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.

The Marked Halloween Special

Every once and a while, the guys at my favorite comic shop order things that they aren't sure whether I would like them or not. They try to get up with me on my special orders but with my work schedule, I'm not able to get there every week. The guys know not to order me anything overtly demonic and for the most part, their executive decisions have been pleasant surprises. I wish I could say the same for this book...

The Marked is a title from Image Comics. Debuting in 2019, It's about a group of women with these tattoos that are magically imbued. The world has been rendered safe from demons for the most part by the Marked. But every once in a while, something managed to sneak through to our dimension. 

In this Halloween special, the Marked are preparing for a challenge by one of their former brethren, a witch named Rogue who rebelled against Catholic church's role in the Spanish Inquisition. As a result of a curse, every 100 years, this excommunicated witch unleashes her own special demons on Earth. The Marked are given until midnight of that centennial contest to find the portal unleashing the fiends and close it, or the devils will reign for another century. 

This year, Rogue's demons have taken root in a small town in Texas on All Hallow's Eve. Only Halloween has been banned thanks to a fire and brimstone preacher and the extreme right wing Sheriff department that rules the burgh with an iron fist. Last century, Rogue almost won. With the Marked having to fight a town full of bigots and homophobes, along with Rogue's army of darkness, this Halloween could be the earth's last and longest Devil's Night for 100 years.

This special started out okay. It straddled this side of Mike Mignola's Hellboy which is about as extreme of a story involving the devil that I am comfortable with. In fact, I thought I was reading a sorceress version of the X-Men. With a villain known as Rogue, a coven made of a diverse international membership and a rough-around-the-edges warlock who befriends a wet-behind-the-ears young enchantress, it really is the X-Men for witches. In fact that warlock and the youngster actually make a joke about how characters named Rogue are supposed to be mutants. 

When the witches make it to Texas, they encounter children who are actually demons under enchantment. The spirits were scary looking but things were fairly balanced between good and evil. So, I read on. But when we get to the reason why Rogue chose this town for her judgment, we learn that- big surprise- the police force was behind a number of heinous sins. They're all dragged off to Hell. Then the fallen angels come for the pastor. He didn't kill anyone but his version of God's love is warped. Yet as the guy begs for his life, the Marked condemns the man to the lake of fire because in their minds, he's cancellable. It's here that I decided that I couldn't make this book a keeper.

The Sheriff and his deputies being villains wasn't so much of a controversial thing. There's countless works in which Southern lawmen are bad guys. But there's also quite a bunch in which they are knights in shining armor. But why is every pastor not of the Catholic church deemed a charlatan, a misogynist and further right-winged than Trump and DeSantis combined? 

I'm a Christian. I'm not perfect. I make mistakes. So do the pastors of the churches I have attended. Yes, some preachers are pure evil. Jim Jones and David Koresh are two prime examples. Instead of dooming the town's pastor, who clearly was not following Christ's example, why couldn't writer David Hine have allowed the guy to repent? Are readers supposed to believe witches and demons exist but redemption, that's a foreign concept? It was that stereotypical look at the church that put me off of this franchise and decided that this book will not be a permanent part of my Halloween collection.

And for any comic book writers who may ever read this review, I challenge you to craft a story in which Christian leaders are looked at as the flawed people that they are but seeking to do right and pursue righteous above their sinful ways. Hating the sin but not the sinner is possible. It's a concept that might seem like fiction, but it's really not. I just wish my beliefs were also represented in comics.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Disney Giant Halloween Hex #1

   I was really excited about this supposedly 'all-new' Disney Halloween special from IDW Publishing. But this special that hit stands just this past Wednesday wasn't comprised of all-new material at all. Instead, like with their other Disney titles, this book was made up of stories reprinted in other Disney comics. To be fair, two of them were never before published in the United States until now. But I really was looking for to something a little more 'up-to-date' looking.  
    The star of this special is the magical arch-enemy of Uncle Scrooge- Magica De Spell. In a story from a 1995 Italian comic, Magica is on a another quest to steal Uncle Scrooge's lucky dime when her annoying relatives come to visit. Insisting on helping her along, they actually help Magica. But, upon numerous rebuffs of warning from a gnome, the enchantress learns that having it all isn't all it's quacked up to be. 
   Then Magica returns for a one-page gag from Holland as she dreams up another scheme to steal Scrooge's dime. 
   Both stories were actually pretty good. The art was very clean and they both were kinda funny. Plus after years of not knowing why, I finally learned why it's so gosh darn important that Magica De Spell steals Scrooge's lucky dime- it all has to do with her being able to perfect a Midas touch spell that will turn everything she touches to gold. 
   Honestly, I don't understand why Magica doesn't just tell Scrooge her scheme and they wind up splitting the profits. I mean, he's so greedy, I think he wouldn't pass up a chance to get even richer.
    The last story of this special was the only actual Halloween themed tale. From the 1960s, it stars an elderly witch named Witch Hazel and her trusty broom. On Halloween Eve, her nephew comes to visit. But when his antics get out of control, the Witch Hazel and the broom will have to use their wits as (at least in this story) witches and warlocks can't hex each other as their powers cancel each other out.  
     The Witch Hazel story was a nice closer to a special that pleased despite not being what I wanted. I truly wish Disney would make IDW produce new stories. There's supposed to be a Duck Tales revival coming soon and this special devoted to Magica would've been a nice teaser for fans both old and new.
     Not a bad read. A fun Halloween treat but using reprints in an all-new special is a little bit of a trick.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Baba Yaga's Assistant (Family Comic Friday)

That's one scary looking witch.

   Masha is a young woman raised by her grandmother. Her mother died when Masha was very young and with her grieving father absent from most of her life, the girl learned many things from her Russian Nana. Along with a little magic, Masha was taught the stories of the Baba Yaga: a child-eating witch from Central European folklore. But one day, Masha finds an ad requesting a new assistant for an ancient witch. Grandma's stories were true- Baba Yaga is real!

   But before Masha can become Baba Yaga's assistant, she must accomplish a series of tests. The very first mission is to discover a way to enter a house propped up with chicken legs and no visible entrance. Good thing Masha is armed with the knowledge of her grandmother's accounts of the legendary spellcaster and a litany of subtle compliments.

   I meant to read this 2015 graphic novel during the Halloween season, but it kept getting put off for some reason. I found it at my local library and as my 2 renewals had almost run out, I needed to read this or return it for a later time. I'm glad I decided to read it.

 Usually, I say that the books I read for Family Comic Friday that there isn't much for parents and guardians to object to. Well, this time, it's not the case. The book is about a witch. Some parents may not want their children exposed to witchcraft. However, this witch doesn't do anything worse than the baddies in Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or the Wizard of Oz.

   The next issue is that this book is about a witch that eats children. Parents may object to this as well. But remember, the witch in Hansel & Gretel had plans to eat the heroes of that story. In Baba Yaga, there is a trio of kids that get captured and held prisoner by the sorceress and it's up to Masha to save them. This may be too intense for some readers, so discretion is advised.  (By the way, Amazon says this book is appropriate for those in grades 4-7.)

   A very interesting read that I think very well could be the beginning of a series. It was a quick read with art in the style of old-world European woodcuts mixed with New Yorker cartoons. But is this book set in Europe or the States? Sadly, this book doesn't answer that question.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.