Afterlife with Archie #1 Review
“This Is How the End of the World Begins…”
Publisher: Archie Comics
Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Art: Francesco Francavilla
Letters: Jack Morelli
Cover: Francesco Francavilla
Review by Scott Keys
Wait, you mean to tell me that this book is about the Archie gang and a zombies? Then you tell me that one of my all-time favorite artists, Francesco Francavilla, is doing the art? How could that NOT be awesome?!?
This book was an absolute joy to read. I know, that sounds kinda morbid, but it’s true. I love mash-ups in general, and when you take the clean-cut kids from Riverdale and mix it with the horror genre you have a winning combination. Aguirre-Sacasa does an excellent job of taking these classic comic book characters and completely turning them on their ears, but keeping the core of the characters intact. I also thought that his utilization of the other Archie Comics staple, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, was a great touch to bridge the two genres! Necromancy in an Archie book? And it was all because a boy loved his dog so much, he’d do ANYTHING to get him back!
How have I made it this far without drooling over the masterful artwork of Francavilla? How about I start now, is that ok? This book is absolutely GORGEOUS! Francavilla is like Wolverine: the best there is at what he does! And what he does, is make some awesome comics! He is a master storyteller, utilizing colors to help tell the story and set the tone just as much as his pencils do. I also like the fact that the Riverdale gang look more “realistic” in this story, because I feel that if it were done in the “traditional” Archie style, the reader would have been immediately taken out of the story. Francavilla’s style and color work really make this book great!
If you couldn’t already tell, I really enjoyed this book! The team of Aguirre-Sacasa and Francavilla have done a brilliant job mashing two disparate genres together into something that can only be described as magnificent! I implore you to run to your LCS and pick up this book!
Art: 5 / 5
Story: 5 / 5
Overall: 5 / 5
Scott Keys is a father, Butler University grad, pharmacist, and full-time comic nerd. You can follow his adventures around the spinner-rack and his Incoherent Comic Book Ramblings on:
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