Comics: Afterlife with Archie ~ Issue 3: Sleepover

Story by: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Illustrated by: Francesco Francavilla

Rated: Teen+, Violence and Mature Content

Archie Comics
(4/5 ★★★★☆)

(Cover A by Francesco Francavilla)

"This Is How The End Of The World Begins..,

LOCKDOWN.

Archie, Reggie, Betty & Veronica and the

few survivors of the Riverdale High Halloween

Dance Massacre have made it to Lodge Manor

and are safe and sound...for now. But with one

of their ranks infected, how much longer can

the survivors avoid their fate and keep from

becoming part of the zombie horde?"

It has been a fun ride with the previous issue as the gang rushes to flee Riverdale High and seek security in the Lodge Mansion.

In the 3rd issue, the story is mostly told in the perspectives of Hiram Lodge. A lot of things we're seen in the life of the family of the Lodge. They tell of the beginning of Lodge Industries in Riverdale. Even the determination of the gender of the first child of Hiram and Hermione Lodge by two spinsters, who are just Sabrina's aunts, were narrated. A lot of Riverdale characters were seen to be zombified in this issue, with the addition of two new ones from Archie's gang that sought safety in the Lodge Mansion. This issue ends with a zombie bark for Archie in his house.

"Fine, let's have the "We're-safe-in-here-it's-INSANE-for-you-to-go-out" conversation instead." - Betty

This issue continues the nice pace that the first 2 issues had set up. This time it gives the zombie apocalypse view on the different insights and emotions of the other residents of Riverdale. Sacasa and Francavilla really had superb skills in telling this story. One can really feel the diversity of the personalities of the different residents of Riverdale. From the scared Veronica up to the worrisome Hiram, they really had done a good job in telling their story. Another example is seen on the panels wherein Nancy and Ginger are riding on a motorcycle. On one panel it shows the ambitious and happy escape which is contrary to the other that depicts the realistic and worrisome escape from Pop Tate.

From The Vault: Chilling Adventures In Sorcery ~ Horripilate Host

Illustrated and Story by: Dick Giordano

The story is about the show Creeper Features that is shown every Saturday at 10:30 p.m. It is hosted by Sedgewick. This short comic follows his story of evil especially whenever the cameras has stopped filming. Later on he gets his punishment after reading some pages from a Demonomicon book.

This is a nice story from the vault. It is the kind of stuff that would be great to be read as a closing short story after every issue of Afterlife with Archie.

Overall, this 3rd issue of Afterlife with Archie has been an exciting read. Let us see what happens to the confrontation in store for us between a dog and his owner.

More of Afterlife with Archie can be seen at:

http://www.afterlifewitharchie.com

Comics: Afterlife with Archie ~ Issue 2 (Cover Review)

Cover A: Francesco Francavilla

Cover B (Variant): Tim Seeley

Cover C (2nd Printing Variant): Francesco Francavilla

(Cover A, B and C)

Story by: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Illustrated by: Francesco Francavilla

Rated: Teen+, Violence and Mature Content

Archie Comics

Yes I'm a fan of this series that's why I decided to collect the different variants of every singles of Afterlife with Archie. As long as they are not more than $10 or Php. 500 for each variant cover. The first two covers for Afterlife with Archie #2 were sold last November 20, 2013. The 2nd printing was released shortly on January 1, 2014.

The covers made by Francavilla, cover A and C, were nice. Interestingly they both have Jughead say EEAARRCHIEE!

The variant cover, cover B, made by Seeley is the best one for this issue. It shows a chest view of Archie in which most of the colors were just plainly gray scale colors with splatters of orange-colored blood in some areas.

If you are keen on following this series but without any interest in collecting all the different variants, I suggest that the variant cover made by Seeley, cover B, is the best choice to have as a single. It just gives a more silent thought on the story for this issue. I guess I may prefer it that way unless they make another variant cover in which the scene that involves an apple is the one drawn.

"This Is How The End Of The World Begins..."

More of Afterlife with Archie can be seen at:

www.afterlifewitharchie.com

Comics: Afterlife with Archie ~ Issue 2: Dance of the Dead

Story by: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Illustrated by: Francesco Francavilla

Rated: Teen+, Violence and Mature Content

Archie Comics
(5/5 ★★★★★)

(Cover A by Francesco Francavilla)

"This Is How The End Of The World Begins..,

Turn out the lights, the party's over.

