Chilling Adventures of Sabrina#1 Review- 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #1
Released October 2014
Art by Robert Hack and Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Story Arc: The Crucible (Issues 1-6)
Chapter One: "Something Wicked"





Sabrina #1 definitely shows that success can be repeated as it a series that from issue 1 already shows much promise and looks to follow in the great success of Afterlife with Archie. Written by the amazing Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the writer for the successful Afterlife with Archie and stunning art by Robert Hack. Robert Hack has to be complemented for such great art in Sabrina #1 that definitely sets the mood of a story that takes place in the 1960's. His use of colors such as orange, reds and blacks is great to see and I was very impressed by the way that the art and colors combine to tell a very interesting story. Sabrina #1 is a masterful tale of a girl who was born of a mortal woman named Diana and of a warlock father and of two worlds and two destinies that she is caught between, one light and one dark. Issue 1 begins when Sabrina as a newborn is taken away from her mortal mother Diana by her warlock father Edward Spellman so she can be taught the ways of witches by his two witch sisters Zelda and Hilda so she can fulfill her destiny and become a very powerful witch. Witch law forbids a witch falling in love with a mortal so in one scene we see the untimely fate of Sabrina's father, who has been turned into a tree, both body and soul, as punishment for falling in love with a mortal! In issue 1 Sabrina grows and matures from a newborn to a teenager never truly having known her father and her mother, whose fates are never revealed to her. As Sabrina matures from a small newborn into a teenager she grows ever stronger in her vast and tremendous powers and is continually taught and mentored by her aunts Zelda and Hilda. Her aunts also are shown to be very interesting in that they love to eat the flesh from bodies which is why they have bought a funeral home next to a cemetary so that they can have an endless supply of food.

On her sixth birthday we also see that Sabrina is given a cat named Salem who can talk and is to be her witch familiar. Another interesting moment at that sixth birthday party is when Sabrina throws a tantrum because her father did not come to her birthday party and uses telepathy to make everything fly around in the room, a sign of her growing powers. Eventually years pass, Sabrina continues to learn the ways of witches and then the day comes when Sabrina enters high school and she meets a handsome young man named Harvey Kinkle. Not wanting to go the regular way of meeting someone she is convinced into creating a spell by her warlock cousin Ambrose who is staying with her so that Harvey can begin to show an interest in her. Although Salem warns that such spells may have dire consequences for her in the future, hopefully not following in the same fate as her father before her!

I was somewhat surprised that by the end of the issue we see that Veronica and Betty are witches and have unleashed some kind of creature from hell as part of some blood rivarly that they are having with someone, a creature that will eventually become a nemesis for Sabrina. Can you believe Veronica and Betty as Witches and that Grundy is a high priestess who leads the witch coven of Riverdale? I can definitely believe it as Afterlife with Archie has shown us that these stories take place in alternate universes and time periods where the stories and characters are more darker and more mature. Who is this dreaded creature unleashed by Betty and Veronica and what danger does she bring to Sabrina? What of Sabrina and her spell to get Harvey interested in her? These and many more questions are to be answered in upcoming issues as this current arc called the Crucible will continue on into issue 6. In issue two Sabrina matures in a sixteen year old Witch and her powers grow ever stronger as she comes of age!

So many more things to mention about this issue such as the inclusion of the first 5 page comic from 1962 when Sabrina first made her appearance in Archie's Madhouse Issue 22, which was written by George Gladir and art by Dan Decarlo. Its a great story that shows Sabrina, her powers as a witch and the tricks that she plays on humans. A great comic with great art and writing that you will enjoy along with the main story. Future Sabrina issues will also reprint an early Sabrina tale. There was also three pages of a Robert Hack sketch gallery of art that he has done for Sabrina. Sabrina #1 is also a 28 page comic where most other Archie comics have 20 total pages of story. I am wondering if this is just for issue #1 or if all Sabrina comics will be this length! For a first issue 28 pages of story is very impressive indeed. Overall, I was very impressed with this first issue of Sabrina #1 and although due to the nature of being an introduction issue where characters are mostly introduced there is bound to be less action and suspense in the story but that promises to change with the next issue as Sabrina matures into a 16 year old witch and her powers grow very strong! Sabrina #1 is an issue that should not be missed as it holds much promise with stunning art and story and excellent bonus features that makes this new horror comic series a must read and a very highly recommended purchase!


Overall Rating: Outstanding! (4.5 out of 5 Stars)
+Chilling Tales of Sabrina #1 is an excellent beginning to a series that promises to entertain with masterful art, story and suspense. A new horror series that you don't want to miss!
+Masterful artwork by Robert Hack and awesome story by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
+Bonus features done right! Great bonuses in the early 5 page color Sabrina tale and 3 page sketch gallery!
+A great issue which you should buy right away as it promises to be a great series!
+The comic is 28 pages of wonderful art and story and this page count does not even include the bonus features mentioned which makes this issue a great value indeed!
-Its an introduction story issue so not as much action happens as you would expect since its more about setting up Sabrina being born, her maturing into a teenager, setting up who she is, who her parents were and of her growing powers. The next issues should ramp up the action, suspense and horror but for an introduction issue it is an excellent, impressive and very memorable one!


To find a story timeline along with more detailed issue info as well as story arc info and more details go to this link, wormworld.freeforums.net/thread/118/chilling-adventures-sabrina-timeline-issue