Chilling Adventures in Sorcery

This anathology features scary yet humorous stories as Madam Satan encounters the death stories of our favorite redhead and his hungry buddy. The fact that they’re there is more horrifying to Iola than their stories which was quite funny. I guess she had enough of teenagers during her time standing as drama teacher, Ms. Baxter.

Stanley’s Living on, Part Time was a cool 5 Nights at Freddyesque arcade tale where Archie battles the demonic entities of MLJ characters like Squoimy the Worm. That twist I had to read a few times before I understood it I’ll admit. Midnight Snack by Amy Chu was another tale that built up the suspense to its delicious end, highlighting Jug’s two biggest sins, gluttony and pride of his gluttony.

However, there is supposed to be three stories. Supposedly A Walk Through Hell is that third story but I see it more as a transition between Archie and Jug’s stories. A frame story for the two chilling tales.

Honestly I felt like I was missing pages because after Jughead’s story, Iola enters the gates of hell to return to Earth and then Armedgeddon breaks out. It just felt so sudden and no build-up. Again, I felt like I was missing pages especially since the ArchieComics twitter showed a page with the students at class or something which I didn’t see here. So is it just me? Maybe I am missing something.

Also I probably sound like a broken record that while I found the two stories suitably scary and creative, they are just too short for my taste. I wish they had longer page time to breath. Overall, the art and stories are a fun exercise in dark imagination especially Derek Charm’s art for Midnight Snack which was a perfect choice as he really killed it in the Jughead series. But the confusion and shortness made this a bit of a letdown for me.

Chilling Adventures of Salem by Cullen Bunn

Now this was what I wanted for Archie Horror. This chilling tale by Cullen Bunn shows how Salem is just as crafty as a cat as he was a human when he helps a bunch of animal sacrifices from a wannabe sorcerer. In fact, he gives some good advice to the animal-illing santanist as he has learned some lessons about trying to bend the power of demons to his will. The problem is Salem was arrogant, this man is afraid as the power quickly overwhelms him when it goes wrong. A terrific tale that is only bolstered by Schoening’s art with its gothic undertones punctuated by dark blasts of magic that leap off the page, shadows that loom over clustraphobically over shoulders and the glowing red eyes exude demonic horror that will linger behind your eyes when you close them.

Josie and the Pussycats in Space by Alex de Campi

This story presents Josie characters old and new in a familiar setting. Outer space for those who remember the 70s Hanna-Barbera show. But as it says in the title this is a scary twist. Just when the girls have decided to take a break after their last tour, they get sucked in a wormhole that has made them miss the past ten years. Worse, there is a shapeshifting, skin-sucking, limb devouring alien on the ship.

Yeah, sound familiar? It should be so it follows the somewhat predicatble beats but I enjoyed the small twists and I don’t just mean the ending. I like the inclusion of Melody dealing with panic attacks and a different pairing of Alan M. and Melody in a departure of the usual Alan M. and Josie ship. Also the Cabots as space officers are the best.

Plus Devaki Neogi’s art was a wonderful as it showed each bone splitering, blood sucking piece of gore while balancing it with expressive fear and the large vastness of the space landscape it is set.