Goosebusters. Chris Allen (Writer, Letters & Colours), Juan Fleites (Art). Swampline Comics (2018)

A smart and funny parody of Ghostbusters. A ghostly outbreak at the public Library interrupts Dr Beaker Peckman's hitting on a student and starts the search for paranormal activity by Dr Eggon Sprckler, Dr Laymond Stance and Dr Peckman. The story starts as it means to continue by taking key scenes from the film and using  fowl based jokes.
Chris Allen manages the difficult task of spoofing a film that was already a long way to spoofing itself. As much as carefully compressing the story so that it fits comfortably into a single issue comic, he has managed to preserve the character of the original human cast. The essential story is followed and all of the highlights are delivered. Chris Allen is not afraid to be a bit meta as the cast uses the fact of being in a comic to excellent effect, it does not break the story and give the project a nice extra push.
The film rested heavily on Bil Murray and the comic captures his charachter's spirit and some of his key line from the film. This gives the comic, as it did with the filnm, a necessary sarcastic heart that pulls in the reader. The climactic confromtation is really well staged.
Juan Fleites art is friendly and a pleasure to read. The cast are not copied from the film, they are clearly animated by the human cast and that makes the story and the jokes work. The cast are given vivid energy and life. The action is great fun, the slimimg at the hotel is great and the version of the agent of destruction is both funny and actually a threath.
Chris Allen's bright colours are exactly suited to the story, they support the comedy atsmophere and  bring out the details of the art.The sound effects are big and bold, they add the necessary crackle to the action.
Goosebusters takes a funny film and makes it a funny comic on its own terms.
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 good fun comic, a sure way to a happier life
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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.

The Egg-Xas Chainsaw Massacre. Chris Allen (Writer, Colours & Letters), Juan Fleites (Art). Swampline Comics 2018

Highly enjoyable anthropomorphic parody of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. A set of young chickens travelling in a minibus pick up a hitchhiker who turns out to be unsettling weird and is pushed from the van. He leaves a threatening message on the van. When the group arrive at their destination, one of them decides to explore an old house. This proves to be a fatally bad decision, followed by more fatally bad decisions from the rest of the group.
Chris Allen has managed to solve a difficult problem with considerable with and flair. The beating heart of the film is the violence committed by a deranged family, turning everyone into chickens goes a low way to removing the impact of the story by making it ridiculous. This would be funny, it would also lack the edge that the parody needs to be successful. The writing reduces the impact of the chicken cast by being deliberately aware of being a horror film parody, the well placed use of chicken jokes and a whole hearted commitment to gore. The creepiest scene in the film is barely less creepy in the comic, the writing is strong enough to support a jokes and chills.
Juan Fleites is friendly and inviting and brings the story to gory, funny life with a wonderful cast that are exactly the chicken characters that they should be. The cast are wonderfully expressive, the deranged family have the advantage as they are deranged. They get to be flamboyant and driving the action in the story. The group of victims are limited as their purpose is largely to be slaughtered. They do go to their fate with good jokes and a post Scream awareness of horror film rules. Leatherface is as iconic as he should be. The real star is the youngest member of the family, he is drawn to be very strange, just at the acceptable limits of strange, not quite frightening. His range of expressions and actions are big enough for him to emerge as much more of a character.
Chris Allen's colouring is a joy, it is bright and cheerful, it never gives a horror film sense. This gives the story a great contrast for the reader, it supports the parody and gives the gore an added boost. The lettering is quiet and never draws attention to itself. The sound effects are nicely muted, they support the action without distracting from it.
Unexpected, clever and very enjoyable The Egg-Xas Chainsaw Massacre is great fun. It is a pleasure to see talented creators making smart comics.
Chief Wizard Note: I was very kindly sent The Egg-Xas Chainsaw Massacre 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.

