Happy Horror Days One-Shot

I've been learning over the years how the holidays are filled with creepy characters and horrible stories from around the world. So who better than Archie's horror imprint to provide some festive frights? From 2022, Happy Horror Days offers 3 tales designed to bring holiday fear instead of cheer.

Frank Tieri returns to the Jughead: The Hunger universe he created with a story that answers the question: What would happen if Krampus ran across the path of a hungry werewolf? 

Then Veronica makes an Icelandic immigrant's first Christmas in Riverdale hell by berating their fashion sense. Little does Ms. Lodge know about the legend of the deadly Yule Cat.

Finally, under pressure from his parents, Reggie wishes for a girl he can take to Christmas dinner with. Little does he know that his prayers have been answered by a pair of devilish imps.

The opening story was more black comedy than horror. Lots of funny banter that if the main Jughead: The Hunger books are anything like this Krampus caper, then I most certainly wanna get my hands on them. The other two stories were like most classic horror comic tales. It's the twist endings that elicits the scares. The closing panels to both stories were absolutely creepy. But I think it's that last panel of the Reggie story that is really going to stick with me for a while.

I loved this anthology. The annual Archie Christmas specials are the books I look forward to the most each holiday season. They bring forth a magic of the holidays and this special is no different. Except that it's black magic instead of Christmas magic. I'm kicking myself for not having read this one sooner because I feel like if I had given praise to this one-shot sooner, we could have had 2 more years of scary Archie Christmas comics.

Well, there's always next year.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Fear the Funhouse #1 (Family Comic Friday)

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.

Chilling Adventures Presents: Archie's Weirder Mysteries #1

Just as 1999 was turning into the year 2000, Pax TV was airing an animated series based on the Archie Gang. Called Archie's Weird Mysteries, the cartoon focused on B-grade movie monsters, ghosts, and Dilton's science projects gone wrong. While the series spawned a comic book, Archie's Weird Mysteries was more of a spiritual relative of an early 1990s Archie Comics cult fav of mine, Dilton's Strange Science.

Jump to 2022 and Archie's Weirder Mysteries has returned. Only instead of being an all-ages affair, this one-shot special is set firmly in the mature rated Archie Horror universe of titles. 

There are 3 stories in this special. First up is Betty, Monster Hunter. Though this time after finding a crashed flying saucer, Betty is now an Alien Hunter. That's because one of the occupants of the UFO is missing! Evidence points to the creature being a shape-shifter. So when Betty goes to Pop's Choc'lit Shoppe accusing everyone of being an alien in hiding, nobody bats an eye...

The second story stars Dilton and Ethel as they travel back in time to 1990s era Riverdale. More on that one a little later. The final adventure is set about 50 years in the future. Josie of Pussycats fame, seems to haven't aged a day. This really bugs the heck out of rival Alexandra Cabot and prompts the now middle-aged rich b*tch to seek ways to recapture her lost youth.

The Betty story was great. I've not read any of the series starring this version of her and in the past, hadn't had any desire to do so! Not anymore!

The Ethel and Dilton story was really good. Though I wasn't a fan of how Dilton looks like a muscular jock instead of a wimpish nerd. However, having the duo go back in time to visit the parents of Archie, Betty and Veronica was really intriguing. There was an element of the cult film Empire Records to this story and I'd be all for Archie Comics doing a limited series about the life and loves of the parents when they were the age of their current children. 

The Josie story appeared to be a sequel of sorts to the Ethel and Dilton tale. That's because both stories involve a physician by the name of Dr. Masters; a creep interested in eternal life-stretching medical techniques. I wasn't familiar with this guy. But a quick Google search revealed that he was the start of his own Archie Comics drama series in the 1960s. As short lived as it was, I loved how Archie Comics still tries to keep it's legacy characters, alibeit EVER so minor, around for a good yarn or two.

A fun read. With mature language- I didn't know Betty could say the word 'shit'!?- some blood and gore and possibly a little sex, this is a one-shot Halloween time fun ride that is NOT for kids!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Vampironica #1

Vampironica #1

Written by Greg and Meg Smallwood
Art by Greg Smallwood
Lettering by Jock Morelli
Published by Archie Comics under the Archie Horror Imprint

This Party Sucks

Cheryl Blossom’s parties are so lively. Thus, it is the perfect place for a vampire attack! Just when it looks like the fiends will suck the life out of this bash, enter Veronica Lodge to the rescue!

Archie Comics has been on fire in the past couple of years. They take an outdated character in the eternal teenager Archie. Then they totally reboot him without loosing his core essence of hopeless boy in love with two girls. And then Archie Comics adds monsters, zombies, and horror to the mix!

In the vein of Afterlife with Archie and Jughead: The Hunger, Vampironica introduces vampires to the people of Riverdale. Image if Ronnie was Buffy the Vampire Slayer! There’s definitely an added element of Marvel’s Blade mixed in as only instead of being a normal human cheerleader,Veronica is a vampire. And she kills other vampires!

Keep It Quick

Vampironica #1 was an extremely quick but chilling read. Greg and Meg Smallwood kept me on the edge of my seat with this chiller. I hate that I read my advance copy so fast because it’s going to be a couple of months before I get to know what happens in issue #2.

Greg Smallwood’s art was really phenomenal. It had a lot of elements from Fiona Staple’s work in the Archie reboot written by Mark Waid.

Francesco Francavilla has been doing the art for the other Archie Horror books and I really enjoy it. But I am glad that Archie Comics decided to go with Smallwood here. You don’t want to over do it with Francavilla. By having a different artist in Greg Smallwood, it definitely helps to keep the Archie Horror franchise one of the freshest comic universes on the current market.

This first issue was a mach-1 thrill ride with twists, turns, and lots of blood and gore. Tasteful blood and gore. I loved it! And I think you will to when you get a chance to sink your teeth in it this March!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Vampironica goes on sale March 14th, 2018.