Ducky. Kim Roberts (Writer), Pramit Santra (Art), Chris Allen (Colours & Letters), Swampline Comics 2018

A very enjoyable re-working of the Chucky horror film with a cast of ducks and hens. When a serial rapist is trapped, deserted by his accomplice and fatally wounded by the police he does not die quietly. A widowed mother buys a doll for her son from a peddler and trouble and lashings of gore follow from there. Exactly as it should do.
Kim Roberts has nicely avoided playing the story for laughs, it needs a serious intent to come off. The change of cast and the very smart compression of the story into a comic refreshes the story nicely and gives it a happily grim edge. The plot is good fun and the story makes the most of it, it solves the perennial problem in horror, people acting stupidly in order to get into trouble. The child and an evil doll give every adult an opportunity to be disbelieving and credible at the same time.
Pramit Santra's art is great, the cast are very expressive and suitably humorous at the same time. He carries the need to be humours, a cast of barnyard fowl is always going to be ridiculous, at the same time they are given weight and intent. The art captures the writing to give Ducky in particular a tremendous energy and nasty life, he is threatening and unpleasant no matter what he looks like. The rest of the cast move out of their stereotypes to be individual and that gives the story more weight and impact. No one is an anonymous victim, they have a chance to be someone and their encounters with Ducky develop into real confrontations.
Chris Allen's colours give the context, action and in particular the gore force and impact. The colours pick out the details of the story and add greatly to the atmosphere of the story. The lettering is unobtrusive and natural to read in the panels, the low key sound effects work a treat
Ducky takes a ridiculous idea , makes it more ridiculous and finishes with an good fun horror story, impressive work by very talented creators.
Chief Wizard Note:This is a review copy I was very kindly sent by Kim Roberts at Swampline Comics. It can be purchased from https://www.swamplinecomics.com/shop, you really should give yourself the pleasure of a smart comic, a sure path to sparking joy.