A Nightmare On Egg Street. Chris Allen (Writer, Colours, Letters), Juan Fleites (Art) Swampline Comics (2018)

A poultry based parody of A Nightmare On Elm Street that hits the sweet spot with force and accuracy. Teenagers on Egg Street are beginning to be afraid of falling asleep as Freggy Kruger is coming to kill them in their dreams. The story unfolds as it should, following the outline of the film while neatly and cleverly undercutting it. No familiarity with the film is required, the jokes work very effectively on their own, in particular the Johnny Depp jokes which are as sharp as Freggy's razor claws.
Chris Allen has delivered a story which captures the gruesome thrill of the film and successfully makes fun of it at the same time without ever undermining either. The slasher moments work effectively and give an extra lift to the jokes. The humour points up the horror by lowering the tension before it whips back at the reader.
 Juan Fleites' art is friendly and absurd, the chickens are smartly humanoid without while retaining enough chicken aspects to get the jokes and the context to work. The cast are wonderfully expressive and this pulls the reader deep into the story on its own terms. The absurd tension which is critical for the parody to work is achieved with confident skill and consistently telling detail. There is a genuine emotional context that gives the threat weight, the cast are absurd and wisecracking, they also have a vulnerability that makes Freggy the right element of nasty.
The colours bring out the details of the art and control the emotional tone of the story  really well, they give suitable prominence to the parody aspect without ever drowning out the shadows.
Parody is fantastically difficult to get right, the balance is a very delicate one that recognises the essential elements of the original while skillfully paying with them. A Nightmare On Egg Street delivers on all counts, a powerful display of creative imagination, confidence and skill. Great bloody fun.

Toothville Issue 2. Kim Roberts (Writer), Denis Pacher (Art), Chris Allen (Colours & Letters ) Swampline Comic (2017)

Action paced second installment pushes the story forward with energy and momentum. Tilda Hilfairy, the worst tooth fairy in history , hopes to be the savoir of Toothville with her invention, Tooth Rot. Unfortunately Dr Dippelurger  has created Decayless toothpaste which may mean the extinction of tooth fairies. Tilda investigates Dr Dippelurger and this leads her to Birchard Pharmaceuticals  where Tilda finds out the real purpose of Decayless and realises that the problem is much, much bigger than she had thought.

Kim Roberts packs a lot of story into the issue, this is wonderful, economical, compressed comic storytelling. The reveals are neatly staged, the action is loud, fast and great fun.The story has moved from being a very smart idea into a very engaging narrative that has the strength and depth to keep a reader engaged, satisfied and happily anticipating more.

Denis Pacher's art is striking and wonderful, he uses the whole page in a playful way that catches both the fairy tale roots of the story and its very contemporary delivery. The pages are designed as much as drawn, the gutters and panels are used imaginatively to contribute to the overall impact, they have a tremendous energy and expressiveness. The cast are as cartoony as they should be, Dr Dippelurger has the smirking villainy that he should have. Tilda Hilfairy is shinning rebuke to the anatomically impossible females that litter comics, she is glowing confident, uncertain, snarky and confused and always just wholly herself. 

Chris Allen's colours are loud and expressive, they pop off the page and give the art the the lift it deserves to capture the subtly and the details that should be relished. The way that all the bright colours work with each other instead of being confusing or chaotic is a significant indicator of the skill and discipline that Chris Allen has brought to bear on the work. His lettering is quiet, unobtrusive and natural,. except where the sounds effects need to be loud, eye catching and dominant.A great fun comic that wears the enormous work and care that it took to make it very lightly.

Red Christmas. Kim Roberts (Writer & Colours), Frederico Guillen (Art), Chris Allen (Letters & Colours). Swampline Comics (December 2017)

A bloody and satisfying Christmas story that uses a classic horror story idea with care and strong impact. When a department store Santa is fired and has a car crash his troubles increase greatly when he encounters a group of students on a booze run for their party. Events turn bloody.
Red Christmas does not rely on novelty, it has abundance of smart storytelling instead, the idea is not new the execution shows why it is still so strong. If you are going to do something very dangerous then it pays to make sure that you have done it properly.
Frederico Guillen's art is a pleasure to read, it creates a strong context for the action with the set up from both elements of the story. The action when it comes is never overwhelming which adds to the force, the calm context is never disturbed it is all concentrated on the cast in word and deed. There is nothing generic about the cast, they are all individual and very expressive, the body language is powerful and conveys the character of the cast as much as their words.
Chris Allen's colours are are muted and give weight and detail to the art, the calm intensity of the action is captured perfectly by the colouring, dreadful action can be low key as much as shouted.
Red Christmas does what it sets out really, really well. Classic horror thrills and delights delivered by  talented creators is the perfect way to launch Christmas with a pleasurable shiver.

