Archie Showcase Digest #24- Halfway to Halloween

This book debuted in stores in May. I was very lucky to find a copy still on a Harris Teeter magazine rack just a couple of weeks ago. Boy am I glad I did because there's a ton of stuff that I have never read before!

Archie, both Little and as a teenager, Sabrina and her bewitching family and Betty and Veronica all have both Halloween themed and regular day supernatural adventures in this book. I didn't realize how many abandoned mansions that are supposedly haunted, occupy the town of Riverdale. In this gigantic digest, I lost count after 4!

The best story was a multipart tale where an Addams Family archetype clan moves into the haunted mansion behind Archie's house. I liked this story because of how creepy and kooky this family is and yet Archie treats them like normal people. He even treats their man-eating shrub like you would a beloved family dog.Once he got to know their true character, of course. It's how if I meet the Addams Family or even the Munsters, I hope I would react and interact with them.

Another thing that was really good didn't involve anyone from the Archie gang. It was the monster heavy pieces from the 1960s horror comedy anthology titled Archie's Mad House. Those pieces looked like something from EC Comics and had the humor of MAD Magazine. I thought they were great! I've never actively pursued these issues. But I've never turned down a chance to purchase one of I ever find them while searching through discount long boxes. But I might just start...

My choice for the worst story was the story from Archie's Weird Mysteries. Adapted from the monster and alien heavy 2000 cartoon series of the same name, I was excited about this one at first. I loved the animated series and I had put the 25 issues based on it on my wish list. But after reading this one, I might have to rethink that. The story, which recounts how Veronica became chosen as the Riverdale version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as the betrayal of their friend Scarlet, who was a bloodsucker all along, relies too much on the TV series. The recap is too long. Inside jokes about the cartoon are referenced way too much and I had trouble relating to the mentor character of Dr. Beaumont.

I didn't know that Halloween in May was a thing. I know all about Christmas in July. But if Archie Comics wants to make this digest an annual thing, I'm all for it! This Summer time digest had more new-to-me material than this year's October published Halloween themed Archie digest, which was almost comprised entirely of Archie Halloween Spectacular material of the past decade!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Archie's Mad House Mayhem (2018 Halloween ComicFest)

Over the years of the Halloween ComicFest, the Archie Comics offerings have been a consistent contributor! This year's selection was no different! Well, almost...

First up is an adventure with Betty and Archie. They're biking when Betty's beloved cat jumps out of Betty's basket and runs into a supposed haunted house. Can the teens find the kitty or will Betty and Archie find something a little more sinister?

Then the Archie Gang run a community center Halloween party. Archie thinks he's going to be the main attraction, Frankenstein. But Reggie wheels and deals a way to be Frankie instead. Now Archie is put in a frumpy pumpkin party and now the clown of the party. Will Reg get away with his usual slimy tricks or will things turn out okay for the world's oldest red head?

Both stories were good fun. The haunted house story was actually a tiny bit spooky and gave me chills. The Frankenstein yarn was quite funny. But one thing was missing and to me, it was a big piece of the puzzle- Dan Parent!

Dan Parent is a master at Archie Comics stories. I don't know what it is but Parent plus Riverdale is magic. In terms of the stories themselves, they were really good. But with the artwork, there was something not so clean about it. It was kinda scratchy looking. Almost like it was photocopied but I couldn't find evidence of it. It's just not the clean work that I expect from Archie Comics. 

Though it wasn't 100% perfect, I was barely disappointed by this mini-comic special. If I had to choose, I'd still pick this one above all the other selections. When it comes to free comics at Halloween, Archie is still my pick!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Archie's Mad House (2016 Halloween Comic Fest Mini-Comic)

Recently, Archie created an imprint comprised of more adult horror titles such as Afterlife with Archie. The imprint was called Archie's Mad House. This book is NOT a sample of those titles. 

Long before it grew up, Archie's Mad House was a monthly comic in the 60s that generally revolved around a central theme. Holidays such as Christmas and Halloween and Valentines were biggies. However, towards the end of the series, the Archie gang didn't even appear in the book. It was a title in which just about anything could happen. 

This 2016 mini-comic features two Archie stories set during Halloween. There's 2 stories and as well as 2 one-page gags. The best story has Reggie pissing off Jughead royally to the point that Reg thinks he's going get it when Halloween comes around. In typical Jughead fashion, the ambivalent teen is more devious than people suspect and does nothing allowing Reggie to slowly go crazy waiting for his just desserts. 

 At only 16 pages, there's a ton of fun packed into this book. It's one reason why I consistently grab the Archie mini-comics during each Halloween Comics Fest. I know that I'll get the most bang for my buck. Of course, I know that this is a free comic but sometimes, those freebie's just aren't worth grabbing. Not here- Archie's Mad House is definitely Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.