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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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.