We couldn’t resist diving into the origin story of our favorite murder mascots from 2021 comedy horror movie Willy’s Wonderland.

Willy’s Wonderland Prequel
Publisher: American Mythology Productions
Writers: James Kuhoric, S.A. Check
Interior Artist: Puis Calzada
Cover Artists: Buz Hasson, Ken Haeser
Release dates: October 2021 – August 2022

The Willy’s Wonderland Prequel comic is written by James Kuhoric and S.A. Check, two creators we’ve enjoyed in other bloody delights like Return of the Living Dead (that we made a review about) and Silent Night, Deadly Night. The art is by Puis Calzada, who also brought a gritty visual style to Silent Night, Deadly Night, and once again delivers horror vibes that feel both chaotic and weirdly charming. The creative team knows how to handle a good slash-fest, and this prequel is no exception.

This four-issue series takes us back to the cursed beginnings of Willy’s Wonderland, long before Nicolas Cage showed up to clean house. The restaurant is reopening after a history of gruesome incidents, but there’s something far more sinister than bad Yelp reviews haunting the place. Inside the animatronics are the trapped spirits of murderers, and the bloodbath begins anew when a group of kids ends up having a very unlucky birthday sleepover. With each issue, the violence escalates and the twisted backstory of Willy, Ozzie, Cammy, Gus, and the rest of the gang comes into full gory view.

As big horror fans (and occasional Nicolas Cage fans), we really liked the movie when it came out in 2021. So of course we were curious to check out the comic series. Issue 1 sets the stage with some truly nasty backstory and lets the blood start dripping right away. It’s clear pretty quickly that these animatronics aren’t just glitchy mascots… They’re haunted by real killers, which makes it all the more horrifying. Issue 2 gets absolutely wild with a sleepover party massacre, and from there it just ramps up. Every issue is bloodier than the last, with creative kills and over-the-top carnage that fit perfectly into the world of Willy’s Wonderland. It’s gory, ridiculous, and totally entertaining if you’re in the mood for campy horror fun.

Read the prequel and then go rewatch the movie – it’s the perfect double feature for horror fans who like their slashers a little weird and a lot bloody.