Grindhouse: Doors Open At Midnight is an eight-part mini-series written and lettered by British-American writer Alex de Campi (Smoke) featuring four stories that are told in two issues each and are completely independent. The series and its stories are an homage to the B-movies and drive-in cult classics of yesteryear. The four different stories feature different illustrators and colorists and alternating covers by artists Francesco Francavilla and Dan Panosian.
The first two-issue storyline, "Bee Vixens from Mars," is illustrated by Chris Peterson and colored by Nolan Woodard. In this story, an insect-like Martian "queen" attempts to recolonize the Earth, infiltrating a small Texas community through its young women. However, the invader didn't count on "bad-a$$ chica" Garcia who seems loosely based on the character One-Eye in the 1973 movie Thriller: A Cruel Picture.
The second arc is titled "Prison Ship Antares" and illustrated by Simon Fraser and colored by Victoria Lau and Gary Caldwell respectively. The story is a blend of movies such like Chained Heat and Female Convict Scorpion with science fiction.
The third storyline is titled "Bride of Blood" and illustrated by Federica Manfredi with colors from Dorotea Gizzi and others. The fourth and final storyline is titled "Flesh Feast of the Devil Doll" and illustrated by Gary Erskine with colors from Yel Zamor and others.
Like the movies they emulate, there is strong sexual content and graphic violence. The first issue has an excellent essay by De Campi on the title's B-movie influences, with subsequent issues featuring pieces by assistant editor Ian Tucker. Like in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse movies, there are fake ads and movie posters at the end of each issue.
Collected Editions
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