One of the reasons I love doing this weekly article so much is that I get to help parents and guardians navigate the tricky waters of age appropriateness in terms of comics and graphic novels. Often, it's the clerks at comic book stores and book stores that don't have a clue what is okay for a 7 year old to read and what is more suited for someone in 5th grade. Occasionally, a library will shelve Alan Moore's Watchmen in the all ages graphic novel section. And then sometimes the publishers themselves muck everything up as is the base here.
Archie's Fear The Funhouse is rated Teen Plus. However, editor Jamie L. Rotante states towards the back of this one-shot that this Halloween time special was geared towards middle school readers who would've enjoyed R.L. Stine's Goosebumps or Nickelodeon's Are You Afraid of the Dark? According to Howtolovecomics.com, the age range for Teen+ is 15 and up. American middle schoolers are in the range of ages 11-13. So, obviously, if this is a comic book for those in Jr. High, then the Archie staff made a boo-boo.
Having read this book, I can state that there are a few scares. But there's no sex, gore or bad language that adults need to worry about their young readers coming across. The worst thing is perhaps the prospect of a whole lot of coed preteen members of the Archie Gang spending the night in the woods of Riverdale without any parental supervision. The camping trip in question is an annual Halloween sleepover at the Adventures Scouts tree house. To pass the time, the kids roast hot dogs, stay on the lookout for bears and tell scary stories.
There are a total of 3 stories told around the kids' campfire. The first involves that famed urban legend of an escaped convict with a hook for a hand. But there's a twist and the next to last panel of the story is actually kinda terrifying. Story two melds fantasy and reality as Archie crafts a story about an eerie noise that is haunting the campers. The last fable is truly creepy. Told by Dilton, it chronicles a young boy's obsession and descent into paranoia around his discovery of a long thought lost video game.
The two book-ending stories were the best. The opening fright stars members of the Archie Comics family that actually predate Archie and his friends by 3 months! I love how Archie Comics makes use of their forgotten legacy heroes. I love even more that the editorial team tells us all about it in their director's cut commentary in back of the books!
I think the artwork more than anything of that video game story creeped me out. Rotante claims that the artwork was done in the style of Edward Gorey. But it looks more like Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs' Ron Barrett. I was also unsettled by the ambiogous ending that hearkens back to German post-modernism film. I'm still trying to figure out what the last image of the word 'TEMI' stands for...
As for the middle story, it was cute. But it was also a little confusing. It was just a tad hard to figure out where the story of Archie's ended and the reality of the framing tale restarted. As for the end of this comic, it ended about as ambiguous as the video game story. But I felt that the close to this book was rather silly and the frantic kinetic motion that was supposed to be elicted by the kids at the end looked more like elderly mall walkers on a Tuesday morning.
If Fear the Funhouse is something Archie Comics is looking to do annually, I wholeheartedly throw my support on this. Just be sure to adjust the rating of this book. I'm thinking the only reason this book got a teen+ rating is due to it being part of the Archie Horror imprint. Archie Horror titles are not for kids. Think TheCW's Riverdale with swears and blood. And the occult. Lots and lots of black magic. All three of which things are not to be found in this book!
If you are looking for a safe, friendly Archie comic devoted to frights, then you'll love Fear the Funhouse! If the 2022 Archie Halloween Special was a fall festival (wholesome fun for the whole family), this book would be a trunk or treat event; a little more mature and a tad bit more scary. But definitely nothing that should keep you up at night for too long.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
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