2016 Comic Challenge 252 Texas Chainsaw Massacre Special

TITLE-Texas Chainsaw Massacre Special
PUBLISHER-Avatar

The short time that Avatar had TCM and a few other modern horror franchises there was so many good horror comics that came out.It seems like no one read most of this stuff.

This special is pretty much TCM meet Last House on the left. We get a bootleg Krug and company vs the Remakes Chainsaw family. Good levels of gore and fun homages a plenty.

Brian Pulido wrote the issue and Jacen Burrows did the pencils and  inks. The art was nice. Burrows has a good mix of pretty standard stuff that explodes in displays of gore.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Special gets a buy.

31 Days of Horror Halloween Night Extra 01 Texas Chainsaw Massacre the comics

To anyone that reads this blog or knows me fairly well it is no secret that my favorite film,not just horror film,is the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I have told the story here at my blog and on my podcast about how when I was 3 my father took me and my 13 year old cousin to see TCM at the drive in that was in Gautier Mississippi.

By the summer of 92 I was almost out of comics. Sure I was still reading maybe 5 titles. But I wasn't going to the comic shop that often and when I did go I would just go in and get the stuff off my pull list. During the summer of that year I was at the Singing River Mall. They had a collectibles show going on. One dealer had lots of comics. Besides the normal hot comics of the time he had almost 10 longboxes filled with cheap comics. It was all overstock he wanted to get rid of,so he was selling them for 50 cents each or 10 cents each if you spent at least 10 bucks. I was digging through the boxes,determined to find at least 10 bucks worth of comics  I was willing to pay a dime each for. It was in the 3rd or 4th box when I found a comic series I had no idea was coming out.

From Northstar comics,who in the early 90s were shaping up to be a great horror comic publisher,I found issues 2 and 4 of their 4 issue Leatherface TCM 3 comic adaptation.Based on the first draft of the David J Schrow script,the 4 issue mini series was plagued with delays and low distribution.I liked the painted look to the covers and art on the inside. And since this was before I got a copy of the Leatherface workprint ,these 2 comics were the only way for me to "see" all the stuff that got cut out thanks to the asshats at the MPAA.

Fast forward to 1998,I had moved near Houston TX. And the owner of my local comic shop was gearing up to goto a convention in Austin. He was asking me if there was any comics I was looking for. I mentioned that I needed issues 1 and 3 of the Leatherface mini. And since in issue 4 there was an ad for a upcoming comic adaptation of the original TCM I asked him to look for those also. The next week when I stopped by the shop for my weekly dosage of comics he said he had something for me. He had found a dealer with issues 1 and 3. "Now Newt I understand if you don't want to pay what I have to ask for these issues. Turns out they are kind of hard to find. The guy charged me $20 for the two of them. Do you mind giving me $25 for them? Also found out that the TCM series was never published." I gladly handed him $25 bucks and rushed home to read the entire mini series for the first time.

I wish some company would get the rights to this mini and put it out as a trade.Because since I got my set it has become even harder to find these issues for under 10 bucks each. The covers all got great art. The interior art is overall decent. Leatherface TCM 3 comic gets a B.

In 2007,around the same time Wildstorm published their first Friday the 13th comics,put out a six issue Texas Chainsaw Massacre mini series Titled Americarnivore,the 6 issues are written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. With Wes Craig doing the pencils and inks.

This is a direct sequel to the TCM remake that starred Jessica Biel. It wasn't until early this month that I got all 6 issues. With TCM being my favorite horror franchise I sat right down,poured myself a big glass of drink and started reading them. What a horrible comic. It sadly falls into a trap lots of comics from 2000 to present do. There is enough story for 2 or 3 issues,but it is padded out to 6 issues so it would make a nice trade. The art is nice,with the covers being better than anything on the inside. The best part of the series is the various characters are named stuff like Hooper,Henkel,Burns and other names of cast and crew from the 1974 cinema masterpiece.

We get a group of FBI agents that come to the town the Hewitt family lives in, have I ever mentioned how much I hate that they changed the family name from Sawyer to Hewitt? Where they quickly learn that the entire town is nuts. Throw in a airhead "Inside Edition" like "reporter". And you get a story that is not only boring but drags in so many places. Texas Chainsaw Massacre Americarivore gets a D-.

