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“Vampironica: New Blood” #1

By | December 6th, 2019
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

Whether you’re a superfan who’s read every single issue of every Archie Horror title or you’ve been lurking quietly, watching from a distance, the aptly named “Vampironica: New Blood” #1 functions well as a soft reboot that will leave new and existing fans hungry for what comes next. (Warning: may contain minor spoilers, even if they’re only about other Archieverse titles.)

Cover by Audrey Mok
Written by Frank Tieri
and Michael Moreci
Illustrated by Audrey Mok
Colored by Matt Herms
Lettered by Jack Morelli

BRAND NEW SERIES! Riverdale’s own bombshell bloodsucker is back! Following the events of the “Jughead the Hunger vs. Vampironica” crossover, Veronica returns to her own universe, still a vampire. She’s not the same, and she knows it. And now she needs answers. But she may not be ready for what she’s about to discover!

On the first page of “Vampironica: New Blood” #1, an iconic image of Jug Wolf swirls and dissolves into Hot Dog — his big, lovable, perpetually shaggy face seen from Veronica’s point of view. As Riverdale’s foremost It Girl slowly reawakens to what is presumably her “normal” Riverdale timeline, Hot Dog is licking her face, straining tight against Archie’s leash. Next, we see Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe and the hastily assembled memorial to Riverdale’s numerous missing citizens, all of whom suddenly vanished without a trace.

Ronnie is clearly reeling, trying to sort things out and understand what happened, a complex internal struggle brilliantly depicted by artist Audrey Mok’s full-page, multilayered montage – with gorgeous colors by Matt Herms — that brings the first scene to a climax. With great pace and intuitive timing, thanks to an efficient, well-constructed script by Frank Tieri and Michael Moreci, in five short pages the previous series has been artfully recapped, Veronica’s transition between different timelines is complete, and the next plot is already unfolding. Veronica storms away, driven to go find answers, leaving Archie to muse to himself, “Hm…I didn’t even get to ask about the sword on her back.”

To be clear, you don’t really need to read any of the other vampire-werewolf-FrankenMoose books in the rapidly expanding Riverdale multiverse before you sink your teeth into this one. Nevertheless, you’ll probably want to know this: in the Jug Wolf + Vampironica timeline, the two titular characters were vibing pretty hard on each other. Intriguingly, that underlying tension was intentionally left unresolved, providing a natural springboard to launch the characters into “New Blood,” with only one of them aware – so far, anyway – of the events that transpired in “Jughead the Hunger vs. Vampironica.”

Without a doubt, the script strikes a wonderful balance between mystery, drama and action, with plenty of deadpan humor deftly woven throughout. Even more impressive, Tieri and Moreci’s scenes never feel rushed or like they’re trying to do too much. All of that said, however, it’s Mok’s incredible artwork that leads the way and drives the story forward.

To this point, Audrey Mok has drawn a ton of outstanding covers for various Archie titles, as well as interior art for the 2016 “Josie and the Pussycats” reboot, followed by a great run on the flagship “Archie” series not long after that. Surprisingly, this is her debut on the interior artwork for an Archie Horror title. A fact that will have you asking, “What the heck took so long?” by the time you hit the book’s second scene and the seismic entrance of Riverdale’s newest smoke show, Edward “Fangs” Fogarty.

Buoyed by great colors from Archieverse veteran Matt Herms and outstanding letters from stalwart Jack Morelli, Mok’s style is finely tuned to the Archie Horror aesthetic, while taking it up a level. With an edgy, assertive style that manages to pay homage and incorporate certain classic elements, Mok’s look is fresh, bold and energetic, yet incredibly grounded in key Archieverse archetypes. While her framing and paneling tend to be a little conservative, her sequencing is pitch perfect. You could almost certainly follow the plot without reading a word of the script, but then you’d miss out on the humor and subtle charm. Put it all together, with stellar contributions from each of the creators, and the effect is a clean, intensely readable book that really allows you to focus on the characters and their relationships – a complexity that’s deeper than what meets the eye.

With a veteran team of Archie Comics creators who clearly share a bold and exciting vision, “Vampironica: New Blood” #1 proves that Archie Horror books can remain deeply rooted in a more mainstream conception of Riverdale and it’s iconic characters while also taking the story to new and exciting places. Ultimately, it’s a great example of what spinoff series and alternate timelines do when they work best: provide a solid foundation for preexisting fans, while opening the door to an exhilarating host of new possibilities and a whole new array of readers.

Final Verdict: 8.8 Whether it’s your introduction to the weird world of Archie Horror or the next series debut you’ve been dying for, “Vampironica: New Blood” #1 is a fresh and exciting start to what could be a seminal series in the burgeoning Archieverse.


John Schaidler

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