31 Days Of Halloween Comics: Afterlife With Archie

It’s no exaggeration to say that Afterlife with Archie, written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, with art by Francesco Francavilla, changed Archie Comics forever.

First published in 2013, the title was a riff on the classic Life with Archie, with the pun teeing up a zombie apocalypse in Riverdale. Basically “What if Archie and the gang got stuck in The Walking Dead?” but way worse, the plot jumps from a Pet Semetary resurrection of Hot Dog to a zombie plague that infects the rest of the teens and adults of the town.

Aguirre-Sacasa by this point was an old hand at tweaking Archie Comics convention, but this title kicked things up to another level. Credit Francavilla’s haunting designs, which channeled the classic Archie characters while also exaggerating them to monstrous proportions. It’s gruesome, it’s often darkly comic, and over 10 issues there’s a morbid fascination in seeing these squeaky-clean teens get ripped to shreds.

But what about the game-changing? The first title sent directly to comic book shops, it completely upended what fans thought of Archie Comics. While the publisher was headed in this direction anyway, it sped up the process of reevaluating Archie’s place in the comic book sphere from “those digests on the supermarket rack” to a diverse slate of titles for all ages.

And it rejiggered the whole line to have more room for horror. And led to the Archie TV revolution that included Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and Katy Keene. Like a zombie virus, there was no stopping what Afterlife With Archie began. But hey, don’t believe me? Check out the book for yourself. And prepare to take a bite out of something completely fresh and new.

Bonus: Be sure to also check out Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a spiritual (no pun intended) sequel series that inspired the Netflix show.

It’s spooky season, and you know what that means: time to curl up with a comic book or graphic novel that will scare your socks off. With that in mind, we’re posting a new horror book to check out every day of October, for our 31 Days Of Halloween Comics. Awoooo! Looking for the rest of our picks? Check them out on the Halloween tag.

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