NEW ONGOING SERIES! The end of the world is here... The horror continues as a zombified Jughead goes on a relentless hunt for brains in this shocking new series by Harvey Award-winning comic/screenwriter Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Stephen King's Carrie, Archie meets Glee) and Eisner-winning artist Francesco Francavilla (Batman, Black Beetle). When he performs a despicable and frightening act in front of everyone at the Halloween dance, tensions start to rise and fears begin to mount -- who will be next to join Jughead in the Afterlife? And what about those who are already infected? Be warned, kiddies, this one's not for the faint of heart! For TEEN+ readers.
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is an American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the television series Glee, Big Love, Riverdale, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. He is Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics. Aguirre-Sacasa grew up liking comic books, recalling in 2003, "My mom would take us out to the 7-Eleven on River Road during the summer, and we would get Slurpees and buy comics off the spinning rack. I would read them all over and over again, and draw my own pictures and stuff." He began writing for Marvel Comics, he explained, when "Marvel hired an editor to find new writers, and they hired her from a theatrical agency. So she started calling theaters and asking if they knew any playwrights who might be good for comic books. A couple of different theaters said she should look at me. So she called me, I sent her a couple of my plays and she said 'Great, would you like to pitch on a couple of comic books in the works?'" His first submissions were "not what [they were] interested in for the character[s]" but eventually he was assigned an 11-page Fantastic Four story, "The True Meaning of...," for the Marvel Holiday Special 2004. He went on to write Fantastic Four stories in Marvel Knights 4, a spinoff of that superhero team's long-running title; and stories for Nightcrawler vol. 3; The Sensational Spider-Man vol. 2; and Dead of Night featuring Man-Thing. In May 2008 Aguirre-Sacasa returned to the Fantastic Four with a miniseries tie-in to the company-wide "Secret Invasion" storyline concerning a years-long infiltration of Earth by the shape-shifting alien race, the Skrulls,and an Angel Revelations miniseries with artists Barry Kitson and Adam Polina, respectively. He adapted for comics the Stephen King novel The Stand.
In 2013, he created Afterlife with Archie, depicting Archie Andrews in the midst of a zombie apocalypse; the book's success led to Aguirre-Sacasa being named Archie Comics' chief creative officer.
I enjoyed the first part of Afterlife with Archie more than I had anticipated and was therefore glad this second issue was also included in the Humble Bundle.
The story continues at the Halloween party, where someone's costume might be a little too real.
I liked this issue as well. It would seem some interesting storylines are starting. My biggest problem really was that the issue was too short. I'm not really used to reading comics one issue at a time and I don't like it that much, because it is too short to really get into the story, which in many cases, like this one, is a shame...
This was not creepy, scary and I didn't like it. The characters deviated from how they are usually depicted, not convincing at all.
You are not invested in anyone's survival in a zombie apocalypse. And this is not a good time to have a guilty moment or define your relationship. The priority should be staying alive :(
Only sensible thing - Archie chose a good place as their safe house.
A month ago, I could never have imagined the concept of mashing Archie with zombies. I mean, that’s as far out of the norm as you can get right? Its like mixing Stargate with classical zombies. Which is why the execution has to be pitch-perfect. There can’t be any room for a drop in quality or anything. You have to be consistently good or the premise is going to just conk out like a bad engine. Which is why I approached Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla’s Afterlife With Archie #1 with a little trepidation last month, and why I was so impressed with it. They hit the exact right notes and delivered a fantastic story.
The second issue, which launched this week, continues the story of this quite horrifying zombie apocalypse as it ravages the quiet, wholesome and good-old-fun town of Riverdale. In the first issue, we saw how one person’s mistake, a second’s longing, and a third’s compassion brought about this whole event. In the new issue, we gain a wider perspective on things as the plague spreads through Riverdale and as the heroes begin to coalesce and decide their future.
Afterlife With Archie 02Archie comics are usually quite upbeat stories about the various pranks that the characters pull off, their good-natured rivalries, their ambitions for romance, and so on. Not so with this one. Here, Aguirre-Sacasa and Francavilla are telling a really serious story with some real consequences as some characters fall to the zombie plague and are then reanimated to spread the plague further and further. And where in the first issue we saw events as they happened in real-time, in this issue we see them all as narration, primarily through Veronica herself.
First off, this continued to be a very emotional story for me. I kind of grew up with these characters and watching them go through all the horrible stuff here… it really feels depressing. And I suppose that’s exactly the point. You are supposed to feel for these characters, to be sickened by the same things that they are. To feel their frustrations and their anger and their fear. And this is what kept me going throughout the issue. Jughead, the embodiment of everything that makes the Riverdale setting what it is, is public enemy number one here, he’s spreading the zombie plague through Riverdale High and he has already claimed three victims.
Aguirre Sacasa on the script and Francavilla on the art do an absolutely amazing job in that respect. They get you to really sympathise with this characters. And everything is always in character. Veronica, when she handles the narration, comes across as true to her character. Her rivalry with Betty for Archie’s love is always in the forefront. But her feelings for Ethel show a very different side to her character that you wouldn’t normally expect. Her father, Mr. Lodge, is the ever-cynic when it comes to Veronica’s friends at Riverdale High, especially Archie. He’s been one of my favourite characters for a long time and seeing him in this issue was quite rewarding. Mostly because of the whole bomb that Veronica drops on him when she tells him what she did during the dance and the consequences of it.
