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