Leprechaun nor his gold have ever been found and some other minor spottings have happened since. Most people looked at this as a joke as an eyewitness sketch came out that looked as if a child drew it, and many of the people talked to in the broadcast seemed as if they were just having a good time and were in on a town joke. The news video became so popular as well as many of the sayings given by the people of Mobile who were interviewed that it became an internet hit sparking rap songs and merchandise. Was a Leprechaun loose in Alabama? Only time and another major spotting will answer that question for sure.

Pro Wrestling has its fair share of terrible gimmicks, and of course they have a few Leprechauns to entertain the masses.  Back in 1996, WCW had Braun The Leprechaun who was a member of the Dungeon Of Doom that was lead by Kevin Sullivan whose main goal was to stop Hulk Hogan and later feud with the N.W.O., but Braun didn’t last long and the gimmick was quickly dropped. Dewayne Bruce better know as The Sarge and the trainer for WCW Power Plant played the terrible character. Next up let’s talk about the worst wrestling manager and part time wrestler in the last 15 years of wrestling, and that’s WWE’s own Leprechaun Hornswoggle who was unleashed back in 2006 as the partner and friend of Irish born wrestler Finlay. The two had a long solid run together that even had them at odds with company owner Vince McMahon who at one time thought Hornswoggle was is illegitimate child.  During his current run for WWE, Hornswoggle has done many things from being a member of DX with Triple H & Shawn Michaels to winning the Cruiserweight title and as of late he is teaming with The Great Khali and Natalya, but one thing’s for sure while kids seem to love him he sure does not add anything to story lines and roster space in my opinion. Also this year Hornswoggle will be in the remake of Leprechaun for WWE Studios and Lionsgate.  I know you all can’t wait…

Speaking of the films, let’s take a quick look at those. In 1993, Trimark Pictures released a film to theaters about a killer leprechaun that tormented a family who had just moved into a new home in a small town after a dried up four leaf clover was knocked off a box that kept the pint sized terror captive. The film was simply called Leprechaun and starred Warwick Davis as the title charterer who was know to many as Willow Ufgood in the amazing fantasy film W.I.L.L.O.W. and also starred soon to be major TV actress Jennifer Aniston of FRIENDS fame and Mark Holton who is known for his roles as Francis Buxton in Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Chubby in Teen Wolf and later on for playing serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the film Gacy. The film did well in the box office, and this inspired the powers to be to make five sequels that had the wise cracking killer Leprechaun going everywhere from Las Vegas to space to The Hood, taking the scary evil complex away from the character and turning him into more of a pint sized Freddy Kruger who took more time saying cheesy one liners than before. The first two films in the series went to theaters as three on all went direct to video making this series gain a fan base of weekend warriors looking for a horror film to rent and watch. I remember the first time I saw the original film with my friend Jason Gilmore who had bought it on VHS shortly after it was released to home video.  He brought it over, and we watched in amazement of how fun and cheesy the film was and laughed our asses off when he would kill. Another viewing of the series I can remember was watching Leprechaun 3 where he goes to Vegas with my friend Dave Wean on VHS.  Much like the other film, we laughed at how dumb and cheesy it was, and the best part of it all was that we were eating Spaghetti O’s as we watched. While I have never been a diehard fan of the series and I think Leprechaun 4 could be one of the wost sequels I have ever seen, I still see the charm in the series and very much looked forward to the comic series that I will be reviewing this update.  Will it hold a charm or will it fall flat? You will soon find out.

After all this talk of Irish folklore, bad wrestling gimmicks, cereal mascots, a possible crackhead leprechaun in Alabama and talking about a film series that jumped the shark when they went to space, I think it’s time to sit back, relax and look at some lovely Irish-inspired women.  I mean what red blooded American doesn’t enjoy looking at good looking ladies? At this point and in the fun of Saint Patricks Day, I say let there be hotties!

