Kolchak Tales: Blood!

Once as a kid while staying home alone sick from school I stumbled on the movie "Kolchak: The Night Strangler" playing on one of the local TV stations. It was a nice blend of creepy and funny...plus it had the dad from "A Christmas Story" so I was hooked pretty quick. When I later asked my mom about it, she told me there was another movie...and a series! I eventually sought them out, on VHS and later DVD. One year for Christmas my mom even managed to track down a paperback copy of  "The Kolchak Papers", a book that collected the novels by Jeff Rice that the two movies were based on. Looking back, now that my mom has passed, I see more and more that she really did understand and encourage me with the things I loved. Thanks Mom!

So, of course with my love of the celluloid Kolchak, I was eager to eat up the comic adventures published by Moonstone. Today, Lets take a look at one of the three stories included in 2006's "Kolchak Tales: Ghost Stories" Written by Tom DeFalco, with art by Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema, here's "Blood!"

"Tuesday, October 17...Word had recently leaked out that the Environmental Protection Agency had launched a full scale investigation into Windsor's dumping practices." Like the movies "The Night Stalker", "The Night Strangler" and the series that followed, the story begins with reporter Carl Kolcak's narration. He's currently between jobs and hoped that checking out Windsor Chemical's press conference would give him an opportunity to network, maybe find a lead on a new job. 

Instead, he finds brother and sister owners, Jason and Cameron Windsor (great grandchildren of the founder) arguing about responsibility, and illegal dumping of their company's chemical waste. Kolchak isn't sure the story is worth his time...until a mysterious woman named Grace shows up at his door. 

She identifies herself as a former employee of Windsor, and tells Kolchak she's worried about the safety of Jason and Cameron. There's already been one murder! She gives Kolchak a list of names, but he's not the first one to locate the men. Truck driver William Beatty, is wrapping up a delivery when a specter appears. Kolchak later hears that Beatty was killed. His interest increased, he heads off to meet the next name on the list. Howard Jordan arranges to meet Carl later at a secluded spot. When Carl arrives, Jordan is there with several truckers. 

He want's to know what Kolchak knows and who else has talked. Before the conversation gets much further, the specter appears again! The creature slaughters the men, screaming about them "destroying her" and having his "justice". When the dust clears, only Kolchak is left alive. After spending 36hrs in police custody, and then finding Grace unexpectedly waiting in the back seat of his car with a warning that Jason and Cameron are in grave danger, he's determined to get to the bottom of this story! Arriving at Windsor Chemical, our intrepid reporter tries to question Cameron about the EPA investigation, and murder of several of her employees, but is quickly interrupted by the ghoul! 

Kolchak argues her innocence, and says it was her brother Jason that was responsible prompting the ghost to seek out Mr. Windsor. Not wanting to see her brother harmed, Cameron charges in, "I won't let you murder Jason. He's my only family! My only blood!" This causes the creature to pause long enough for Grace to enter the scene and urge him to come with her. 

Jason, shocked by what has happened, owns up to his responsibility...and the ghost vanishes. Monday, October 23, Jason and Cameron have another press conference acknowledging their company's wrong doing and swearing to make things right. Standing by some family portraits, Kolchak summarizes the events, and speculates on the identity of the creature as we, the reader, see one final portrait...great grandfather Windsor and his wife...Grace!

This was amazing! DeFalco's story captured the tone of the Kolchak movies and series perfectly, and the art by Frenz and Buscema worked really well too!  Now I have an overwhelming urge to break out my DVD set and binge watch "Kolchak" The Night Stalker"...