Dracustein. Kim Roberts (Writer), Denis Pacher (Art), Chris Allen (Colours & Letters). Swampline Comics (November 2017)

A great fun mash up that packs a considerable ammount of story into the first issue. Dracustein is lonely and has a plan to build himself a life partner. Withe the assistance of the Wolf Man, the Mummy and a winged demon he has assembled most of the body parts he wants, the final mission is to find the head. A trip to the local village and the victim is found and the mission accomplished. Things rapidly go down hill from there, starting from the expected point of the reanimated female being horrified and repulsed and fleeing to the nicely unexpected events that follow. There are a number of interested and not so interested parties in the village and they make the situation for Dracustein much more complicated.
Kim Roberts has managed to lovingly parody some classic film monsters and and create new story at the same time that allows her cast become independent characters in their own right. The light touch and wonderful confidence this is accomplished with is clear at every stage. The cast are introduced quickly and effectively and the initial set up is completed nicely. It is what follows that give the story and cast the lift they need to be more than a straightforward parody, the reveals are smartly staged and the plot lines are neatly twisted. The monsters are given a comic element that works well, the intended partner for Dracustein is given a human heartbeat, horrified and scared at her transformation. This gives the story a darker edge and it sharpens the whole episode.
Denis Pacher's friendly art is a pleasure to read, the cast are given a life and energy, they are clearly monsters and equally comic monsters. Dracustein is expressive as he needs to be, this is a heartfelt project for him and when it goes wrong he is clearly devastated. The rest of the cast are given the delicate balance between their origins and the needs of the story. The horror elements are never toned down, they are presented with just the right degree of exaggeration to make them work.
Chris Allen's colours bring out the details of the art with great force and subtly, Dracustein's suit is two colours side to side not top and bottom, a classic split. The colours are bright and expressive capturing the emotional tones of the story, the leters are quiet and natural to read, the sound effects give a boost to the action when required.
This is a very enjoyable issue that gets the story off to a flying start and leaves the reader happily anticipating more.

Red Christmas-Kickstarter. Kim Roberts (Writer & Colours), Frederico Guillen (Art), Chris Allen (Letters & Colours)

Swampline comics have established an enviable reputation for having smart ideas backed by sharp execution. Emerging from under their Tomb of Horror ( a great and wonderfully inclusive horror anthology) banner is a one shot, Red Christmas.
True to form there is a cracking idea, a group of friends knock down Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, deciding to try and hide the evidence proves to be a very serious miscalculation.
The sample pages up on Kickstarter showcases everything very nicely, a brisk and effective set up is established, the art is friendly and engaging with a clear indication that things are going to take an unpleasant turn very quickly. The cast are individual and expressive, already they are more than just bags of blood waiting to be burst open their actions will be consequential for them and the reader.
The colours are quiet and natural, they give depth and solidity to the context, they have a nicely wintery rather than a Chrismassy feel, dark nights will get darker.
I am backing this Kickstarter because I really want to see how the talented creators manage the story possibilities that they have set up.
 I think you should go to the link below and support the project because there are never enough good comics  and encouraging talented people to make them is a great way to get more.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1870476470/red-christmas

Voodoo Curse 1. Kim Roberts (Writer), Rienaldo Lay (Art), Chris Allen (Colours & Letters). Swampline Comics (October 2017)

A very enjoyable and engaging horror crime comic that solves the problem of a first issue with confident skill. After a robbery gets messy,Jake Jones is murdered by his companion. This is a problem for his wife, Jake has gambling debts and his employer, who wants what was stolen. So a solution is found, bring Jake back to life via voodoo.
Kim Roberts manages to get the story to the most important point with confident skill, great pacing and lashings of gore. The cast are all suitably angry and nasty, they are all willing to do what they have to to secure their aims. There is a nice layer of betrayal stitched into the fabric of the story from the start that means that the unfolding story has great possibilities.
Rienaldo Lay's art is a joy, the cast are all strongly realised with eloquent body language and they move naturally through their context. The action is loud and splattery, the art catches the dark nuances of the story perfectly and brings them out very nicely. There is no hesitation in the art, it is a flat out as the story requires, the thread of brutal desperation that runs though the story is never overstated.
Chris Allen's colours are great, they give the art depth and reach, allowing for the horror action to strongly pop. The colours are used as special effects and they carry the work with ease, they give the action a increased force that is needed to polish the edge of the story.
This is a first issue that firmly sets up the cast and story and creates a very happy anticipation for the reader of where it will travel to. 

