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  • Archie Comics

    There's a bunch of Archie comics beyond Riverdale stuff (Mega Man, Sonic, etc), but I'm actually starting the thread because I didn't know where else to put this article and it seemed fun.

    In 'Afterlife,' Archie Comics veers into horror



    The vibrant, cheerful and safe town of Riverdale is getting a ghoulish makeover.
    In "Afterlife With Archie," a series debuting Wednesday, publisher Archie Comics is launching not just its first horror title, but also its first book carrying a rating for teens and older sold only in comic shops.
    The series written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and illustrated by Francesco Francavilla sees Archie, Betty, Jughead, Veronica and others, including Sabrina the Teenage Witch, enveloped in a panoply of incantations, elder gods, zombies and the undead.
    "It's a hardcore horror book," said Aguirre-Sacasa, a Harvey Award-winning writer who melded his personal interests and horror obsessions into influences for the book. "This is why I was meant to do comics."
    Those are evidenced in descriptions and images. In one panel, for example, Sabrina the Teenage Witch is clutching the fabled but dreaded "Necronomicon." In another, showing the gang at a party, Archie is dressed as Freddy Kreuger from the "Nightmare on Elm Street" films.
    Francavilla included his own nods to horror classics, too, like the "'Rocky Horror Picture Show' and 'Nosferatu' posters on Jughead's bedroom wall."
    But the book, despite its subject matter, he said, reflects the core characteristics of Archie and the other characters.
    "Sabrina? She's always messing up," Aguirre-Sacasa said, though in this case, the mistake has grave consequences for Jughead.
    "He's always hungry," Aguirre-Sacasa said, a normal trait that portends doom by the end of the first issue, setting the stage for the second issue and beyond.
    Publisher and co-CEO Jon Goldwater says the title is not your "traditional Archie Comic" given the subject matter.
    Instead, Goldwater called the series a fresh opportunity to place Archie's characters in a setting where there is no easy, happy ending with everyone feeling just fine.
    "I really view this as Archie's 'Walking Dead,'" he said, referring to the Robert Kirkman-created series that has blossomed into a television show with a massive fan base.
    The monthly series is drawn by Francavilla with dark, ominous illustrations boasting artistic nooks and crannies.
    "We are taking a series of characters known to be light-hearted and young adult-oriented and doing a horror comic with them, so the mood, atmosphere, and setting are very important to make this a believable horror and not a comedy horror," the Eisner awarding-winning artist said in an email.
    "Fortunately, I am really good at making things dark and ominous."


  • #2
    Mega Man does not take place in Riverdale, accursed fool!
    The last fan of 1990s comics
    Read my Green Lantern blog The Indigo Tribe

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    • #3
      Who said it did?

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      • #4
        Originally posted by SD80MAC View Post
        Mega Man does not take place in Riverdale, accursed fool!
        Right. That's why I went with "beyond Riverdale."

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        • #5
          This seems like such a bizarre choice for a comic. A horror comic, which is apparently not supposed to be humorous, yet stars the cast from the regular Archie comics? I'm not sure I'm getting the target audience.

          I mean, don't most people that read Archie comics, and therefore are fans of its cast of characters, probably expect a certain tone from an Archie comic, which they apparently won't get from this?

          And wouldn't most people that are fans of horror comics be rather...skeptical about the merits of one that has Archie and Jughead and the gang as its main characters? I'd think that even amongst the crossover group of people that are fans of both Archie AND horror comics, I'd think there'd be a fair number that would think the two really shouldn't be combined.

          I figure either I'm way off in my perceptions about how much sense this makes, or else they are counting on bringing in readers that DON'T like the Archie characters, and hope to be treated to amusing scenes of them dying in horrible ways.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Mister Ed View Post
            ...I'd think that even amongst the crossover group of people that are fans of both Archie AND horror comics, I'd think there'd be a fair number that would think the two really shouldn't be combined...
            Well, I think I'll pick up #1 at least because of how bizarre it is. I am a horror fan and as a preteen I was a regular Archie reader so the Riverdale crowd is familiar to me. I am skeptical but I buy a lot of comics and bizarre pairings often get my attention.
            Maybe that is exactly what they are banking on (like when they did Archie Meets Kiss). After all, if it was just a family friendly Halloween in Riverdale it probably wouldn't get any attention (for all I know they've done that a hundred times).
            Space Cop
            The Dandy
            Last edited by Space Cop; 10-08-2013, 09:27 PM.

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            • #7
              I'm in the exact same boat. I'm really excited for this one. I read the preview pages and it just seems so bizarre, but I think that's part of the charm to me.

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              • #8
                So, I thought Afterlife with Archie #1 was alright. I'll probably get #2. The art's good, of course. It is serious. I would say the tone makes the pre-zombie bits feel like a teen TV drama, but with the recognizable Archie "cast." The trouble starts from Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (apparently one town over from Riverdale here) agreeing to resurrect Jughead's dog (so think Pet Cemetary + Zombie apocalypse).


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                • #9
                  This is beginning to make me want to read it.
                  Originally posted by IonFan
                  (even if the ear sucking helped get me off faster)
                  Originally posted by Big Daddy Caesar
                  If I had things like the internet and a laptop as a kid, I never would have left my room as a teenager.
                  Originally posted by Quaker
                  I am the Geoff Johns of the GLCMB.

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                  • #10
                    Read the first two issues, found them surprisingly entertaining.

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                    • #11
                      The Mega Man/Sonic The Hedgehog crossover is just everything that I wanted in a meeting between the two.

                      If you're a fan of both characters pick up vol 1!

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                      • #12
                        A screw-up with my LCS' order left me without Afterlife with Archie #3.

                        Originally posted by Iggy View Post
                        The Mega Man/Sonic The Hedgehog crossover is just everything that I wanted in a meeting between the two.

                        If you're a fan of both characters pick up vol 1!
                        I read that whole crossover and liked it. Now I'm catching up with the previous MM issues in trade.

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                        • #13
                          EXCLUSIVE: Archie Comics co-CEO accused of gender discrimination by male employees

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                          • #14
                            You still digging Afterlife with Archie, Space Cop?

                            Every time you post a cover in the last comic read thread, I get interested in checking it out.

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                            • #15
                              I do like it. I'm not sure it would be everybody's cup of tea, but I don't think most would hate it either. It's not quite as campy or quirky as I would've expected. It's a decent magical-zombie story where all the characters/situations happen to be from a normally family-friendly comic series. Anybody who likes zombie stories, Francavilla's art or is familiar with Riverdale should check it out. Currently, the main group of teens (minus Jughead who is zombie #1) are holed up in the Veronica's mansion.

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