Archie Christmas Spectacular 2025 #1

I've said it once and I will say it again: the Archie Christmas Spectacular is the holiday release I look forward to the most. Maybe it's a longing for nostalgia in my getting older. Maybe it's because I love Archie. Maybe it's because I love Christmas. More than likely it's all 3!

This year's offering features Dan Parent, my pick for the definitive modern era Archie creator. Parent has a love of classic Archie while not being afraid to embrace modern norms. Case in point: the fan favorite Kevin Keller, Riverdale's first gay character. While Dan Parent has been quite progressive, his all-new story features a trio of classic Christmas characters from Archies past.

Christmas fairy Sugarplum insults Jingles the Elf when her first pick for her date to the North Pole Christmas Dance- Archie- is snapped up by Santa's daughter Noelle. In response, Santa's helper promises revenge.Jingles snatches up Veronica and he does it by deception, transforming himself into a hunk. Sugarplum ups the ante by turning herself human and bringing Reggie to the North Pole. Soon, it's a love triangle of Yule tide proportions with Archie and the gang smack dab in the middle!

This special also features 4 additional stories which are supposed to be reprints but were all new to me! Dan Parent pens and pencils 3 of them and they all pay tribute to the publisher's rather large and somewhat forgotten cast of supporting characters.

Betty and Veronica flashback to the Little Archie days thanks to being hypnotized. Foes from Sabrina the Teenage Witch's past threaten to disrupt Riverdale's New Year Eve festivities. The last pair of stories star Jughead's cousin Wilbur Wilkins. Wilbur and Archie both go ice skating only to be outdone by Juggie. Then in a story penned by Tom DeFalco, Wilbur has trouble finding the perfect gift for his secret Santa. Featuring dozens of characters from over 80 years of Archie Comics, it was a real Who's Who and it had a great punchline.

I did find that a couple of the stories were a bit clunky; especially the all-new tale. I just don't think 5 pages is enough for an epic level opener. The Halloween special had this problem too. If the high ups at Archie ever read this review, I hope that they might consider devoting more pages for the all-new feature in the holiday specials. I think 8-10 pages would be acceptable and if the cover price had to go up 50 cents to do it, I would be okay with that.

Massive kudos once more to my favorite LCS. They've been managing to get me the classic variant covers for the holiday specials lately. Once again, I got the cover I wanted. It's an all-time Christmas classic by Dan DeCarlo. I must have been really good this year!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

Archie Halloween Spectacular 2024 #1

I found it! Also, I am not crazy. Scatterbrained because of symptoms from fibromyalgia. But I knew that I had read this before. Apparently, I filed this into my collection before reviewing it. (This is becoming an annoying pattern.) But I had read it before and yes, based on the events in this book going on to the events of the Halloween specials for 2025, I have missed something in the Amber Nightstone Saga featuring Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

In the all-new feature, Sabrina is summoned to Riverdale by Jughead. Juggie apparently is the only member of the Archie gang that knows Sabrina Spellman is a witch. Though, like with Batman, I think a whole lot of people know her true identity but they keep it quiet in order to stay out of trouble.

Anyways, Jughead is aware that his good buddy Archie is going on a date with Amber. Sabrina realizes that Arch has been entranced and along with Jughead, Sabrina seeks to save Archie from her enemy's clutches. Behind all of this is an ancient evil and the promise of more trouble from Nightstone.

Though they appear on the cover, Halloween sprites Trick and Treat don't have anything to do with this issue; even with the reprint stories. So when Archie expressed trepidation over being fooled by those characters again, as with what happened 'the previous Halloween' and Amber Nightstone is revealed to having ensnared Trick and Treat, I knew that I missed something. I still don't know where all that background stuff happened and it's a bit infuriating. Hopefully, Archie will produce a complete Amber Nightstone Saga trade so that I can get the full story. 

Next Halloween, perhaps?

The other reprints are more modern tales. There's a spoof on the M3gan movie where Veronica buys an expensive luxury toy that seemingly comes to life with malicious intents. As for the other stories, I can't really recall them. It has been over a year, ya know...

