The popularity of ''

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, ...

'' film-series and of its main character,

Leatherface Leatherface is a fictional character in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' film series created by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper. He first appears in '' The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' as a disfigured, cannibalistic and mentally unstable mass murdere ...

, led to the publication of several comic books based on the

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

. In 1991, Northstar Comics released a

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

titled ''Leatherface'' — a loose adaptation of '' Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III'' — that ran for four issues. In 1995,

Topps Comics Topps Comics was a division of Topps, Topps Company, Inc. that published comic books from 1993 to 1998, beginning its existence during a short comics-industry boom that attracted many investors and new companies. It was based in New York City, at ...

released ''Jason Vs. Leatherface'', a three-issue miniseries that had

Jason Voorhees Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...

of '' Friday the 13th'' fame moving in with Leatherface and his cannibalistic family. After the success of the 2003 remake of ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'',

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...

set up a "House of Horror"

licensing A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

division which licensed the ''Texas Chainsaw Massacre''

Avatar Press Avatar Press is an independent American comic book publisher founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, and based in Rantoul, Illinois. Avatar Press is most notable for publishing Bad girl art, bad girl comics, such as ''Faust (Avatar Press), Fau ...

for use in new comic-book stories, the first of which appeared in 2005. In 2006, Avatar Press lost the license to the

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 ...

imprint,

Wildstorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wilds ...

, which subsequently published new stories based on the franchise.

Northstar Comics

Writer Mort Castle based the 1991 ''Leatherface'' miniseries loosely on '' Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III'' film. In his words: "The series was very loosely based on '' Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III''. I worked from the original script by

David Schow David J. Schow (born July 13, 1955) is an American author of horror novels, short stories, and screenplays. His credits include films such as '' Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III'', '' The Crow'' and '' The Hills Run Red''. Most of ...

and the heavily edited theatrical release of director Jeff Burr, but had more or less free rein to write the story the way it should have been told. The first issue sold 30,000 copies". Kirk Jarvinen drew the first issue, and Guy Burwell finished the rest of the series. The comics, not having the same restrictions from the

MPAA The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...

, featured much more gore than the finished film. The ending, as well as the fates of several characters, was also changed.Movie Maniac Comic Books
/ref> The roles of the Sawyer family members and their personal backgrounds are also elaborated on, for instance Mama reveals that Grandpa was adopted into the family, Tinker is revealed to be a former hippy and Tex is seen to be the more sane family member, actually showing some signs of remorse. After completing ''Leatherface'', Northstar planned to publish other ''Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' miniseries and one-shots, which included an adaptation of the original 1974 film (previews of the first two covers of the miniseries were included in ''Leatherface'' #4) written by J. J. Birch, Tim Vigil and

Val Mayerik Val Mayerik (born March 29, 1950) is an American comic book and commercial artist, best known as co-creator of the satiric character ''Howard the Duck'' for ''Marvel Comics''. Biography Early life and career Val Mayerik was born in Youngstown, ...

; and two original one-shots entitled ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Portfolio'' (produced by

Dave Dorman Dave Dorman (born 1958 in Michigan) is a science fiction, horror and fantasy illustrator best known for his ''Star Wars'' artwork. Early life Dorman's parents are Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jack N. Dorman and Phyllis Dorman. Both parents ar ...

, J. J. Birch,

Vince Locke Vincent Locke () is an American comic book artist known for his work on ''Deadworld'' and '' A History of Violence'' and for his ultraviolent album covers for death metal band Cannibal Corpse. Biography Locke began work in 1986 illustrating ''De ...

and Guy Burwell) and ''Leatherface Special'', written by

Mike Baron Mike Baron (born July 1, 1949) is an American comic book writer. He is the creator of ''Badger'' and the co-creator of ''Nexus'' with Steve Rude. Biography Mike Baron entered the comics industry with an illustrated text piece in ''Weird Trips Ma ...

