Puppets aren’t funny anymore. At least that’s what you’d think if you based your opinion on TV and movies, where puppets are consistently mined for their creep factor. Whether it’s the “Puppet Master” series, that “Tales From the Crypt” episode where Don Rickles plays a ventriloquist with a maniacal conjoined twin, the vintage Anthony Hopkins schizophrenic ventriloquist movie “Magic” or the magnificently campy 2007 ventrilo-horror flick “Dead Silence,” puppets have been recast as bizarre, demonic things.

Jeff Dunham must have never gotten the memo. As he delivered his massively successful, character-driven ventriloquist act to a sold-out Shea’s Performing Arts Center crowd Thursday night, the only screams and howls were those of laughter.

After a few very successful Comedy Central specials, countless other TV appearances and a pair of DVDs under his belt — he’s touring in support of his most recent release, “Spark of Insanity” — Dunham has built an army of a fan base. Being in the Shea’s audience was to be in a sea of fanatical puppet-heads.

“What do you do on a Thursday night in Buffalo, when it’s negative two?” the comedian asked, kicking off his introductory monologue. “Go to a puppet show!”

And a puppet show it was. After Dunham’s monologue, the rest of the night belonged to his beautifully constructed, politically incorrect friends. They told every joke; he just laughed or shook his head in mock disapproval. By mixing up the punch lines between several characters — the most famous being the grumpy old man “Walter,” a purple creature called “Peanut” and the self-explanatory “Jose Jalapeno on a Stick” — Dunham has made sure that his gimmick doesn’t get old over the course of an extended performance. Most importantly, the comic is so good at throwing his voice and so adept at forming his puppets’ facial expressions, it’s easy to forget you’re watching a ventriloquist act.

While Dunham’s puppets are impressive works of art, and his technical skills are truly amazing, his comedy leaves a lot to be desired. His opening statement was one of many “gee, Buffalo’s cold” jokes, and other recurring themes included obnoxious wives, terrorism and the Toyota Prius.

After Walter came Achmed the Dead Terrorist, a character that sounds horrible on paper — he’s the skeleton of a suicide bomber — but in reality is kind of adorable. The kids in the row ahead of me simply ate up Achmed’s clumsiness and wide-eyed innocence, paying little attention to the jokes, which were about blow-up dolls and cold weather. Ah, the wisdom of children.

Appeared in the February 22, 2008, issue of The Buffalo News.