Obviously, I liked this special enough to have remembered bits from it. I don't think forgetting to review it speaks to it's diminished quality or anything like that. Although I really enjoy the stories from the Archie Madhouse era. People don't seem to realize it, but  Archie Comics was a pioneer, utilizing vampires and other monsters during a period in comics history when monsters and ghouls were verboten! And they managed to still receive the CCA stamp on their covers. I guess it goes to show that humor can trump horror and it's detractors - if it's done as a lampoon. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Archie's Halloween Spectacular #1

As strange as it may seem, the Archie Halloween Spectacular is the Halloween special that I most look forward to! This annual one-shot is just so fun. Contrary to what you might think, while it is all-ages appropriate reading, it not all sunshine and lollipops.

The all-new opener is from the mind and might of Dan Parent; who in my opinion is the definitive modern day Archie creator. The story involves the South Side Serpents who have been transformed into actual monsters thanks to a defective invention of Dilton's. Transformed, the bullies look pretty terrifying and they seem eager to do some damage against Archie and his pals. 

It's the second story that I thought was the most intense of the bunch. In yet another reputed Riverdale haunted house, the gang seeks to put on a Halloween bash. Archie is on guard, expecting trouble from those Samhain sprites, Trick and Treat. Archie is on the money as the two do indeed cause calamity. Only there's an air of evil in these pranks which lead to teenage witch Sabrina to go into battle versus an old foe.

That story, along with the other 3 or 4 other tales are supposed to be reprints. But Trick and Treat were only introduced to the Archie universe a couple of years ago. And the last Archie Halloween Spectacular I read, which I assumed was last year's special, alluded to a rematch between Sabrina and Amber Nightstone. So did I miss something?! I mean obviously I did. I just don't know when and where I did and is there even more to this saga that I have yet to encounter because I am not reading a monthly Archie title regularly?

As for the other stories, only one sticks out to me as being memorable. It is by Frank Doyle and Harry Lucey and it looks like it's from the 1950s or early 60s. Betty and Veronica plan to meet up with Archie and Jughead at yet another haunted house. (How many violent deaths have occurred in this tiny burg to warrant so many haunted places?) The girls think that the guys are trying to scare them. The boys think that the gals are trying to spook them. It turns out that it's really the ghosts who occupy the dilapidated structure. And yet because each group thought the others were behind the frights, nobody gets scared. 

There was another story that looked like it's from the Silver Age that has Archie being the mark on a prank TV show similar to Candid Camera. Only, Archie has been warned ahead of time of the ruse and doesn't react to the ghost, which turns out to be the real thing! It wasn't a bad story. It just didn't feel as fresh being in the same book with another similar story. 

As for story #5 and #6 I think it involves Reggie. Maybe...? I just can't recall what happened in either. They must not have been all that great.

I enjoyed this special. It feels like Archie Comics is reading my annual reviews and making changes. At 30 pages and no middle ads, this felt like a giant read. Many thanks to my favorite LCS for ordering me the vintage looking variant cover. I like it so much more than the standard cover which looks CGI to me. Also, taking center stage is some random character that I bet most readers don't even know. Heck, I'm still not 100% sure I know who they are. I just with the green face paint, purple and black hair and fangs, whomever it is just is NOT recognizable. 

I loved this special. But it wasn't a perfect read. And it left me wondering if I missed something important.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

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.

The Unofficial Archie Hostess Snack Ads Collection

We all know that during the 1970s and 80s, the heroes of DC Comics and Marvel fought crime with the assistance of Hostess Twinkies, cupcakes and fruit pies. But did you know that the teens from Riverdale used snack treats to improve their love lives?

Archie and his pals, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Josie and the Pussycats all manipulated the objects of their desire to fall head over the heels for them thanks to creamy vanilla frosting and delicious fruit filling. The most frequent purveyor of the delights was Josie, trying to either win over the muscular blonde roadie, Alan B. or attempting to outmaneuver her ditzy drummer who won all the hunks, Melodie. Sabrina mostly used her powers for good, conjuring tiny cakes for hungry kiddies she was babysitting. Meanwhile, Archie scored with both Betty and Veronica, thanks to Hostess, while Jughead was actually pretty chill, using an amazing withstand to not eat all the treats being advertised.