BlueWater Comics is the company who struck a small deal with Lionsgate to make comics based on some of the old horror film series that they got from Trimark during a buyout that included both Leprechaun and Warlock.  Sadly the deal never went past these two and each only got a small run. They also do a comic series based around horror icon Vincent Price as well did a series based on Ray Harryhausen’s film work. BlueWater Productions was founded in 2007 by Darren G. Davis who opened up this comic company to showcase original work alongside work based around films and celebrities. Some of the company’s best know titles besides the aforementioned are Logan’s Run based on the story by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, 10^th Muse about the forgotten muse of ancient Greece time and Fem Force that are bio comics based around women with power in the world like Michelle Obama, Princess Diana, Tina Fey and more. In fact, they do tons of bio comics and also stuck a deal to reprint the old Rock N Roll comics of the 1990’s . While BlueWater Comics is not a powerhouse like other smaller comic companies, they do try to deliver good comics to their readers. While most issues I have read from them I have not been a fan of, they still are a welcomed addition to this crazy world of comic book making. 

So now let’s get onto this look at The Leprechaun in comic book form.  So I hope you have your lucky four leaf clover close, have your favorite drink in hand and are wearing Green so ya don’t get pinched and get ready to ride the BlueWater wave to Leprechaunville! Remember I grade these on a standard 1-4 star rating and am looking at how well the comic keeps to the source material, its entertainment value, its art and story. This review was made possible by Mavericks Cards and Comics and Bell, Book and Comic. 

Leprechaun # 1 *

Released in 2009   Cover Price $3.99   Blue Water Comics #1 of 4

Ethan is a geek who likes to play computer games with his friend Sean and drool over a sexy co-worker named Rachael.  One day a strange light appears, and when it’s gone, The Leprechaun is there beaten up and in really bad shape.  Ethan takes care of The Leprechaun who is grateful for the young man’s help.  He tells Ethan his name is Lubdan and that he is looking for his gold that has been stolen and that he tracked down a man who was selling his stolen gold on Ebuy.  That led him to Ethan’s house who bought a ring to give to Rachael when Leprechaun stole a file on his buying list. And its here that the issue ends as both Ethan and Leprechaun are discussing the the list, and he warns Ethan they are not alone as the window behind them in the kitchen shows warriors approaching. Also all along this issue we get cut backs to a war that is going on in The Leprechaun’s kingdom that has the leprechaun race at war with fellow short green skinned clan.

Where do I start to say where this first issue went off the rails?  The story line of The Leprechaun being a king in his besieged homeland is dumb but adds a little to the action and gore of this otherwise boring adventure.The main plot is that The Leprechaun needs to collect his gold back that has been sold all over the world thanks to Ebuy and an unknown thief and teams with a human nerd who doesn’t seem to bothered by the fact a damn Leprechaun popped into his home.  The Leprechaun, who in a total of five films was a mean spirited, violent pint size terror, tormented and killed many humans to get to his main goal of collecting his gold, but for some reason in this comic series he is a King of The Leprechauns who decides that teaming up with a human is the right thing to do. Wow, they changed the character and not for the better.  They truly took everything away from the character that made him a b-movie hit with fans. He also only kills one person in the issue and that’s the Seller of his coins who didn’t know he had bought stolen goods, and all he does to him is turn his whole body into a pile of cash….yep that’s what he does. Ethan who is the main human character is a total dweeb who is not likable at all and comes off as a smug ass hat as he just smarts off and bumbles his way through the issue. Over all this comic series has started on a bad issue that is doesn’t make me as the reader really interested in seeing how the story ends. The art work is bland.  The story so far is terrible, and the cover is just all right.  Over all this is about as bad as a movie tie in comic can get, let’s hope issue 2 picks up.

Leprechaun # 2 *

Released in 2009   Cover Price $3.99   Blue Water Comics #2 of 4

The Leprechaun and Ethan are attacked in his kitchen by warriors from a race called the Clurichaun who want them both dead. After a quick fight, the Leprechaun makes quick work of his attackers and gets info from one that a curse has been placed on him before he kills him. Ethan and the Leprechaun find safety at Sean’s house who is filled in on the quest to find the gold coins.  As Ethan goes to work late, the Leprechaun and Sean go to a blacksmith who bought a few of the gold coins from Ebuy and find that female Clurichaun Captain Caelan and her men have also tracked them there as the battle begins The blacksmith is killed as the Leprechaun’s magic is getting weaker due to the curse.

