Some of the most persistent exports from the United States in the past 30 years are pop culture items. Movies, music, and other trends—no matter how popular they are back in their native land—have gone on to have second lives in other countries, sometimes with exciting and unexpected results. Combine that with the trend in the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s of adapting blockbusters into comic books and one has the ingredients for some surprising graphic treats from overseas. As recounted by Vern on his site, the Hungarian comic book adaptations of various ‘80s films resulted in some interesting images that offer a glimpse into how these films were perceived elsewhere. The garish covers with their attempts at approximating the faces of the actors gave way to black-and-white panels that are just jam-packed with words, nearly edging out the rest of the artwork. These comics used to be hosted on a UK-based Cannon Films fan site, which has apparently vanished completely (much like Cannon Films themselves).
Luckily, some enterprising soul gathered many of these together onto one site where readers can see adaptations of Beverly Hills Cop, Aliens (retitled A Planet Called Death), Stallone vehicle Cobra, and The Terminator (retitled The Dealer of Death…what is with Hungarians and death?). Check out some samples below before heading over to the website to see other pages from the books, including what appears to be a four-page adaptation of Raiders Of The Lost Ark.