“Afterlife With Archie”
Written By: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Art By: Francesco FrancavillaAfterlife With Archie #1 works brilliantly on so many levels. Aguirre-Sacasa scripts a well-balanced tone that teeters between terror and comedy (mostly terror) while Francavilla’s eerie visuals solidify him as the current master of horror comics.
Aguirre-Sacasa smartly uses Sabrina, The Teenage Witch in this story as the catalyst for the supernatural events. After Jughead’s pet, Hot Dog, gets hit by a car, Sabrina defies her aunt’s wishes and tries to necromance Hot Dog’s way back to life. What ensues is the start of a zombie narrative.
The script boasts interesting characters, transforming the often “safe” characterizations of Sabrina, Betty, Veronica and others, to cool, modern teenagers.
The only character lacking nuance at this point is Archie, who isn’t fully defined yet. Hopefully in a few issues time, he can be established as a solid lead character.
Francavilla sticks to a mostly orange and black colour palette, with a stroke of blue over Jughead and Sabrina’s faces as they desperately try and bring Hot Dog back to life.
Each panel is dramatic and striking, boasting an old-school cinematic gravity to characters’ facial expressions, seen when Jughead is attacked by Hot Dog.
Afterlife With Archie #1 doesn’t feel like a gimmick, but a truly stellar horror tale from start to finish.