This issue at least starts off with a bang as the Leprechaun is swinging a magic sword like Conan, hacking and chopping up Clurichaun fools. In this issue, the Leprechaun still comes off as more of a good guy than a bad guy.  While he does do some sinister things, he still comes off as a watered down version of the character. Ethan is still as unlikable as ever and comes off as a smart ass who really adds nothing to the story besides the need/want of a storyline around a human who loves a girl out of his league. Sean is almost as unlikeable as Ethan but for different reasons.  Not only is he an annoying chatter box, but he is also given way too much panel time for it.  I was getting ticked the longer I had to read his dialogue boxes with words that went nowhere besides maybe a really dumb joke. Captain Caelan takes the mantel of being the top bad guy, and guess what, she is barely used.  I guess they had to cut some of her stuff down to fit more lame stuff for Sean to say and Ethan to do. Over all while issue 2 is a little better than the first, it still is not capturing the fun magic of the Leprechaun series, and I am hoping that issue 3 picks up now that we are getting near the end of the series. The art looks the same as it did in issue one, and that’s summed up with one word bland.  The cover is well done and looks like Joel Robinson’s work, and the storyline is moving along at a snail’s pace. Not impressed so far.

Leprechaun # 3 *

Released in 2009   Cover Price $3.99   Blue Water Comics #3 of 4

The Leprechaun and Sean are at battle with the Clurichaun.  It’s an epic battle, and leader Captain Caelan is killed.  The Leprechaun then has to beat an Iron Stove Monster that the group’s wizard makes. Ethan gets to work and buddies up with teacher and his crush Rachel to ask her all she knows about both Leprechauns and Clurichauns, and he soon finds that she as well bought some of the gold off Ebuy and that his work (a college) is now being surrounded by Clurichaun looking to kill them both and steal the gold coins. Sean and The Leprechaun rush to help their friends from a death that awaits.

This issue is two parts: one part the action of The Leprechaun killing and fighting.  While this is cool, all the art on most pages is big to fill space, and sadly that’s what most of the battle feels like, filler. At this point the curse that was placed on him is making him weaker, but he sure doesn’t seem weak as he kills numbers of his enemies at the same time. Sean is a dumb ass and spends most of the issue blabbing about one liners and other useless stuff; he really is a waste of a character. The second part of the issue has Ethan talking to Rachel about the Irish myths and legends.  At least this adds a little to the weak storyline this series has. Captain Caelan puts up a fight but looses her heart in the end as we are also shown And-Ri. who looks as if he is the king and top warrior of The Clurichaun who is at the college and ordering the death of Ethan. The story is getting paper thin, and this issue almost seems like a waste.  While it does have lots of action, none of it is exciting nor at this point do I care if Ethan and his friends die nor do I care if the Leprechaun gets his gold coins back.  That’s a bad sign since we’re near the end of the series. The art work is still bland.  The cover is terrible, and the hope of this being a good series is dead.  So with that disappointment let’s take a look at issue 4, the last issue in the series.   

Leprechaun # 4 *

Released in 2009   Cover Price $3.99   Blue Water Comics #4 of 4

Ethan and Rachel are under attack as the Clurichaun try to accomplish their mission to kill them both.  Meanwhile Sean and the Leprechaun, who are talking to Ethan on the phone, are trying to get to the college as fast as they can, the one issue being that they don’t know where it’s at. And-Ri is barking orders for his men to make quick work of this murder as Ethan and Rachel out move and out smart their attackers and even blow up the science building with the help of gas lines. By the time The Leprechaun gets there, And-Ri and Ethan have had a fist fight the leaves the human now as the hostage of the ill tempered king. When Rachel gives The Leprechaun the gold coins she bought he gets a little more of his magic powers back and saves Ethan and chases off And-Ri who says he will get his revenge on the friends. In the end The Leprechaun gears up to travel the world to get his gold back as Ethan, Rachel and Sean all join his team of hunting.

