PLAYTHINGS #1 – Review

PLAYTHINGS #1, from Scout Comics on March 16th, 2022, imagines what happens when a single mother and her child receive a mysterious birthday gift.

The Details

• Written By: Jon Clark
• Art By: Travis Williamson
• Colors By: Jon Clark
• Letters By: April Brown
• Cover Art By: Jon Clark
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: March 16, 2022

Wait! Don’t Forget To Sign Up For The Comical Opinions Newsletter.

Was It Good?

Before we begin the review, this is a (not serious) trigger warning. If you have a strong aversion to clowns, as in “seeing a clown standing on a street corner at night holding a red balloon makes you crap your pants” aversion, you probably want to stay far away from this comic. This issue is the clown variety of nightmare fuel.

For everyone else, PLAYTHINGS #1 is just the type of creepiness that will make your horror-loving soul happy. imagine a story about an unhappily divorced mother struggling to be a good parent to her developmentally delayed daughter when a clown toy suddenly appears to turn birthday festivities into a nightmare.

The story isn’t super-complicated or particularly nuanced, and it doesn’t need to be for this type of story. What this type of story needs to do to be effective is present a malevolent force that hits the right creepy spot, and you need to feel the fear from the protagonists. This issue works because it successfully achieves both.

Clark’s writing succeeds in creating a grounded and believable mother/daughter duo. The daughter is old enough to be autonomous but young enough to be naive about the growing danger surrounding her. The mother may rub some readers the wrong way as a bitter divorcee who hasn’t gotten over her divorce and may be taking her frustrations out on her daughter. It’s not an abusive relationship, but it’s not kind, either. The pair feel very grounded, very believable, so when things go bad, it’s easy to make an emotional connection to their experience.

The other half of this winner is the art from Williamson and Brown’s lettering. Heavy emphasis is placed on the dark corners that may or may not be empty and the little sounds the protagonists hear, especially the tinny sound of clown laughter. Admittedly, the art is stylized (read: a little sketchy and rough) but that style works well for the mood of this story. This art team is a strong match for the writing and this material.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

We begin with a mother, Alison, stripped to her underwear and tied to a chair. She struggles to wake up from unconsciousness, and finds herself in a sort of fun house surrounded by off-kilter decor and balloons. She desperately tries to remember what happened to her and her daughter, Emma.

Flashback to the the day before Emma’s birthday. Dan, Emma’s father and Alison’s ex-husband, is arguing with Alison over childcare for Emma. Alison has been struggling with getting home to take over for the sitter, ignoring doctor’s advice about Emma’s medication, and growing increasingly bitter over the divorce. During the argument, Emma notices a box suddenly appear on a nearby table.

Later, Emma is thrilled to open the box with her name on it and find a large clown doll. The instructions state the doll can talk and be a child’s best friend. Without giving the best parts away, the doll is more than meets the eye.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.