Afterlife With Archie #2 - Archie Comic Publications

AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE No. 2, January 2014

If the superbly atmospheric Francesco Francavilla cover depicting a zombified Jughead Jones hungrily stalking his perturbed best friend in a cemetery, doesn’t give you fair warning that “Afterlife With Archie” is not your normal ‘jolly japes in the Midwest’ title. Then the opening few pages of “Dance Of The Dead” will certainly drive the message home. For as soon as the ghoulishly-coloured caper starts the reader’s senses are assailed with adult themes such as implied incest between siblings and the horrifying sight of a love struck young lady being eaten alive by her boyfriend whilst her friends look on and laugh… and then shout in fear and fright.

Even a sudden brief interlude is no less shocking in content as two school friends discuss putting an end to their “playing ‘Brokeback Riverdale’ and telling their families of their feelings for one another when a brain-hungry Mister Jones abruptly shuffles into the diner where they’re sitting. But far worse gore is yet to come as Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa starts to ramp up the terror and significantly increase the death toll.

Smart zombies are ordinarily something to be avoided, unless you’re the maestro of the macabre himself George A. Romero, and even he has critics following the 2005 release of his motion picture “Land Of The Dead”. But bestowing “the thing that was once Jughead Jones” with a sense of hatred for Veronica is a masterstroke on the part of Aguirre-Sacasa and really helps bring the grim reality of the situation home to both party-goer and reader alike.

Perhaps somewhat disappointingly what follows next could be argued as being fairly standard zombie fare. Having been savaged by Archie’s best friend, Ethel turns into a zombie herself and accompanied by the equally undead Principal Weatherbee and Miss Grundy, starts to feast upon a school hall packed full of screaming, panicking youngsters. However much of this issue’s strength lies in the fact that the American writer is making this bloodbath happen to some extremely beloved and recognisable individuals within the "Archie Comics" world… and once they’ve become infected they aren’t coming back. At least not without spewing bile from their mouths and wanting to sink their rancid teeth into other people’s jugular veins. This comic book really is a very new and difficult take on John L. Goldwater’s characters.

All this action is illustrated by Francesco Francavilla with his usual highly stylised yet somewhat minimalistic pencilling. The Italian’s best work is undoubtedly when he is drawing the zombies feasting upon their prey. Though the utter frustration and rage bestowed upon Jughead when he’s thwarted by Archie from attacking Veronica is wonderfully dynamic, and it is very easy to imagine the thunderous pounding the walking cadaver is giving to the chained locker room door when the ravenous ghoul is later trapped inside.

The variant cover art of "AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE" No. 2 by Francesco Francavilla

Afterlife With Archie - Halloween Comicfest Edition #1 - Archie Comic Publications

AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE - HALLOWEEN COMICFEST EDITION No. 1, January 2014

Created in 1941 by Vic Bloom and Bob Montana, the character of Archibald Andrews is something of an American comic book phenomenon, as attested to by his official website receiving “forty million hits a month”; at least according to the late Chairman of “Archie Comic Publications” Michael Silberkleit. The decision to therefore ‘kill off’ the adult red head and end “Life With Archie” in July 2014 was condemned by some fans, upset that his demise, defending a friend from an assassin’s bullet, was nothing more than a publicity stunt. Such an outcry seemed particularly persuasive when it was revealed by Jon Goldwater, CEO of “Archie Comics” that Andrews’ adventures would continue as a seventeen-year-old once again attending Riverdale High School.

The events of “Afterlife With Archie” however occur within a different timeline altogether, albeit the zombie apocalypse it depicts still focuses upon the same town of Riverdale first established within the pages of “Pep Comics” back during the Fifties. Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who notably has previously adapted horror novelist Stephen King’s “The Stand” as a thirty-one issue comic series, and noteworthy for being the publisher’s first title to be rated ‘teens and up’, the sheer wealth of backstories to the personalities from Archie’s world who reside within this book could be rather bewildering for the uninitiated.

Admirers of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, whether enthusiasts of the Nineties television series or her more recent ‘chilling adventure’ comic book, will be all too familiar with Hilda and Zelda, and have an appreciation of the girl’s deep feelings for her cat Salem; thus understanding her willingness to try and resurrect a distraught Jughead’s pet pooch. But the likes of Reggie, Midge, Moose, Mister Weatherbee, Miss Grundy, Betty, Dilton and Veronica are probably far less accessible to non-aficionados.

However the basic storyline is simply about an inexperienced witch trying to help out a friend by bringing his dead dog back to life, and getting her black magic horribly wrong. So instead of being reunited with a lively bouncy Hot Dog, a small-town teenager is bitten and infected by a four-legged zombified corpse. What then follows is actually a pretty standard tale of an increasing contagion being spread from person to person by bite to bite.

The biggest thrill by Aguirre-Sacasa is undoubtedly the reader’s excitement as to how once familiar (and beloved) ‘Archie’ characters are going to survive this zombie plague or the anticipation as to how they’re going to gruesomely die. But there is still an awful lot for those ‘not in the know’ to enjoy as well, as the American playwright does a tremendous job in building up the tension as Andrews’ best friend succumbs to the infection, potentially feasts upon his unsuspecting parents and then stumbles into the local high school’s annual Halloween party.

Additionally adding to this apocalyptic atmosphere is the terrific, though singularly stylized, artwork of Francesco Francavilla. The Eisner award-winning penciller’s technique really suits this sort of creepy and kooky storyline. Whilst his page composition, especially at the start of the book when Jughead races to the front door of Sabrina’s home to present her with both his dog’s battered body and a plea for help, actually gets the heart pounding with its sequence of short sharp pacy panels.

Interestingly this Halloween Comicfest (reprint) edition has been produced in a black and white format, and therefore forgoes the experience of the original magazine’s vivid orange and blue-grey interior colouring. But in many ways this version’s grayscale may actually be preferable and considerably adds to the comic’s overall feeling of bleak eeriness and menace.

Story: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Art: Francesco Francavilla, and Lettering: Jack Morelli