Halloween: 30 Years of Terror Comic

Halloween: 30 Years of Terror

In 2008, to cash in on the 30th anniversary celebration of the original film, Devil's Due Publishing released this one-shot issue, which takes place in the H20 continuity, ignoring not only Parts 4-6 in the film series, but also the three Halloween comics released previously by Chaos Comics.

Trick or Treat: This short story begins toward the end of the original film, when Laurie Strode sends Tommy Doyle and Lindsey Wallace them to the Mackenzie house for help, and details how that night changed the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Mackenzie. And, I believe, it explains how the child seen briefly in Halloween II winds up with a razor blade wound on his tongue--not that we were clamoring for an explanation. Kind of a pointless kick off to this anthology. The art is rather rough, but passable.

POV: This story takes place at the Miss Haddonfield Beauty Pageant, where Michael Myers is stalking the winner. Completely wordless and told only in pictures, it's actually rather genius in concept: one page unveils the story through Michael's eyes, while the following page shows the exact same scene through his victim's eyes...until there's nothing left for her to see.

Visiting Hours: Taking place between Halloween H20 and Halloween Resurrection, an institutionalized Laurie Strode imagines how her life would have been different had she forgotten to drop the key off at the Myers house, which would theoretically have kept her off of Michael's radar. But even in her fantasies, Michael catches up with her eventually. This story explains how Laurie comes to realize that Michael Myers is her brother (something never explained in the films), in the form of a repressed memory that is shaken loose as a result of his assault. It takes a few reads to fully understand what's going on, but it's a pretty decent read. The artwork has a suitable sketchy quality to it, reminding me of something you would find in a Vertigo title.

Tommy and the Boogeyman: This story features a comic-within-a-comic, as a fully grown Tommy Doyle (now a comic book artist himself) reads the first issue of Tarantula Man, a fictional comic book mentioned in the original film. Although it has pretty much nothing to do with the franchise itself, it's pretty entertaining, and the Tarantula Man artwork is fan-freaking-tactic.

Repetition Compulsion: Starring Dr. Loomis and Nurse Marion Chambers, this story takes place on October 30, 1989. Michael purposefully leaves a clue for Loomis, leading him to the elementary school where his next kill is going to take place. This story shows a more crafty and cunning side of Michael Myers, one that has a very dark sense of humor. Any Loomis story has my support.

--J/Metro