Afterlife with Archie Magazine #1 Review (4 out of 5 Stars)

Afterlife with Archie Magazine #1 Released October 2014
-Art by Francesco Francavilla, Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
-Reprints Afterlife with Archie issue 1 in a bigger magazine sized format
-Includes 6 page Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #1 Preview
-1 page feature highlighting Afterlife with Archie work by Francesco Francavilla
-2 black and white Chilling Adventures in Sorcery tales from the 50's and 60's. One tale named Esme about a girl with special glasses and another named Monster on my Back about a thief that steals from a Gypsy.
-The cover used here is the variant cover that was used for Life with Archie 23, a cover that was inspiration for the creation of the Afterlife with Archie comic series.

Review below contains spoilers!





Afterlife with Archie has already released 6 issues, with the first four having sold out very quickly. Issue 7 is due out in October or November and issue 8 is due out in December. Afterlife with Archie has been very successful for Archie Comics. Due to this success, Archie has decided to rerelease the Afterlife with Archie comic in a larger format type magazine like Life with Archie starting from issue 1. The magazine will be available at the newstand and at book stores where the Afterlife with Archie comic is still only available at comic book shops. It is targeted for those that have never read the Afterlife with Archie comic or previous readers like me that want to see Afterlife in a bigger magazine format with extra bonus features that are promised to come in the magazine. Essentially just like the Digests that Archie produces that reprint material that has already come out, Afterlife with Archie Magazine is a reprint of the Afterlife with Archie comic that will reprint every issue that has already come out.

Many of you have probably already read the first issue or this may be the first time so here is a brief recap of the first issue. Afterlife with Archie is a comic that many years ago would not have happened. Imagine a horror comic from Archie where their is death and horror and real fear, something I would never have imagined would come and the result is a great horror series that is worth reading. The bigger magazine format of the magazine helps the artwork by the amazing Francesco Francavilla to shine as well as the great writing by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and its worth getting the magazine for the increased size of the comic panels due to it being magazine sized. If you have read the Life with Archie magazine you will understand the size difference from the magazine and a regular comic, the size difference is noticeable and appreciated.

Issue 1 is definitely at the top of its game and starts the action from the very beginning as we see Jughead rushing with his beloved Hot dog, dead in his arms, killed by a vehicle we later learn was driven by Reggie. Jughead hopes that Sabrina and her aunts who are witches will be able to save his beloved friend of many years. Sabrina and the aunts try to use their healing powers and other methods but they are unsuccesful as it is too late to do anything. Eventually seeing how emotional Jughead is Sabrina decides to use the forbidden Necronomicon, or a book of dark magic to try and resurrect Hot dog from the dead. Eventually, Hot Dog is resurrected but not as a living and breathing creature that Jughead remembers but he has risen as an undead creature of the night who is filled with hatred for the living and only seeks blood and death and his first victim is Jughead and that is when contagion first begins in Riverdale. For her part in using forbidden dark magic Sabrina is stripped of her powers and banished to the nether-realm for one year.

Without Sabrina to help with what has happened contagion spreads throughout Jughead completely and he becomes an undead creature of the night seeking only blood and death like his undead dog and unfortunately his first victims are his parents. From their his next victims are poor Mr. Weatherbee and Mrs. Grundy who had been watching the Halloween dance at the Riverdale High Gym. Victim by Victim contagion will soon spread throughout Riverdale entirely until no one is safe. The issue ends with Jughead entering the Riverdale High Gym but everyone thinks that Jughead is in costume and not an undead creature who means to eat them! The art is simply amazing from the use of orange and blues and other types of colors that Francesco really knows how to set the mood of a horror comic and this comic has its own unique art style and quality. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa also knows how to write a very well written and suspensful story as he writes these characters in a more mature style. Just watch as Betty and Veronica throw insults at each other in their quest to be with Archie. But through it all the first issue is very successful in making you believe that real danger and terror has come to Riverdale and what once was a very peaceful town will now turn into one of death and full of undead creatures!

This magazine is 48 pages in length and beyond including the 21 page sized first issue also includes other extras such as a six page preview of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #1, a 1 page feature on panels that Francesco has done and 13 pages of two black and white horror tales known as Chilling Adventures of Sorcery that was released in 50's and 60's. I liked the Sabrina #1 preview but I was not as happy with the black and white tales that were reprinted and take up 13 pages of the magazine. For one they are not in color and two I have seen better drawn black and white comics. They simply take up too much space that could have been used for behind the scenes bonus material. I would have loved an article on the thought process behind the making of the series and commentary on specific scenes in issue 1 but instead we get these tales which I realize inspired Afterlife with Archie but more behind the scenes material would have been preferred. Do I recommend this magazine? Yes! most definitely for the increased magazine size format which makes the art stand out even more and for the Sabrina #1 preview but unfortunate was the use of so many pages for the black and white tales. I hope that future magazines will have less pages devoted for these black and white tales and more pages devoted for behind the scenes material. By itself issue 1 in the magazine is a definite 5 out of 5 but the lack of any major behind the scenes features brings it down to 4.


Overall Rating-Outstanding! (4 out of 5 Stars)
+Afterlife with Archie Magazine #1 is a must buy with art and writing that shines in the bigger magazine format but unfortunately uses up too much valuable space for black and white tales that could have been used for behind the scenes features.
+Stunning art by Francesco Francavilla and excellent writing by Roberto Aguirre Sacasa
+Increased magazine size format helps the artwork stand out
+6 page Sabrina #1 preview included
+1 page letter section
+1 page feature on panels by Franceso Francavilla
-13 pages taken up by two black and white Chilling Adventures in Sorcery tales that instead should have been used for bonus features. Not necessarily bad tales but not when you think of the bonus features that could and should have been included in this magazine highlighting the creative process behind the series and issue 1. Some type of interview or commentary by the creators would have been preferred instead of so many pages being taken up by these tales. I would not have minded one of these tales included but two tales and 13 pages of the magazine taken up is far too much! Look at Sabrina #1 as an example of how to do bonus features right: A 3 page sketch gallery and a 5 page color Sabrina tale from the 1960's. More behind the scene pages as well as a color comic in Sabrina#1 beats the black and white tales in this magazine and only 1 page of Francesco's sketches.