Broken Frontier

Horror is at its best when something completely innocent and innocuous is changed into something evil and nefarious. Take, for instance, the roadside motel. Thousands of people have stayed there on long journeys to visit friends and family out of town. It took Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho to put the fear into people that the awkward young man at the front counter might be a cross-dressing, knife-wielding, well, psycho.

Or how about summer camp. At one time, it was thought of a way for kids to enjoy a bit of independence, meet new friends, and experience new things. The Friday the 13th series turned it into a place where you might meet your maker at the business end of a machete being held by somebody wearing a hockey mask.

Want more examples? Okay. What about the ocean? Jaws. That farmhouse next door you go for directions? Texas Chain Saw Massacre. That vacation cabin in the woods? Evil Dead. What about your very own family? Certainly your son, daughter or brother can’t be scary, can they? Watch The Omen, The Exorcist, or Halloween.

The Child’s Play franchise took this idea to a logical, and some would say absurd, next step. Certainly inspired by all those movies listed above, the movies also tied into the cultural landscape of the time. The first film was released in 1988, right at the tail end of the Cabbage Patch Kid phenomenon. These were the dolls that were so sought after that the respect kids had for their parents went up or down depending on whether or not they brought a doll home. Demand was so high that near riots broke out when the dolls went on sale.

Now, imagine. What if you finally get your hands on one of these dolls and you find something is wrong with it? No, it’s not missing an arm or has its stuffing falling out. Instead, the doll is inhabited by the spirit of an evil mass murderer. And it has come to life, making your friends and family its next targets.

For a lot of you, the concept seems downright silly (and, I’ll be honest with you, I include myself in this category). But for a lot of people, something as sweet and pure as a child’s plaything becoming so deadly and malevolent really resonated with them, to the tune of $44,196,684 in worldwide box office, four sequels, and now, a comic book.
The comic book continues the story from the movies as Chucky tracks down Andy Barclay, the child from the first movie, now all grown up. Creatively, the miniseries is on good ground. After all, it’s written by horror comic legend Brian Pulido (he of Evil Ernie and Lady Death fame). But is there an audience out there for a Chucky comic book?

In my column last week, I noted that Wildstorm is cancelling its three ongoing New Line Cinema horror adaptations—Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre—and replacing them with a series of specials and limited series. The February 2007 issues of these titles sold 8,407, 8,964 and 7,650 copies respectively, positively deadly for a mainstream book. Heck, the first issues only sold 18,700, 15,800, and 15,600 respectively, placing the books well out of the Diamond Top 100. And these three franchises are arguably more popular than the Chucky franchise.

       

       

However, while these sales figures might be bad for a mainstream publisher (Wildstorm is part of DC Comics), they are fairly good for an independent publisher like Devil’s Due. The February sales on Texas Chainsaw Massacre are about 1,000 copies higher than Devil’s Due’s horror franchise Hack/Slash’s 2005 team-up with Evil Ernie.

If Chuck can meet the sales figures on Wildstorm’s cancelled titles, and they more than make up for the licensing fees Devil’s Due has to pay, it could very well be considered a hit. If that’s the case, we might not have seen the last of the Good Guy doll gone bad.

Also out this week:

• Amazons Attack #1

When we last saw the Amazons, they were being shifted to another plane of existance in the pages of Infinite Crisis after suffering a costly battle with Brother Eye’s OMACs. Well, they’re back, sick and tired of being attacked. They’re launching an all-out offensive on the United States. What side is Wonder Woman on? And are the combined heroes of the DC Universe enough to stop them?

Personally, its good to see DC create a crossover around Wonder Woman. She is one of DC’s oldest and longest lasting characters, and she deserves all the props she can get. The fact that this series is in the talented hands of  Will Pfeifer (Catwoman) and Pete Woods (Superman) is further proof that DC is giving its leading lady the respect that she deserves.  

Will Pfeifer (W), Pete Woods (A), DC Comics, $2.99. Six-Issue Miniseries.

• X-Men: First Class #8

This is the that issue of this miniseries! Yes, the last and final issue! This is your last chance to read the adventures of the first class of the Xavier Institute! Until, that is, the special that will hit the stands a month or so from now or the ongoing series that is set to come after that.

I guess the telling of never-before-seen-yet-in-continuity adventures of the original X-Men are more popular than the never-before-seen-yet-in-continuity  adventures of the Avengers, because the First Class has made the upgrade to ongoing while Earth’s Mightiest Heroes continue to existing only in miniseries form. But regardless, these series provide a change from the typical Marvel book while fleshing out the history of the characters. I’m glad that they are finding an audience. 

Jeff Parker (W), Roger Cruz (A), Marvel Comics, $2.99. Last Issue.

• Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #35

It all comes to a head here. Dwayne McDuffie’s arc comes to an end, bring the series to an end with it. It was revealed that one fourth of the Anti-Life Equation  resides inside Firestorm. Darkseid makes a last ditch effort to get his hands on it. But will he succeed? And if he does, will Jason Rusch survive the process?

 I liked this series quite a bit. Sure, the new Firestorm wasn’t Ronnie Raymond, a fact that doomed the series before it started in the minds of a lot of potential readers, but Jason Rusch had unique problems, an interesting supporting cast and an interesting personality. But alas, this is the final issue. I only hope he survives it, because I would like to see more of the character in the future.

Dwayne McDuffie (W), Pop Mhan (A), DC Comics, $2.99. Last Issue.

• Giant Sized Red Sonja #1

Giant Sized? She was enough of a handful regular sized!

In celebration of the character’s 35th Anniversary, Dynamite provides us with a giant sized issue honoring her rich history. In addition to a brand new story by Michael Avon Oeming and Ron Adrian, there will be three reprints in the issue, two which are printed in color for the very first time! One of which is the classic photo feature “The Wizard & Red Sonja Show”, which first appeared in Kull and the Barbarians. The woman portraying Red Sonja in those pictures? That would be Elfquest creator Wendy Pini.

This issue is a fitting tribute to the legacy of the character. Kudos to Dynamite for going the extra mile to make this special truly special.. It seems hard to believe that Red Sonja is as old as I am, but at least she’s being feted in style

Various (W), Various (A), Dynamite Entertainment, $4.99. One-Shot. 

• Outsiders Annual #1

Continuing the storyline from the regular series detailing what happened during the team’s missing year, the Outsiders have decided to bust the wrongfully accused Black Lightning out of prison. Getting him out was murder—literally—as the team was presumed dead after this adventure. We’ll finally find out what went down and why people thought that.

I’ve said this before, but Judd Winick should be commended for delving into what happened during the missing year in this book and Green Arrow. Whether you love him or hate him normally, in this case he is giving fans what want by answering their lingering questions about the One Year Event. And he did it first, before DC got around to explaining the it in kast week’s World War III specials. Good for him.

Judd Winick (W), Scott McDaniel (A), DC Comics, $3.99. Annual.

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William Gatevackes is a professional writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer. He also writes periodic comic reviews for PopMatters and writes title descriptions for Human Computing’s Comicbase collection management software. Links to his writing can be found at his website, www.williamgatevackes.com.