Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

WARNING - This review contains spoilers for the ENTIRE series of comics and the original novel. When I review comics, I list only the first issue and count a completed comic series as one book.

I had a horrible bout of insomnia last night, so I managed to finish almost all the books.

This was an awesome comic book. I've read The Stand so many times that I can quote parts of it. I first read it in high school in 1978. I still have my first edition copy ("T39" is printed on page 823 and show more everything) - It's very well worn. So, the numerous re-reads are spread out over many years.

This comic was very faithful to the original story and added bits and pieces to the story that I'd not thought about for some time. Trashcan Man always seemed like such a huge part of the original book, but as I read the comic, I realized that he wasn't. He was deus ex machina from the beginning.

I completely forgot about Nick's eye.

I am not normally a fan of American comics. In general, I find the illustrations over the top and distracting. I really dislike super-hero comics. Some comics have surprised me though. The Walking Dead is one of them. This one was another. I loved the way that the artists drew Nadine and her progression. The illustrations of her post-Free Zone are particularly good, especially her final act. I also liked Frannie's portrayal. Good stuff. show less

WARNING - This review contains spoilers for the ENTIRE series of comics and the original novel. When I review comics, I list only the first issue and count a completed comic series as one book.

I had a horrible bout of insomnia last night, so I managed to finish almost all the books.

This was an awesome comic book. I've read [b:The Stand|149267|The Stand|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1213131305s/149267.jpg|1742269] so many times that I can quote parts of it. I first read it in show more high school in 1978. I still have my first edition copy ("T39" is printed on page 823 and everything) - It's very well worn. So, the numerous re-reads are spread out over many years.

This comic was very faithful to the original story and added bits and pieces to the story that I'd not thought about for some time. Trashcan Man always seemed like such a huge part of the original book, but as I read the comic, I realized that he wasn't. He was deus ex machina from the beginning.

I completely forgot about Nick's eye.

I am not normally a fan of American comics. In general, I find the illustrations over the top and distracting. I really dislike super-hero comics. Some comics have surprised me though. The Walking Dead is one of them. This one was another. I loved the way that the artists drew Nadine and her progression. The illustrations of her post-Free Zone are particularly good, especially her final act. I also liked Frannie's portrayal. Good stuff. show less

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Vol. 1 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa came onto my radar because I saw the super edgy trailer for the Netflix show and of course I felt I needed to at least read the first volume (containing the first 6 issues) before I started in on the show. :-P [A/N: For those unaware, this alternate reality version of Sabrina exists in the same realm as Archie and his pals over in Riverdale and you can keep your eyes peeled for my review of that too.] This is a comic book series show more that takes the familiar character of Sabrina Spellman (Remember that cute show about witchy magic with that super sarcastic talking cat named Salem?) and turns it onto its head. This is Dark Stuff and trust me the capitalization is warranted. The story starts out with Sabrina's parents, Warlock Dad and Mortal Mom, who disagree on how to raise their newborn daughter. According to coven law, Sabrina should be blessed by Satan so that when she comes of age she can formally sign Satan's book and give her soul over to him. (Did I mention this was dark?) These parental disagreements result in the mother being driven insane and Sabrina being entrusted to her witchy aunts to be raised 'properly'. So now Sabrina walks in two worlds (witch at home and mortal at school) and by the time she is 16 (present day in the comics where it's the 1960s) she is thoroughly confused about where she fits in which is par for the course with most teenagers if we're completely honest. Gore, violence, Satanism, cannibalism, necromancy, first love...your standard high school experience. The artwork was unlike anything I'd ever consumed in a comic or graphic novel medium before with bold colors and almost grotesque characterizations. I dug it. Horror fans and those that like re-imaginings of familiar tales will enjoy the world that Aguirre-Sacasa has crafted immensely. Yes, it's Dark Stuff but it's also boldly imaginative and well-formed. He's not only crafted this but another series called Afterlife with Archie (not to mention the tv series Riverdale). This is an author to watch! 10/10

PS Salem the cat is in this version as well!

PPS I started the series and I'm digging that too! show less

I've never been an Archie fan until I watched Riverdale, so I wanted to give the Archie Horror line a try. I love paranormal stuff, so this book was fun to jump into.
The plot, in a nutshell: after Jughead's dog (wonderfully named Hot Dog) gets hit by a car, Sabrina brings him back to life. Chaos ensues. People die and become zombies, including our beloved Jughead, and Sabrina mysteriously "disappears."
There are a lot of characters, but if you read closely, you don't need to be familiar with show more the whole Archie-verse, which is like 70-plus years long. That's a lot of reading! That said, I'm grateful I was already familiar with most of the characters thanks to Riverdale (Ginger and Nancy were the only ones I didn't recognize). Every time Hiram Lodge made an appearance, though, I kept thinking he was Commissioner Gordon from Batman. LOL! They could be twins!
Anyway, I loved the writing and the art. The book has the creep-factor down pat, so if you love horror comics, this should hopefully be a fun read. show less