Freddy Krueger's A Nightmare on Elm Street was a short lived black-and-white

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

set in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' universe and published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

in late 1989. Chronologically, its events takes place about three years after the events of '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987). It was cancelled after only its second issue for unclear reasons. The remaining storyline is named ''Dreamstalkers'' (part 1 & 2) and was left unresolved with a

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

ending.

Plot

An ambulance arrives at the home of Roger and Patti Hayes, who had found their daughter Allison near death in her bed, slashed and bruised with no hints of who attacked her. Dr. Juliann Quinn is preparing to leave

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and her boyfriend Doug behind for her hometown of Springwood in Ohio, where she has a job offer at the Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital waiting for her. Falling asleep, she has a nightmare about

Freddy Krueger Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. He was created by Wes Craven and made his debut in Craven's ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spirit ...

, but wakes up due to her cigarette lighting her bed up and forcing her to quench the flame quickly. In the Springwood Medical Center, Freddy attacks Allison once again while she's in surgery, but she starts to fight back on her nemesis, leading the doctors to conclude that her body tried to die, but her mind would not allow it. Juliann travels to Springwood by plane, studying Freddy's dossier, reading about Amanda Krueger and her horrific rape at the ''Our Lady of Sorrows' Institution For the Mentally Ill'' (the precursor of Westin Hills), and even starts to have nightmares about Freddy on the plane while dozing off. Once arrived, she continues to have the nightmares, but has learned mental techniques to keep Freddy from killing her for the time. Juliann is assigned to be Allison's doctor, and to Allison's relief, proves to be the only one capable of understanding what she is going through. Juliann and Allison enters the dream world together, where they encounter Freddy. ---- Freddy comes close to killing Juliann, but Allison turns herself into a living ball of flame and wards him off long enough for the two heroines to awake themselves. After this, Juliann has Allison put on Hypnocil while staying at the Springwood hospital. After meeting with Dr. Marlin, he makes it clear to Juliann that Allison will not be allowed to take Hypnocil once she's transferred to the Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital, due to the scandal that happened there three years ago. At home, Juliann goes to take a shower before sleep, but she had in fact already fallen asleep and is surprised to find herself in the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped room ...

, where Freddy is sitting in the

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's chair. She tries to run away, but finds herself too exhausted. Freddy reappears and stabs her in the stomach while pointing out her fatal mistake: she had cared so much for Allison's safety that she had dropped the guard on her own. Allison is devastated to hear of her death and swears revenge on Freddy. Dr. Watley is reassigned to be her new doctor, but Allison refuses to explain her afflictions to him, saying it wouldn't make any difference if she did. She prepares mentally, thinking up clothing and a glove akin to Freddy's and fights him, but he ultimately tricks her, causing her to attack Watley while

sleepwalking Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of low ...

in reality, thinking that she's attacking Freddy; Watley orders for her to be sedated and sent to the secure ward.

Development

Conception and unrealized plans

It was reported in ''

Amazing Heroes ''Amazing Heroes'' was a magazine about the comic book medium published by American company Fantagraphics Books from 1981 to 1992. Unlike its companion title, ''The Comics Journal'', ''Amazing Heroes'' was a hobbyist magazine rather than an analyt ...

'' #160 (March 1, 1989) that both Marvel Comics and

Blackthorne Publishing Blackthorne Publishing, Inc. was a comic book publisher that flourished from 1986–1989. They were notable for the ''Blackthorne 3-D Series'', their reprint titles of classic comic strips like Dick Tracy, and their licensed products. Blackthorne ...

had secured rights to produce comics in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' universe; Blackthorne's would be eight issues of 3D adaptions of the films and ''

Freddy's Nightmares ''Freddy's Nightmares'' is an American horror anthology television series, which aired in syndication from October 1988 until March 1990. A spin-off from the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series, each episode is introduced by Freddy Kruege ...

'', while Marvel Comics' would be magazine-sized, black-and-white, and was never specified to have a finite number of issues.

Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include ''Man-Thing'', ''Omega the Unknown,'' ''Marvel Spotlight:' ...

said that several writers were contacted by Marvel, and he had submitted a 3-4 pages treatment that they approved of.

