Tom Holland's Fright Night - Volume 01 Issue 02

My Rating

“Dead By Dawn – Part 02”

Life has returned to normal for Charlie Brewster, but for one out of work television host, fighting off a serial killer has rejuvenated Peter Vincent’s career. The famous “vampire hunter” is back in a big, big way. Locally, anyways. With the release of his new book “Fright Night for Real”, Peter has gobbled up all the attention from the fans. Between his book signings and celebrity appearances at store openings, life couldn’t be better. Except for the nightmares. They are becoming more frequent.

Charlie Brewster on the other hand has sought out psychological help. His new psychiatrist easily waves off the notion of vampires. What Charlie, Peter, and Amy had all experienced was classified as a “shared psychotic disorder”. The doctor insisted that Charlie avoid Peter Vincent and all his Hollywood monster movie trappings. This was unfortunate as Charlie’s girlfriend Amy was doing the same to him. With no friends, accept Jonny TV and his uncanny movie quotes, Charlie fell back into the groove of deflecting high school bullies, delivering pizzas, and spending his nights watching Fright Night. Yes, there is no way he was giving that up.

In the fringes of Rancho Corvallis Iowa, the murders continued. Someone had decapitated the front desk officer at the local police department. All the evidence gathered from the Dandridge house had disappeared from the evidence room. Was Jerry Dandridge and Billy Cole still in the area? Detective Lennox has launched another investigation, as random townsfolk begin to turn up slain in gruesome manners.

Can Peter Vincent’s new publicist help him deconstruct the nightmares haunting his sleep? Why is Amy Peterson blatantly avoiding Charlie? Who is murdering the townsfolk of Rancho Corvallis? Collect the series to find out!

Reviewer Notes

So, after two issue writer James Kuhoric has still not identified the vampire woman. Who is she? What’s her name? What about her henchmen? I did some digging on the interwebs and she is being referenced as the “Vampire Queen”. The newest vampire is not Regine Dandridge, Jerry’s vampire sister from Fright Night Part 2 (1988). This group of baddies seem like a cheap knockoff of Rengine’s group in the second movie. Another group of motorcycle riding vampires show up in this issue, but are they working for the “Vampire Queen”? Inquiring minds what to know.

I was a little put off by this issue. I haven’t read the original book, but the movie version of Charlie Brewster seems a bit more levelheaded. James Kuhoric is painting him as loser with bad grades and no ambition. Let’s talk about the new best friend character, Johnny TV. What a poor substitute for Evil Ed. Movie quotes? Really? I hope the kid gets eaten by the werewolf. James, please make that happen!

The quality is beginning to slip in issue two of Tom Holland’s Fright Night. Even with the bonus content at the back of the book, I’m still giving this a three-star rating. I cringed at the artwork for Charlie Brewster’s pizza shop boss. What is Porky (Chuck Mitchell) doing in 1986 Iowa?