50-Year-Old Sleeper Hit Is Getting a Brand New Story That's Perfect for Halloween

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Riff Raff and Magenta introduce Brad and Janet to the Time Warp in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Image via 20th Century Fox

Jason is an award-winning journalist whose writing career dates back to when he developed the ability to use a crayon. He, most notably, worked previously as a "professional fan," as he likes to call it, at CinemaBlend, for which he wrote about anything and everything under the pop culture umbrella... especially Batman. His passion for the art of cinema began even earlier, stemming from repeat viewings of The Wizard of Oz.
This initially led him to pursue a career in filmmaking -- and even work briefly in the industry as an extra in the straight-to-video family film, Alice Upside Down -- before deciding that his talents would be better served discussing and showing appreciation for the various forms of entertainment he is passionate about.

Cult classic cinema essentially began with The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the film adaptation of Richard O'Brien's stage musical that was initially a failure upon release until years of midnight screenings turned it into a classic. Upon its 50th anniversary, fans can now experience the world of this spooky and kooky favorite unlike ever before in a new title that brings the story off the stage and the screen.

To be published by Bit Bot Media, Rocky Horror Show: Bride of Rocky Horror is an officially licensed follow-up to the hilarious horror musical presented in the form of a graphic novel. The story picks up several years after the events of The Rocky Horror Show and sees Janet Weiss reuniting with Brad Majors, at which point a mystery begins to emerge involving the secrets that her former fiancée seems to be hiding, as well as someone named Bridget Von Frankenstein.

The creative team behind Rocky Horror Show: Bride of Rocky Horror includes GLAAD Media and Eisner Award-nominated writer Magdalene Visaggio, who once pitched a transgender version of Superboy to DC Comics. The lifelong fan of Rocky Horror, also known best for comic books like Girlmode and Vagrant Queen, teams up with illustrator Noemi Vettori of Marvel's X-Men: Unlimited fame. Josh Rodriguez is also on board as the colorist, along with Jeremiah Lambert as the letterer and Bram Stoker Award winner Soo Lee, who is handling the cover art.

A Kickstarter campaign to fund the 95-page comic book is currently live and offers supporters specific, specially created merchandise as rewards for pledging certain amounts. For instance, $15 grants the donor a digital copy of Rocky Horror Show: Bride of Rocky Horror, while a $195 donation also comes with a collection of two plush dolls, one modeled after the legendary Tim Curry's character, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, and his golden shorts-clad Frankenstein-esque creation (and the title character), Rocky Horror, who was played in the film by Peter Hinwood.

A Rocky Horror Video Game Is Also On The Slab

Frank-N-Furter stands between Magenta and Columbia in Rocky Horror Picture Show Image via 20th Century Fox

The celebration of The Rocky Horror Picture Show's 50th anniversary does not stop at this new comic book. The graphic novel's Kickstarter campaign also includes a new video game aptly titled The Rocky Horror Show Video Game, which takes inspiration directly from the original stage play.

The game comes from designer and developer Sam Beddoes of FreakZone Games, who has also created video game adaptations for cult favorite horror movies like Manos: The Hands of Fate and Deathgasm, as well as The Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures, which is based on the popular YouTuber. Beddoes is also the composer for The Rocky Horror Show Video Game's official soundtrack, which is available to receive on vinyl through the Kickstarter campaign.

By the way, it should be noted that Rocky Horror Show: Bride of Rocky Horror is not even the first official follow-up to the classic horror-comedy movie, and that is not even counting Fox's made-for-TV remake from 2016 with Laverne Cox and Victoria Justice. In 1981, The Rocky Horror Picture Show director Jim Sharman reunited with Richard O'Brien to create a standalone sequel called Shock Treatment, in which Brad and Janet (played by different actors) find their marriage put to the ultimate test when they are selected to participate in a bizarre game show.

Hopefully, this new comic book sequel is more successful than the much-forgotten Shock Treatment and is just the kind of pleasure that fans of Rocky Horror are looking for.

Rocky Horror Show: Bride of Rocky Horror currently has no release date.

the-rocky-horror-picture-show-movie-poster.jpg

Release Date August 15, 1975

Runtime 100 minutes

Director Jim Sharman

Writers Richard O'Brien, Jim Sharman

Franchise(s) The Rocky Horror Picture Show

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