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A Nightmare on Elm Street (comics)
Encyclopedia
The popularity of the A Nightmare on Elm Street
film series has led to several comic book
series published by Marvel Comics
, Innovation Publishing
, Trident Comics
, Avatar Press
and WildStorm Productions. After the success of Freddy vs. Jason
and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake film
in 2003, New Line Cinema
created their "House of Horror
" licensing
division which licensed the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise to Avatar Press
for use in new comic book stories, the first of which was published in 2005. In 2006, Avatar Press lost the license to DC Comics
imprint, WildStorm Productions who has since published several new stories based on the franchise.
released Freddy Krueger's A Nightmare on Elm Street. The black and white comic book was published in a magazine-sized format. The first and last storyline was the two part "Dreamstalker" written by Steve Gerber
with art by Rich Buckler
. Other than the inclusion of the characters Amanda and Freddy Krueger
and the fictional town of Springwood, Ohio, the story does not fit seamlessly into the continuity of the films and even contradicts the film continuity in several places. The series immediately proved to be Marvel's top selling black and white magazine, even outselling the long running Savage Sword of Conan magazine, but despite distributors soliciting the title through the fifth issue, Marvel quietly canceled the title after only two issues had been released. New stories had been written and submitted by Buzz Dixon and Peter David
. Speculation arose that, despite Marvel clearly labeling the book as a mature readers title, Freddy Krueger's A Nightmare on Elm Street could have caused image problems for the publisher who generally catered to younger readers. In 1990, Steve Gerber
told Reading For Pleasure that Marvel had canceled the book in anticipation of pressure from various anti-violence advocate groups that were actively protesting violent media in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the October 6, 1989 issue of the Comics Buyer's Guide
, Peter David
claimed that, while he originally felt that the story he had submitted for the series was like nothing else that he had ever written, in retrospect, he was no longer happy with it and was somewhat glad that it had never been published.
In 1991, Innovation Publishing
picked up the A Nightmare on Elm Street license and published three series based on the franchise, before the company filed for bankruptcy in 1992. All three series were written by Andy Mangels
.
The first series was the six issue Nightmares On Elm Street which featured a collection of protagonists from the first five films, including Nancy Thompson
, Neil Gordon, Alice Johnson and Jacob Johnson, uniting to fight Freddy Krueger
in his own nightmare world. The first two issues of the series featured Nancy's return as a spirit in the Beautiful Dream, the place Kristen dreamed her into after she died, and revolved around Freddy killing Nancy's college roommates. The events of the next four issues take place in the time period between the A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
and Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
films.
The second series, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
, was an adaptation of the film of the same name. The third issue of the series was published in both normal and 3-D
formats. The 3-D
issue was published in order to recreate the last ten minutes of the film which also used the visual effect. The three issues were also collected and published as a trade paperback.
The last series to be published by Innovation was A Nightmare On Elm Street: The Beginning. The three issue mini-series served as a direct sequel to Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
, as Maggie Burroughs continues to have nightmares about her father, Freddy Krueger
, following the events of the film. Traveling back to Springwood with Tracy, another survivor from the film, Maggie researches Freddy's life leading up to his death at the hands of the Springwood parents. Only the first two issues of the series were released before Innovation's declaration of bankruptcy, leaving the third issue unpublished and the story incomplete. Mangels has since made the original script for issue number three available on his website.
released four magazine sized issues of Freddy's Nightmares, exclusively in the United Kingdom
. The series contained no original material, instead opting to reprint Innovation's Freddy's Dead adaptation, the first two issues of Innovation's Nightmares On Elm Street and the first issue of Marvel
's Freddy Krueger's: A Nightmare on Elm Street. Despite the title of the series, it has no direct connection, other than the depiction of the Freddy Krueger
character, to the Freddy's Nightmares
television series which aired in 1988.
returned to comic books, for the first time in thirteen years, with the A Nightmare On Elm Street Special written by former Chaos Comics founder, Brian Pulido
and published by Avatar Press
in association with New Line Cinema
's "House of Horror" licensing division.
Events from the A Nightmare On Elm Street Special would carry over into the A Nightmare On Elm Street: Paranoid three issue mini-series, published later that same year. Due to Avatar's erratic publishing schedule, the second and third issues of the series were not released until summer, 2006. The mini-series was followed by a stand alone issue titled Fearbook before Avatar lost the New Line "House of Horror" license.
In 2006, WildStorm Productions, a publishing imprint of DC Comics
, acquired the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" license and, in October of the same year, began publication of a new ongoing comic book series written by veteran comic book writer, Chuck Dixon
with artwork by Kevin J. West, Bob Almond and Joel Gomez and covers by Tony Harris
of Ex Machina
fame.
