The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Grind #1
Written by Brian Pulido
Art by Daniel HDR
Released: 2006
Publisher: Avatar Press
Premise: In 2005, Avatar Press began releasing titles from New Line Cinema’s “House of Horror” license, which includes A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Platinum Dune’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Picking up after the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Special, Avatar began publishing the three issue mini-series: The Grind.
Leatherface lives on! Writer Brian Pulido returns to unleash more psychological terror now teaming with sensational new artist Daniel HDR. Fuller Texas. Summer 1972. The Jefferson Girl’s Choir is traveling across the state for a revival meeting and makes the horrible mistake of a stop at the Hewitt family General store. They enter a horrifying world of madness and depravity that their bible-fearing beliefs couldn’t prepare them for as Leatherface, Sheriff Hoyt, Old Monty, Luda May and the entire Hewitt clan hunt them down and torture them. Can any of them survive or will they be the new masks of Leatherface?
Plot Breakdown (spoilers): Summer 1972, a small school bus has entered the small town of Fuller, Texas. Aboard, are five students from the Jefferson Girl’s Choir, their instructors Mr. and Mrs. Mislap, and the Mislap’s young daughter Ellie. One of the students, Julie Ann, writes a letter to her father, while the other girls harass her about her “criminal” history. Julie Ann’s sister, Sadie, infers their father was less than perfect and berates Julie Ann for still caring. While the girls continue to pester Julie Ann, the bus suddenly gets a flat tire. Mr. Mislap, not having a spare tire on board, walks to find help. After a short journey, he comes across the Blair Meat packing facility, and while wandering around inside for help, is quickly murdered by Leatherface. Later, after nightfall, Mrs. Mislap leaves the bus in search of her husband, only to suffer the same fate. While the girls wait for the Mislaps to return, they are soon found by Sheriff Hoyt. Hoyt, in his usual crude and abusive manner, investigates their bus and plants a tiny bag of marijuana, which he then uses as an excuse to take the girls into custody. After rounding up the frightened troop, Hoyt drives the girls to the Blair Meat facility, where he locks the five girls in a meat freezer and hands over Ellie to the Tea Lady. One of the girls, Louise, continually calls for help, beating on the freezer door. Hoyt, annoyed, releases Louise and let’s Leatherface dispose of her in front of the other choir girls. Afterward, he mentions to the sobbing girls that Thomas didn’t like her, and questions who’s next.
The Good: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Grind #1 carries the same tone as the one-shot “Special” released earlier. Pulido’s tale is a light, quick read, featuring an easy to understand setup. Pacing is better this issue too, obviously due to the longer page consideration. The artwork is solid, and unlike Special, doesn’t go overboard with the gore.
The Bad: Once again, we have throw away characters with little dimension, other than being fodder for Leatherface and co. It is not really clear on why Leatherface, Hoyt, and Tea Lady would be at the meat plant either, leaving confusion for those not familiar with the characters. Considering this tale takes place before the events in the 2003 film, we know nothing dramatic is going to happen to the villains, leaving the reader skeptical of the story’s importance. Also, nothing in this issue really urges you to pick up the next, and one wonders if Avatar is relying on horror audiences to pick up the book or is aiming for casual readers only. In addition, Avatar’s gratuitous amount of alternate covers for this issue makes collecting costly.
Final Comments: A fine introductory issue, with solid artwork, setting up new characters and introducing key villains.
Grade: C+
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