This unofficial collection was published by Trident Studios. They keep surprising me with these mini comics that pay homage to the advertisements disguised as comic books from my childhood. Included in this collection are several comic ad one-pagers that used Archie characters as four-colored pitchmen. Archie, Jughead and Betty went on a trio of three-part adventures in search of Capri Sun. Fruit snacks, make-at-home slush packs and even a universal video game controller were hawked by members of the Archies. 

I can't believe that I paid money for a bunch of old ads. I also cannot believe how much I enjoyed this trip through my childhood. The scans were vibrant and clear as crystal and the font size was big enough to enjoy without severe eye strain. I hope Trident has some more offerings up their sleeves. Though I can't imagine what else from the realm of commercial comic books is out there in need of collection and publication. I guess only time will tell.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Archie Giant Series #467

From 1979, the star is Sabrina the Teenage Witch. There are several stories inside ranging from 1-page gags to tales of about 6-8 pages in length. Every entry is Christmas themed. The twist: how witches celebrate the holidays. Sabrina pretty much wants a modern age. Warlock cousin Ambrose prefers a traditional Christmas. Aunt Hilda has zero clue how to host a Christmas to remember, despite being countless centuries old. Sabrina and Ambrose try to educate Hilda on the holidays. But it fails miserably.

Doesn't Sabrina have a second aunt? Despite being on the cover, younger Aunt Zelda is absent from the interior of this book. It's not explained why. But the kinder, viridescent haired relative to Sabrina Spellman is nowhere to be found. She's not even mentioned in passing. It's almost like someone cast a spell of forgetfulness about her...

Featuring the talents of Archie legends X, Xx and Xxx. Why the X's? Because this book was released during a time when Archie Comics didn't give listing credits to authors and artists. But I wouldn't be the least surprised if Dan Decarlo was among those legends who worked on this book.

One might think that the name of the book is 'Sabrina's Christmas Magic' and that this is the 467th issue of that series. In reality, this is a part of the Archie Giant Series. As a child, I really thought that there were 400 plus Christmas themed issues starring Sabrina and family. The title also is not  Archie Giant Series Magazine like the top banner says. This name confusion often gets on my wife's nerves to the point that if at a con, she'd throw up her hands and give up digging through the long boxes to me and my wish list. So, I totally understand the perplexity over the unofficial and official titles of this book as well as the overall series.

Festive fun with a Halloween touch.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Archie Christmas Spectacular 2024 #1

I waited as long as I could to read the Christmas annual I look forward to the most. This year's 2024 Archie Christmas Spectacular did not disappoint in the least. In fact, I feel like Archie Comics might have listened to some of my criticisms, because instead of trying to cram in a brand new magical, they went into a totally different direction.

In order to enjoy the opening story, you had to have read this year's Halloween special. In that issue, a foe of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, threatened revenge upon the blonde pixie. Since that episode, Sabrina gifted her foe, Amber Nightstone, with a holiday present. One that was personal and really well thought out. The story opens with Archie and friends being kidnapped by Amber. But they're not in danger from the events that occurred during All Hallows Eve. Instead, they're being forced to help their kidnapper find an even better present for Sabrina!

There's also 4 other stories in this special. Normally, they're reprints. But not one of them are stories that I've ever read before. So I don't know if they were previously published or if Archie took my advice and crafted more all-new festive fare for their Christmas special. 

The fun begins with Jughead and Big Ethel getting to the bottom of a rumor that Christmas is cancelled. Then Betty and Veronica, as their superhero alter egos Power Teen and Super Teen, help the two Mighty Crusaders who bear the moniker of the Jaguar to recover Santa's stolen sleigh. Betty and Veronica then give a potential new recruit to the Mighty Crusaders a makeover.

Lastly, Archie helps the Shield solve the mystery of a super-weapon that was stolen during a Christmas party at a museum dedicated to America's first patriotic superhero. 

Every story was great fun. But the last story was my favorite. The story is set up where readers are supposed to examine the party-goers for clues to the whereabouts of the missing artifact. But in reality it was a ploy to prevent the readers from missing the countless cameos of iconic and forgotten characters from 85 years of Archie Comics that were hidden in every panel. While I do wish that I could have solved the mystery, I greatly value the deception because I would have missed out on seeing some long lost friends from my childhood, such as L'il Jinx!

This is perhaps my favorite of all the Archie Christmas Spectaculars. It was magical. It was fun. It was nostalgic. It's everything that I've been asking Santa for in an Archie holiday special.

