When you talk about Archie Comics, I think a certain image is immediately. The picturesque Riverdale and its happy denizens immediately come to mind. There are wacky hijinks, a dearth of hamburgers, some pretty groovy bands; milkshakes and holding hands and everything sunny all the time always.
“Afterlife with Archie” is nothing like that.
“Afterlife with Archie” lights Riverdale on fire, and while you’re distracted by the smoke and the flame it grabs you from the shadows, pulling you deep into the darkness, to depths you didn’t even realize it could reach.
What’s interesting about the book is how accessible it is. There’s no doubt that Archie Comics is a giant with years worth of publishing, but a lot of the Riverdale Gang remains probably unfamiliar to a large swath of comic fans who can’t see passed a set of capes and tights. The book is certainly cognizant of that and takes it into account, relying less on your knowledge of Riverdale canon and preying more on your nostalgia and memories; you may know nothing about Archie’s dog Vegas, for example, but the book introduces him by way of memories of when Archie and Vegas first met. The same goes for many other characters and situations in the book, boiling the essence of Archie down to everything it could ever need: small town Americana, a fading way of life and the stuff that dreams are made of.
Granted, those dreams turn into nightmares — and quite quickly, too. The book does not skimp out on the horror whatsoever, thrusting a pretty brutal and apocalyptic landscape into Riverdale. It’s actually through the zombie apocalypse that Riverdale is essentially forced to grow up. Archie books have never been afraid to embrace modern day trends and events, but they still feel like they’re encapsulated within a specific mindset stuck in the late 30s to mid-40s; “Afterlife” is that bubble bursting, and seeing these timeless characters age so rapidly is disconcerting, yet helps to emphasize the madness of the series without making it feel gimmicky.
Because — and I’ll be honest with you — “Afterlife with Archie” shouldn’t work as well as it does. Zombies in Riverdale? You’d think this would file right next to “Archie meets The Punisher” on your shelf of goofy comics you couldn’t resist buying because the concept was too absurd not to own. Not only that, but our culture is so overwrought with zombie fiction in every form of media that they’re barely even a noticeable blip on the radar anymore. A new Romero film doesn’t cause instant excitement, the new hit indie series with zombies is no longer craved; we’ve hit peak zombie, and there’s more good than bad and all of it treads old ground in less and less exciting ways.
But somehow, through it all, “Afterlife with Archie” feels fresh — it feels scary and unnerving. This isn’t a joke, and that’s the most astonishing aspect about it. Aguirre-Sacasa and Francavilla approach the series with a sense of reverence towards the source material and then proceed to pivot slightly, taking us down a very dark and grim road. The best attribute Archie Comics has ever had is its willingness and earnest approach towards imitating the world we live in ways that correspond to Riverdale’s dynamic. With that being the case, it should be noted that “Afterlife” is no different, and instead of approaching this particular horror like so many have before it, this ordeal is shown like a black mirror reflection of life in Riverdale.
Continued belowSuffice it to say, “Afterlife” approaches comics in a different way than your standard Archie comic. Most Archie books seem to have with them a bit of a house style, specifically in the depiction of the characters but also in the layout; while there are variances, Archie Comics reflect the newspaper strip style and format for the most part. With everything in upheaval, artist Francesco Francavilla changes the look of Riverdale noticeably. The book adheres to a grid structure at times, but for the most part we’re presented with some very impressive and dynamic layouts; there are quite a few instances where the book throws the traditional structure of an Archie comic out the window, and it’s definitely for the better.
The characters are brought to life in a new way as well. It’s actually particularly noticeable in the first issue. The book’s premise for the rise of zombies is relatively simple overall, but with them comes a specific, visible divide. Francavilla brings the youth and optimism of the characters into the story very early on, reflecting Riverdale at its finest, but when everything comes crumbling down Francavilla’s change very noticeably; Archie in particular loses that light in his eyes that makes him the proverbial hero, especially as the book progresses and his challenges become greater. By the final issue, the characters barely resemble who they’ve been for over fifty years now. They’re broken, they’ve re-built themselves, they (and we) have no idea what looms on the horizon — and it shows.
That said, Francavilla brings with him the trappings found in his other work, and that’s his very rigid use of orange color. In some places it fits; Archie himself is a redhead, and the orange in this case can sometimes be used to highlight specific moments involving Archie. That makes sense. But at other times, despite abysmal lighting in the environment of the story, the orange becomes over-powering. There is use of some other color as well, particularly in the use of purple or dark blue, but the orange feels more abrasive than it is probably intended to be. This is Francavilla’s style, present in all his work, but that dominating factor can become a bit tiresome — especially when the book itself is rather dynamic throughout.
“Afterlife with Archie” is an astounding accomplishment for Archie Comics, though. Completely unlike anything they’re publishing, it’s a very strong horror series that remains available for someone with even the Archie Comics neophyte. A powerful and at times fairly emotional read, “Afterlife” tears down Riverdale in order to allow something new to come out of it. It’s surprising and it’s grim, but this darker variant on America’s typical teen is a truly remarkable event in Archie’s publishing line — and it is certainly something worth following along with as we embark even further down this rabbit hole.
“Afterlife with Archie” Volume 1 is on sale now in fine comic shops everywhere.
