Archie's Halloween Spectacular #1 (2026)

Halloween night and my wait was over. Archie's Halloween Spectacular is what I look forward to the most. It's fun. It's slightly spooky. And it's safe. Halloween 2026 really seemed to be my year of Archie what with my crippling bone pain, cognitive function decline and bouts of extreme exhaustion. I stayed mostly away from the really scary stuff as I was already low in spirit. But despite my limitations, I did my very best to embrace the fun and frights of the season. 

The Archie Halloween Spectaculars always start with an all-new story. And they're usually way too short. A blast from the Little Archie past returns with the daughter of Mad Doctor Doom creating a massive robot out of a haunted house in order to terrorize Riverdale. It's run by stolen Halloween candy, and when the robot captures Betty and Veronica, it up to 2 unlikely heroes to save the day! 

Pairing Cosmo, the formerly Merry, Martian and Fly Girl from the Crusaders, they team up to rescue the girls and put an end to the Doom Family's reign of terror!

The cool thing was that this was a longer story. Usually the all-new adventures are no more than 6 pages. A couple have been as short as 3! This story was chopped into 2 stories for about 12 pages. It makes me wonder if Archie Comics has been listening to my requests for longer original frights. I have said in past reviews that I would be willing to pay more for more original material. But going from $4.99 last year to $7.99 in 2026 seems a bit steep. Plus I am pretty sure I said that I would be willing to pay more if all the material was new. 

Reprint tales include a Betty and Veronica adventure where they investigate sightings of a ghost at an abandoned theater owned by Mr. Lodge, a new costume shop turns the Archie gang into actual monsters and there's a one-pager in which Veronica scolds Reggie for not coming to her Halloween party in costume.

The Betty and Veronica mystery was a classic that I remember reading when it first dropped decades ago. The costume story seemed familiar to me as well. I think it was edited because in the scene where Dilton texts Archie that he will be late to the costume shop, the art for that sequence just didn't match the rest of the page. The punchline to the one-pager with Reggie was a hoot.

Speaking of Reggie, what's up with him wearing a fish bowl over his head with him dressed as a vampire? Is this a reference to a classic Archie Comics character back in the 60s when they were known for their horror parodies?

A great way to finish up my Halloween reads of 2026. One of the rare times where I am kinda bummed that I didn't get the variant cover. Bill Galvan's homage to the Ben Cooper costumes of my childhood, this one bearing Fly Girl, is something I would have loved to add to my holiday comic collections. It would have made the extra cost worth it. 

Inflation. It seems to be the scariest monster of this book! Until next year (God willing)...

Worth Consuming!

Rating 9 out of 10 stars.

Archie x Army of Darkness #5

The epic 2026 crossover between Archie Andrews and Ash Williams comes to an end. A bloody end. There's a splash page scene where Betty, Veronica and Reggie have guns and they're blowing Deadites to pieces. I'm not normally one for overly gory violence. But it's done in that campy Bruce Campbell way that I spent several minutes just marveling at its insane imagery. Fantastic fun by artist Bill Galvan. 

When it comes to miniseries, I've gotten to where unless something really changes in terms of plot, originality or just does something totally different, I'm not going to spend my hard earned money for it. Plus I don't have that much room in my house and collection. I've got to be really picky these days and understand that I just can't possibly own it all. But if Archie Comics and Dynamite Entertainment decide to pair up again, I have the perfect idea: Sabrina the Teenage Witch x Army of Darkness x, wait for it: Josie and the Pussycats! Have it take place in Greendale. Have the Pussycats performing a Halloween night concert. A new S-Marts has just opened in the Riverdale sister city. Deadites abound! It could happen. It should happen. I'd be first in line for it.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars. By the way, I rated every issue a perfect 10. I don't think I have ever done that before for any miniseries longer than 2 issues. It's a testament to how awesome this story was. If you missed it for this Halloween, do yourself a favor and gets your hands on these 5 issues from your local comic shop and be ready to be blown away by the horror, humor and depravity of it all!

