Comical Books: "Jason Vs. Leatherface"

I was gonna say "I don't know where to start with this one." But that's a lie. I know exactly where to start.

With the comic's cover warning: "Suggested for Demented Readers."

Say no more, squire. Truer words were never spoken.

"Jason Vs. Leatherface" is a rare¹ 3-issue series published by Topps Comics in the heady year of 1995.

Everything about this is interesting. Topps made their bones with baseball cards starting in the 40's. And then during the Great Comic Book Boom of the early 90's, they got into the comic book game. They published some wild stuff,² but this is as wild as they get.

Both the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Friday the 13th" franchises were in limbo at the time. The official story was that "Jason Goes to Hell" was the end of Mr. Hockey Mask in 1993. And there was a fourth "Chainsaw" film completed at the time- starring Matthew McConaughay and Renee Zellweger- but it was in limbo until 1996.³

Okay, here we go. In no particular order, let me dissect this one for you:

-The idea of  an evil pollution-happy corporation dredging Crystal Lake and accidentally raising up Jason was surprisingly clever. I didn't expect that.

-When they eat "scrambled brains," Hitchhiker flings some of them at the Cook and says "The president's been shot!" That was demented gold.

-When Hitchhiker says something untrue, he pauses, then says "Not!"...that was gold, too.⁴ 

-Jason and Leatherface cross swords immediately- they don't waste time!

-This seemingly takes place after the ninth "Friday"- he's wearing the mask from that film, as you can see above- but Jason starts the story trapped in his position from the the end of part 6. Get it together, Topps Comics!

-The Sawyers are called "the Slaughters" in this comic. No clue why. A rights issue tangled up with the name?

 -Fun fact- in 1995, when this was published, New Line owned the rights to Leatherface and Jason AND Freddy. Missed opportunity there, not throwing Freddy in. They could've been like a super-evil Avengers.⁵

 -It's fun when Jason walks away from the train he blows up without a second thought. He was an OG regarding Cool Guys Not Looking At Explosions.

 -The "Chainsaw" continuity is totally random- Leatherface is hunting from their house in the first issue with someone called "The Hitchhiker" who kind of looks like the dude in the first film, but he talks like Bill Moseley in the second film, plus he has a swastika on his face and I don't know where that came from. And they have an obese decayed "aunt"- or is it their mom?- who appeared in the house from out of nowhere. So much "Wha?"

 -Jason has a green head with pink mounds in some panels. Is that a weird coloring error or a reoccurring alien tumor disease?

-The artwork is surprisingly competent and the violence is ridiculously graphic.⁶ Two decades before "Crossed," this out-grossed it. No, I will not inflict panels from this comic on you here in order to prove my point.

 -It's neat that Jason and Leatherface become pals. You know, some friends become enemies, some enemies become friends...

-The Cook has a huge grin that makes him look like a non-makeup Joker in most panels. According to this comic, he's Leatherface & the Hitchhiker's uncle.⁷

 -Camp Crystal Lake is in Vermont. Who knew?

 -They got a real writer to do this comic, not just some random hack! Author Nancy Collins wrote some short stories I enjoyed, plus the well-regarded vampire novel "Sunglasses After Dark."

 -The whole thing is told from Jason's perspective. It's neat to get insight into how he processes things. It's kinda the way Robert Englund said he approached Freddy Krueger- he hates those that live and love because he can never do those things. And Jason is understandably offended by Leatherface at the end because they're friends and Jason defends him and gets rebuffed for his troubles.⁸

 -I'm terribly curious to know what happens with the polluting corporation that sets its headquarters in Crystal Lake after draining the lake. Is it gonna get possessed by the town's inherent evil and hire Mitt Romney as a consultant? Paging Mr. Morse. Paging Mr. Eric Morse. Low-hanging fruit for another book here!

TLDR Executive Summary: Crazy comic series. Lots of interesting stuff. Fun if you're a fan. But I don't think it's worth the $60 it would cost you to get it on eBay.

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 1. And not just rare, but EXPENSIVE!

 2. Topps Comics' "X Files" series was actually pretty solid- I reviewed 'em here. Their "Dinosaurs Attack!" comics- not so good. I read 'em all, but won't dignify 'em with a review.

 3. There are conspiracy theories regarding the temporary suppression of the fourth "Chainsaw" film, many believe McConaughay's people tried to bury it to keep it from damaging his up-and-coming career. Maybe. But Mr. Alright-Alright-Alright has nothing to be ashamed of in the film. He's a wonderful psychopath, very compelling to watch. Zellweger is the one whose acting sucks. She even made fun of her performance in this film when she watches it in her later "serious" film, "White Oleander."

 4. Not!

 5. And Miramax owned Pinhead and Michael Myers at the time- there's a crossover that shoulda happened, too!

 6. And sometimes just gratuitous. Hacking the dog in half- ew. No.

 7. He also might be their dad since it's implied he had a sexual relationship with his sister. And he calls one of them his "brother" later in the comic- family ties are fuzzy in the Texas sticks, I reckon.

 8. As a result, I was rooting for Jason in the fight, even though he's the immortal one and didn't need my rooting.

-Phony McFakename

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