Chucky #2 Advance Review

Chucky, the killer doll with the plastic body and soul of a murderer, is alive once again and going on a This Is Your Life tour of those who stopped him before.  Returning home to the Chicago area, he sets his sights on Detective Preston and his wife Shannon, Jessie and his wife Jade.  All have managed to go on with their lives in some way or other.  Jade and Jessie have just begun to put their marriage back together, while Preston has been forcibly retired from the force because of his ealings with Chucky.  None of them realize the killer is back and coming for them, starting with Preston.

We pick up where we left off in the last issue, Chucky having just given the Detective a major shock to his system and Sandra armed to the teeth and facing him down.  Chucky, of course, is relentless and Sandra tries her best, but in the end it’s all in vain.  However, instead of the usual thrill he gets from the kill, Chucky finds himself deeply unfulfilled.  He decides the cure is to take care of Jade.

Chucky tracks her down and spies on her, ready for his moment to strike, when he realizes the empty feeling will just come back.  No, this can’t be just about killing.  This has to be about systematically ruining her life as she ruined his by stranding him in that body.

Chucky begins to follow Jade through her life, quietly spying and learning all he can.  He even has time along the way to take care of some punks in an especially gruesome manner.  Finally, Chucky has enough to enact his plan.  He kidnaps Jessie as Preston’s colleagues find him and his wife finally, allowing phase two of Chucky’s plan to go underway.

The second issue of Chucky’s first solo comic by Brian Pulido and Jos Medors really kicks up the raunch factor in the series.  Lewd jokes and sexual comments are the rule and not the exception.  As with the first issue, the story plays to all the clichés of the modern horror genre as well as the tone of the later movies in the Child’s Play series.  The killings are as grisly as Devil’s Due will allow them to be, and at times a little overplayed, particularly the shot of the dumpster towards the end of the book.

The artwork is the shining feature of the book, keeping the realistic tone to keep you feeling like you’re watching the movies.  However, some of the action scenes were done in a bit of a choppy manner.  For instance, in the beginning of the book a lot more of the focus is on Chucky, cutting out a lot of the background action so he can get in his monologues.  At one point, when smacked into a shelf in the next panel he’s holding a chainsaw.  Now, if you hadn’t noticed it tucked away in the background of the previous one you would be confused as to where it came from.

Fans of the movies may enjoy seeing their favorite doll back in action.  If you’re not one of them, or tapered off after the 3rd movie in the series, then you may want to give this a pass.

3 out of 5 Inks
  

05.31.07