The first story arc, "Freddy's War", centered on a teenager named Jade, who moves to Springwood and learns about Freddy Krueger. Along with her father, a former army ranger, and a young comatose girl, Jade confronts Freddy. After the "Freddy's War" arc's completion, a story about Freddy employing a teenager to kill the girl who helped Jade and her father was released. The second story arc, titled "Demon of Sleep", detailed a group of social outcasts who, after realizing they are being killed off one by one, decide to summon an Aztec sleep demon to battle Freddy. The last issue, released in June 2007, was about a worker at a fast-food restaurant who was dreaming about Freddy killing other people, until Freddy killed him.
In 2007, Wildstorm announced its plan to cancel their ongoing New Line horror comics in favor of publishing mini-series and specials based on the movie franchises. The ongoing A Nightmare on Elm Street series would come to an end after an eight issue run and be replaced by a mini-series, late in 2007.
In September, Wildstorm released New Line Cinema's Tales of Horrors, a one-shot issue featuring separate stories concerning Freddy Krueger and Leatherface. The Freddy Krueger story was written by Christos Gage
and Peter Milligan
and involves Freddy dealing with an inhabitant of Springwood who has taken to copying his murder style, in a story aptly titled "Copycat".
Freddy next appeared in the six-issue Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash
, an intercompany crossover
with Dynamite Entertainment. The story serves as a sequel to Freddy vs. Jason and The Evil Dead trilogy, based on the original Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash film treatment by Jeff Katz. The comic book series was written by James Kuhoric and illustrated by Jason Craig. A six issue sequel titled Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors
followed in 2009 and featured a large cast of supporting characters from the A Nightmare of Elm Street and Friday the 13th film franchises.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)
A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror franchise that consists of nine slasher films, a television show, novels, and comic books. The franchise began with the film series created by Wes Craven. The franchise is based on the fictional character Freddy Krueger, introduced in A Nightmare on...
film series has led to several comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, Innovation Publishing
Innovation Publishing
Innovation Publishing was an American comic book company based in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was co-founded by David Campiti in 1988 after writing a business proposal and raising US$400,000 to finance its launch...
, Trident Comics
Trident Comics
Trident Comics was a comic book publishing company based in Leicester, UK, specializing in black and white comics created by new British talent...
, Avatar Press
Avatar Press
Avatar Press is an independent American publisher of comic books, founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, and based in Rantoul, Illinois.Avatar initially published only mini-series; however, they have since begun to branch out...
and WildStorm Productions. After the success of Freddy vs. Jason
Freddy vs. Jason
Freddy vs. Jason is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu. The film is a crossover between the A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchises...
and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake film
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003 film)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a 2003 remake of the 1974 horror film of the same name. The 2003 film was directed by Marcus Nispel and produced by Michael Bay...
in 2003, New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
created their "House of Horror
New Line Cinema's House of Horror
House of Horror is a licensing division of New Line Cinema encompassing the A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film series. It was created after the success of Freddy vs. Jason and the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre revitalized waning public...
" licensing
License
The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun license or licence refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.A license may be granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement...
division which licensed the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise to Avatar Press
Avatar Press
Avatar Press is an independent American publisher of comic books, founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, and based in Rantoul, Illinois.Avatar initially published only mini-series; however, they have since begun to branch out...
for use in new comic book stories, the first of which was published in 2005. In 2006, Avatar Press lost the license to DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
imprint, WildStorm Productions who has since published several new stories based on the franchise.
Marvel Comics
In 1989, Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
released Freddy Krueger's A Nightmare on Elm Street. The black and white comic book was published in a magazine-sized format. The first and last storyline was the two part "Dreamstalker" written by Steve Gerber
Steve Gerber
Stephen Ross "Steve" Gerber was an American comic book writer best known as co-creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck....
with art by Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four in the mid-1970s and, with writer Doug Moench, co-creating the character Deathlok in Astonishing Tales #25...