Resurrected 1 . Kim Roberts (Writer), James Johnson (Art), Chris Allen (Letters & Colours). Swampline Comics (2017)

A smart and engaging take on a classic cartoon show about a group of  supernatural investigators who drive a minivan spiked with a welcome shot of gore and a sharp edge. On Blackwod Island four investigators set out for the Blackwood Funeral Home (right beside Black Wood Cemetery) to check for ghostly activity. Naturally things take a turn for the worse and then the worse starts to expand and become significantly worse again.
What is greatly enjoyable is the way that Kim Roberts does not fight against the genre requirements, instead they are embraced and employed as fully as possible and then given a little boost. The conflict in the group is not banter it has a force that gives the story the push it needs. A ridiculous situation is not just taken seriously, it is actually serious and that brings the reader right into the story.
James Jonson's art is perfectly matched to capture the nuances and hints within the writing and delivers a deeply satisfying balance. The first zombie to be revived is both funny grotesque and horrifyingly grotesque  at the same time, there really are no rules for talent. The rest of the cast manage this same fine balance, cartoony art that brings astonishingly eloquent and expressive body language that allows for laughs and is nasty at the same time.
Chris Allen's colours match the cartoon heritage of the story and the art perfectly, when it comes to delivering the gore the colours smoothly and naturally manage the process without blinking. The lettering is quiet and natural to read, the sound effects are cleverly placed to give just the extra push needed at critical moments.
Resurrected has managed an fantastically difficult task in comics, take a well known pop culture idea, mash it with a related idea and make it work as an independent entity without betraying the origins. The steely core of horror in Resurrected makes everything else work and makes for great story possibilities that the talented creators can exploit for the delight of their readers.

Dracustein Kickstarter. Kim Roberts (Writer), Denis Pacher (Art), Chris Allen (Colours & Letters). Swampline Comics (2017)

Mash ups can be a wonderful creative possibility in the hands of the right creative team. There is an opportunity to get the same thrill that the originals gave along with another dimension that the new team bring. The creative team behind Dracustein have an enviable track record for both respecting genre requirements and finding something new to say and this looks to be no exception.
A stitched together Dracula is building himself a romantic partner with the "assistance" of The Wolfman and The Mummy and other classic monsters. Naturally it does not go to plan. Just how it does not go to plan is what awaits backers of this Kickstarter project, I am one.
 I have a deep and abiding affection for the original incarnations of these monsters, they scared the life out of me when I saw them first, then I later loved them for their heroic sincerity. In the right hands it is possible to capture both of these aspects and the inherent humour without ever betraying the monsters. The sample pages made me very happy, I think that that the creative team have very neatly threaded a very slippery needle and I greatly look forward to how the story unfolds.
The link for the Kickstarter, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1139490928/dracustein.
I have backed a number of projects from Swampline comics and I have been impressed with the discipline and effort they bring to bear on their projects, lovely production values and delivery on schedule.
Back the campaign and share the deep and abiding pleasure that excellent comics bring.

Ghostly Tides 1. Kim Roberts (Writer), Dennis Pacher (Art), Colours & Letters (Chris Allen). Swampline Comics (2017)