31 days of Horror 2012 Extra 03

From IWA Japan in 1997 here is a short fun match between Leatherface and Freddy.

31 days of horror Year 3 extra 04

Texas Chainsaw Massacre series overview

Now most people reading this know that I am a huge fan of the TCM franchise. The original film was the first movie I ever saw. I believe that the original is the first true American entry in the slasher sub genre.

Texas Chain Saw Massacre-Released in 1974 ,this film became infamous fairly quickly. It has been called the goriest film of all time. Which is strange cause there is very very little blood shown on screen. Now sure the film starts off with a disclaimer on how the movie is based off true events. And while I was living in Texas I met many many people who claimed to have seen the actually house this "real event" happened at. But this is all bullshit. The film was inspired by stories of Ed Gein that Tobe Hooper heard from relatives who lived up north. The pacing,camera work and acting in the film are almost perfect. This is not only my favorite horror film,but one of my favorite films of any genre. A+.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2-Released 12 years after the original,TCM 2 is in some ways the polar opposite of the original. In this film we get lots of gore and obvious comedy. Where as in the original we got not much gore,and the comedy wasn't so obvious. Too bad we didn't get Gunnar Hansen back as Leatherface. Originally when I saw part 2 I hated it. I thought the comedy was way to forced and didn't care for the over abundance of gore. But going back now I do enjoy the film. B+.

Leatherface:Texas Chainsaw Massacre III-The only entry in the series to not be filmed in Texas. Leatherface is ,in it's uncut form, a great film. We get some great acting from Ken Foree,Bill Butler and Kate Hodge. And the  family,who now has some new members,is extremely creepy. Lots of people seem to hate the little girl,who seems to be Leatherface's daughter,but I love how in the uncut version she is the one to kill Bill Butler. In it's uncut form I would give this film a A-.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre:the Next Generation-This entry was held up for years. It sat on the shelf for at least 3  years. The story I have heard is Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger were trying to keep it from being released. Cause between when the film was made and when it came out both of them had become pretty big stars. Well I can see why they didn't want it to come out. It is a horrible film. McConaughey overacts and chews all the scenery. And Zellweger doesn't do much besides cry and scream. Some of the gore FX isn't bad. And really until the out of nowhere twist in the final 20 minutes the film isn't a complete waste. But then we find out that the Sawyer family is being aided by some secret government group. This makes no fucking sense at all and is one of the major reasons I hate this damn movie. F-.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake-Released in 2003,this was the first of the big slasher remakes to come out. We get some great acting by R.Lee Emery and Jessica Biel.The gore FX are well done. Plus the changes to the back story are explained well. Sure it isn't as good as the original,but it is almost as good than parts 2 and 3. B-.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre:The Beginning-A prequel to the remake,this film seems to be better received than the remake. It is mainly a good film cause of R.Lee Emery. Mr Emery is the major highlight of the film. And shows that he should be considered as a new master of the horror genre. B.

31 days of horror Year 2 day 27

Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Ahh this is not only my favorite horror film ever,but in my top 5 favorite films ever. I first saw this film at the drive-in with my dad and my cousin. I was 3 years old and Dad figured I would fall asleep before the film started. But it turned out I stood up on the backseat and watched the entire film. Turns out this was the first movie I ever saw. The film starts out with 5 hippies in a van heading to a remote location in rural Texas. They are heading to one of their grandfather's old houses. On the way they pick up a hitchhiker that after being just plain strange attacks the one hippie that is in a wheelchair. They throw the hitchhiker out and he marks the side of the van with blood. After finding the old house,two of the hippies go off to what they are told is an old swimming hole. Well it is dried up and they see a house off in the distance. So they go to see if they might be able to get some gas. Big mistake,cause this is the Sawyer family house and they both run into Leatherface. This is a film that once it starts the intensity level never backs down. From the first kill to the final "dinner" scene it is a full throttle attack on your senses. The grain of the film stock and the various strange sounds add to the realism of the film and help make the viewers uneasy. One thing that stands out is how most people act like this is one of the goriest films ever,but really besides the scene in the van ,there is very very very little blood on screen. Most of the violence is implied and left off screen. Another thing most people miss on first viewing is that Leatherface has more than one mask. During the dinner scene he is wearing a mask that has a more womanly look to it. Texas Chain Saw Massacre gets a perfect A+.