Comics
[Comic Book Review] “Sabrina” #3 Is a Dark Read That Continues on the Path of Greatness
Blood moon, total lunar eclipse, Samhain (Halloween), and Sabrina’s 16th birthday. It’s a perfect night for a witch baptism…a perfect evening for a young Sabrina to get in bed with Satan. But before the ritual can be complete, our cute little blonde witch must deal with some boyfriend issues…because frankly, Harvey’s in deep shit.
WRITTEN BY: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
ART BY: Robert Hack
PUBLISHER: Archie Comics
RELEASE: May 27, 2015
PRICE: $3.99
“Sabrina” issue #3 focuses on the most important night of her life in two distinct ways, her human Sweet 16 and her inhuman baptism. The comic starts off with a quickly paced and fascinating flashback “field trip” to the woods where Aunts Hilda and Zelda continue their witch schooling with 11-year-old Sabrina. I loved this scene particularly because in their schooling, they mention real Salem witch trials, even going so far as to teach the comic’s readers a bit about an actual historical figure, Giles Corey, a man accused of witchcraft during the trials and pressed to death. This was a very nice touch on the part of writer Aguirre-Sacasa. It added a sense of realism I wasn’t expecting. And when realism is paired with a book like “Sabrina,” it’s only more haunting in the end.
Before the witch trials, witch babies were baptized at infancy, after the witch trials however, the rules were changed. A witch needed to be of an appropriate age to understand the decision to be baptized and accept the Dark Lord’s “gift” –fully embracing their witchhood…this age is 16. Sabrina can actually choose to live as a mortal because of her mother being mortal, something her father made sure of, so she has a unique and difficult decision ahead of her: go to the pep rally, celebrate her birthday with her hot boyfriend, get it on with her hot boyfriend…you know, the normal teenage shit we think is the most important thing that will ever happen in our life, OR…sign her name in Satan’s book, becoming a full witch and forgoing many of those epic teenage pleasures and hardships.
On the day before Sabrina’s 16th birthday, Halloween, and a lunar eclipse, Sabrina has just been informed by her new drama teacher, Madame Satan (see issue #2) that she and her dreamy love, Harvey, will be the leads in Bye, Bye, Birdie. When she presents the news to Harvey, he suggests celebrating, then proceeds to pressure Sabrina into going all the way with him on her birthday. He pulls all the classic lines as Sabrina tells him “no” over and over. Which pretty much makes me want to cut his dick off. But regardless of what Sabrina wants, she continues to say no because there must be “no defilement” before a young witch’s 16th birthday. They must be pure for Satan (one of the most ironic things I’ve every typed).
Madame Satan (in teacher form) pops up here and there with her crow familiar who spies on Sabrina, causing trouble all over the place. Specifically, she sees to it that Harvey doubts his relationship with Sabrina and manipulates him into seeking out Sabrina in the dark woods on the night of her baptism.
Like I said, deep shit.
As usual, the creators of “Sabrina” completely nail it. One of the truly wonderful aspects of this comic is that both the witch plot and the growing-up-as-an-everyday-high-school-student plot are hyper-realistic, dark, and challenging. Because Sabrina’s human side of things is written so genuine and deft, it makes the supernatural side of things feel just as real. One might think there would be a stark juxtaposition, but instead, the entire story blends flawlessly into a truly haunting and believable comic.
One of the most obvious things I’ll say in this review is how stunning Hack’s art is. We’ve long praised Hack in the comic community for his intensely gorgeous art, but good lord, he does something entirely unique with “Sabrina” that makes it almost impossible to tear your eyes from each page. The colors are calm and somewhat muted, but within each panel there’s a pop of brightness, usually red, usually lips, something to give the page a bit of sexuality and danger.
This combination of creators has delivered yet again. They’ve given us so much in one issue without confusing us or rushing the story. And so I ask…are you reading this dark matter?
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
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