This is one cheesy end to a mini series that has no payout in the end besides the fact that there could be more issues coming of this not thought out storyline. This last issue builds up that The Leprechaun is going to have a show down with And-Ri, and while they do meet, they don’t fight making this one anticlimactic ending. This series goes so far away from the source material that it’s down right laughable as now The Leprechaun has a name (Lubdan) and has a bond with humans who are now his sidekicks….say what?! The Leprechaun of the films would have killed Ethan, made Sean turn into a toad and stomp him and then make Rachel’s boobs explode.  When buying this comic series and seeing the covers of him bitting toes off a foot, you want to see the wicked mean character of the films, not a watered down PG-13 lame version. I also felt that most of the issues were just filler from overblown fight scenes to overly long talking that went nowhere.  This mini series just felt like a mess from the start, and it became a train wreck by the end. The art was just okay, and not once in any of the four issues did I think the Leprechaun character looked anything like the film character taking me even further out of the story. It was in the plans for this to be a regular series and was cancelled.  Even the crossover with The Warlock was scrapped, showing that this series just was too lame even for diehard fans.  I don’t even drink, but this terrible series makes even me want to drink a green beer.  To sum it all up: terrible lackluster story, just plain bland and unappealing artwork, not even in the ball field with the source material and just plan waste of an opportunity to make an entertaining series. This makes we worried to read The Warlock series, and believe it or not I actually read these comics twice to try and give it a shot months apart and both times I felt this same way. 

So for the next update, we might take it a little smaller as we take a look at DC Comics’ Sherlock Holmes, and maybe I will talk about a few other cool things from the past.  So until then, Happy Saint Patricks Day, and as Commander USA would say “Keep your nose in the wind… and your tail to yourself…”

Rotten Pixels

This update I think I am going to take a break from comics and films and talk about another great past time for me:  video games.  So I’m dubbing this one Rotten Pixels. I grew up in the prime time for gaming and was a fan of home gaming consoles from the start.  While I never owned a Atari 2600, a childhood neighbor named Brad Burns did when I lived in Waynesville and I remember playing games like E.T., Superman and Raiders of the Lost Ark and being captivated. A few years later my parents got my brother and I a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) for Christmas after our cousins Dino and Norman showed us the wonders of Super Mario Brothers, Ninja Gaiden and Contra. The system was a hit at the Brassfield house, and even my parents would play on occasion.  My Mom liked playing Mario, while my Dad would play sports games like Blades of Steel and WCW Wrestling against us. Those times spent playing the system with my family will forever be amazing memories. The games that seemed to capture my attention were games based with horror themes like Castlevania, Friday the 13^th and Ghost and Goblins.  The more monsters, the better, I always thought.

As time passed, we moved up to a Sega Genesis that we bought off a guy Bryan went to school with for $30.00.  While the system had better graphics and some amazing games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast and Golden Axe, it failed for the most part in the horror department.  While some great horror games would come out like Castlevania Bloodlines and Splatterhouse 2-3, the system was bogged down with some off the wall and down right crappy movie tie in games like Bram Stokers Dracula, Marry Shelly’s Frankenstein and The Lawnmower Man. The Sega Genesis years for me belonged to the super hero games like Captain America and the Avengers, Spider-Man Maximum Carnage and Incredible Hulk.  While I still loved a good spooky horror game the games were just not being made as fast leaving me fighting super villains and not horror icons. The Super Nintendo would come along, and my brother would be the one to take that step and get the system when we moved to Kettering.  While the system had great games, once more I found it had the same bad horror film game tie ins and even less horror games coming.

We made the next move to Nintendo 64, and while it was a solid system, the lack of horror inspired games led this to be the system of “name brands” for me like Super Mario 64, Legend of Zelda Ocrina of Time and Goldeneye. But in 1995 Sony released the Playstation, and things would never be the same.  The system had many great titles and a ton of horror games that become known as survival horror, making this my favorite system and making me a loyal Playstation buyer. Games like Clock Tower 1-2, Resident Evil 1-3, Silent Hill, D and Nightmare Creatures 1-2 kept the gamer in me happy with chilling monster filled games. But during this time there was also a lack of games based on horror films, something that continues to this day.  Sure, every once in a while we will get a game like PS2’s Underworld: The Eternal War and Microsoft Xbox’s Land of the Dead: The Road to Fiddlers Green, but the Underworld game was a European only release, and Land of the Dead was a rushed mess.  But back to the system at hand, Sony Playstation would have many horror inspired games come out during its run like Evil Dead Hail to the King , Juggernaut, Over Blood, Legacy of Kain, Dino Crisis, Castlevania Symphony of the Night to name a few. I spent many of late nights in my room or in the family room playing these chilling games alone or with great friends like Jason Gilmore and Andrea Seay, and enjoying every spooky moment. The PSX had a few movie tie-ins that were based on horror/sci-fi films like Evil Dead, The Crow and Alien. Then In 2000 the Playstation 2 was released and like its predecessor it had a nice amount of Survival Horror games released including sequels to Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Evil Dead and Clock Tower, and introduced new series like Siren and Fatal Frame.