, which would have explored Leatherface's childhood. All of these comic projects went unpublished.

Topps Comics

In 1995,

released the three-issue miniseries ''Jason vs. Leatherface'', 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 ...

crossover between the '' Friday the 13th'' and ''Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' franchises, written by

Nancy A. Collins Nancy A. Collins (born September 10, 1959) is an American horror fiction writer best known for her series of vampire novels featuring her character Sonja Blue. Collins has also written for comic books, including the ''Swamp Thing'' (vol. 2) se ...

with art by Jeff Butler. The series premise involves accidentally placing

, the main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

of ''Friday the 13th'', on a train headed for a dumping ground in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

when Crystal Lake is drained of radioactive waste by a company. Running amok on the train, Jason kills its crew and causes the vehicle to crash in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, where he meets and befriends Leatherface and his inbred family (consisting of

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

Hitchhiker Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads have ...

, Grandpa and several other original relatives, all of them dead). After he lives with the family for a day, relations between them and Jason ultimately sour due to a series of misunderstandings, which result in Leatherface and Jason battling. In the end, the Hitchhiker apparently kills Jason with a sledgehammer and the family dumps him in a nearby lake. But Jason arises several hours later and decides to begin trekking back "home" to Camp Crystal Lake, away from the place that encouraged dangerous things such as friendship.A film of the comic was talked about in 2008, but died down after the remake of ''Friday the 13''
''Jason vs. Leatherface'' - Digital Retribution Comic Review

Avatar Press

In 2005,

began to release ''Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' comics, set in the continuity of the 2003 remake of the original film, but serving as prequels to the film. The comics had a multitude of variant covers, such as "Gore", "Terror" and "Die Cut". The first comic released, a one-shot entitled ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Special'' (written by

Brian Pulido Brian Pulido (born November 30, 1961) 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 Livin ...

and drawn by Jacen Burrows), involves three escaped convicts and their two female companions encountering the cannibalistic Hewitt family after a botched robbery of Luda Mae Hewitt's general store. The Hewitts kill all the convicts but keep one of the females, Charity, as she is

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...

. After Charity miscarries she escapes, only to be murdered by Leatherface.''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Special'' #1 - Digital Retribution Comic Review
/ref> After the release of ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Special'', Avatar printed a three-issue miniseries entitled ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Grind'' — written by Brian Pulido with art by Daniel HDR. The miniseries involves a bus full of choir-girls, along with their teachers and the teachers' daughter, becoming stranded in Texas when their bus breaks down near the Hewitt house. When the two teachers leave to seek aid, Leatherface kills them, while Hoyt finds the girls, plants drugs on them, and locks them in the Blair Meat Company where they wait for Leatherface to kill them. The Hewitts kill all the girls apart from one who escapes, only to be arrested and placed in an insane asylum after Hoyt uses a letter (written by her to her abusive father, and in which she professes to having recurring homicidal thoughts) to make it look like she killed her friends.''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Grind'' - Digital Retribution Comic Review
The final release by Avatar Press, the one-shot ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Fearbook'', had text written by

Antony Johnston Antony may refer to: * Antony (name), a masculine given name and a surname * Antony, Belarus, a village in the Hrodna Voblast of Belarus * Antony, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, United Kingdom ** Antony House, Cornwall, United Kingdom * Antony, ...

with art by Daniel HDR and Mauricio Dias. The premise of this one-shot involves a quartet of friends in the midst of a cross-country trip who run afoul of Sheriff Hoyt, who forcibly takes them to the Hewitt house, where Leatherface kills them all except one, a girl named Lucy, whom he knocks unconscious; Leatherface, when Lucy awakens, puts on a mask created from her boyfriend's face and hammers one of his own masks onto her before forcing her to dance with him as she succumbs to her injuries.''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Fearbook'' - Digital Retribution Comic Review

Wildstorm Comics

After Avatar lost the rights to ''Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' and to

's other horror properties,

started an ongoing series written by

Dan Abnett Dan Abnett (born 12 October 1965) is an English comic book writer and novelist. He has been a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, sinc ...

and

Andy Lanning Andy Lanning is an English comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett. Career Lanning works primarily at Marvel Comics and DC Comics as an inker. He has also pencill ...

with art by Wesley Craig, under the direction of editor

Ben Abernathy Ben Abernathy is an editor at Madefire, a company that creates motion books. Abernathy was previously a group editor at DC Comics, and prior to that, a senior editor at WildStorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics. Biography Abernathy has held ...

