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Review: “Afterlife With Archie Vol. 1: Escape From Riverdale”

Published

10 years ago

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An incredibly spine-chilling read,  “Afterlife  With Archie Vol. 1: Escape From Riverdale” delivers a perfect balance of laughs and scares in each page. The wholesome town of Riverdale will never be the same again as the zombie virus begins to spread. With its first story arc collected, discover why “Afterlife With Archie” is one of the best series for horror fans.

FEB140918WRITTEN BY: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
ART BY: Francesco Francavilla
PUBLISHER: Archie Comics
PRICE: $17.99
RELEASE: June 4, 2013

Reviewed by Jorge Solis

Jughead suddenly saw his beloved pet Hot Dog get run over by a speeding car and drive away. Because he couldn’t bear to lose his best friend, Jughead went to Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Though her aunts warned her, Sabrina recited the cursed words from the Necronomicon, the Book of the Dead. Hot-Dog did return from the grave but he also brought back Hell with him. The zombie infection spread onto Jughead and slowly grew in numbers. No one at the Halloween Dance at Riverdale High really thought that zombie Jughead was going to turn them all into the undead.

Writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is able to put a spotlight on Archie and the rest of the Riverdale gang throughout the narrative. Archie starts out as second fiddle and grows up in his own coming-of-age tale. Sabrina the Teenage Witch makes an impressive debut that you just want her to back for more. The dumb jock Moose, my favorite of the group, delivers the best line in the whole series. We also discover there is more to Veronica than being a rich and snobby drama queen.

Aguirre-Sacasa makes excellent use of flashbacks though the viewpoints of Veronica’s butler Hubert H. Smithers and Archie’s dog, Vegas. In the theme about unconditional love, Aguirre-Sacasa  delivers these touching and heartfelt back-stories that enrich the relationships. The love story about a boy and his dog feels genuinely earnest and honest. I thought it such a fresh take on Smithers that he would actually see Veronica as his own daughter.

The phenomenal imagery from Francesco Francavilla is an extra special highlight for me. I just love  how Francavilla is able to make the blue and orange tones work. Everything about the color scheme makes your eye glued to the page. The Halloween Dance is actually where all the gory stuff really happens. In an incredible splash page, Francavilla illustrates the blood flowing from Ethel’s fingertip, dripping onto her fallen apple.

Francavilla delivers a unique experiment on the panel layouts that works perfectly each time. In a single page, through 15 panels, Francavilla matches each panel neatly to deliver a story within a story. As the reader, you understand what Francavilla is saying through his illustrations, without needing the use of captions and dialogue balloons.

An artistic triumph, “Afterlife With Archie Vol.1: Escape From Riverdale” takes Archie and friends to new territory without losing its creative essence. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla is a team-up made that must be worshipped by horror fans.

 

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Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

Published

2 days ago

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April 18, 2024

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Witchblade cover

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.

  • Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover

  • Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)

  • Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)

  • Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)

  • Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)

  • Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)

Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Witchblade comic panel Witchblade #1 cover image

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