For several years now, Archie Comics has been releasing a series of one-shot tales showcasing their horror icons like Madam Satan, Jinx, and more. Only they weren’t one-shots. Not exactly. And it’s all starting to come together in this year’s Free Comic Book Day issue, The Cursed Library Prelude.
“We’ve been using our FCBD titles to highlight the line in a way to showcase the variety of talent—but in this year’s offering, it’s also to show some connective tissues between the seemingly different stories that people might not have noticed,” Jamie L. Rotante, Senior Director of Editorial at Archie Comics told Comic Book Club over email. “While nothing is really steeped in continuity, some threads link our stories together—and that payoff is forthcoming!”
You’ll be able to pick up the issue to see how it ties together at Saturday’s Free Comic Book Day in comic book shops everywhere. But in advance of the issue’s release, we talked to Rotante about the overarching plan for Archie Horror, whether the upcoming Judgment Day book will tie in, and much more.
Comic Book Club: This upcoming FCBD issue is an important one for the plot of Archie Horror – but it’s also sort of a clip show at the same time. Why was this the right approach here?
Jamie L. Rotante: Archie has now been making horror comics for over a decade, and we’ve especially upped the variety of stories over the last three years in our anthologies and one-shots. We’ve been using our FCBD titles to highlight the line in a way to showcase the variety of talent—but in this year’s offering, it’s also to show some connective tissues between the seemingly different stories that people might not have noticed. While nothing is really steeped in continuity, some threads link our stories together—and that payoff is forthcoming!
This also seems like a tricky thing to script… How did you approach structuring this?
This is where being the editor comes in handy! I’m lucky that I get to help both plan and look over all our Teen+ comic releases, so I have an intimate knowledge of everything that’s happened and what’s to come. Taking a good look at the seeds planted, the ideas that make the most sense, and a knowledge of what I’d like to tease for the future, I was able to craft something that tells a full story, while also acting as a teaser of future stories.
Similarly, you talk about trying to make every issue accessible to new readers while still providing somewhat of a continuing story. How do you straddle that line effectively?
It’s tricky work—but rewarding! The one-shot approach is the perfect way to get new readers to jump into a story without having to worry about too much lore. Each one-shot can be someone’s first comic, and we like to treat all our comics as someone’s first. The story we’re introducing in this year’s Free Comic Book Day release, however, is also a thank you to the folks who come back for each issue.
Broad question, but horror anthologies seem to be all the rage this year in comics. Archie was very much there early on, but what’s the appeal of this format to you?
Archie has such a vast array of characters, that it only makes sense to maximize how many stories we can tell with these characters by presenting them in short-form tales. Also, Archie is no stranger to the horror anthology—our original Chilling Adventures in Sorcery/Red Circle Sorcery anthologies started way back in the 1970s!
What’s interesting to you about Madam Satan and Jinx, the main characters? What’s unique about them versus your tried and true Archie characters?
Madam Satan and Jinx kept proving themselves to be bonafide horror heroes time and time again—and that’s due in large part to the fantastic work of writers Eliot Rahal and Magdalene Visaggio. Two names you’ll want to keep an eye out for…
Utilizing these characters allowed us the ability to play with their back stories and craft new tales in a way that’s tough to do with our more well-known characters. Madam Satan’s been a horror staple for Archie since the company started in 1941, and her journey has taken twists and turns throughout series like The Fox and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, before really coming into her own across her two one-shots and the two Chilling Adventures in Sorcery anthologies.
Jinx has always been a mischievous kid, but she got her taste of horror in the Jughead the Hunger Vs. Vampironica mini, which created a great launchpad to tell a story about her being the daughter of Satan, further explored in her own one-shots. We also re-introduced the character Danni Malloy as her best friend, and the two have traversed space and time together. We really can’t get enough of these three characters, and we hope everyone who reads these feels the same!
Not sure how much you want to talk about this yet, but the issue posits there’s a bit of a multiverse thing going on… When did you strike on this idea? And what can you tease about where it leads next?
We always wanted to treat our one-shots as jumping on points for new readers, but with so many folks coming back month after month for each new release, we wanted to say thank you to those fans and create a world in which all these different stories could link up in different ways. This is something we’ve been stewing on since the early days of our one-shot program, and The Cursed Library: Prelude is our official way of saying… well, stay tuned!
Are we going to see the Red Circle superhero characters crash into this, too? Or is “superhero” and “horror” separate?
Anything is possible in Archie Comics… but this particular story is squarely in the horror world. But you never know what could happen in the future!
You’ve got your prestige format kicking off soon with Judgment Day… Does this tie in, in any way? Or are they two separate projects?
Archie Comics: Judgment Day is its own beast! You’ll see some characters in it that you may have encountered in previous horror titles, but Judgment Day stands on its own two legs (or how many legs demons typically have!).
You can pick up Free Comic Book Day 2024: Archie Comics Horror Presents The Cursed Library Prelude on, when else, Free Comic Book Day, May 4, 2024.
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