. Once again, this series featured the continuity established in the 2003 remake. However, unlike Avatar, Wildstorm's series contributed to the mythos by picking up one year after the film ended, effectively generating a sequel: Leatherface has one arm, Erin has been placed in a

mental institution Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

, the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

have Sheriff Hoyt's offices under investigation, and an uncle of Pepper (a victim from the film), one of the senior agents on the case, has the Hewitts in his sights. The storyline followed two new sets of characters, along with the Hewitts themselves: the team of FBI agents, led by the vengeful Agent Baines, and a TV news-crew, led by local

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...

Kim Burns, eager for a new scoop on the murders in Fuller, Texas. The series also expanded the roles of some of the more minor characters from the films, such as the Tea Lady, Henrietta and Jedidiah. Whereas the films portray these characters as some of the more relatively harmless members of the family, the comics showed them as just as demented and depraved as Leatherface and Hoyt; in one scene, Henrietta and the Tea Lady rape a drugged FBI agent in an attempt to impregnate themselves, and in another Jedidiah kills an FBI agent (who has attempted to arrest his family) with a cleaver to the face. Wildstorm also introduced members of Leatherface's extended family not present in either of the two films: Ezekiel "Zeke" Hewitt and Shiloh Hewitt. During the storyline, the characters discover that the other residents of Fuller know of the Hewitts' activities and are complicit, living under a "code of silence" and not interfering. At one point, Kim Burns escapes the Hewitts' "family dinner" and arrives at a local bar, only to be refused the use of the phone ("we don't want no Hewitt trouble") by the patrons before being dragged out by Leatherface himself. At the conclusion of the storyline, Kim crashes the Hewitts' truck, sending Leatherface careening out the back, and escapes onto the highway and into the night, wielding Leatherface's own chainsaw. In 2007 Wildstorm canceled its ongoing New Line horror comics in favor of publishing mini-series and specials based on the

movie franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...

s. The ongoing ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' series came to an end after a six-issue run. Replacing them two months later came ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Cut!'', a one-issue special written by

Will Pfeifer Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

and with art by Stefano Raffaele. This issue takes place thirty years after the first film, with a group of film-students seeking to document the Hewitts. One month later, a second special, ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: About a Boy'', written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and with art by Joel Gomez, would follow. This issue featured a back story on Thomas Hewitt as a child prior to the events of ''The Beginning''. A third one-shot titled "Hoyt, By Himself" reunited writers Abnett and Lanning with artist Wesley Craig and focused on Hoyt's past, in particular expanding on his time as a prisoner of war during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and perforce taking up cannibalism to survive. In September 2007 Leatherface appeared alongside

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 ...

in the first issue of ''New Line Cinema's Tales of Horror'' in a story entitled "The Texas Chainsaw Salesman", written by Christos Gage and Peter Milligan. In late 2008, Wildstorm started a three-issue miniseries, ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Raising Cain'', written by Bruce Jones with art by Chris Gugliotti. The miniseries centers around two members of the Hewitt family, twin brothers separated at birth: Cain and Abel, with Abel raised by the Hewitts and Cain by a normal, loving family.Wildstorm

References

External links

Icons of Fright

''Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' at Avatar

Comic Monsters interview with
Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Wesley Craig

, Randy Mayor and Wes Abott {{DEFAULTSORT:Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The

Comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...