Top Ten Comic Book Adaptations of Horror Movies
Usually comic books get made into movies. But sometimes it is the other way around and a good horror movie gets made into a comic. Several good horror franchises have graced the pages of funny books (although they are anything but funny) so here is the top ten list of comic book adaptations of horror movies.
- Nightmare on Elm Street – The first movie in this franchise was new and groundbreaking. It inspired several comics featuring the villain Freddy Krueger. Picked up by Avatar Press back in 2005, DC’s Wildstorm imprint picked later acquired it in 2006.
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre – Leatherface and his family of Texas cannibals are a cult fave. So naturally, it makes sense to have a comic series about the freaks. DC’s Wildstorm imprint also bought this franchise and has explored other events in the family history.
- Friday the 13th – Jason is to summer camp what D-Con is to roaches. Topps originally published several titles back in the 1990’s. Wildstorm, the current holder of the franchise license for comics, continues Jason’s terror on the doomed Crystal Lake.
- Nightbreed – This comic adaptation may not be as well known but did a great job of furthering Clive Barker’s storyline from his film Nightbreed. Back in the early 1990’s, the series by Epic Comics followed a group of monsters from the Tribes of the Moon as they searched for a new home. It made it through 25 issues and a series of short stories before getting the axe.
- Silent Hill – The creepy video game spawned a surreal but cool movie. A couple of mini-series and one-shots based on the movie and game have been published by IDW Publishing. The mini-series and one-shots feature different characters and their experiences in the haunted town of Silent Hill.
- Halloween – John Carpenter’s horror flick practically created the slasher film genre. Chaos Comics was the first to adapt the film to comic form. Devil’s Due Publishing later released several Halloween titles, including Halloween: Nightdance and Halloween: The First Death of Laurie Strode.
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer – First as a dud at the box office and later as a highly popular television series featuring a sexy vampire hunter, the campy Buffy lasted for seven season on the air. It also spawned several titles from Dark Horse Publishing before it was cancelled. However, after the show went off the air, Dark Horse began publishing a new series that is a continuation of the tv series and thus referred to as Season 8.
- The Evil Dead – Sam Raimi’s series featuring the hero Ash were some of the best and funniest movies in horror. Dark Horse put out an adaptation of the film. But it wasn’t until Dynamite Entertainment picked up the franchise that the series saw several titles and cross-overs.
- Child’s Play – The movie made the killer doll Chucky a household name (at least in haunted households). During the 90’s, Innovation Publishing released a series of comics based on the evil little toy. Then in 2007, Devil’s Due Publishing did a cross-over and a mini-series based on the film franchise.
- Hellraiser – Who could forget the Clive Barker film featuring the grotesque Cenobite Pinhead and the mysterious puzzle box? Although it has been awhile, Epic Comics published some really great adaptations that were very close to the same atmosphere as the film. The series was more of an anthology containing short stories, it still had the Clive Barker seal of approval.
This entry was posted on Saturday, September 26th, 2009 at 1:40 pm and is filed under Best Horror Comics, Best Horror Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.