A very engaging and enjoyable pirate story that thoroughly enjoys and embraces the genre. Finn competes in the annual Pirate Trials on Skull Island and looses. He encounters a witch in a tavern and follows her to Swamp Island and discovers that this was a very big mistake. As the witch and the resurrected skeletons of the Black Pirate and his crew sail for revenge, Finn and his friend Sam have to try and stop them.
This first issue solves the problems of a first issue with great energy and smart storytelling. The context for the story is swiftly established, it is a pirate fantasy story with a gullible hero and a dangerous villain. The trouble for the hero and the villain are smartly set up and the reader is nicely set up for the continuing story. The writing by Kim Roberts is smart and economical, there is a lot of story in the issue, it never feels rushed or crowded, the action is fast, furious and suitably bloody.
Dennis Pacher's art is friendly, full of wonderful details and simply exploding with energy and life. The cast are given enormous character and expressiveness, they are all bigger than life which they need to be, the skeleton crew are as lively as the mortal cast cast. The action is wonderful, it is very brutal when it needs to be and at the same time has exactly the humorous edge that it needs to keep the atmosphere playful. The panel layouts are a joy, the gutter decorations are a pleasure.
Chris Allen has coloured the story in exactly the bright colours that the tone of the story calls for, the colours bring out the details of the art and the nuances of the story. The sound effects
are perfectly placed and pitched, the story is already loud enough , the effects just add the emphasis exactly where it is needed.
A great fun comic by very talented creators that happily entices the reader to want more.

Toothville 2- Kickstarter Campaign Kim Roberts (Writer), Denis Pacher (Art), Chris Allen (Colours & Letters). Swamp Line Productions

The second part of this very engaging story with a hugely engaging lead character, a nicely developing villain and a superbly set up story line is now running a Kickstarter campaign.
A fresh and clever look at the work of tooth fairies, featuring the worst tooth fairy in history who is also the most innovate one, who is facing the gravest threat to the existence of tooth fairies that has ever existed. The writing is smart and funny, the cast have vigour and force, emerging as individuals with a sharp edges and tremendous energy.
Toothville 1, which is available as one of the backer bundle rewards, set up the story with wonderful confidence and closed on a suitably gripping cliffhanger. Now the chance to see how the talented and creative team behind Toothville are going to take the story is avalible.
Smart, inventive and engaging comics like Toothville are one of the great pleasures in life, give yourself the chance to enjoy that pleasure by backing Toothville.

Chief Wizard Note: I am a backer for Toothville 2, I would really like it to be successful so that I get to read it. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1139490928/toothville-2

Toothville Issue 1. Kim Roberts (Writer), Gabe Ostely (Art), Chris Allen (Colours & Letters). Swamp Line Productions (2017)

Very engaging and enjoyable first issue that develops an unexpected set up with with skill, detail and tremendous energy. There is trouble in Toothville, home of the tooth fairies, thanks to the new toothpaste, Decayless developed by Johnann Dipplurger. Tilda Hillfairy, the most unemployable tooth fairy in Toothville has developed Toothrot which could be the answer, unfortunately Tilda's demonstration is far too successful and she is banished. Determined to rescue Toothville Tilda finds out that Dipplurger is much more than a dentist and sets out to discover what he is really up to.
Kim Roberts has delivered a lot of story that solve the problems of a first issue with great energy and style. Toothville and Tilda are introduced with great energy, Tilda is not someone who fits into the traditional roles in Toothville, she has an exploring mind and the energy and patience to pursue her goals. She is also awkward and impatient, getting into trouble because she is in such a hurry. She has energy, confidence and a crackling charm that captures and engages the reader. A classic outsider who wants to be an insider, Tilda is off to discover much more than just the truth behind Decayless. Johnann Dipplurgerr is a suitable villain, he is determined and competent, his pursuit of secret knowledge was successful because he knew what to do to get what he wanted. Dipplurger and Tilda will make engaging opponents and the story possibilities that have been set up are deeply enticing.
Gabe Ostely art is perfect, it has energy and force, Tilda has the bright eyed approach and forceful presence that she needs. Johnann Dipplurger is a supervillian from his utterly insincere toothy smile to his wonderful swagger and careful preparations. The discipline of the art is very impressive, very tight control of the panel lays out manages the pace of the story with care and attention. The cast and context need to be slightly exaggerated to succeed without ever becoming overly cartoony. Gabe Ostely keeps the cast hugely expressive without ever betraying them, there are real emotions streaming through the cast.
Chris Allen's colours are a pleasure, they are bright and glowing as the fairy tale roots of the story and are a dark when they need to be as a fairy tale should be. They bring out the nuances and details of the story and the art with subtle effectiveness, they illuminate the story. The letters are natural and easy to read, the sound effects provide the emphasis needed to for the action and give the story the loud crunch that it deserves. A great fun comic that holds the promise of much more fun to come.

