A Full Look and Breakdown of Devil’s Due’s Chucky Comic
Matt Molgaard
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Here’s a hat tip to DC’s own Nat Brehmer, who wrote an insane piece about horror comics that served as little known sequels to some of the films we love. Nat absolutely slayed that article, and it really inspired me to climb into the attic and dig through the crates until those old horror comics caught my eye.
While I headed into my mission determined to find my old Fright Night comics, it was a small handful of other titles that surprised me. I’d forgotten I owned Devil’s Due’s 2007 run of Chucky but the discovery was a welcomed one, as this book is an absolute blast.
We want to walk you through each issue of this beastly four-piece. And if you find yourself inspired to read this nutty little tale, you can track down the trade paperback from a number of different retailers on the web for an extremely reasonable price.
There’s no point in pretending I’m not astoundingly fanatical about Don Mancini and his nightmarish little creation, Chucky, of the awesome Child’s Play franchise. Don’s an awesome guy, and Chucky keeps the laughs and the goosebumps on deck and ready to dispense. These are two horror icons, no doubt, and if you’re a fan of their on-film work, you’re probably going to get a kick out of Devil’s Due’s, Chucky.
The story opens on a note designed to make genre fanatics get crazy. A group of young adults are hanging out around a comfy little bonfire, before things go south and blood starts to fly. It’s a strong introduction, and it’ll tap the nerve of the inner Friday the 13th uber-fan, as well. Chucky, slashing out in the woods, you ask? Yes, Chucky out in the woods. Chuck gets out of the foliage quick enough, and it isn’t long before readers are sucked into what ends up being a direct tie-in to the film franchise, once more welcoming Lt. Preston into the fold – this time as one of Chucky’s focal targets – along with Jade and Jesse, two other characters that should be recognizable if you’ve seen Bride of Chucky. Chuck wants revenge, as Jade, Jesse and Preston are the three primarily responsible for Chuck missing one final attempt at transferring the soul of Charles Lee Ray back into a living body. In short, Chucky’s pissed off, and someone is going to pay.
This beastly little book leaves fans hanging on a violent note, issue number two now calling your name, hoping to be more than another star crossed lover. So, I suppose what I’m saying is that Brian Pulido does everyone a major solid by basically making this book a love song to hardcore genre freaks.
The art looks savage, and it comes our way courtesy of Josh Medors, who may be the perfect acquisition for this particular project. Pulido, and the folks over at Devil’s Due made a fine selection when deciding who would illustrate this four-issue mini-series. This is a good duo, and we get some memorable pages from what really is a pretty underrated little book. It starts fast, delivers the kind of film references we can all love and doesn’t bother pulling punches, despite the fact that it’s only the series opener.
Individually rating this one likely yanks down a four out of five stars. We’ll see how the subsequent issues fit into things. Thus far, Chucky rocks!
The hunt for Preston – as well as Jade and Jesse (who, again, can all be seen in Bride of Chucky) – continues on and the body count really begins to pile up. Pulido frequently injects random but appropriate scenes that exist simply to beef up the murder count, and I’ve got no problem with that. A four-page separation from the key plot isn’t enough to ostracize me. Back to the details: of our three protagonists, one of them runs into our titular menace. I don’t want to completely ruin the surprises of the book, should you be successful in obtaining the four-issue arc, but you can expect all parties involved to be directly in the line of fire.
Who will survive Chucky?
Again, we’ve got another wicked good read right here, and if you’re a big fan of comedy in your horror, then this is your issue. Chucky drops countless punchlines, and times his jokes well. There are a few legitimately funny cracks here, but beyond the laughing we get into some very gruesome territory. Expect all sorts of dismemberment and knife magic from Charles, who, as we’ve come to expect, shows no one mercy. He’s as ruthless as it gets, and he’s just as imposing on page as he is on screen.
I don’t need to tell you that you need to find this book, I’m pretty sure you already know that.
For the record, this is another four-star effort.
Will the third issue of this glorious book deliver more big, gratuitous gore? More hilarity? More slick film nods?
The quick answer is yes, and for the sake of time saving, we’re going to keep things a bit condensed. I know you’ve all got things to do.
As for the details we’re going to share, well, they involve plenty of additional murder, a small (smaller than that on display in issue #2) handful of jokes, and some devious plotting from Chucky. The person he kidnapped in the last issue (again, there’s no need to spoil those sorts of details) is also being framed by the red-headed killer doll. And that killer doll, well he’s still got a few people (people he considers responsible for preventing him from escaping the confines of the plastic Good Guys doll) to track down and slaughter. For the record, he makes some very big progress in his murder mission in this third issue.
It would have been nice to get a few additional big jokes from this book. There are a few zingers to admire, but it’s just a tad lighter than the first two issues. Chucky isn’t close to being a seriously toned killer, even on page, but the second issue, which featured the biggest dose of horror humor, is thus far the major shiner of the series. The first issue was strong, as was the third (I admit I wasn’t crazy about some of the decision making on the part of the characters; it’s tough to like many personalities in this story), but that second book? It’s on a different level.
Let’s keep marching…
This is where all the conflict – all the cat and mouse, come to a screeching halt that ultimately leaves Jade facing off – one on one – with Chuck. I don’t need to tell you how the story ends, as you know how things have played out for everyone’s favorite killer doll in each of the franchise films. Rarely do we get the grim, heartbreaking finale that stirs the emotions, instead we often a see a surprisingly uplifting climax. This little storyline doesn’t deviate much from what we’ve generally seen from the films: Chucky goes to war, and comes out looking like he met a merciless gang equipped with switch blades and crowbars. You should absolutely stick around for the final exchange between the heroine and the villain, as it makes for great entertainment. If you’re not interested in hunting this monster down, don’t wonder if you’ve missed something ground breaking, that’s not what this book is about; this is about ruthless horror, plain and simple.
Brian Pulido goes out with a bang, offering up a taut and lengthy battle between Jade and Chucky that ultimately comes together in one big ball of bloody mayhem. There’s something about this one – it could be the setting – that feels very much like the second film, or more particularly, the beginning and conclusion of the second film.
Nostalgic or not, the story ends as it began, with a big burst of explosive violence and severed limbs. Even if it isn’t exactly perfect, Chucky is no doubt worth tracking down!
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