. Other than the inclusion of the characters Amanda and Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger
Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...
and the fictional town of Springwood, Ohio, the story does not fit seamlessly into the continuity of the films and even contradicts the film continuity in several places. The series immediately proved to be Marvel's top selling black and white magazine, even outselling the long running Savage Sword of Conan magazine, but despite distributors soliciting the title through the fifth issue, Marvel quietly canceled the title after only two issues had been released. New stories had been written and submitted by Buzz Dixon and Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
. Speculation arose that, despite Marvel clearly labeling the book as a mature readers title, Freddy Krueger's A Nightmare on Elm Street could have caused image problems for the publisher who generally catered to younger readers. In 1990, Steve Gerber
Steve Gerber
Stephen Ross "Steve" Gerber was an American comic book writer best known as co-creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck....
told Reading For Pleasure that Marvel had canceled the book in anticipation of pressure from various anti-violence advocate groups that were actively protesting violent media in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the October 6, 1989 issue of the Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
, Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
claimed that, while he originally felt that the story he had submitted for the series was like nothing else that he had ever written, in retrospect, he was no longer happy with it and was somewhat glad that it had never been published.
Innovation Publishing
Innovation Publishing
Innovation Publishing was an American comic book company based in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was co-founded by David Campiti in 1988 after writing a business proposal and raising US$400,000 to finance its launch...
picked up the A Nightmare on Elm Street license and published three series based on the franchise, before the company filed for bankruptcy in 1992. All three series were written by Andy Mangels
Andy Mangels
Andy Mangels is an American science fiction author who has written novels, comics, and magazine articles, and produced DVD collections, mostly focusing on media in popular culture...
.
The first series was the six issue Nightmares On Elm Street which featured a collection of protagonists from the first five films, including Nancy Thompson
Nancy Thompson (character)
Nancy Thompson is a fictional character from the A Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. Played by Heather Langenkamp, she is the main protagonist, Freddy's arch-nemesis, and final girl of the original A Nightmare on Elm Street film, and reappears in the third, and to some extent in the...
, Neil Gordon, Alice Johnson and Jacob Johnson, uniting to fight Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger
Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...
in his own nightmare world. The first two issues of the series featured Nancy's return as a spirit in the Beautiful Dream, the place Kristen dreamed her into after she died, and revolved around Freddy killing Nancy's college roommates. The events of the next four issues take place in the time period between the A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child is a 1989 American slasher film and the fifth film in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. It was directed by Stephen Hopkins. The film's general tone is much more gothic and dark than the films before, and used a blue filter lighting technique in most of...
and Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare is a 1991 American slasher film. It is the sixthand as the title suggests, intended to be the lastfilm in the series of films featuring Freddy Krueger...
films.
The second series, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare is a 1991 American slasher film. It is the sixthand as the title suggests, intended to be the lastfilm in the series of films featuring Freddy Krueger...
, was an adaptation of the film of the same name. The third issue of the series was published in both normal and 3-D
Stereoscopy
Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
formats. The 3-D
Stereoscopy
Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
issue was published in order to recreate the last ten minutes of the film which also used the visual effect. The three issues were also collected and published as a trade paperback.
The last series to be published by Innovation was A Nightmare On Elm Street: The Beginning. The three issue mini-series served as a direct sequel to Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare is a 1991 American slasher film. It is the sixthand as the title suggests, intended to be the lastfilm in the series of films featuring Freddy Krueger...
, as Maggie Burroughs continues to have nightmares about her father, Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger
Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...
, following the events of the film. Traveling back to Springwood with Tracy, another survivor from the film, Maggie researches Freddy's life leading up to his death at the hands of the Springwood parents. Only the first two issues of the series were released before Innovation's declaration of bankruptcy, leaving the third issue unpublished and the story incomplete. Mangels has since made the original script for issue number three available on his website.
Trident Comics
In 1992, Trident ComicsTrident Comics
Trident Comics was a comic book publishing company based in Leicester, UK, specializing in black and white comics created by new British talent...
released four magazine sized issues of Freddy's Nightmares, exclusively in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The series contained no original material, instead opting to reprint Innovation's Freddy's Dead adaptation, the first two issues of Innovation's Nightmares On Elm Street and the first issue of Marvel
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
's Freddy Krueger's: A Nightmare on Elm Street. Despite the title of the series, it has no direct connection, other than the depiction of the Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger
Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...
character, to the Freddy's Nightmares
Freddy's Nightmares
Freddy's Nightmares is an American horror anthology series, which aired in syndication from October 1988 until March 1990. A spin-off from the Nightmare on Elm Street series, each story was introduced by Freddy Krueger...
television series which aired in 1988.
Avatar Press
In May 2005, Freddy KruegerFreddy Krueger
Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...
returned to comic books, for the first time in thirteen years, with the A Nightmare On Elm Street Special written by former Chaos Comics founder, Brian Pulido
Brian Pulido
Brian Pulido is a creator, writer and producer of comic books and films.-Early life:Growing up in Long Branch, New Jersey, Pulido first developed an interest in the horror genre after the release of Night of the Living Dead when he was a child.-Comic book career:Pulido has created, written or...
and published by Avatar Press
Avatar Press
Avatar Press is an independent American publisher of comic books, founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, and based in Rantoul, Illinois.Avatar initially published only mini-series; however, they have since begun to branch out...
in association with New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
's "House of Horror" licensing division.