We don’t get to see much of Archie and the usual cast since the action is very focused on Jughead, well, eating one of his friends and we also get to see some of the non-regular cast. Such as Cheryl Blossom and her brother, who seem to have a somewhat incestuous relationship. Or Ginger and Nancy who have an ongoing relationship that they’ve been keeping under the wraps from everyone. Its really great that the setting has incorporated same-sex relationships, moving the entire setting forward into a much more modern time and that the writer is making the effort to present the relationship as real and complex.
Like I said, the art is fantastic, the kind that you just can’t have enough of. Francavilla is a massively talented artist and he does horror really well. From start to finish, he creates a really creepy vibe that keeps you on the edge of the seat to find out what is going to happen next to the characters. Aguirre-Sacasa’s script is brilliant, but Francavilla’s artwork does its job as well with all the muted yellows and blues and oranges and the whole dark meta-theme that is going on. This was artistically one of the best issues I’ve read all month.
If there is any flaw to this issue, it is that we don’t see what’s happened to Hot Dog, Jughead’s dog, and to Sabrina, who brought him back from the dead in the first issue. And that’s more of a story-choice thing than an actual flaw, so I can give it a pass. I just hope that we learn more in the next few issues, especially with Sabrina since she was in a real bind in the last issue.
Other than that, another marvellous offering from Aguirre-Sacasa and Francavilla.
The school dance is on, the kids are having a great time. Jughead is home sick unable to go, or is he? Jughead suddenly appears at the dance, but he is there for only one thing, BRAINS! Immediately Jughead bite his girlfriend and kills her in front of everyone. Thinking it nothing more than a Halloween prank, nobody is frightened or runs away until Jughead lunges toward Veronica. All of a sudden more dead appear, the principal and one of the teachers. They start attacking the students and panic ensues.
Archie leads the gathered students away from the school and into the woods. They eventually arrive at Veronica’s home which is almost like a fortress. This is where they will make Riverdale’s last stand.
Again to me this one seems a bit weaker than the Sabrina comics. In both writing and artistry. Don’t get me wrong, they are still quite well done, but they don’t grab me quite like the Sabrina comics do.
A zombie apocalypse broke through Riverdate. Who will survive? and who will die? I don't like Jughead that much but I feel sorry he was the first to bitten, but he was the reason Sabrina got sent away for a year in the other realm.
This is giving me vibes to start Riverdale, but I'm afraid it will be just a rom-com highchool series.
I grew up on Archie comics, but I’m not upset at crossing them with zombies. What’s disappointing is that there is nothing particularly good about the story so far. It is every other zombie tale you’ve ever seen or read. I’m sure there will be those for whom Archie + Zombies = magical, and I’m happy for them. Issue 1 had promise. This one literally goes nowhere.
I can't believe that Jughead turned into a zombie. This is a complete opposite of the Jughead we are familiar the one who took over his body is making people in the dance fear of their lives. If you are like me who's fascinated in books, tv series or movies that has a zombie theme; then this comics series is definitely a must followed and a must read.
Few people have turned into zombies and they’re now at the lodge’s because it’s secure. Not the most thrilling so far but I think it’s because it was Veronica explaining it all instead of really being there when it happened.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
As a fan of the old Archie comics, I was pretty shocked when I discovered they put the Archie gang into a horror setting. I am happily surprised by just how good this series is and the beautiful artwork on each page.
Use the correct colors, Val still be Macomb with color. But enjoyed this very much. I'll try to stick with the series as long as the story holds together.😀
Having watched Riverdale I liked the 2nd comic better. Partly I think as the women did more and partly as I knew more about the smaller characters and it was funny to see them in the 60s horror style compared to their modern soap versions on the tv show.
These are equally as addicting as the Sabrina comics, which stands to reason because they're the same universe and basically the same style. I'm hooked. I can't stop. I'm on a downhill slide now and the momentum is gaining. I am powerless against these ridiculous comics!
Well, Jughead crashed the dance and zombies are popping up everywhere. The Archie gang has managed to get to Veronica’s house where they’ll try to take a stand against the Zombie apocalypse.
I'm excited to see who is infected in issue 3!loving this graphic novel so much. Let's pour one out for Ethel. She came, and saw she died. But at least she got to be bitten by her crush Jug.
I love the prologue and interludes with other characters! This cliffhanger is great, I'm excited to see how this zombie apocalypse gets even worse for the characters!
A bit better than #1 but still a long way to go in terms of making the storyline less predictable. It was interesting seeing it from another point of view though.
I give both #1 and #2 a 3.5/5. I haven't seen Riverdale and just wanted to check these out after reading Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I probably won't read more until I see the show!
Still not entirely feeling this series. Way to average of a zombie story, where's the new input. It takes more than just putting a universe in it to make a good zombie story.