Archie Comics continues their trend of telling unexpected stories using familiar characters. How does this Jughead-centric one-shot match up? Read on, but some mild spoilers may follow.
Written by Frank TieriCover by Michael Walsh
Illustrated by Michael Walsh
Colored by Michael Walsh and Dee Cunniffe
Lettered by Jack MorelliBRAND NEW ONE-SHOT SPECIAL! Jughead Jones has always had an insatiable appetite… but what if his hunger came from a sinister place? When a murderous menace is on the prowl, taking the lives of some of the most well-known and esteemed inhabitants of Riverdale, Jughead and his family’s dark legacy comes to light. Join writer Frank Tieri (Wolverine) and artist Michael Walsh (Secret Avengers) for this horrifying one-shot for TEEN+ readers.
The Archie Horror line attracted me from that first issue of “Afterlife with Archie,” and I’ve been a follower ever since. Unfortunately, the writer of the only two books in the line has been too busy with other projects to release the books with any regularity, leaving a significant void in my monthly comics stack. “Jughead: The Hunger” looks to temporarily fill that void. And boy, does it.
That first page alone sold me on the entire book. The members of the creative team work perfectly in sync with one another, each using with each other’s strengths to create a clear, singular atmosphere and grab the reader immediately. It’s a simple five-panel page, and the only real action is Mrs. Grundy running away from something unknown. By keeping a uniform page-width size with each of the five panels, the pacing remains steady and allows the framing alone to dictate the story. One panel has a close-up of Mrs. Grundy’s face with her eyes looking back in terror, in between a narrow group of main-street buildings, her pearls jumping as she runs. The next has her use her body to fully look back, also revealing the narrow street and dark shadows around her.
Colorists Walsh and Cunniffe cover the entire scene in black and shades of purple, the coloring itself shadowing parts of Mrs. Grundy and adding extra contours that weren’t in Walsh’s originals illustrations. Walsh positions her further to the right as the panels go on, and Morelli’s lettering follows, giving the whole page an intuitive design for the reader. And finally, in the last panel, things turn exclusively to shades of red, and the entire background turns to solid red with a black, pulp horror-influenced sound effect. Within this single page, the scene is set, the tone is clear, there is immediate tension, and all creators make it happen together.
Luckily, this one page isn’t a fluke. All 40 pages of the comic are equally well-crafted and employ different tactics so as to never become boring or predictable.
And speaking of unpredictable, what follows this opening scene of horror? Close-ups of horrified faces interspersed with body parts splattered in red, employing the same tension-building tactics as that first scene, which all slowly builds to… a punchline. Yeah, “Jughead: The Hunger” isn’t afraid to get funny when it wants to. And that comedy never feels out of place. This punchline in particular gains an even greater ironic meaning as the story goes on, turning an unassuming joke into a shock. Tieri never forgets the absurdity of the story, even at its most horrific, and it’s largely this awareness that allows the creative team to deliver their most effective scares.
Tieri works with the character dynamics we already know to give each one new meaning. Archie and Jughead’s friendship, for example, is shown from a new perspective as the two must reach a new level of trust in one other and work with together against the slasher in the town. There was one moment — Betty’s rewritten connection and role in the plot — that felt a bit forced at its first, with a bit of clunky dialogue accompanied by images that were still as impressive as the rest of the book. Ultimately, this was only a small bit of awkward exposition to set her up, and the following scenes play with her new role and backstory in interesting and exciting ways without any of that awkwardness.
Continued below“Jughead: The Hunger” actually ends like many horror movies: this is a conclusion, but the characters end up in new places where more story could ostensibly be told. Is this meant as a pilot comic to see if it can sustain a series? I think there’s enough here to expand, and would love to see it. I’m not sure how much longer it could go on from here, but as these creators have shown, they are more than equipped for the task.
So, the “Jughead: The Hunger” is excellent when looked at independently — but how does it fare in comparison to the rest of the Archie Horror books? The book maintains the trademark noir-inspired art style of “Afterlife with Archie” and uses a similar color palette. The two books do the same thing conceptually, mixing known characters (Archie) with an unexpected genre (horror). But this series differs primarily in the writing. It’s much more suspense-horror than the mythos-based psychological horror of “Afterlife.” There are also more opportunities for humor here, and the drama is more visceral than emotional. It’s certainly a new mix, and I’m glad the series has achieved this to set itself apart from its predecessor.
In all, “Jughead: The Hunger” blew me away. It’s a successful return to form for Archie Horror, retaining the best of previous books while establishing its own unique voice. This creative team works unbelievably well together, and even if this particular story is never expanded upon, I hope we at least get other stories from this team in the future!
Final Verdict: 9.0 – One of the best single issues in an already impressive line of comics from Archie. Horror fans, comics fans, fans of great storytelling: check this out!