In 2006, the Playstation 3 was released and along with it came HD survival horror games! Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Siren, Splatterhouse and Castlevania all have sequels that came out with top notch graphics and continued the amazing story lines. The PS3 also had horror writer and director Clive Barker help make a game called Jericho.  Konami released games based on the SAW movies to be a companion to their popular Silent Hill franchise.  There were many more great games like the goofy cult classic Red Seeds Profile, zombie first person shooter Dead Island, and the F.E.A.R. series that added end of the world themes with the supernatural.  These are just a handful of amazing titles that have come out on this amazing system. While they are not the best of the PS3 horror titles, the SAW games are some entertaining games that show that horror films CAN make some good solid games! Kanomi has only released two in the series and there is a rumor of a third game which, as a fan I am hoping will come.

In 2013, PS3 and Xbox 360 were supposed to get a game based on Childs Play’s killer Chucky! TikGames is the company that making the game, and they claim that in game you will play as Chucky and spend the time plotting against and killing all those who are in your way. The downside to the game is that as of this point it will not be a disc based game but a download only title that it appears will not feature the voice talents of Brad Dourif who has voiced the doll killer in five films. While I am hyped for the game I am still a little let down in the game’s handling, and I feel like the download games are most the time just throw away games. As you can see by these pics at least his look is well done. But as of late 2012, it looks like this game has been canceled.

I could go on and on about video games, but that’s not the full reason for this update.  The main reason is the fact that there are many horror films that would lend themselves to becoming amazing video games for a present generation system (aka PS3, XBOX 360, WII).  So I would like to do a Top 20 list of films that should be made into games.  I chose from a list of many, and it was hard to choose just 20, but I was able to limit down my list and choose ones that would lend themselves to the gaming world. But enough of the build up, let’s start the list with a nice runner up one that came close to making the final cut.

# 21.) Puppet Master Series

Andre Toulon is a puppeteer who has the secret to turn his puppets into living, killing beings! At first Toulon used his puppets for good to fight the Nazi’s that were responsible for the death of his wife. But after his suicide, others used the Puppets for evil as did Toulon when his secret formula later brought him back to life. The Puppets (Blade, Jester, Pinhead, Miss Leech, Torch, Six Shooter, Tunneler) have become good and bad guys and have dispatched  ancient demons and even had a fight with The Demonic Toys, another film series from Full Moon Pictures. What the game could be about is that at first you play as Alex Whitaker (psychic from the first film) who must find a way to fight and capture the puppets and turn them from evil to good at Bodega Bay Inn and must use them to help stop a evil cult who wants to steal the secrets of the puppets for an evil plot. The rest of the game is spent playing with your choice of a team of three from all the puppets and using them to fight back against the cult. While the game at this point would not be a huge IP (Intellectual property) for a company to pick up, its cult following and 11 films done and one on the way proves this franchise has a good fan base.

# 20.) Rawhead Rex

Clive Barker’s short story of the same name from The Books of Blood Volume 3 came to the silver screen in 1987 and told the story of a pagan god who was released onto the countryside of Ireland and an author who must risk his life and that of his family in order to stop the killing machine once and for all. The film’s subject would be a perfect fit for a video game as Rawhead would be the main boss and his followers, the goons you must fight off. Rawhead would pop up through out the game and give chase much like Nemesis in Resident Evil 3. It would be great if the character you are is caught off guard from the start of the game and must use whatever he can find to fight off the crazed followers. The gameplay would be very close to Silent Hill and Red Seeds Profile and would have the vast world of Ireland’s countryside complete with farms, barns and small towns. The movie, while very low key and having a cult status, should be and should have been made into a bloody good survival horror game.