Rich Buckler Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

illustrated the first 23 pages of the first issue but left due to - as Gerber speculated - "editorial conflict or financial problems", and was replaced by

Tony DeZuniga Antony de Zuñiga (November 8, 1932 – May 11, 2012) who worked primarily under the name Tony DeZuniga, was a Filipino comics artist and illustrator best known for his works for DC Comics. He co-created the fictional characters Jonah Hex and ...

for the remainder of ''Dreamstalkers''. Gerber explained that he intended for the ''Dreamstalkers'' storyline to return with issue 5. According to Gerber, he had created an antagonist to Freddy who would return as a recurring character; since Dr. Juliann Quinn was killed off, this would mean Allison Hayes, who was left at a

ending. He also implied that there would have been further appearances of Allison past the fifth issue, saying “''we'll pick up her story in #5 and probably after that again for a little while''”. Gerber reasoned that when it's (what was supposed to be) a regular monthly comic book series as opposed to films released at longer intervals, the series cannot only have its antagonist being a recurring character, but needs a recurring protagonist as well. According to Marvel Comics, the plans for the series prior to cancellation was that :“''The comics series will begin with one long ELM STREET story spread over the first two issues, with forty-four page installments in each. After that, each issue will contain a NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET story of about thirty pages in length, and there will be back-up stories by other creative teams.''” Gerber stated that issue three and four would be written by

Buzz Dixon Buzz Dixon (December 7, 1953) is an American writer of comic books, film, and cartoons. He has written comics for multiple companies, including Eclipse Comics (where he wrote ''Destroyer Duck'' alongside Steve Gerber), Marvel Comics, and a ''Bu ...

and the sixth issue would be written by

Peter David Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Greatest Hits" Co ...

and illustrated by

Sam Kieth Sam Kieth (born January 11, 1963) is an American comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''The Maxx'' and ''Zero Girl''. Career Comics Kieth's first published work was "a story in the back of a Comico comic" when he was "about ...

. The Dixon issues were to be pencilled by Bob Hall and inked by

Alfredo Alcala Alfredo P. Alcala (August 23, 1925 – April 4, 2000) was a Filipino comics artist, born in Talisay, Negros Occidental in the Philippines. Alcala was an established illustrator whose works appeared in the ''Alcala Komix Magazine''. His 1963 cre ...

, while

Joe Jusko Joe Jusko (; born September 1, 1959) is an American artist known for his realistic, highly detailed painted fantasy, pin-up, and cover illustrations, mainly in the comic book industry. Jusko painted the 1992 Marvel Masterpieces trading cards, the ...

, the artist behind the cover art of the two released issues, had also finished his cover for the third issue, and later posted it on the Internet. Hall and Kieth were already involved in the art for the second issue, as Hall provided two and Kieth one illustration of Freddy for it. The second issue came with an ad for the following issue in which Freddy sits in the teacher's chair in a classroom where the text "Back to School Issue" is written on the whiteboard and the disclaimer is “''Freddy teaches you a lesson you'll ''never'' forget!''”. The plot for the third issue, called ''Freddy's Girl'', was specified by Marvel Comics to be :"''Has Freddy become a good guy? That's what it looks like! He's befriended a depressed, lonely teen-ager and is showing her why her life is worth living! But why does he ''really'' want her to live?''” Marvel Comics apparently planned for there to be a "pen pal" section in future issues for fan mail, with one of the illustrations by Bob Hall being used as art for the invitation. Buzz Dixon had also suggested a "Freddy Request Page" where the readers would be able to post requests on who they would like to see Freddy kill next, inspired by DC Comics leaving it to fan input to decide whether

Jason Todd Jason Peter Todd is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in '' Batman'' #357 in March 1983, Todd was created to succeed Dick Grayson as Robin, the superhero Batman's vigilante partn ...

should survive the '' Batman: A Death in the Family'' storyline or not. The fourth issue was going to contain two separate stories, one by Dixon, Hall and Alcala and the other by Peter David and Bret Blevins. Peter David claims he wrote all of issue 5, with art by Dan Lawliss and Alfredo Alcala. David also wrote a shorter 6-page story in the previous issue as a companion to Dixon's story.

Andy Mangels Andy Mangels (born December 2, 1966) is an American science fiction author who has written novels, comic books, and magazine articles, and produced DVD collections, mostly focusing on media in popular culture. As an openly gay man, and was going to do some work on the later issues.