Keep up the good work!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Archie's Valentine's Spectacular 2024 #1

The 2024 Archie Valentine's Day special has arrived. Once again, Archie is introducing us to some all-new characters. But the players are not human but manifestations of the spirit of the holiday. Not only has that idea been used in previous Halloween specials but several Archie Christmas Spectaculars as well. 

At first I was having fatigue in what I thought was the overuse of the plot trope. Yet the characters of Flowers, Hearts and Candies were really well written by Ian Flynn and they were so funny. It also helped that Archie editor Mike Pellerito admits that the idea of the trio of characters was based on those previous holiday annuals. If the Archie talents understand that they might be dipping a little too frequently into the same idea well, I guess I can let things slide for another year. But I expect the next couple of years to give these characters a rest. I like tradition. But there's such a thing as taking a break from time to time to keep things fresh as well.

One tradition that I hope never stops is the new larger amount of material. My biggest gripe with all of the Archie spectaculars are that they are too darn short. It feels like the editing staff listened to me as there was 2 all-new stories (though a repeat of you bought this year's Valentine's Day themed Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #347) along with 3 classic tales and a Bite-Sized Archie short.

The second new feature has Sabrina the Teenage Witch trying to summon Cupid in hopes of persuading Jughead to finally ask Big Ethel out. Instead, she conjures a demon that ends up being the antithesis of everything Cupid stands for. It was a good story. Though that evil creature wasn't my type of thing. Plus, I never knew that Jughead knew that Sabrina is a witch!

I liked 2 of the 3 classic stories. Sadly, the Dan Parent yarn about love triangles in the Archie Universe was the weakest of the three. I say unfortunately because I feel that Dan Parent is the best modern Archie creator out there but this experimental piece was in need of more data gathering before going to press. Plus I didn't understand that Bite-Sized Archie web comic preview. 

I enjoyed this Valentine's special. It's just in danger of getting stale if the creators keep relying on magical representations of the embodiment of the holiday of the month in future editions. In terms of the reprints, it's not feasible to expect every selection to be something everyone likes. So I'm not taking away points for that Dan Parent piece. But there was a real chance that I could of deducted more points if Hearts, Flowers and Candies hadn't been as funny as they were. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Archie Halloween Spectacular 2023

I saved my favorite for as close to last as I could stand it. For about 5 years now, the comic book devoted to Halloween I look forward to most annually are the Archie specials. Same goes for the Christmas edition. I think it's because of how timeless they are. So full of nostalgia, humor and wonder. Plus they have moments of spookiness without being too scary. 

This year's offering is a love letter to the dark side of Archie Comics. I didn't realize this, but in the 1950s and 60s, Archie and his gang interacted with a bunch of classic monsters and aliens. While the stories might have been tongue in cheek, the artwork of the ghouls and goblins was pretty darn intimidating. In the all-new opening story, Tom DeFalco pens a tribute to those glorious looking frights.

Last year's Halloween annual introduced readers to Trick and Treat; a pair of Halloween imps who like to visit Riverdale every October 31st. While I wasn't as enthusiastic about their debut, these two have become fan favorites. So a return was almost inevitable. In DeFalco's tale, Veronica's father is allowing the students of Riverdale High to use one of his abandoned properties as the site for the annual Halloween party and haunted house. In the minds of Archie and Jughead, this place already is haunted. Trick is inspired by the old comics books that Treat has been reading and uses the creatures from them to scare Archie and Jughead.

At the end of the book is a gallery of all the old Archie Comics issues that inspired this debut story. There's also a great 2-page article about the history of Archie books and why horror has always been an element in them. Did you even know that the Archie sister imprint Red Circle had straight up horror anthology tales? I had always thought that more adult Archie books of terror was more of a modern invention. Gee, was I wrong.

There's 4 reprint stories included in this book. One looks like it's from the 80s. Starring Betty and Veronica, the girls spend the night presumably in this same abandoned mansion in hopes of proving ghosts exist. Then there's a more modern tale involving some newer characters including a goth girl and a young boy of Indian decent. That's got the gang cutting through a graveyard on Halloween night in order to get to a Halloween party quicker. Bad idea there. The last newer looking story has Sabrina having to think fast when a rival witch attacks her at Veronica's Halloween bash- in front of mortals!