Archie x Army of Darkness #4

Ash helps Archie locate the Deadite spell in the Necromonicon. Archie must first finish the spell and then immediately recite the words to vanquish the Army of Darkness. Unfortunately, doing this in a S-Mart isn't a pure enough location to send legions of demons back to the underworld. So the gang decide to head to Pop's as it's a place of the happiest of memories! 

But first, Ash and Archie must battle the duplicate Archie gang that have broken into the big box store. Then they have to make it to their car in the parking lot, which is swarming with Deadites. Lastly, they have to save their friends and family because with the original spell now completely spoken, the Deadites have no restrictions from entering Riverdale. 

A fun issue. I've been so impressed with writer Erik Burnham. There's not been a single down energy moment to this crossover. The art by Bill Galvan has been amazing (See the variant cover from the last issue). It's so cool seeing an Archie Comics version of Ash. And the variant covers have been a delight. Such a great spooky read as we count down to Halloween.

Worth Consuming!

Rating 10 out of 10 stars.

Archie x Army of Darkness #3

Ash and the Archie gang have holed up in Reggie's new lake house. Deadites surround the compound. But the living have some weapons. Just not very good ones. With the Necromonicon in hand, Ash and the kids need to make a supply run if they are going to take on the Army of Darkness. 

To the S-Mart!!!

Normally the middle issue of any crossover is where the joining entities get to know each other. There's a lot of ego. A lot of someone thinking that the other character is a bigot, racist, creep or all 3 rolled into one. Usually nothing happens to move along the plot. But not this time!

Ash learns that Archie didn't finish the spell. In the last issue, we're only made aware of it because of the leader of the Army of Darkness explains to his lieutenant why the Deadites haven't invaded Riverdale yet. Anyways, Ash getting the Necromonicon in his possession is a big plot mover. Wrangling up the Archie gang and heading to the S-Mart- another big plot move. Add in a Deadite version of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Reggie and Jughead. It's a trifecta of big plot moves. So rare and I loved it!

I also love the variant cover that my favorite comic shop ordered for me. It's pretty much the only thing missing from this miniseries; an appearance from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Seems this amazing cover from Bill Galvan might be the closest we get to that. Ooooooh... I'm getting vibes of what the sequel could be: Army of Darkness x Sabrina the Teenage Witch x Josie and the Pussycats!!! Archie! Dynamite! Make this happen!!!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

Archie x Army of Darkness #2

The action returns to the present minus maybe 2 or 3 hours. At the S-Mart, Archie's car wouldn't start, so his new trainer Ash offers to drive him to Reggie's lake house bash. On his way back to Riverdale, Ash runs into an old friend who's literally a chip off the old block. This signals to Ash that the kids are next on the Deadite menu and with his trademarked duffel bag of weapons, the Main Man hoofs it! 

Meanwhile, it's discovered that Archie actually read from the Necromonicon. But he didn't finish the incantation. That limits how much damage the Deadites can amass and keeps Riverdale safe... for now. But if the Deadites can capture Archie, they can make him finish the spell and open the town up for the Army of Darkness!

I've not been disappointed with this series. True, I'm only on issue #2. But it's been a ton of fun. I must embarrassingly admit that I totally blanked on who the main antagonist of this crossover is. I knew that it was a character from Army of Darkness. But I just couldn't place the name. Shame on me. Shame.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie

When a bratty girl claims to have seen a murder, nobody seems to believe her. But when she turns up murdered after a small community's Hallowe'en party, there may very well be some credence to the child's wold claim. On the request of an old friend, Hercule Poirot leaves his flat in London to assist with the investigation. Every witness claims that the deceased was a compulsive liar, leaving Poirot without a suspect. But the deeper he digs, the renowned detective becomes entangled with the exploits of a contested will, a missing au pair girl and the death of a legal aid with a shady past.

I struck gold this past summer finding this Halloween themed novel by Agatha Christie. I also found an Christmas mystery that I look forward to reading in December. I had been wanting to see the Kenneth Branagh led A Haunting in Venice and was disappointed to see that the film was stuck on streaming channels that I don't subscribe to. Well, you know how folks annoyingly say 'The book was better.'? Well, I got a chance to say just that because A Haunting in Venice is based on this 1969 novel. (Okay- I still haven't seen the movie!!!) Only there's no scenes in Italy. 