Cancellation

In October 1989, it was reported that the comics had been cancelled, after an article in

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The public ...

where Marvel Comics spokesman Steve Saffel elaborated that :“''For a number of reasons, we decided to cancel ''A Nightmare on Elm Street''. It's not the first title we've canceled and it won't be the last. The direct market reacted fairly well to the book - for a black-and-white, that is - but we never saw that as the book's real market, which (like all the black-and-whites) is unquestionably the newsstand.''” The Dixon and David issues had already been finished and submitted to Marvel by the time of the cancellation; according to David, “''The cancellation order took a lot of people by surprise''”. Steve Gerber later wrote to the bulletin board-based magazine ''Reading for Pleasure'' and explained that Marvel Comics had cancelled the comics not because they had been criticized for it, but because they might ''eventually'' be criticized for it, saying :“''According to my best information, Marvel cancelled the book in anticipation of pressure from the various anti-violence advocate groups. A few weeks prior to the release of the first NIGHTMARE, there had been an article published in

the New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

decrying the level of violence in comic books. Apparently, that article -- along with the picketing that took place outside theatres showing NIGHTMARE 5 in Los Angeles and elsewhere -- was enough to make Marvel turn tail and run for cover.''” Gerber had also noticed that the comics already came with a "suggested for mature readers" disclaimer, and no direct pressure had yet been made on Marvel Comics about the series at the time. Tim Webber on

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

mentions a New York Times article from April 30, 1989 as a possible catalysis for the cancellation, in which Joe Queenan wrote about the increasingly violent content of primarily Marvel and

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, such as the Joker of

brutally murdering

in a '' Batman: A Death in the Family'' in late 1988. ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is mentioned indirectly through an offhand remark by

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (co ...

. Webber also mentions a September 1989 call for boycott by the

American Family Association The American Family Association (AFA) is a Christian fundamentalist 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States.

, condemning a Freddy merchandise doll as a "product of a sick mind", as another possible reason. According to Buzz Dixon, Martin Goodman, founder of Marvel Comics, had told him bluntly that "''I don't care if we paid for it -- we're not publishing it!''" about his unpublished issues. In an online post, Peter David claimed that while the story he wrote was unlike any other he had written, he was in retrospective unsatisfied with it and slightly relieved that it never came to be published.

Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor'', and ''Fantastic Four''. Career While in college, DeFalco "wrote fo ...

, former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief, explains that Jim Galton, who was president of the company at the time, was the one who cancelled the title. According to DeFalco, Galton was “''a man of conscience and principal and didn’t think Marvel should publish material like Nightmare''”, and he valued his morals higher than profit and cancelled it in spite of it being profitable and having received no complaints yet.

Characters

- In the ''Dreamstalkers'' story, Freddy is given a slightly different backstory than what was later shown in '' Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare''. He was given up for adoption in November 1947 to a real estate agent named Paul Struck and his wife, but they soon caught burglars in the act in their house and were murdered, upon which the burglars added the baby to their lot and later sold him to far less cultivated foster parents, the abusive small-time procurer Walter 'Stork' Fingle and the prostitute Isabel Tront. The couple later used the boy to set men up with Isabel, while Fingle kept abusing him, slashing him with a knife, if he did not meet their expectations. One day Frederick murdered his foster parents, carved the words "Rot in Hell" on Fingle's chest with his own knife and left to become a drifter, living of mugging and petty crime and sleeping outdoors. He came to use his dreams as his only escapism from his bleak reality and later became a child killer who would abduct his victims to the abandoned power plant in Springwood, murder them and dispose of their bodies in its boiler room in the basement. He was eventually caught, released on a

legal technicality The term legal technicality is a casual or colloquial phrase referring to a technical aspect of law. The phrase is not a term of art in the law; it has no exact meaning, nor does it have a legal definition. It implies that strict adherence to the ...

and then lynched by furious parents. After this he came back as - in the words of Juliann - "a demon of the dream world - evil in its most rarefied state". Freddy's origin story in ''Dreamstalker'' is loosely based on ''The Life and Death of Freddy Krueger'', a non-

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...

