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Review: ‘Memorial’ HC

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One of the most delightfully original series to come out of IDW in the past year, Chris Roberson’s Memorial is a psychedelic pastiche of popular characters and genre tropes that manages to read as refreshing rather than clichéd. In the hardcover edition’s introduction, Bill Willingham (“Fables”) writes that Roberson once described Memorial as “a catalogue of all the cool stuff I want to do” and it shows. It’s no small feat, combining elements of Disney, steampunk, and Biblical legend, but Roberson pulls it off with startling aplomb. His unabashed joy in the world he creates, and the characters with which he populates it, is undeniably infectious. Artist Rich Ellis joins Roberson as they create the outlandish world of “Memorial,” where disbelief is permanently suspended.

WRITTEN BY: Chris Roberson
ART BY: Rich Ellis
PUBLISHER: IDW
PRICE: $24.99
RELEASE: September 26, 2012

“Memorial” follows a woman who stumbles into an Emergency Room with no idea who she is or how she got there. The only clue to her identity is a simple golden pendant inscribed with the letter M. The hospital’s nurses take to calling her M – or Em – for lack of a better option. Despite her amnesia, Em goes on to build a relatively normal life for herself, with a job at Roberson’s Books and a small circle of friends. In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment of foreshadowing, Roberson reveals that Em finds it comforting to be surrounded by the dreams and memories held in the pages of all those books.

Em’s journey begins when she stumbles across a mysterious green door that’s seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Inside, she finds a sundry assortment of curiosities and meets Peter, the elderly but young at heart gentleman who runs the shop. Em finds herself inexplicably drawn to a golden key that tickles at her memory though she can’t remember how she recognizes it. When Em touches the key, she triggers a ripple effect through the Everlands, setting off a series of events that leaves her, Peter, and the sassiest cat this side of Maybe, Schrödinger, catapulted across dimensions as they try to keep one step ahead of the villainous Moment’s statuesque foot soldiers. Over the course of these six issues, Em learns not only what she’s made of, but who she is and why Moment, Queen of the Everlands, has it out for her.

Roberson’s mythology pulls elements from both history and fiction to create an expansive and wonderfully original universe, the likes of which we don’t often see. The creation story behind the realms of Maybe, Moment, and Memory is appropriately iconic and the depth of the world makes Em’s adventures as firmly grounded as they are fantastical. “Memorial” is like a delicious parfait – each layer is more scrumptious than the last as Roberson riffs on themes and characters borrowed from fairy tales and folklore.

The beauty of Rich Ellis’ art is in his obsessive attention to detail. When Em first sets foot into Memorial Curiosities and Antiques, it’s easy to lose yourself in the abundance of items crammed into the tiny shop or to pause to try to identify individual characters in a crowd when Em meets the Lost Souls of the Everlands. Though Ellis’ art brings the densely packed world of “Memorial” to life, Grace Allison’s consistently vibrant colors leave something to be desired as she generally shies away from extremes of light and dark. In a book that deals so heavily with shadows (the denizens of the Court of Shadows , located in the aptly named Darkness Falls are just that – shadows), it seems like a missed opportunity.

It’s almost hard to believe that this collected edition includes only six issues as the universe Roberson creates is so massive that it does indeed feel like you’ve fallen through the rabbit hole into a fully developed society. For those of you who hadn’t been following the series on a monthly basis, reading the first six issues of “Memorial” altogether is like riding an unpredictably winding rollercoaster into the the mind of a storyteller.

Rating 4.5/5

Reviewed by MelissaGrey

Comics

‘The Wicked Trinity’ – Preview New Archie Comics One-Shot Inspired by ‘The Craft’ [Exclusive]

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From Sabrina’s Magical World, Bloody Disgusting has learned this afternoon that Archie Comics will be releasing brand new one-shot comic The Wicked Trinity this coming June.

You’ll be able to meet The Wicked Trinity in the 32-page comic on June 12, 2024.

In The Wicked Trinity, “Sabrina’s magical nemesis Amber Nightstone and her sidekicks, Jade Kazane and Sapphire Gill, are intent on becoming the most powerful witches in the world. Isolated from so many around them, the three have formed a coven based on their individual needs for vengeance and true freedom.

“But when there is some dissent among the ranks, their small coven is threatened to be obliterated from within.”

The Wicked Trinity features a script by Sam Maggs, art by Lisa Sterle, colors by Ellie Wright, letters by Jack Morelli, main cover by Lisa Sterle, and variant cover by Soo Lee.

Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante tells Bloody Disgusting, “When Editor-In-Chief Mike Pellerito came up with the idea of the Wicked Trinity—Amber Nightstone, Jade Kazane, and Sapphire Gill—I was immediately intrigued. I even had the good fortune to work on the script for Jade and Sapphire’s first appearance in last year’s SABRINA ANNUAL SPECTACULAR comic for younger readers. What I especially loved about these magical teens is that they could seamlessly transcend from classic-Archie stories into more mature, even horror stories. I was eager to start developing their world with a modern sensibility, taking cues from the great work of Kelly Thompson and Veronica Fish on our SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH series, and Sarah Kuhn and Carola Borelli on our recent DARKLING one-shot. Inspired by series like Charmed and films like The Craft, I knew there was so much potential to build up this coven in a story that beautifully blends magical fantasy with horror.”

Writer Sam Maggs previews, “Real witches writing real witches—that’s how we do things over at Archie Comics! I was named after a famous witch—Samantha from Bewitched—and so I grew up absolutely obsessed with everything witchcraft, devouring every book series I could about teen witches. That makes WICKED TRINITY a dream project for me. The power and energy of teen girls is absolutely unmatched (just look at the engine behind fandom culture) and being able to harness that metaphorically for a story like this is such a delight. Everything I write focuses on the power of female friendship, and this story is no exception. And what’s better than a morally grey female character? I struggle to think of anything. Cat familiars, maybe? Also, I’m totally a practicing witch now. So maybe if you read this, you’ll find yourself imbued with magical powers, too.*

Artist Lisa Sterle adds, “I can’t wait for people to be re-introduced to The Wicked Trinity! Witches, fashion, and Archie Comics; this is truly a magical trifecta and I’m so happy to have the opportunity to put my own personal stamp on this. I love to create stories in which girls find their own power, both from within themselves and through their friendships and coven. If you’re a fan of my Modern Witch tarot, you’ll find this comic just as magical.”

Exclusively check out the two covers for The Wicked Trinity one-shot comic below!

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