# 19.) Wishmaster

 A evil Djinn grants wishes to those who posses a gem that binds him to do the bidding of the owner.  The Djinn, who can become more powerful by capturing the soul of the possessor, must do so to bring on the end of mankind and the age of the Djinn’s. The film sparked three sequels, and while the second in the series had the same Djinn, the following two sequels had a new one showing that there is more than one of the powerful beings. The game would be a fun one that would have the player making the mistake of waking the Djinn from the gem and causing chaos all around them, with many Djinn’s and the fact they can use their power to create monsters and have the ability to steal the looks of those they choose.  It would make this game a fun time trying to figure out who is friend and who is foe. They could get all crazy with enemies and backgrounds given the fact the villains are so powerful and will be as cruel as possible to get what ever they want. Plus getting Andrew Divoff who played the Djinn from the first two would be a must to voice him again for the game. This could make a great PS3 game and would have also made a great PSX game. While the series has lost a little steam in this day and age, it still leaves itself wide open for a good game.

# 18.) Phantom of the Opera (1925)

At the Opera House in Paris, a deformed madman roams the sewers causing terror and killing those who go against his wishes to turn a young singer (Christine) into the star of the show. But the singer’s lover Raoul wants to marry her and take her away from the demanding Phantom.  This clash leaves people dead and the Phantom being hunted like a wild animal. The game could follow the aftermath of the film and follow up to what happens when the Phantom who is believed to be dead is in fact not and sets out to get his songbird back, leaving the player to control Raoul having to find Christine who has been kidnapped in the underbelly of France. Besides the Phantom the player would have to also beat rats and vagrants that have been hired by Phantom to stop him at all cost. This could be a mix between a game like SAW and Uncharted and mix horror, action and puzzles together to force Raoul to stop the madman and rescue the lovely lady. The look of the Phantom would have to be taken from this 1925 version and keep the whole Lon Chaney Sr. look of the character.  It would also be cool if his grandchild Ron Chaney would lend his voice to the Phantom character. The legacy of The Phantom of the Opera has lived on not only in the reprints of the novel the whole property is based around, but also in stage and film making the character a classic in the world of horror. I think TellTale Games would be the perfect company to make this one come to life.

The Phantom has made it to a few games for the PC.  The first is called “The Return of the Phantom,” a game that is very similar to the idea I would want but is one of those early point & click adventures.  The second is “Mystery Legends Phantom of the Opera,” both helping tide over fans of the character. And if ya need more Phantom there was also a pinball machine made by Data East for arcades. So PC gamers they have gotten a Phantom fix, but what about us home console guys, why are we left out in the cold?

# 17.) Tombs of the Blind Dead

The Knights Templar were the Catholic Church’s right hand men and were the warriors who spread the word of God, until they were all set up and murdered by the same church they worked for and were accused of witchcraft. The Knights were blinded by fire pokers before they were killed, and for this the Knights placed a curse on the small European town that they were executed in. Years later they return as blind zombies to get their revenge and make all pay for their wrongful deaths. The series of films featured them in old ruins and even on a ghost ship showing you cannot escape the blind dead who hear you breath and your heartbeat. The film had three sequels and a handful of copycat films making it a very well loved iconic Spanish horror series.  So if you have not seen them, I recommend them. The game could take place in the small town and could follow you and a group of other survivors as you must survive the night of the Blind Dead’s attack.  Guns, torches, swords and blunt objects are your weapons, and the game will send you into harm’s way many times to save fellow men from what could be their deaths.  Everything in town can be used and every building is open for hiding because the main focus of the game is to save others and survive! The game’s path can change whether or not you are able to save people in your group and depending on the amount you don’t affects your ending. The game could also be multiplayer and would allow you and friends to try and survive the night of terror. This game would fit in perfect with the zombie craze that is sweeping the consoles now and is one that could appeal to fans of the film and those who don’t know the series.

