Afterlife with Archie

Archie Comic Publications

Afterlife with Archie:  Escape from Riverdale (Volume 1)
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Francesco Francavilla
2014

The Summary
"This is how the end of the world begins...

"All hell breaks loose when a fateful accident sets in motion a series of terrifying events that will threaten the town of Riverdale like never before!  When the dead begin to rise, craving human flesh, it's up to Archie, Betty, and Veronica, and the Gang to fight for their lives against the zombie hordes led by their former pal, Jughead...

"Harvey Award-winning writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Archie Meets GLEE, Stephen King's The Stand) and Eisner-winning artist Francesco Francavilla (The Black Beetle, Guardians of the Galaxy) bring the apocalypse to the world of Archie in a tale that is both gruesome and heartbreaking."

The Good
A friend recommended reading Afterlife with Archie after we stumbled across Scooby Apocalypse #1 (which I haven't read, but it intrigued me enough that I might) and started on the topic of strange and unusual remakes of our favorite comic books.  She's been a fan of Archie for years and told me it was awesome, even if you aren't a fan of Archie.  So, I decided to go to my local library and check it out.

And I was pleasantly surprised.

Unlike my friend, I'm not really a fan of Archie, or Jughead, or Veronica and Betty.  (I liked Sabrina, but that's a bit of a different story.)  I just couldn't seem to enjoy their interweaving narratives, and I didn't care for the familiar, everyday antics of high school adolescents, especially when I was in high school and saw such things every single day.  I simply wasn't interested.

My attitude toward Archie has changed, of course, since I picked up Afterlife with Archie.  Not only does it offer an intriguing blend of horror and reality, it gives you a new perspective on the characters you once knew.   (Seriously, you'll never look at Jughead the same way again.) It's gut-wrenching to see the gradual collapse of Riverdale, and it tore at my heart to see the safe, calm serenity of Archie's world turned upside-down.

But it was so good.

The story is solid and stands on its own, even if you don't have any experience with Archie or his friends, and it has an unexpected depth; the characters are familiar, but they've been tweaked enough to make them new and intriguing; and the art is stunning, helping to set the grim tone of the entire story and portray the violence the survivors of Riverdale are forced to face.  And it's perfectly scary, enough to give you chills when you're reading it.

Although it incorporates all the old rivalries and romances, it's a story about desperation, loss, and survival--and it's perfectly brutal.  It's a new twist on a favorite classic, and it's well worth reading.  I'd highly recommend it to fans of Archie or the zombie apocalypse genre.

The Bad
Although I didn't have a background with Archie, I understood most of the story and I found it was easy to discern the ties--all the old jealousies, the heated rivalries, and the convoluted friendships--that connected them.  However, I think if I had been familiar with Archie and his friends, I think it would have had more of an impact.

Yes, Afterlife with Archie can stand on its own two feet, but I imagine I would have better understood some of the references to locations, friendships, rivalries, etc. if I'd been familiar with other Archie comics.

The Ugly
Zombies.

Afterlife with Archie is almost on par with The Walking Dead for gore.  No joke, it's hyperviolent and bloody and slightly terrifying.  If you're not a fan of zombies or can't stomach the sight of familiar characters having their throats torn out, I definitely wouldn't recommend it.