The zombie outbreak has reached the halls of

Riverdale High and the bodies are beginning

to pile up.. Can Archie, Betty & Veronica

escape the carnage and find a safe haven to

make humanity's last stand or will they,

too, join the ranks of the undead as

a truly eternal love triangle?"

Jughead down and a lot more to go. The previous issue was a fast and well packed story in the sense that the bestfriend of the leading character in a story is the first to turn into a zombie. Normally, in the routine way of story telling, that does not happen at the very start of the story. But it works perfectly in this comics.

In this 2nd issue, two perspectives of the zombie apocalypse in Riverdale are told. One takes place in Pop Tate's Diner, where Mr. Jones infect that area. On the other hand, the main event happens during the Halloween Party at Riverdale High. Another one from Archie's friends dies in this issue which was beautifully illustrated by the artist. After the death of that character "twice", chaos soon followed at the gym which lead to the search for a safety at the Lodge Mansion by the remaining group from Archie.

"I'm done playing Brokeback Riverdale with you." - Ginger

This is another good zombie apocalypse meets "a famous set of story" that is well crafted by the writer and the artist. Especially for the artist in creating the page that re-enacts Snow White's death with the scene only showing the apple rolling off her hands. What's more fun and enjoyable in this series is that there is an additional short story at the end which they called "From the Vault: Chilling Adventures In Sorcery." This was said to be formerly published under the title "Chilling Adventures In Sorcery." These short stories will be included starting with this issue and later on for the upcoming issues of Afterlife with Archie.

From The Vault: Chilling Adventures In Sorcery ~ Cat

Illustrated and Story by: Gray Morrow

The story was just okay. Although it would be recommended that this part to be read only if you are looking for something to do. Well this short story is just an add on for the Afterlife with Archie comic anyway.

Needless to say, this comic, Afterlife with Archie, is highly recommended due to the great story told by Aguirre-Sacasa and illustrations that were drawn remarkably by Francavilla. One can't just wait to find out who is still left alive by the time Sabrina is back in the story.

More of Afterlife with Archie can be seen at:

www.afterlifewitharchie.com

Comics: Afterlife with Archie ~ Issue 1

Story by: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Illustrated by: Francesco Francavilla

Rated: Teen+ , Violence and Mature Content
Archie Comics
(5/5 ★★★★★)

(2nd Printing Cover by Francesco Francavilla)

"This Is How The End Of The World Begins..,

All hell breaks loose when a fateful

accident sets a series of events in motion

that will threaten the town of Riverdale like

never before!  When the dead begin to rise,

craving human flesh, it's up to Archie,

Betty & Veronica to fight for their lives

against the zombie hordes led by their

former pal, Jughead..."

Archie combined with zombies? Sounds crazy right. But that very idea is what caught my attention in making a reservation for this comic in Comic Odyssey. The cover that I got so far is the 2nd printing variant by Francesco Francavilla.

This is an interesting comic. It mixes a lot of things to the Archie universe. So far we have seen zombies, then there's the special appearance of Sabrina, the teenage witch, along with her aunts and Salem. There's also these two characters from Archie's high school wherein they compare notes and make some references to some Hollywood Horror Movies. These alone can give anyone interest into getting a copy of this. I don't want to spoil anymore things regarding the story after mentioning some characters that had crossed over to the Archie universe. So I'll just say that in this issue, we start by having a dead Hotdog, Jughead's dog, and end by having a Jughead zombie or as they call him 'Jugdead'. Aside from the story, the art was good. Although you might wonder why the characters aren't drawn the same way they are usually seen. Well there are two simple reasons that I can think of regarding that. (1) The artist here is different from the one who usually draws the normal Archie comics, and (2) this is an Archie comic that tackles the horror genre seriously. So I had been expecting that this would be the kind of art that this comic would end up to be.

Overall, I recommend to those avid fans of Archie comics, or those glued to anything zombie related or better yet to those who likes both. It is nice for those intrigued by zombies crossing over the plains of known comic universe such as this.

More of Afterlife with Archie can be seen at:

www.afterlifewitharchie.com