# 16.) Leprechaun Series

Forget about Lucky from Lucky Charms cereal, this pint sized terror is an overprotective mean magical terror of his pot of gold and will murder you and your friends to get it back! A family moves into an old house and after taking a dried up four leaf clover off a box a newly freed Leprechaun torments them. His weakness is not only the power of the four leaf clover but also that of dirty shoes that he feels like he must clean. The Leprechaun has been in a total of seven films and has been to Las Vegas, Space and even the Hood twice.  He kills in all types of silly yet fun ways, and delivers funny rhymed remarks while doing so. The game could take place with a group of friends who stumble upon his gold and make the mistake of splitting it and making themselves the target of the pint sized terror. This one would be fun to play as either the human who must get the gold back from his friends and or stop the Leprechaun or you could play as Leprechaun and avoid the means of defeating you from the thieves and collect all your gold back. This is just a small idea that would make for a good cheap download game, but I know that there is a full disc-based game to be made with some other idea beyond what I’ve come up with here. This character lends itself to the world of video games and with the cult following, it could easily be a good selling game as well. Warwick Davis is a must to voice Leprechaun and it would be nice to see the look captured in video game form as well. With a reboot of the series in the works for 2013 from Lions Gate and WWE, there might be some hope this film series might get the game treatment.

# 15.) Phantasm

After the death of a long time friend, brothers Mike & Jody and ice cream man Reggie go to the funeral and find out that the new mortician called the Tall Man is not what he seems.  He is super strong, super tall, loves the cold and controls hooded dwarves and silver flying spheres that can kill a man in seconds! Tall Man has spread death and chaos around the world for many years and wants to ruin the whole world. This amazing yet odd series has four films total and begs to be made into a video game that could be almost an official number 5 in the film series that seems to have had problems for years getting made. The game could finish the storyline that has been presented into the films and could have you play as Reggie and Mike and have them go to war with Tall Man and his followers.  You would have to switch between the two depending on the mission and at times the two would have to complete a mission together. I would love to see this game made, and it should have all the actors from the films voice the characters they played in the films.  It would be a must to have Angus Scrimm voice the Tall Man. Someone should pitch this idea to director and creator Don Coscarelli and a game studio and get this game made! Also when you die, Tall Man should say “You Played a Good Game..But You Died” then laugh…that would be amazing!

I should also mention for gamers who still have an Atari 2600, they can get their hands on a fan made game cart based on this popular film series.  It’s a maze-based game and plays like an early version of Final Fantasy. The game has not only Tall Man and the dwarves but also an amazing midi version of the films main theme. This is a must have game for fans of the film series and all that’s horror for the Atari 2600. Copies of this cart pop up on Ebay from time to time so keep your eyes open. I happen to be the proud owner of a copy of the game, and I must say while simple, it is a fun gaming experience.

# 14.) The Howling

The Howling series is one that’s run for a total of 8 films so far and for the most part each follow a different town with different issues dealing with werewolves. The first film follows TV reporter Karen White who helps in the capture and killing of a brutal serial killer whom she thinks turned into a beast before he was gunned down. The station sends her away to a nice resort to relax but instead she finds out that she is in the company of a town filled with werewolves and the killer she thought to be dead is back and is in fact a werewolf! The sequel to the film had Karen’s brother trying to get to the bottom of his sister’s torment and fighting the queen of werewolves. While low budget after the original, the series has a wide open door to making a good video game and has enough characters and locations to keep it fresh. It would be great if in the game you must escape the resort only to find that the whole town is werewolves and it becomes a race to escape the hellish location. Throw in key werewolves from the other films in the series and bam, you have a great survival horror game like Resident Evil that substitutes the zombies for werewolves. Or another idea could be that you are a hunter who goes to different locations from the films to kill off werewolves, you see one of them killed your wife and now you want revenge on them all. This one also could be a first person shooter and support motion controllers. Or one last idea would have you play Ian the werewolf from part 6 and have him at war with other werewolves, that way you can have them fight! While this series does have some stinkers, it still could be a fun cheap IP that could make for an entertaining gaming experience.