Crystal's Odyssey. Jordan King (Writer), Patrick Buermeyer (Art), Liam O'Connor (Colours),Chris Allen (Letters). WP Comics (2017)

Superbly engaging and entertaining horror comic that that solves the problems of a first issue with astonishing confidence and pitch black humour. Crystal is an assistant to a coroner and she is drowning in grief for her dead husband. When a body is delivered, to the joy of the coroner and the consternation of Crystal events start to move in very strange directions. Crystal makes a decision and starts on an odyssey with two very strange companions. Naturally things take a nasty turn and Crystal finds shelter at place that is plainly both more and less than it seems. The narrative switches and May, a very and justifiably sad  young girl, who has just made a new friend is about to demonstrate the depth of her rage. The story moves somewhere very bleak and unexpected as May finds herself somewhere very strange and horrifying.
Jordan King has packed an astonishing quantity of story into the comic without the story ever feeling rushed or compressed. This is a high speed and extremely violent set up that never sacrifices character or emotional framework for shock or gore. The cast are ferociously alive, the walk on parts are give a chance to be someone, Crystal and May are horrifying alive, vulnerable and packed with huge energy. Jordan King creates a very welcome ambiguity with Crystal and May that invites the reader into the story and creates a precious sympathy for both. This is critical given the level of violence in the story, the forces that are propelling Crystal and May have been set up with care and detail, they do not get lost in the explosive action that follows.
Patrick Buermeyer's art is every bit a match for the story, it captures and amplifies every nuance and emotion of the cast. The body language is expressive, the cast move through their off kilter context naturally and with physical presence and weight. Crystal's friend Jessika is everything that shattered, delicate Crystal is not, she has the steely rage that pushes against Crystal's devouring grief. The physical contrast is huge without ever being overbearing. May in her little girl blue dress and green eyes is just terrifying, with her compressed rage and terrifying apologies. Patrick Buermeyer delivers conversation and disemboweling with equal confidence and care.
Liam O'Connor's colours are so natural that they are a character in themselves, they give the art depth and definition, they create a emotional context that just drives the story and the art wonderful energy. The sound effects by Chris Allen give a horrible physical depth to the action, in particular the sounds over an all black page ensure that the reader does not have to see anything to get the full impact, the following panels still are brutally unexpected and push the story to very dark places.
With a set up as confident as this and as willing to take ideas as far as they have already, the story possibilities are (happily for readers) both enticing and horrifying.
Chief Wizard Note: This is a review copy very kindly sent by Kim Roberts, to purchase a copy of Crystal's Odyssey 1and enjoy the sticky, bloody embrace of tremendous talent making it all look easy, it is available from  http://www.wpcomicsltd.com/comics

Jeb Clucker's 100 Acres of Hen. Kim Roberts (Writer), Gabe Ostely (Art), Chris Allen (Letters and Colours) WP Comics (2017)

Very funny and horrifyingly gory, a clever take on a horror staple that uses a simple change to give allow humour and gore happily work together. A tourist party on a camping trip take a wrong turn and find themselves camping in a unscheduled location. It does not go well.
The fact that the entire cast are chickens is a simple and very smart shift in story. The room for chicken related jokes is taken at every opportunity by Kim Robert, who does so without every killing the central joke. In a very short space the cast are introduced, and different enough so that they are clearly individuals, the reader has enough chance to register them before the inevitable happens. The story structure correctly follows a familiar format, the ideas are used very effectively to counterpoint the inherent absurdity of the cast.
Gabe Ostley's art, from the wonderful cover and throughout the book is a joy to read. It manages the difficult task of being completely absurd and satisfying forceful, the cast are chickens acting like humans who are involved in savagely violent events. A tricky balance has to be maintained all the time for the story to be successful, the element of parody has to be respected and the gore has to have a genuine impact. Gabe Ostley achieves this balance with confident skill and amazing detail.
Chris Allen's colours are bright and exuberant, not horror colours at all, they work fantastically in the context of Kim Roberts smart story structure and Gabe Ostely's art. They give the vivid expression to the absurdity and the gore. The sound effects are exactly the right side of cartoony.
What makes this comic work is that beneath the bright and wild story there is real menace arising from the tension between the story structure and the delivery. A very funny story that never forgets that it is a horror story.
Chief Wizard Note: This is a review copy very kindly sent by Kim Roberts. To purchase a copy of Jeb Clucker's 100 Acres of Hen, you should to usher in the 2017 with a really good comic and give yourself the best possible start, it is available from http://www.wpcomicsltd.com/comics

