Chilling Adventure of Salem (2022)

by Cullen Bunn, Dan Schoening (Artist)

Salem the Cat has always been known as Sabrina’s familiar, but what happens when Sabrina’s not around to protect him (or, as is more the case, when he doesn’t have to protect her)? This special one-shot explores a different side of Salem’s life, one in which he acts as an anti-hero enacting vigilante justice on those who hurt others like him… animals, in a horror story that’s equal parts Pet Sematary and Hereditary.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Witches, Comic Book

30 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 12, 2022

About the author

Cullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.

All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.

And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.

Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

You get what you get when you fuck with cats.
Salem gets snatched up by a sorcerer who is using animals in his bid to gain magical power.



He's taking strays off the street and summoning demons to possess them with the idea that he will have an entire army of demonic animals to take over the world.
Or something nefarious like that...



At any rate, he certainly doesn't realize that Salem is anything but your average scruffy feline.
And that will come back to bite him in the ass, as Salem isn't one to take this sort of insult to himself or any of the other animals lightly.



Don't worry, animal lovers. This guy gets what's coming to him.



I read this as part of the Archie Horror Presents: Chilling Adventures anthology, which is what I would tell you to buy if you're looking to get your money's worth out of these one-shots.

Recommended.

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely love Salem's snarky voice and this was a short little eerie adventure in his life! The artwork really gave the chilling atmosphere and I really enjoyed it. I just wish there was a little more plot wise but nonetheless it was fun and great for the spooky mood.

[A Fan of Comics · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe curiosity doesn’t always kill the cat?

Salem is out on his own hunting when he finds himself in a tight spot… I liked this one shot. The story was interesting but really didn’t change anything in the series. I was expecting more of a backstory to Salem’s life or something but this still wasn’t bad. I really enjoyed the art and think it matches the other Chilling Adventure series pretty well, especially the Sabrina one. I hope they make more of these or the Sabrina the teenage witch book.

[Stay Fetters · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Hello there. Lovely night for a prowl. Hmmm? My name is Salem. And you are?
Raahhhggh! Hsssss!
Well, that’s simply rude."

We all know and love that little black cat, Salem. He’s sassy, snarky, and totally hilarious. Since I loved the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, I thought I’d give this a try.

This was okay. Nothing special but it was good to see a story solely about our favorite black cat. He wasn’t as snarky as what we’re used to. He did get some juicy revenge.

[andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of graphic animal death and frankly, didn't do much for me.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

great short read

Great short read! I loved the Netflix series and the vibes it puts off and this comic kept the vibe and the spooky feeling loved it!

[Bryan Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this take on Salem, with some perfect creepy and atmospheric October artwork. Hope they do more.

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was an excellent read. Just telling a good story is actually not that hard. Someone needs to tell Archie they can have good storytelling. This is the quality of story I expect from Archie Comics horror line or not. The only reason this is not five stars is the story was short, this volume could have had a longer story or more than one of the same quality. Good Stuff.

[steph🌸 · Rating 3 out of 5]

cw: blood/violence

This one-shot comic gives us a glimpse at Salem’s life without Sabrina. Here he encounters a group of animals being used for magical purposes and the story is only about twenty pages long so I can’t tell you much more than that. After the story there are a few bonus pages on the making of the comic and some ads for upcoming releases.

The plot was okay but very short. If you want more stories with a similar plot line, I think you might enjoy Fullmetal Alchemist.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars--Presented in a color-saturated, retro style that brings to mind vintage horror comics, this story presents Salem the black cat having his own side adventure apart from Sabrina. In this story, Salem finds himself imprisoned by a petnapping evil wizard. I was kind of hoping for a real-world animal issue being woven into the story--perhaps Salem using his powers against a shoddy pet shop, testing lab, puppy mill, etc. to assist the animals.

[Elizabeth (Miss Eliza) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my, I stumbled across this on Comixology and it’s purrfect. It’s got a nice message about Salem’s feline predicament plus his snark. I laughed at loud with the very Nick Bakay humanity line. Wonderful find for the Halloween season.

[Jon Allanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read a physical copy of this that I picked up because it had an alternate cover by one of my favorite artists, Franco Francanvilla. This was a fun story playing with summoning and the character of the cat Salem for the Sabrina stories. Enjoyable, if a bit disposable.

[MV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and spooky story; well-written and drawn, just wish it was a little longer. It's really nice to have quality new releases from Archie Horror. Dare I hope for the completion of long-abandoned series next?

My edition is not on GR: paper comic, with cover B.

[SerenaBeReading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh...it was ok. I like that whoever does the voice of Salem from the Sabrina the Teenage Witch show was in my head as I was reading. I enjoy Salem's dry humor. This didn't give me everything I thought I would get but it was...ok. Artwork was wonderful.

[Gabriela Gonçalves · Rating 2 out of 5]

Odiei essa história porque ela não acrescenta em nada na história de Salem ou do universo. Não é uma história interessante e nem tem complexidade. Não existe uma construção narrativa, é mais um relato pobre e sem vida. Não gostei mesmo!

[Megan Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun one episode comic about Salem from the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Good for the Halloween season and fans of CAOS.

[Terry Mcginnis · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a huge fan of anything Archie Horror, I really wanted to love this, but sadly it's a pretty lame, generic story. Disappointed.

[Colorado Book Girl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Sabrina and Salem is always a treat. I was hoping it was going to be a fun adventure. It wasn’t that great. I could have spent my 10 minutes doing something better than reading that comic.

[shelby · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was cute, i’ve always loved salem :)

[Holly Letson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love me some Salem the Cat!

[Elyse Barrow · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh.

Eh, it was just okay. Nothing special. Sale, having his own moment was nice to see though. Just wish the writing was a bit better.

[cristel-is-reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art was gorgeous, and the story surely beat that of this last string of antology one-shots Archie Comics has been putting out. Pleasantly surprised.

[Adrian Bloxham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good horror comic

[Leo Caseriu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since it was a ALL SALEM SHOW I expected more.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so used to Salem being comic relief, so it was quite the experience seeing him in this darker story.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a nice quick little read about Salem? Sign me up!

Honestly I read this on a whim when I saw it on Kindle Unlimited, and I actually enjoyed it. Was I a teensy bit sad when the animals all “died”? Yes p. But I was rooting for Salem the whole time, and I was definitely reading his snarky voice in my head like the Salem from the 90s show.