There are few names more iconic in the realm of horror than George A. Romero and John Carpenter, and it will be Carpenter bringing Romero’s famous lost film to life in The Amusement Park Graphic Novel. Storm King Comics has teamed up with Carpenter, writer Jeff Whitehead, and illustrator Ryan Carr to bring the film to life in a brand new format, and we’ve got your exclusive first look ahead of the graphic novel’s June 10th release.
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The Amusement Park was thought to be lost for quite some time, but The George A. Romero Foundation restored the film in one of its first projects. The Amusement Park takes aim at ageism and society’s treatment of the elderly, all through Romero’s trademark horror lens, and Whitehead and Carr knew this would be a perfect fit for the graphic novel format. That’s when Sandy King’s Storm King Comics entered the picture, and now the graphic novel is finally becoming a reality.
“George A. Romero’s films are legendary. They already were legendary when I was just a student, and The Amusement Park has a fascinating history. This is a project that’s so important to his legacy as a filmmaker, so I’m glad to lend my name to it,” said John Carpenter.
“John and George often talked about ways they might collaborate, and this project felt like a fantastic opportunity,” King explained. “We’re really happy to come together for this project, which represents George Romero’s vision through and through, filtered through the artistic lens of Ryan and Jeff.”
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“The Amusement Park holds a special place in George’s body of work because it tackles such a deeply human issue—ageism—through the lens of horror. Adapting it into a graphic novel allows us to bring his unique vision to a whole new audience. We are thrilled to collaborate with John Carpenter and Storm King Comics on this project, which honors George’s legacy in such a meaningful way,” said Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, founder and president of The GARF.
John Carpenter Presents George A. Romero’s The Amusement Park will land in comic stores on June 10th, and you can find the official description below.
“In John Carpenter Presents George A. Romero’s THE AMUSEMENT PARK, an
impatient businessman in his 20s meets an elderly man who spins a fantastic tale about a long-gone amusement park. As the conversation continues, the younger man is disturbed to learn the story of an elderly man eager to recapture the memories of youth. Instead of pleasant memories, however, this trip to the amusement park becomes a surreal microcosm of aging and its inherent challenges as bodies and minds begin to break down.
The old man finds himself abused, pushed into a horrifying series of attractions that mimic the later stages of life. Increasingly battered both mentally and physically, the man realizes he is trapped in a loop, force to relive the harrowing experience over and over. And the young man, William Lincoln, soon discovers that he and the old man have much more in common than they suspect.”
Are you excited to see The Amusement Park get the graphic novel treatment? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