account predating the ''Dream Warriors'' film. *Allison Hayes^/span> - Allison is described by Gerber as being 15 years old and "is an inadvertent dream stalker, someone who can hunt through dreams in very much the same way that Freddy can, but who isn't dead" and that she "discovered this ability without knowing what it was a first." Allison explains to Juliann that she first encountered Freddy when she saw a new sign saying "Grossness" at a crossroad in her dreamscape. She followed the road ahead until she arrived at a strange bar, "Hideosity Bar & Grill", whose plentiful strange visitors she called a "total geekshow". Freddy was one of them, and he noticed her arrive even though she quickly tried to leave. He tried to kill her, but his glove just phased right through her dreamself. Then she left and headed back to the crossroads, where the "Grossness" sign had vanished. She did not find the bar again, but Freddy found her again some months later and continued trying to kill her. *Dr. Juliann Quinn^/span> - Called "Jools" by Freddy, Juliann is described by Gerber as being in her early twenties and is the last of the Elm Street children, the difference between her and the ones from ''Dream Warriors'' being that her parents moved away from Springwood while she was a child, after taking part in the lynching of Freddy, and he was thus unable to get to her until she moved back to her childhood home town again. She nonetheless started to have nightmares about Freddy eventually, after having been unaware of his existence and of his systematic slaughter of all the other "Elm Street children" before her. Juliann was taught the skill of "dreamstalking" by her mentor, a Mexican lady named Doña Valencia Silva. *Dr. Marlin - The head psychiatrist of Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital. He got his job after the events of ''Dream Warriors'' and the deaths of four of the seven patients and Nancy Thompson (A Nightmare on Elm Street), a graduate student at the institution, after which his predecessor was forced to resign because of the resulting scandal. Because it was Hypnocil that was believed to be the ultimate cause of the deaths, he is unwilling to allow Juliann to keep Allison on the drug. *Dr. Watley - An arrogant psychiatrist who keeps referring to Juliann as a "witch doctor" and has major professional difficulties with her.

Reception

Both issues became the top-ranked black-and-white title on Marvel Comics, selling at #90 and #109 respectively on

Capital City A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

's associated shops. Drew Bartorillo reviewed the comics in ''Reading for Pleasure'' #6, writing that “''For those who enjoyed any of the Nightmare On Elm Street movies or the TV show, or anyone else for that matter, this magazine-size comic is a must. The black and white art is superb and you'll recognize the characters and dialog immediately''”, giving the ''Dreamstalkers'' story a 9 out of 10. Protoclown on i-Mockery writes that it's a disappointment that the comics is in black and white, owing to the "anything can happen" potential of the franchise and its dream scenery, but adds that coloring it might have been underwhelming anyway given the comic book coloring available in the 80's. He also calls Juliann Quill's death underwhelming, given how important she had been to the story up until then, speculating that it might have been a change of plans due to the artists finding out they were getting cancelled, but otherwise feels that the cliffhanger ending was as good as it could have given the circumstances. The review on ''Nightmare on Elm Street Companion'' is very positive about the comics, calling it "a wonderful homage" to the ''

Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

'' comics, and writing that the characters are very well written. The reviewer considers the second issue to be slightly weaker, but calling the artwork still very solid and the story making the reader feel for Allison's fate in the cliffhanger ending. Gavin Jasper on ''

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'' call Freddy's origin in the comics better written than the later one in ''Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare'', and writing that while Freddy's supernatural abilities aren't quite explained, but there is still enough for the reader to understand without ruining the mystique. He also compares Freddy's origin story to

Rorschach Rorschach may refer to: * Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist ** Rorschach test, his psychological evaluation method involving inkblots * Rorschach (character), a character from the comics ''Watchmen'' * Rorschach (comic book), a 2020 comic * ...

of DC Comics' ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book Limited series (comics), maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 a ...

'' (1986–87), writing that “''it’s easy to see similarity between Freddy’s upbringing and Rorschach’s. It almost spells it out that Freddy is what would’ve happened if Rorschach’s experiences led to him becoming the dog-owning child-killer that drove him off the deep end instead of a crazed vigilante''”. Cecil & Fuego of ''The Horror Show'' on YouTube are extremely positive about the comics' artwork, also pointing out the reminiscence of its artistic style to the ''Tales from the Crypt'' comics, and highlights the comics' use of shadows as a particularly strong element of the art. The duo expresses that the black-and-white gives the comic a very classic feeling and is incredibly detailed at many parts. They state that the backstory on Amanda Krueger is more detailed than anywhere else in the franchise, such as '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child'' (1989), and is portrayed in a much more disturbing fashion, arguing that her compassion becomes her undoing.

References

{{A Nightmare on Elm Street Comics set in Ohio Comics set in the 1990s Comics about revenge Fiction set in 1990 Psychiatric hospitals in fiction Defunct American comics