Archie Showcase Digest #20: Archie’s Halloween Special
This Showcase and the previous one were both released this year and were priced at $9.99. However, this one from October seems about 20 pages smaller than the earlier one from June. I guess they couldn’t justify another price increase and had to make cuts somewhere. That said, this digest was more Halloween fun. It features some classic stories, Sabrina stories, and a lengthy horror movie homage.
This starts off with this spooky-looking story drawn by Harry Lucey. Don’t worry. No blood is drawn.
There were a couple of non-Archie stories. I presume they’re from the title Mad House. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a reprint volume of the comic. It’s where Sabrina debuted in.
The centerpiece of the digest is Twilite, an Archie version of Twilight. Basically, Veronica gets involved with a new student who’s a vampire, who’s fighting another new student who’s a werewolf. Actually, the most fantastic element of this story is how passive Archie is about losing Veronica to this pale guy with a nasty overbite.
The two-part story is more dramatic (or melodramatic) than funny. I feel like Veronica was pleased to finally be offered a more serious role in an Archie story. It’s okay. I’m not sure if Bill Galvan’s art style was the best choice for this kind of story, but it’s pretty good. Once again, the characters are pliable enough to work in any story situation.
I have to protest. Here they are putting Melody in danger in this spooky story. She seems to be the designated damsel in distress in any scary Josie and the Pussycats story (except for that one where Josie gets possessed, (7-18-24). Don’t worry. It’s all just a misunderstanding.
There’s a couple of stories from Sabrina’s Gravestone Heights 91313 era. Actually, I’m not sure how many stories there are from that “era,” but I’ve seen a few. (I got a big Sabrina trade with this order that I’ll be reviewing later.) It’s an interesting concept.
There’s a more traditional Sabrina story also with her running a supernatural advice column. The art is by Holly G and the story is fun. I’d like a volume of all of Holly’s work on Sabrina and Josie.
There’s a couple of Archie Weird Mystery stories. One is of them is the Archie gang doing a Scooby Doo-like story. This story was in a Best of volume, which I reviewed but can't find on the blog. It’s still a very tongue-in-cheek homage.
Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #354
This regular issue of Archie features a new story and some classic Halloween-themed stories. There are also a couple of football stories, an election story, and some random stories mixed in. It’s not as seasonal as the previous digest. It’s okay with a few highlights (though one is a classic).
The new story features Sabrina with the Archie gang with Rex Lindsey’s detailed, energetic work. Showcase #20 above features a couple little ghost characters on the cover. I didn’t know they were actual characters, Trick and Treat. Sabrina’s rival, Amber Nightstone, has turned the mischievous ghosts to evil and Sabrina has to change their minds. Unfortunately, this is just a five-page story, so there’s not a lot of character development here.
Here’s a classic 60’s Betty and Veronica story. The young ladies look very fashionable, as always.
This is a little two-page gag. It’s cute.
Okay, here’s my favorite story. Though only six pages, it was so unexpected, I couldn’t resist it. Archie goes to New York City and meets several 90’s TV sitcom characters. I wish this one were longer. You could feel the love for the characters, even in passing.
One of the football stories was a longer one. Archie finds out that Mr. Weatherbee was once
a star football player. Later, Archie is
in the big game and makes a bad play.
The Bee helps him out with a life lesson. This was reasonably touching.
The TV homage continues in this dream sequence with Mr. Andrews. You could have the Archie gang stranded on a deserted island and make a series out of it.
Here’s a couple of gags from the 50’s. Pretty funny.
Little Archie isn’t my favorite, but this is a pretty good gag.
Finally, here’s a big panel of chaos by the Kennedy Brothers. As always, it’d be great to see this full-size. These guys were great Archie artists.
There’s still Archie reviews to come.
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