The World Hates Jimmy. D.C. Johnson (Writer & Penciller), Chris Allen (Inks,Colours & Letters), Dustin Evans (Special Feature Panels). WP Comics (2016)

An explosion of visual inventiveness and storytelling confidence that delivers charm, absurdity and humour without any apparent effort, hugely engaging and enjoyable. Jimmy, a very happy young boy becomes the object of romantic interest from two girls which leads to a fanatically absurd and horrible day for Jimmy and a extraordinary comic.
Absurdity is very difficult to do successfully, there is a subtle limit that has to be found that allows the ridiculous ideas to flourish and D.C. Johnson has established that limit with wonderful, assured confidence. The storytelling framework is taken from animation with abrupt cuts and jumps, the time compression that panels provide is exploited to the full to give the story a coherence that it needs. Jimmy's adventurous day is told at a full tilt, the narrative moves at amazing speed with the unexpected always waiting to be sprung on the reader and Jimmy. Jimmy solid happy nature is the anchor of the story, he rolls with the punches and changes and gets on with it. This allows the rest of the action to spiral off in whatever direction D.C. Johnson wants, backed by the steely discipline used to ensure that every idea serves a direct dramatic purpose.
The art is perfect for the story, it is cartoony and animated, in both senses, the cast are busting with life and energy. The cast are astoundingly expressive, so full of personality and determination that the pages struggle to contain them. They are matched by the context which shifts and changes as required to follow the rush of ideas and changing circumstances.
Chris Allen's dazzling colours are exactly what is needed, no subtlety is wanted , it would get in the way, the action and the cast want to be amplified to the greatest possible extent to express the ferocious energy and creative force of the writing and the art. The lettering is the quietest part of the comic, it never draws attention away from the action, the sound effects are as dramatic as they should be.
Dustin Evans special panels are fantastic, they give the story a extra dimension that is very welcome.
The World Hates Jimmy is as close to having an animated short between covers as it is likely to get, a brilliant use of the possibilities of comics, absurdly funny and charming.
Chief Wizard Note: This is a review copy very kindly sent by Kim Roberts. To purchase a copy, good comics are a proven method to extend your life by increasing your happiness, you can get it here  http://www.wpcomicsltd.com/comics

Candleman. Don Smith (writer), Kurt Belcher (Art), Chris Allen (Colours & Letters). WP Comics (2016)

Very engaging and gripping short horror comic. A man stranded in a deserted motel finds that local legend has more presence than he imagined.
Horror can benefit strongly from the compression that comes with a short form comic, the set up and pay off have to be established quickly and effectively, which is a considerable challenge for a writer. Don Smith makes it look easy with this story, the pacing is perfect, the situation is established with precise economy and the the follow through is grippingly nasty.
Kurt Belchers art is a pleasure to read, the Candleman himself is very striking and the develops strongly as the action proceeds. The impact of the action on the Candleman is captured vividly and used very thoughtfully. He moves from being a simple bogeyman to becoming something much more terrifying and the art carries the burden of showing the transition without missing a beat. The panel layouts control the pace of the story very well, they create the room for the story to have the length it needs to e effective within a short comic format.
Colouring is a key aspect to any horror comic, the colours are a subtle emotional key for the reader, they bring out the aspects that the writer and artist way to emphasise. Chris Allen's colours drive the story vividly, they use light and shadow to great effect, in particular they give depth and weight to the art and words. The Candleman is a suitable grotesque figure, the colours add to his credibility and in one panel that is concerned with eyes, the colours make every horrible detail stand out.
The letters are quiet and natural, they flow with the story and never distract from it. The different speech patterns are clear. The sound effects are loud, horrible and exactly what the story needs to leap off the page at the reader.
A very satisfying short comic from talented creators who make the best use of the format.
Chief Wizard Note: This is a review copy very kindly sent by Kim Roberts. To purchase a copy of Candleman, you should to treat yourself to a really well crafted comic, you can purchase it  from http://www.wpcomicsltd.com/comics