AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE #4 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla
I'm going to be honest here in my first review of an Archie title- it's a universe I'm not too familiar with. If you are familiar, are not, or are looking for an interesting title to read, stick around for the rest of this review. The notion of Archie dealing with a zombie crisis is indeed absurd and this book thrives on that absurdity. Does it ever thrive. Aguirre-Sacasa does a terrific job on the writing side of things. He's worked in various forms of media, so it's not surprising that the book feels very cinematic. With his recent ascension to Archie Comics Chief Creative Officer, maybe you can keep your fingers crossed that a film adaptation will one day come to fruition.
I don't want to spoil too much when it comes to the story contained in this issue (though one scene is kind of spoiled in the above preview), but I will shed some light on the scenes that had the most impact on me. The book starts with a scene in which a young Archie's parents take him to get his dog, Vegas. Said scene has a very Rockwellian feel to it and provided everything this uninitiated Archie reader needed to become affected by the scenes to come. I'll just say this: the present day scenes involving his dog and father are downright heartbreaking. They were much more captivating and struck a personal chord greater than anything I've ever read in
The Walking Dead.
A lot of readers here will likely know artist Francesco Francavilla from his work on
Batman: The Black Mirror. As he did in that story, he knocks it out of the park here. His moody artwork compounded with the time period it takes place in really gives it a vibe similar to that of a classic horror comic or pulp magazine. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife.
Even though we're four issues in, I think this is pretty friendly to new readers. There's also a reprint of a short titled "Cellar Dweller" that's worth a look. This is something fans of
The Walking Dead and
Resident Evil should check out. Riverdale is the new Raccoon City.
Score: 8.5/10