Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Issue #2

I was beginning to think that I would never see a second issue in this series. There was quite a lapse between Issue 1 and this installment. I must say, though, well worth the wait. My expectations were very high, and this certainly met my expectations.

Issue 1 left off with two teenage girls summoning a woman’s soul from Gehenna. This woman is nicknamed Madam Satan and was the spurned lover of Sabrina’s father, who committed suicide in a moment of anguished passion. She is now on a path of revenge, the summit of which is inflicting unspeakable suffering upon Sabrina.

The artwork and writing style are both consistent with the 60’s horror genre, which works very well. There are also lots of nice literary allusions woven in, as well as nods to pop culture in the 60’s. The combination really succeeds in drawing you in to the tale. As I flipped the final page, I felt a tingle that was reminiscent of how I felt reading campy horror as a kid. I applaud the creative team that put this together. It ranks up with some of the best horror I have read in a long, long time.

I hope that subsequent issues will begin coming out more frequently. I am so impressed with this comic, I wish I had another issue to read right now. If you’re a horror fan, this is a must read, but be sure to get the first issue and read that before immersing yourself in this one. Enjoy!

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Issue #1

I have been eager to begin reading this graphic tale ever since I read the Afterlife with Archie comics. It took some effort to acquire this first copy (it seems Sabrina is in high demand), but persistence paid off and I luckily came across a copy last week at a local shop.

As with the Afterlife series, the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is dark, creepy, and reminiscent of horror from the 60s. Stylistically, the creative team draws on writers like Lovecraft, films like “Rosemary’s Baby,” and of course the classic horror comics of the era. All in all, the team has created something fresh and unique while tapping into familiar motifs that have become a part of the darker regions of our society’s collective consciousness.

This first issue traces Sabrina’s early years, from birth to her early teens. Sabrina is a “half-breed,” whose father (Edward Spellman) was a black magician and whose mother (Diana) was human. At age 1, Sabrina is taken from her mother and given to her two aunts to be raised as a witch. Diana resisted and Edward scrambled her memory, then had her committed to a mental institution where she was lobotomized. In a very eerie image, Edward is later depicted as trapped within a tree. It is not revealed why this happened or who was responsible, adding a level of mystery to the tale which works quite nicely.

I think the most impressive aspect of this comic is the wealth of references. The pages are strewn with allusions to occult figures, mythology, literature, and history. I had to look up a couple references with which I was unfamiliar, such as Ed Gein. I discovered that he was a most unsavory character who was a serial killer and body snatcher, exhuming corpses from graveyards and fashioning trophies out of bones and skin. He was supposedly the real-life inspiration for characters such as Norman Bates from Psycho, Leatherface from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs.

The issue leaves off with a very dark cliffhanger, where two foolish teenage girls have summoned a female demon from Gehenna. The imagery associated with this is nightmarish and the implications hinted at suggest that the upcoming installments will be nothing short of terrifying.

The bottom line is, I LOVE this comic and if you are a horror fan I strongly urge you to seek this out and read it. Issue #2 has not yet been released, but I have placed a request for my local comic dealer to hold a copy when it is finally published. One last thing, at the very end of this issue is a short comic strip from the original Sabrina which was published in October 1962. It serves as a nice contrast between the two comics, while at the same time giving a nod to the source of this amazing comic.

As always, feel free to share your thoughts and comments below. Cheers!