{"id":19,"date":"2008-02-26T05:17:21","date_gmt":"2008-02-26T05:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/houseofhorror\/?p=19"},"modified":"2025-08-04T17:35:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T17:35:21","slug":"freddy-kruegers-a-nightmare-on-elm-street-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/houseofhorror\/freddy-kruegers-a-nightmare-on-elm-street-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Freddy Krueger’s A Nightmare on Elm Street #1"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>
\nFreddy Krueger’s A Nightmare on Elm Street #1<\/font><\/strong>
\nWritten by Steve Gerber
\nArt by Rich Buckler, Tony DeZuniga, and Joe Jusko
\nReleased: 1989
\nPublisher: Marvel Comics
\nStory: Dreamstalkers Part 1<\/p>\n

Premise<\/strong>: In 1989, Marvel Comics began publishing the first comic book series to feature Freddy Krueger and the Nightmare on Elm Street mythos. Freddy Krueger\u2019s A Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em> was published in classic black and white, on magazine sized stock, running for two issues before it was cancelled. <\/p>\n

Plot Breakdown (spoilers)<\/strong>: In Springwood, paramedics are called to the home of Allison Hayes. Allison, a teenage girl, was found by her parents in bed, severely wounded and barley breathing. The paramedics, thinking Allison\u2019s parents abused her, call the police to investigate. Meanwhile, in New York City, Dr. Juliann Quinn is in the process of moving back to Springwood. She is having nightmares relating to child murderer Fred Krueger, and wants to find a way to confront and stop the horrific dreams. On the plane ride over, Juliann reads a letter from a nun who worked with Amanda Krueger, Freddy\u2019s birth mother. The nun details the events of Amanda\u2019s rape at the hands of the one hundred patients at Our Lady of Sorrows mental institution. Following the letter, Juliann examines the psychologist\u2019s report on Krueger, compiled during his trial. The next morning, after another terrifying nightmare, Juliann attends a meeting at Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital, where she is assigned Allison\u2019s case. Allison survived her ordeal and now refuses to sleep. Juliann meets with the girl, and the two discover they share the same nightmare about Fred Krueger. Juliann is concerned, as she knows Krueger has targeted her because her parents were part of the mob that burned him alive, but she doesn\u2019t understand why he has targeted Allison. Later, Juliann convinces Allison to partake in a dream exercise, which will allow Allison to exert control over dreams. Allison reluctantly agrees. Starting out, Juliann draws a picture of a rock formation and hypnotically suggests to Allison that the two can meet there in the dream. After they fall asleep, they soon awake on top of the rock formation in Juliann\u2019s drawing. Juliann takes Allison through some dream exercises, allowing Allison to tap into her \u201cdream power.\u201d Just as the two dreamers make some progress, Freddy appears and threatens to kill them both. The rock under the girls\u2019 feet begins to change to a tissue substance, making them sink into the ground. Freddy, gloating over their impending doom, reveals the rock formation is his head and they are sinking in his brain.
\n<\/p>\n

The Good<\/strong>: Freddy Krueger\u2019s A Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em> is a wonderful homage to the old Tales from the Crypt <\/em>comic book style, giving readers a sense of familiarity. The black and white artwork is clean and very detailed, with enough gore elements to keep any horror fan happy. Freddy\u2019s face shot at the beginning is perfectly illustrated, for example, along with the eye-catching cover. The writing is very strong here, as the characters are well written and the pacing is very good – no part of the story feels rushed or sluggish. Popular elements from the film series, specifically A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors<\/em>, are used effectively, laying out the \u201crules\u201d for Freddy and the dream world. Little \u201creal life\u201d nuances add fun to the story too, with the nun\u2019s letter being addressed to \u201cMr. Quinn\u201d and Juliann\u2019s confusion over Allison\u2019s slang. Freddy\u2019s origin and motivations are presented to the reader convincingly, without it being blatant exposition. The origin story featured is taken from The Life and Death of Freddy Krueger<\/em>, with expanded areas allowing for more detail. Freddy\u2019s Dead: The Final Nightmare<\/em> effectively retconned this origin tale, so it is no longer in continuity. However, it is still an enjoyable read. Kudos need to be given for Freddy\u2019s appearances, as he is kept in the shadows, revealed slowly until issue\u2019s end. <\/p>\n

The Bad<\/strong>: Not much. Freddy\u2019s glove is sometimes detailed to have five blades, instead of four. Juliann\u2019s dream in New York borderlines on silly, but by no means is it a detriment to the story. There are some iffy elements concerning the use of hypnosis to be a part of another\u2019s dream.<\/p>\n

Final Comments<\/strong>: A well written and illustrated first issue, providing an excellent introduction to the world of A Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em>. Some elements are no longer in continuity, but it doesn\u2019t distract from the overall story.
\nGrade<\/strong>: A-<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Freddy Krueger’s A Nightmare on Elm Street #1 Written by Steve Gerber Art by Rich Buckler, Tony DeZuniga, and Joe Jusko Released: 1989 Publisher: Marvel Comics Story: Dreamstalkers Part 1 Premise: In 1989, Marvel Comics began publishing the first comic book series to feature Freddy Krueger and the Nightmare on Elm Street mythos. Freddy Krueger\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,10],"tags":[4,10,67,7,65,66,63,62,64],"class_list":["post-19","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-nightmare-on-elm-street","category-comic-books","tag-a-nightmare-on-elm-street","tag-comic-books","tag-dreamstalker-part-1","tag-freddy-krueger","tag-joe-jusko","tag-marvel-comics","tag-rich-buckler","tag-steve-gerber","tag-tony-dezuniga"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/houseofhorror\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/houseofhorror\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/houseofhorror\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/houseofhorror\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/houseofhorror\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/houseofhorror\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":194,"href":"https:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/houseofhorror\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19\/revisions\/194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/houseofhorror\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/houseofhorror\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/houseofhorror\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}