Archie Horror often feels like a brand-new concept to many, but those who have been following along closely know that Archie is now in their 10th year of producing horror comics, with the groundbreaking Afterlife with Archie #1 having been released in October 2013. What a lot of people don’t realize is that Archie had been creating horror comics long before that, too. Forbes sat down with Senior Director of Editorial and writer Jamie Rotante to discuss more.
Goldie Chan: Tell us more about the history behind Archie Comics’ horror lines.
Jamie Rotante: Going all the way back to Archie Comics’ inception in 1941, then known as MLJ Comics, a series called Pep Comics were anthologies that featured short sci-fi, crime-fighting, and adventure stories. Issue #15 introduced a character who would become incredibly notable later in Archie Horror—Madam Satan, a murderess who becomes Satan’s partner, though she would only appear from issues #16–21. Archie would pick up with horror again in the early 1970s, with the release of Chilling Adventures in Sorcery (later Red Circle Sorcery). These short-lived fantasy and horror imprints featured established Archie writers and artists veering into the dark and disturbing, creating short stories of monsters, possessions, and hauntings.
But it would be that release of Afterlife with Archie in 2013, followed by Chilling Adventures of Sabrina in 2014, that really put Archie Horror on the map. Soon series like Jughead the Hunger (a riff on the classic werewolf story), Vampironica (a tale as much about vampire hunting as it is about vampires themselves), and Blossoms 666 (a unique twist on the concept of the anti-Christ) continued Archie’s publishing efforts under the horror imprint.
Chan: How does Archie Comics approach horror in present?
Rotante: In the present, Archie Horror uses the one-shot and anthology formats to tell a variety of stories that encompass the many subgenres that exist within horror, allowing for a multitude of diverse voices and stories that span the growing landscape of horror, while also using the genre and format to spotlight the incredible vast Archie character library. While each title is a standalone, there are recurrent themes and threads that illustrate that, though separate and distinct stories, all exist within a world that can allow for continuous storylines while still being accessible for new fans to jump in at any point.
Chan: Can you share a few interesting or key titles that Archie and horror fans should take a look at now?
Rotante: A few key titles released from 2021 – 2023 that highlight the various styles and approach:
Chilling Adventures in Sorcery – The first official return to the horror anthology format, borrowing the title from the comic that originated it in the 1970s, featuring Madam Satan as not just our guide through the underworld, but to also further her story that spins out of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The creative team includes writers Eliot Rahal, Evan Stanley, Amy Chu. Artists include Julius Ohta, Evan Stanley with Derek Charm on line art, Matt Herms on colors, and Jack Morelli on letters.
In this title, Madam Satan is our narrator, and using her story as the framework, we encounter different characters that represents the different circles of Hell, creating a distortion of some of the core personality traits of Archie characters (for example, a gluttonous Jughead, a prideful Archie, and later a greedy Veronica and a lustful Shrill in the 2022 follow-up title, Return of Chilling Adventures in Sorcery). Each story utilizes a different style of storytelling, with Madam Satan’s framework displaying the grotesque in her encounters, Archie’s story mimicking the jump-scares and creep animatronics a la Five Nights at Freddy’s, and a spin on the Twilight Zone for Jughead’s story, relying on a dream-like quality that leaves most of the horror to the imagination.
Chilling Adventures of Salem – Notable horror writer Cullen Bunn teams up with artist Dan Schoening to craft a tale that places Sabrina’s familiar, Salem, as the protagonist. The creative team includes writer Cullen Bunn and artists Dan Schoening with Ben Galvan on line art, Matt Herms on colors, and Jack Morelli on letters. There’s an element to classic horror in this, complete with a Peter Cushing-esque warlock, that deftly blends both gothic horror along with the supernatural, a Mary Shelley-meets-Stephen King-style tale.
Camp Pickens – There was no way we could tackle horror in the Archie universe, one centered around teens, without paying homage to iconic teen slasher films like Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Friday the 13th. The creative team includes writers Jordan Morris, Blake Howard, Tim Seeley. Artists include Diana Camero, Carola Borelli, Mike Norton on line art, Matt Herms on colors, Jack Morelli on letters.
This anthology comic also brings to life something Archie Comics is synonymous with: stories set at summer camp. Each tale tackles a different type of monster, both real an imagined, focusing on stories about mutant bugs, ghost tales, and a good-old-fashioned shovel-wielding slasher.
Strange Science – Strange Science really takes the concept of horror and showcases how expansive it can be, deftly blending in science fiction along with a poignant coming-of-age story. Centered around Danni Malloy, a pre-teen Jinx Holliday’s best friend (Jinx herself becoming a horror icon, endowed with her own powers as the daughter of the devil as seen in the Jinx: A Cursed Life one-shot), this story takes the familiar storyline of time travel and turns it on its ear, bending worlds and creating unclear and unfamiliar alternate realities. At its core, it’s a story about a young woman confronting her past, but the sci-fi/horror genre allow this story to be told through a dream-like state, expertly utilizing metaphors and imagery. This one-shot is also notable, as it features Archie Comics’ first-ever trans character to appear in our print comics. The creative team includes writer Magdalene Visaggio and artists Butch Mapa on line art, Ellie Wright on colors, and Jack Morelli on letters.
Fear the Funhouse Presents: Toybox of Terror – This middle-grade horror tale, akin to books and series like Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, is the successor to 2022’s Fear the Funhouse title, which features kid and pre-teen characters to tell stories that even younger horror fans can enjoy. The creative team includes writers Timmy Heague, Danielle Paige and Michael Northrop. Artists are Ryan Caskey, Tango, Ryan Jampole on line art, Matt Herms on colors, Jack Morelli on letters.
While the 2022 edition focused on urban legends and campfire tales, this year’s offering places the focus of each story on toys come to life, a la M3GAN and Child’s Play, leaving a lot of the horror to be implied to lessen the possible gore and violence, while still providing delightfully spooky stories for fans of all ages.
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