The 4th story was from the 50s, I think. Or the very early 60s. It's a classic that I've read before in which Dracula tries to trap Archie and Jughead. Only the two teens are completely oblivious that they're in near mortal danger. Every time the Count tries to prove to the fellas that he's a monster, one of the boys dismisses it as being lame. It was drawn to be very spooky. But it was so funny.

I thought the all-new story was just too short. But I really appreciated the nods to the past. I also don't quite get all the love for imps Trick and Treat. For one thing, Treat has a noose around their neck and I'm very surprised nobody has cried fowl on it and the implications of lynching. Besides, I'm more of a Jingles the Elf fan. Though I would love to see a Trick and Treat meets Jingles crossover! Maybe we could see these two worlds collide in a Thanksgiving Day special. If you ask me, an Archie look at Turkey Day has been sorely missing from my annual holiday comic book reads. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Little Archie #180

The thing about that was so striking about Little Archie was how incredibly dark this title could be. On several occasions, Archie and his pals have been kidnapped, pistol whipped, held hostage, punched, you name it. And this is supposed to be the kid friendly title!

And yet, I love it! 

I don't know why. But I LOVE Little Archie. Maybe it's because of the more adult situations that occurred. I wasn't being talked down to by the writers. With the classic Archie, everything is very saccharine. Things are more goofy and lighthearted with the teenaged version of Archie. I mean, I can't recall a time when somebody tried to kill high school aged Archie in a non-crossover classic story. Yet, it seemed like every other issue that someone has Little Archie or one of his friends in their crosshairs. This just happens to be one of those issues where nobody is out for Little Archie's blood.

In the cover story, it's Christmas Eve! Something is making a clatter on Little Archie's roof. Only it's not Santa but an alien in a UFO. The extraterrestrial is lost and needs directions. In order to communicate, the alien gives Little Archie a special helmet. Once on his way, the UFO allows Archie to keep the special headwear and holiday mayhem explodes as the device allows the tyke to read everybody's mind!

The secondary cover story stars Little Sabrina. Actually, the focus is on Salem, Sabrina's pet and feline familiar. With the holidays approaching, Salem is missing his family and thus plans to spend Christmas with them. Only, Salem's reunion isn't quite as inviting as the kitty had expected...

There's a third story in this book that is not holiday themed. When big bully Fangs ruins Jughead's lunch of burgers and shakes, Little Juggie snaps and knocks the villain's lights out! This stunning event leads Principal Weatherbee to draft Jughead onto the Riverdale Elementary boxing team. But Juggie's an eater, not a fighter!

First of all, what elementary school has a boxing team? I could see Riverdale High having a boxing team. The Jr. High, maybe. But not a school of 4th and 5th graders!

Then there's Salem. In this issue, Salem is reddish/orange. In the teenage comic version of Sabrina, he's black. 90s TV show, subsequent cartoon and  2010's Netflix series- all black. Is this a one-time oops? Or is Little Salem always this off-color? I'm eager to find out the answer. I just won't be able to find out in the pages of issue #181. This issue was the last of the series.

It's a great issue starring Little Archie and friends. Nowhere near as violent as some issues have been. But I felt that that pull no punches sort of attitude that has permeated the world of Little Archie is still in this book. Maybe not turned to an 11. But that's okay. It is supposed to be a Christmas issue. Plus, a special appearance by L'il Jinx! with a couple of one-page gags!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Archie: 80 Years of Comics

Archie Comics is celebrating it's 80th anniversary. Throughout 2021 and some of 2022, the publisher is releasing a number of 80th birthday specials. Of course, the one I went gaga for was the Christmas Special.

This extensive volume features work from greats such as Dan Parent (my favorite Archie artist!), Dan DeCarlo, and Frank Doyle. Plus tons more!

There's great stories starring favs such as Moose & Midge, Sabrina The Teenage Witch and elven pal Jingles. We even got a couple of L'il Archie stories! But where's Josie and the Pussycats? L'il Jinx? Katy Keene? Okay, I can understand maybe why Katy Keene isn't here. But the other omissions? What's up with that?

