REVIEW: Chilling Adventures In Sorcery No.1

Archie’s Weird Mysteries was a bonafide treat that had me itching to bounce back to the apartments when I was a youth after-school. I can recall picking up an ancient Archie’s Digest at one of my grandmother’s retirement homes, the smell of the worn yellowed pages could never leave my nostrils. The book was so boring, and had none of the flair or horror elements that I expected from the modern millennial cartoon that I had grown to love. Sabrina was just a constant melodrama, whether live-action or animated. Something as a male reader that just doesn’t entertain me, when I know that Archie Comics have the potential to be as dark as funny as Weird Mysteries. These reasons are why I was happy to see the resurrection of Archie Horror this week with the special one-shot “Chilling Adventures In Sorcery”, on sale now!

I am only familiar with the Archie/Sabrina characters via animation from my neo millennium childhood, so the character of Madame Satan was a mystery to me, but she is a likeable enough character with a knack for comedic timing that made her a prime selection for narration of this mini-anthology. The art is noir to the point of insanity as Derek Charm’s paints on the first Jughead short were obviously inspired by the best oils from Tim Sale. Archie’s short is undeniably what “Wreck-It Ralph” should have been had the adult themes not been regulated to snide innuendos, and the finishing touches with something that looked like it could have came fresh out the Sunday Funnies with a sinister twist, is what makes “Chilling Adventures In Sorcery” a must-read (and have) for those into horror books who want a laugh or two.

As a reader who thought that Archie & Sabrina were just for female audiences, “Chilling Adventures …” was catalyst enough for at least a 180 on my perspective. Just because an Archie comic was the only book with panels I found once upon a time ago at my grandmother’s residence doesn’t mean that every Archie book after will carry the same themes. Plus to see Pop Tate’s again, to hear tales of Reggie’s malicious acts, to see Betty & Veronica on facetime together in the same tale where Archie admits hubris as his downfall as gluttony is to Jughead is a trip to Riverdale with an air of maturity that I never thought possible for any read under the Archie banner to achieve.

Score : 5/5

(W) Eliot Rahal, Amy Chu, Evan Stanley (A) Vincenzo Federici, Derek Charm, Evan Stanley, Pat & Tim Kennedy (CA) Julius Ohta