Tom Holland's Fright Night - Volume 01 Issue 01

My Rating

“Dead By Dawn”

Rancho Corvallis High School, Iowa – 1986, Charlie Brewster bends down to pick-up his lunch tray from the floor. Two of the football players in his class look on in mocking glee. Schaefer was always an asshole, but ever since the Dandrige murders were covered on the local news, Charlie had become the focus of ridicule over his vampire claims.

Yes, he had killed Jerry Dandrige with the help of Peter Vincent; hell, he even saved his estranged girlfriend Amy. Unfortunately, no one in Rancho Corvallis believed in vampires. The local police reported Jerry Dandrige and his carpenter Billy Cole as fugitives at large. Life as a senior in high school continues on with Charlie and his normal issues. Girls, grades, and college applications – the real Horrors of a teenage boy.

Peter Vincent seemed to be the only one making a profit off the Dandrige event. His new book “Fright Night For Real” had top the charts in the New Age section of bookstores. Fans of the Occult flock to his book signings to hear the great vampire hunter retell his story and get an autograph. Did they really believe in vampires? Who knows? Tonight, however, a scantily clad woman dressed in Egyptian style fashion stepped up to Peter’s signing table. She definitely stood out amongst the lowans in their acid-washed jeans and oversized cable-knit sweaters. Who was she? Peter Vincent greeted her with a false smile.

Will Charlie Brewster survive his last three months as a senior in Rancho Corvallis High School? Who killed the front desk officer at the local police department? Can Peter Vincent manage to keep his new publicist from rage quitting? Collect the series to find out!

Reviewer Notes

I reviewed the 2023 Free Comic Book Day version of Tom Holland’s Fright Night a few weeks prior, and I have to say I was a little nervous opening up issue one. All the pages were the same as the FCBD version. All was not lost, I discovered, as the FCBD only contained half of the original issue one storyline. If you haven’t read either, skip the FCBD version and get the original.

Being said, I love the route James Kuhotic has taken with this Fright Night revival. Charlie Brewster is still a nobody at school, Amy Peterson is about to leave him for some sweet baseball scholarship, and Peter Vincent remains his pompous self. What more can the fans want? I know, hopefully James steers this new series towards the Fright Night 2 movie. It would suck if everything is abandoned for a quick buck. Keep it cannon I say.

Overall the writing and art is well done. There are some discrepancies in the character designs I noticed, but its not enough of a change to make things awkward. I do have to bawk about the vehicle art however. In the movies Charlie drove a classic 1969 mustang fastback, Peter Vincent a Studebaker Lark. These have become somewhat iconic with fans of the first movie. The fast back even makes it into Fright Night II. I found it kind of odd that the artist upgraded Charlie’s ride to a 1970’s Mustang Mach I (ugly, ugly, ugly) and whatever that thing Peter is standing next to in the bookstore parking lot. Come on guys, what gives? In my opinion they should have maintained continuity where possible.

I’m giving issue one of Tom Holland’s Fright Night a solid four out of five stars. If you’re a fan of the movie, definitely check this out. I can’t wait to find out who the new vampire woman is.