Events from the A Nightmare On Elm Street Special would carry over into the A Nightmare On Elm Street: Paranoid three issue mini-series, published later that same year. Due to Avatar's erratic publishing schedule, the second and third issues of the series were not released until summer, 2006. The mini-series was followed by a stand alone issue titled Fearbook before Avatar lost the New Line "House of Horror" license.
WildStorm Productions
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, acquired the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" license and, in October of the same year, began publication of a new ongoing comic book series written by veteran comic book writer, Chuck Dixon
Chuck Dixon
Charles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, best known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.-Biography:Dixon grew up in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area, reading comics of all genres...
with artwork by Kevin J. West, Bob Almond and Joel Gomez and covers by Tony Harris
Tony Harris (cartoonist)
Tony Harris is an American comic book artist, known for his work as series such as Starman, Iron Man, and Ex Machina. He has been nominated for five Eisner Awards for his work.-Career:...
of Ex Machina
Ex Machina (comics)
Ex Machina is an American creator-owned comic book series created by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris, and published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint....
fame.
The first story arc, "Freddy's War", centered on a teenager named Jade, who moves to Springwood and learns about Freddy Krueger. Along with her father, a former army ranger, and a young comatose girl, Jade confronts Freddy. After the "Freddy's War" arc's completion, a story about Freddy employing a teenager to kill the girl who helped Jade and her father was released. The second story arc, titled "Demon of Sleep", detailed a group of social outcasts who, after realizing they are being killed off one by one, decide to summon an Aztec sleep demon to battle Freddy. The last issue, released in June 2007, was about a worker at a fast-food restaurant who was dreaming about Freddy killing other people, until Freddy killed him.
In 2007, Wildstorm announced its plan to cancel their ongoing New Line horror comics in favor of publishing mini-series and specials based on the movie franchises. The ongoing A Nightmare on Elm Street series would come to an end after an eight issue run and be replaced by a mini-series, late in 2007.
In September, Wildstorm released New Line Cinema's Tales of Horrors, a one-shot issue featuring separate stories concerning Freddy Krueger and Leatherface. The Freddy Krueger story was written by Christos Gage
Christos Gage
Christos N. "Chris" Gage is an American comic book writer and screenwriter.-Early life:Gage is the son of author and journalist Nicholas Gage. He was born in New York, and grew up in Athens, Greece, and then North Grafton, Massachusetts...
and Peter Milligan
Peter Milligan
Peter Milligan born in London, a British writer, best known for his comic book, film and television work.-Early career:Milligan started his comic career with short stories for 2000 AD in the early 1980s. By 1986, Milligan had his first ongoing strip in 2000AD called Bad Company, with artists Brett...
and involves Freddy dealing with an inhabitant of Springwood who has taken to copying his murder style, in a story aptly titled "Copycat".
Freddy next appeared in the six-issue Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash
Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash
Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash is a six-issue comic book limited series that was released in November 2007 and ran until March 2008. It was published by Wildstorm, Dynamite Entertainment, and DC Comics. Based on the original Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash film treatment by Jeff Katz, the story serves as a...
, an intercompany crossover
Intercompany crossover
In comic books, an intercompany crossover is a comic or series of comics where characters published by one company meet those published by another...
with Dynamite Entertainment. The story serves as a sequel to Freddy vs. Jason and The Evil Dead trilogy, based on the original Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash film treatment by Jeff Katz. The comic book series was written by James Kuhoric and illustrated by Jason Craig. A six issue sequel titled Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors
Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors
Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors is a six-issue limited series comic book written by Jeff Katz and James Kuhoric, with art by Jason Craig. The series was published by Dynamite Entertainment and DC Comics, with imprint by Wildstorm, beginning in August 2009 and concluding in December...
followed in 2009 and featured a large cast of supporting characters from the A Nightmare of Elm Street and Friday the 13th film franchises.
See also
- List of comics based on films
- Freddy vs. Jason vs. AshFreddy vs. Jason vs. AshFreddy vs. Jason vs. Ash is a six-issue comic book limited series that was released in November 2007 and ran until March 2008. It was published by Wildstorm, Dynamite Entertainment, and DC Comics. Based on the original Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash film treatment by Jeff Katz, the story serves as a...
, the comic book sequel to Freddy vs. JasonFreddy vs. JasonFreddy vs. Jason is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu. The film is a crossover between the A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchises...
.