Nerds That Geek Comic Book Review: 'Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic Blood-Suckers' #1

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Of the many horror stories that I love and revisit as often as possible, one that continues to find a special place in my heart is the 2002 film, Bubba Ho-Tep. That story, which features Elvis Presley and J.F.K. fighting an evil mummy in a rest home is simply a delight to watch over and over again, because of the fact that it is so original and so unique and quite frankly, so damn perfect. It’s just a magical tale that Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis sell with their fine performances and well, it’s one that I often think of because of the ‘What if?’ factor. 
 
After all, there was, for a time, the idea of a sequel floated about called Bubba Nosferatu and man, how cool would it have been to see Bruce don the Elvis outfit once again to kick some vampire tail from here to Graceland? But alas, that project has yet to come to fruition since there were some creative differences between Bruce and Don Coscarelli when it comes to the script and that’s okay, because it’s best those two men be on the same page over such ideas and also because, what cannot be explored on screen, can be explored in the comic book world.
 
Because after many years of playing ‘What If?’ in my mind, IDW Publishing, and Joe R. Lansdale have delivered unto us, a magnificent prequel/sequel to a magnificent film by way of Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic Blood-Suckers. Now this particular tale takes us back in time to when Elvis was still at the top of his game and enjoying the good life through and through. But the Colonel comes knocking with an all-important mission for the King, one that comes from President Nixon himself in that…there’s an alien threat that has arrived on our world and it will be up to the King and a rag tag group of fighters to deal with this threat accordingly, and well, it’s inherently clear after reading the first issue of this new series, that I, and other fans of this franchise are going to be in for quite the treat.
 
That’s largely due to the fact that this prequel feels organic in every way imaginable. You can hear Bruce Campbell’s voice in your head whenever Elvis speaks on the page, and much like the movie, the story takes its time to allow for us to get to know the characters and build their world properly and holy cow, what a world this comic is building. This book just feels like a classic 1970’s horror film, with monsters lurking around every corner and it includes artwork that quite frankly has that washed out feel of the era and well, it does such a good job with both elements that when the issue came to a close I was hungry for more.
 
If anything, this is it. This is the sequel/prequel fans of this franchise have been waiting for and what matters most, it’s good. It’s damn good, and I love the fact that while this tale feels independent in its own unique way, it found a way to tie together the connective tissue it shares with the film, something that serves as a reminder that we are going to be in for a wild ride, one that will make us laugh and leave us in awe and this is a series that I’ll definitely be following closely in the months to come because the King is back baby, and those blood-suckers better beware…

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