# 13.) The Hills Have Eyes

The Carter family goes out into the desert looking for an old family mine, and while on the quest they suffer some car issues that lead to them fighting for their lives against an inbreed family lead by the father named Jupiter.  The death toll rises and only one family will make it out alive. The film spawned an official sequel and a remake that also had a sequel. The game could take place in the desert and would have you playing as a new family that finds themselves the target of the hills family.  The goal of the game would be to rescue and dispatch the cannibal family before you and yours become dinner. It would be a prequel as well that way you can add in all of the family and show a little backstory of who and what they do, and as well they could make up and add new family members. The plot of the game could also take many twists and turns and could really build up the suspense and horror of what this family does. It should be based on the original films and not the remakes and must have Pluto look like Michael Berryman, and include the rest of the family and from the first and second film making this a full tie in. This one could be made and while the IP is not a major household name if the right amount of survival horror and terror is placed in the playing experience I am sure horror gamers would check it out. I would like to see Rock Star or Konami handle this title.

# 12.) SCREAM

Sidney Prescott is a teenage girl who is dealing with the murder of her mother and the relationship she has with her boyfriend. But when fellow classmates are being slaughtered and she gets haunting phone calls, she becomes the focus of a killers sick game.  The killer known as “Ghostface” is out for blood and fame, and Sidney must fight to stay alive and to figure out who the killer is! This one also was made to be a video game and with the graphics and advanced programing this could be an amazing game! The game again could play like Silent Hill mixed slightly with Resident Evil and could follow you as Sidney Prescott or another young lady who is being stalked by Ghostface and how you must find who the killer is and save those he has also targeted. I know many people have said they would like to play as the killer but to me that would not be as fun as trying to survive his attack. With the The Weinstein Company getting into the video game business with the birth of TWC Games, one would think it’s only a matter of time that a home console gets a game based on this film series. Fans want a game as you can see by this “fake” PS3 cover.

TWC Games did make a Scream 4 game, but sadly it’s just an iPod/cell phone game and to me those are not really true games they are just small games for none gamers who play the games while waiting. In the game you play as Ghostface and must kill your target and avoid being captured by the cops. So with this I must say come on TWC Games get on making a full game for PS3 and Xbox 360.

# 11.) Hammer Frankenstein Series

Doctor Victor Frankenstein is a man hell bent on creating life and finding the secrets of life and death.  Along the way he doesn’t care who he has to kill or swindle to get what he wants. After many failed attempts to create life Victor has been hung, been burnt and attacked by his own monsters many times.  If fact when we last see him, he is a patient in a mental hospital who is in fact running it.  The Hammer Frankenstein series has a total of seven films and every installment has a different monster! Victor Frankenstein was played by the amazing british actor Peter Cushing who American fans also know as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars.  In fact David Prowse who played two monsters in the series was also the man in the Darth Vader suit! The series left itself wide open for another sequel and what better way then to do one in the video game world.  It could take place in the asylum and have you play as The Baron as the inmates have turned on you.  You working on a new monster, but something goes wrong as you must battle your old monsters from the past.  All the creatures from the past seven films could be present and you must destroy them and your new creature all the while trying to escape the inmates, guards and monsters. Or you could play as a man who has had his girlfriend kidnapped by Victor who has taken a shine to her and has decided she will be his.  So you travel to the asylum and must battle inmates and all the monsters of the past that have been rebuilt by Victor in order to save your woman. This would be a Hammer fan’s dream, and this could happen if Hammer that has now been reopened decides to get into the growing game market. I would line up to play a game based on this series, and I am sure many others would as well. I would like to see Konami, Capcom or THQ tackle this one.

Well this is the end of the first wish list for horror films that should be video games, and we have made it from 20 to 11 and have even had one bonus film! To me it’s odd that more film companies have not gotten into the game business.  I mean WB has been in and has made a killing on their Batman titles. Universal has gotten kind of into the game world with working alongside companies like Telltale Games and TikGames to bring Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and the soon to released Childs Play to gaming consoles, and even Paramount has released new games based on Days of Thunder and Top Gun. The Weinstein Company has said they will be making games when the only thing that has been released is a cell phone game based on Scream, and one company that should get into the gaming market is Lions Gate that owns the rights to many horror properties that could make great games.  I mean Lions Gate has the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie coming out made by the people who did the SAW series and what’s keeping them from teaming with Konami and Zombie Studios to make a game based around Leatherface and his family? Well while you try and figure out the answer I will see you all back for part 2!