Posted By Joe Grunenwald on October 10, 2013

Detail to the cover to Afterlife with Archie #1. Art by Francesco Francavilla.

There have been some pretty ridiculous Archie comics over the years. Not just the regular ridiculous Riverdale antics, mind you, but the ones that push the boundaries of Archie’s already questionable credibility. There’s the team-up with KISS, appearances by certain political figures, and who could forget (no matter how much they might want to) Archie’s now-legendary face-off against The Punisher.

So to call Afterlife with Archie – a book that imagines the citizens of Riverdale dealing with a zombie epidemic – “unprecedented” isn’t entirely accurate. But what started as a simple joke – a one-off variant cover for the regular Archie title by artist Francesco Francavilla – is something much more impressive in its finished form. Afterlife with Archie takes familiar characters and a familiar scenario, and in putting them together yields a comic that wildly exceeds expectations.

This is the first page of an Archie comic.

From the very first page, it’s clear that this is going to be unlike any Archie comic that has preceded it. As the story unfolds, a frantic Jughead brings his dog, Hot Dog, to Sabrina for help. Hot Dog has been struck by a car, and Jughead needs Sabrina to work some black magic in order to bring him back to life. Just let that sink in for a minute. This is in an Archie comic.

Writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa does a superb job of ‘normalizing’ the Archieverse in this first issue. He relies only slightly on one’s prior knowledge of the characters, instead presenting them as regular teens with normal problems. It’s hard to imagine the Jughead Jones of this comic being obsessed with hamburgers, or Betty and Veronica taking part in contests to win Archie’s affection. In the main title one gets the impression that they more or less like each other, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here. Those two snipe at each other like true teenage girls, calling each other names and just generally being nasty to each other.

In addition to his strong characterization, Aguirre-Sacasa’s plotting is spectacular. He begins the story at the exact right time, and grounds the origin of the zombie outbreak in the characters themselves. You know it’s not going to turn out well from the moment that Jughead arrives at Sabrina’s door, but you really feel for both of them – Jughead in his anguish over what’s happened to his dog, and Sabrina for wanting to help her friend.

Unlettered detail from page 2. Art by Francavilla.

Even if it were horribly written – which it’s not – this book would still be incredible to look at. Francesco Francavilla is the perfect horror artist. Everything he draws has the feel of a ‘70s Hammer horror movie poster. His characters look like real people for maybe the first time in their 70-plus-year histories. You realize just how silly Jughead looks with a paper crown on his head, and Archie’s hair is shaggier than it’s ever been before. Even Mr. Weatherbee and Ms. Grundy get the treatment in a brief scene, before the zombie infestation begins. And once the biting and the lumbering starts, all bets are off. As characters become infected it’ll be a treat to see Francavilla redesign them yet again as zombies.

Afterlife with Archie #1 is an incredibly strong first issue. There’s no decompression in this book – things happen and they happen fast. The stage is set for a Riverdale bloodbath, and it’s sure to be spectacular. As long as Aguirre-Sacasa and Francavilla are on this title, it’ll definitely be one to read.

Related posts:

Categories: Comics, Reviews
Tags: Afterlife with Archie #1, Archie, Francesco Francavilla, horror, review, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, zombies