This is late Agatha Christie. She only released a couple more books before her death in 1976. I don't know if the writer had become kind of disillusioned with the mod and counterculture Generation of England. Maybe she was alarmed by the rise of youth violence both by them and against them. Surely, Christie felt that crimes had become more sordid as the result of the British government releasing a number of mental patients into the populace as it seems just about every body in town thinks that a deranged drifter raped the loudmouth girl before killing her. I'm not kidding! It seems only Poirot and his old friend, an aging mystery writer, who is clearly a literary version of the author, who hold steadfast that there's some other ulterior motive behind the murder. 

I wonder why Christie didn't have Miss Marple team up with Poirot in this book because next to the famed mystery writer, the fictional version here seems a lot like the spinster sleuth. I digress...

Anyway, this book seems to read a lot like an Agatha Christie TED talk that combines the author's rants to keep kids off her lawn while attempting to solve a homicide. It wouldn't be so bad if this book wasn't so darn repetitive. You know how in those comedies with a narrator that the speaker makes an observation before the main character exclaims exactly what the unseen voice just said? That's how this book reads. I don't think I have ever read the words 'vegetable marrow' in my 48 years of life. But here, the term is used a dozen times in the first chapter alone and most of the time is in the fictional writer's head. Basically, pick an odd, random British term for an object and every chapter seems to fall into this repetitive trap to the point of silliness. 

Was this a good read? Sure. It just wasn't my favorite Agatha Christie read. After like the third or fourth chapter, none of the action takes place on October 31st, although Poirot keeps coming back to that fateful night in his questioning. I felt that the solution was adequate despite that there is at least 1 red herring. A little misdirection that sadly never gets resolved. But I'm okay with that. Although, doesn't that mean that there's still a killer on the loose in this idyllic British village? 

Now that's a frightening prospect.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Archie x Army of Darkness #!

I haven't had so much fun reading a comic book in a very long time. For some reason, with my health issues, reading a single comic book wears me out. Yet when I finished this opening issue, I was so ready for more. I actually gave a yell of despair on par with Ash at the end of Evil Dead 2 when he realized that he was stuck in medieval times, when I discovered that for some reason, I didn't have issue #2.

Thankfully, the guys at Atomic Empire in Durham were able to assist in what was a fairly quick search. I so hate a cliffhanger. Especially when I don't have the next issue in front of me. But a 4 day wait wasn't so bad. 

The story begins at Reggie's new lake house. A distant relative left it to him and though Reggie can't legally own it until he's 21, Mr. and Mrs. Mantle have given their son permission to throw a massive party. While taking Archie, Betty and Veronica on a tour of the new place, they discover a secret passage. The teens wind up in a personal library that seems devoted to the arcane. Among it's contents is a copy of the Necronomicon. Or perhaps it's the real thing. Anyway, Archie for some reason, is compelled to read aloud from it and by doing so, it unleashes a horde of Deadites. 

You might be wondering why I haven't mentioned Ash Williams. Is this one of those opening chapters of a crossover where the main parties only meet on the cliffhanger page? Thankfully it's not. Archie and Ash meet and interact for about a third of the book. Instead, its a flashback of a few days prior with Archie becoming the newest employee of the Riverdale S-Mart. His trainer: one Ashley J. Williams!

If you are a regular reader of my reviews, you might be wondering why I read this Evil Dead spin-off if I am not a fan of demons and witchcraft in my horror reads. Well, you can blame my dad. I grew up watching the Evil Dead movies with him. While The Amityville Horror II: The Possession scared the crap outta me, for some reason the Evil Dead movies made me laugh. Maybe it's because zombies coming to life from a macabre spell is less realistic than humans becoming possessed by demons. I think the wonder that is Bruce Campbell has a lot to do with it as well. 

(There better be a national day of mourning when that American icon meets his eternal reward.)

Anyways, I was disappointed that it ended and was left hanging. But I don't really blame Archie Comics or Dynamite Entertainment for this. It's been a real struggle for comic shops to keep up with orders with there not being a central distribution center in the absence of Diamond. Other than not, I really had no viable complaints about this opening salvo. Thank goodness I have issue #2 now!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.