Another aspect that I wasn't a fan of is how this book is set up. The editors decided to start with the 2020s and then work their way backwards to the 1940s. Personally, I feel it's more appropriate to go from the early days and show the progression of the characters. Especially as how Archie and Co. looked in those very first issues. Archie has buck teeth. Betty and Veronica look like they need a little meat on their bones. And Jughead looks truly terrifying. 

Lastly, what is up with the print? Many pages seemed to have some serious print issues. Things like Veronica's jet black hair were muddled and instead appeared graying and mottled. Thankfully, you can still read the stories without issue. Just the coloring for the black ink was off. 

Overall, I enjoyed this thick holiday time capsule. Most of the stories were ones I've never encountered before. Yes, a couple of stories were winter themed and had nothing to do with Christmas. Instead of include them, Archie Comics could have given some love to those missing characters I mentioned. But then again, maybe a supporting cast collection is on the way. I'd be okay with that!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Laugh #5

A lot of holiday inspired chuckles fill this comic. But first, there's a story starring the repertoire of Archie Players. Their tale is a World War I flying ace epic. It was a good yarn. But I can't understand why Archie Comics didn't keep with the overall Christmas theme and do a parody of a holiday feature instead? And if you had to do a WWI story, why couldn't it have been about the famous Christmas Truce of 1914.

The holiday related stories have Archie and his dad competing for the title of Best Decorated house in their neighborhood. Josie and the Pussycats visit NYC during New Years. Unfortunately, their costumes didn't arrive with them. Lastly, Sabrina's aunts show the teenage witch how they secretly help Santa during his yearly run.

The Sabrina story was the best. It was in a word- magical! 

A good issue. Not 100% Christmas. But at least there was enough holiday material to appease.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Archie Giant Series #579

I had every intention of reading a Thanksgiving themed book for day 7. But if wasn't meant to be. The book I was to read winded up having a major printing error. The first 2-3 pages were missing which also meant that the last 2-3 pages were gone too! 

This kind of thing is a common error. And it's infuriating when you find out that a prized piece of your collection is anything but complete. 

Since I didn't want to throw off my schedule, I didn't read a Thanksgiving book last night. Instead, I am going to review a Christmas book that I read last year but didn't get to reviewing during the holiday season. 

This giant sized Archie from 1988 is full of holiday cheer. That pesky elf Jingles starts off the fun with another trip to Riverdale. Then Archie and Jughead gift their teachers with a free snow shoveling of their driveways. Then Veronica and Betty help a store Santa who gets wrongly fired by staging a boycott of the department store. Finally Archie and his parents butt heads when the fiery redhead teen decides he'd rather spend Christmas with Veronica and Mr. Lodge. It's a case of Christmas growing pains for sure.

This issue was jammed packed with Christmas goodies. Even the Sabrina one-pager seemed to be holiday based. Or maybe it wasn't originally but the artists decided at the last minute to add a Christmas tree in the background. I appreciate every effort to make the whole book Christmas themed. That's a level of devotion to detail and the holiday spirit intended that I miss in a lot of so-called holiday themed comics. 

I look forward to new Archie holiday specials every Halloween and Christmas. Why Archie Comics doesn't publish a Thanksgiving book is beyond me. I'd surely buy it! 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars. 

Archie Halloween Spectacular #1 (2021)

I wrapped up my 2021 Halloween reads with the title I look forward to the most. It's the 2021 edition of the Archie Halloween Spectacular!

My favorite Archie artist, Dan Parent, is the natural choice for the cover! It's not one of my favorites of the Spectacular covers. But it got the proper mood set for my Halloween night read!

The opening all-new story has Archie accidentally pissing off a witch. The next day, he awakes with a pumpkin for a head. Thankfully, it's October 31st. So everybody thinks Arch is just wearing a costume. Can juvenile sorceress Sabrina find a cure to this Halloween hex?

There's 3 more stories that fill out this 32-pager. All are reprints. But I don't think I've read any of them before. First up is a Dan Parent thriller in which Veronica purchases a cursed locket. Jughead's research convinces Ronnie to give up the ghost on the jewelry, least she become possessed by the original owner. But what will Betty and Veronica do when Juggie's baby sister comes in 'possession' of the necklace?

Then Archie swears off season foods when Reggie compares him to the pumpkin Pop has been using in his milkshakes and cheesecake. Hopefully, Betty can cheer Archie up with some fresh baked goodies. 

