Horror legend John Carpenter is giving a movie by the similarly legendary George A. Romero the graphic novel treatment, with John Carpenter Presents: George A. Romero's The Amusement Park hitting shelves on May 7, 2025.
The graphic novel adaptation of Romero's thought-to-be-lost 1975 film The Amusement Park comes from Storm King Comics, writer Jeff Whitehead and illustrator Ryan Carr.
Originally conceived as a public service announcement, The Amusement Park, starring Lincoln Maazel, was believed to be lost until restoration efforts were put in place working of a 16mm copy of the film found in 2017. Shudder acquired streaming rights to the film in 2021, giving audiences a chance to see the film like never before.
The graphic novel adapts the tale as follows:
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.
Carpenter, who helped acquire distribution for the upcoming comic, is a longtime Romero fan, and so was happy to help lend his iconic name to the project:
“George A. Romero’s films are legendary. They already were legendary when I was just a student, and The Amusement Parkhas 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,”
Sandy King, founder of horror specialists Storm King Comics, expands on the history between the two:
“John and George often talked about ways they might collaborate, and this project felt like a fantastic opportunity […] 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.”
John Carpenter Presents George A. Romero’s THE AMUSEMENT PARK will make its debut online and in comic stores May 7, 2025, followed by availability through all booksellers May 20, 2025. For more information and updates, head to Storm King Comics' official website. Check out the official cover artwork below.
