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It seems like only a few years ago that Archie Comics leaned into the return of horror comics, but the brand is now a decade on.
Unexpected frights
Remember when Archie shocked audiences with a zombie apocalypse? Known for family friendly, teen-targeted adventures (and TMNT, but that’s another story), Archie Comics was as ‘safe’ as comic books got for a long time. But that changed with 2013’s Afterlife with Archie.
The book starred the usual Riverdale gang, but cast them all into a rapidly devolving zombie apocalypse. And this wasn’t a tongue in cheek, semi-goofball undead romp either, as the series was as gore-soaked as any other zombie property. The terror was only just beginning too, as Afterlife spawned a series of unconnected stories, that reimagined “Archie” with the themes of “werewolves, vampires, demons, and witches”. But while there hasn’t been anything new in a little while, that’s about to change.
Set for release later this month, Chilling Adventures: The Anthology Collection will launch almost 20 new tales into readers’ libraries. The anthology will be presented in paperback format, and is meant for readers to leave out as the Halloween season approaches, reading one or two of the “snack-sized scares” at a time.
Curating nearly 20 original horror stories starring Betty, Veronica, Archie, Jughead, and the gang, CHILLING ADVENTURES is a frightful pop culture candy box in a nicely designed package for your coffee table that rewards repeated dip-ins throughout spooky season. It includes dark sci-fi chillers, a solo thriller for Sabrina’s sassy cat Salem, the continuing adventures of Madam Satan (Sabrina’s infernal arch-enemy), some festive yuletide terror, and the introduction of current Archie Horror scream queen Jinx Holliday, all by a murderer’s row of comics talent including Cullen Bunn, Joe Eisma, Frank Tieri, Casey Gilly, Liana Kangas, Sina Grace, and many more.
Archie Comics press release
Now this isn’t all the darkest of the dark. While Archie Comics points out that the book is 100% not for kids, it does have some of the brand’s “heartwarming humor” dotted throughout. Editor Jamie L. Rotante saw to that, aiming to create a title that would appease horror buffs while not being so gruesome that the “squeamish” would be turned off. So basically, while it’s horror to the dried and cobweb-coated bone, it’s also fitting with the brand that it plays off of.
Sound good? Want some Chilling Adventures to live on your own bookshelf? Well you don’t have long to wait, as the title is set to arrive on August 23rd, 2023.