Lastly, we've got a story that stars Chuck Clayton. Of all the stories, I think I might have read this one before. But I am not sure. The aspiring illustrator thinks he's jinxed when his big shot to get published in a horror comic busts. Chuck is really sure he's cursed when girlfriend Nancy loses her part-time costumer job due to a big box store. Meanwhile, the local haunted house charity will have to be cancelled due to supply chain issues. It'll take a little Halloween magic, Riverdale style, to wrap everything up in a real nice package!

Of the repeats, the Dan Parent story was my favorite. It had a more mature tone and yet still whimsical. And Parent's rendering of Betty as Supergirl. Wow! I've seen several of Dan Parent's sketches of Betty as Supergirl. He does a fantastic job! It's one of my holy grails to get an original sketch from the artist doing Superbetty. Fingers crossed!

I saved the best for last. I loved every page. I know it's early. But only 365 more days until another Halloween special! 

I can't wait!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever Halloween Spooktacular #1 (Family Comic Friday)

With Halloween Comic Fest 2021 cancelled, the amount of Halloween themed books available for kids of all ages is pretty thin. But fret not, the return of Family Comic Friday has got it's hands on the brand spanking new ghostly read from Archie Comics! Prepare for the fun-filled frights of Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever Halloween Spooktacular #1!

I guess it's not fair to call this a completely new Halloween special. Only the opening tale is a first run story. It has Dan Parent penciled Betty and Veronica going to a thrift store to shop for their Halloween costumes. At the shop, the girls find a wicked pointy hat which just happens to have magical powers. The fun had at the expense of the residents of Riverdale all seems like a treat until one of their tricks backfires and Betty & Veronica accidentally summon a frightening ghost that steals their supernatural chapeau!

There's 3 reprinted stories that round out this special. First up: a scary movie viewing at the Lodge estate prompts Veronica's cousin to have a wild encounter with a supposed UFO invader! 

Then in a classic story that I've read somewhere before, teenage witch Sabrina refuses to spend All Hallow's Eve with her folks. So she's cursed until midnight to creep around as an ugly troll creature. Never one to let a good opportunity pass, Sabrina decides to go to a Halloween party in hopes of winning the best costume award!

Lastly, Archie and Veronica run afoul of the mysterious Dr. Katt in a two-part thriller. I too remember this story. Just not as well as the Sabrina farce. This feline-centric story is rather creepy and a perfect read for those Riverdale and Afterlife With Archie fans out there.

I've been looking forward to diving into my cache of horror themed books to start my annual 10 days of Halloween readings. But I wanted to start with an honest-to-goodness Halloween special to kick things off first! Anything holiday related from Archie is a good way to dip your toe into the frights. The stories have an eerie tone to them; but they're wholesome enough to not keep you up at nights!

Fun for the whole fam!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Archie's Madhouse Magic (2019 Halloween ComicFest Mini Comic)

Every year, local comics shops do an event call Halloween ComicFest. Nationwide, stores give away free comics while enticing fans with big sales and other cool stuff. I've been going to these events for about a decade now. So I think I am a bit of an expert on what books have been offered over the years. Thus, I can say without a doubt, the annual Archie is the one I looked forward to the most!

In this year's freebie, the star of the book is Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. With her hit Netflix series, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the blonde sorceress is the darling of the Archie Comics conglomerate. 

In the opening tale, Sabrina doesn't want to go to her family's annual Halloween coven. Instead, being a typical teenager, Sabrina wants to party with all of her friends. With this being her final answer, Sabrina has unlocked a family curse and turned herself into an ugly troll! Seeing as this looks like an awesome costume, maybe the occutlist can play this to her favor and end up winning the costume contest!

In the second feature, a haunt is terrorizing Riverdale. As a result, ladies are dropping their purses only for them to go missing! The whole matter has got Betty and Veronica spooked. It's up to Archie and Jughead to get to the bottom of this ghost story!

This was a great read! It did not disappoint. I only wish Archie Comics would tell you what year the stories were reprinted from.  The Archie story has Betty and Veronica looking like they are from the 1950s but their outfits scream the 70s! I'm really intrigued by this. If any of you readers know the answer, please drop me a line!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.