Review: CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA #7

CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA No. 7
ARCHIE COMICS – @ArchieComics @ArchieHorror

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
ART: Robert Hack
LETTERS: Jack Morelli
COVER: Robert Hack
VARIANT COVER: Moritat
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (August 2017)

“Witch-War” Chapter One: “The Truth About Demonology”

Rated Teen + (Violence and mature content)

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is one of two Archie Comics series that were re-imagined as horror comic books and and published under the “Archie Horror” imprint.  [The other is the zombie apocalypse series, Afterlife with Archie, a play on the title Life with Archie.]  Chilling Adventures of Sabrina takes the traditionally lighthearted Sabrina the Teen-Age Witch and re-imagines Sabrina's four-color world as a place of witchcraft, Satanism, and murder-most-foul.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa; drawn by Robert Hack; and lettered by Jack Morelli.  The story is set in the 1960s, with the current story line largely taking place in 1967.  Sabrina Victoria Spellman is a 16-year-old who lives in Greendale with her aunts, Hilda and Zelda (two witches of the Satan-serving variety); her cousin, Ambrose (a warlock); and her familiar, a cat named Salem (once a human).

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #7 (“The Truth About Demonology”) opens at midnight, the “Witching Hour.”  Harvey Kinkle, Sabrina's boyfriend, is back... or is he?  Harvey was murdered by the coven because he innocently interrupted Sabrina's initiation ceremony into the Church of Night.  Sabrina had help bringing Harvey back to life, but that “help,” Madame Satan, has other plans.  Now, Edward Spellman, Sabrina's long-missing father, is back, and he has an origin story to tell.

I recently discovered that a close friend of mine is also a big fan of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.  Anyone who reads this comic book will find it hard not to love this chilling, occult series.  It is one of the darkest, most Satanic-skewing comic book that I have ever read.  Writer Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa writes that he is a fan of and has been influenced by writers such as Edgar Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, and Clive Barker and comic book writers like Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman.  Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a work worthy of being influenced by these greats.

Artist Robert Hack's work here is a creepy sight to behold.  It is also supreme horror comics storytelling, truly brilliant, atmospheric, (dare I say) chilling work.  The process of reading these stories feels sinister against my eyes.  Yes, I am recommending this series.

[This issue includes the classic Sabrina story, “Castle Hassle” by writer George Gladir, artists Bob Bolling (pencils) and Rudy Lapick (inks); colorist Barry Grossman; and letterer Bill Yoshida.]

A+
10 out of 10

http://archiehorror.com/

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: LEGEND OF THE MANTAMAJI: Book One

LEGEND OF THE MANTAMAJI: BOOK ONE
“AND... ACTION” ENTERTAINMENT

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Eric Dean Seaton
ART: Brandon Palas
COLORS: Andrew Dalhouse
LETTERS: Deron Bennett
ISBN: 978-1-930315-34-1; paperback (October 4, 2014)
216pp, Color, $14.99 U.S., $16.99 CAN

The Legend of the Mantamaji is a three-volume graphic novel series created by Eric Dean Seaton.  Seaton has directed numerous episodes of television series for Disney Channel (including “That's So Raven” and “Jessie”) and Nickelodeon (including “The Thundermans” and “True Jackson, VP”).

The three volumes of The Legend of the Mantamaji were published in October 2014 (Book One), December 2014 (Book Two), and February 2015 (Book Three).  The Legend of the Mantamaji focuses on a young man who learns that he is the last of a race of mystical knights, called the Mantamaji, that once protected the world.  The Legend of the Mantamaji is written by Seaton; drawn by Brandon Palas; colored by Andrew Dalhouse; and lettered by Deron Bennett.  I purchased a copy of the first book a few years ago, and having recently found it, I decided to read and review it.

The Legend of the Mantamaji Book One introduces Elijah Alexander.  He is New York City's hottest and cockiest assistant district attorney (A.D.A.).  He has big plans to leave the district attorney's office for the world of big business.  What he does not know is that he is “The Last Mantamanji?”

The Mantamaji were mystical knights who once protected humanity, but they were made practically extinct by an ageless enemy.  Now, that ancient evil has returned, and Elijah's destiny bluntly confronts him.  His mother, Mariah, hides an astonishing secret.  Her friend, Noah, wants to train Elijah.  His girlfriend, Detective Sydney Spencer, is involved in an investigation that may be tied to Elijah destiny.  And even if Elijah accepts his destiny, will it be as a hero or as someone out for himself?

Writer Eric Dean Seaton and artist Brandon Palas may not be seasoned veterans at creating comic books.  Seaton works in cable network television.  Palas shows a lack of polish in figure drawing and composition.  Still, their storytelling is clean and clear.  Thematically, Seaton and Palas focus on the struggle between selflessness and selfishness, and the fate of mankind rests on which side Elijah Alexander chooses and how long it takes him to choose.  Besides, colorist Andrew Dalhouse and letterer Deron Bennett add that veteran's touch that gives The Legend of the Mantamaji Book One some polish and professional sheen.  This is not an off-the-wall comic book; it is a snazzy graphic novel package worthy of being of the shelves with big comic book corporations' publications.

I consider The Legend of the Mantamaji Book One to be an easy graphic novel to recommend because it is so fun to read.  Its internal mythology is edgy, with complications that seem to cause real hardships for the heroes.  The obstacles in front of the heroes are interesting, and the villain is shameless in his self-aggrandizing and in his singular vision that his violence will lead to a better world.

I also think that it is a good idea to publish The Legend of the Mantamaji as a series of graphic novels, which allows the narrative to stretch out and feel its way around the plot lines, characters, settings, and back story.  If this had been published as a miniseries, I think the story would have struggled to make sense.  It has been about three-and-half years since The Legend of the Mantamaji Book One debuted, but time has nothing to do with the fact that this is a good comic book.  It is not a great work, but the writer and the illustrator are striving to keep getting better as the story gets more exciting.

7 out of 10

LegendoftheMantamaji.com
AndActionEntertainment.com
twitter.com/ericdeanseaton
instagram.com/ericdeanseaton
facebook.com/legendofthemantamaji
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Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: VAMPIRE KNIGHT: Memories Volume 2

VAMPIRE KNIGHT: MEMORIES VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Matsuri Hino
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Nancy Thislethwaite
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0024-0; paperback (August 2018); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
208pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Vampire Knight is a vampire romance and shojo manga from creator Matsuri Hino.  It was published in the magazine, LaLa, from 2004 to 2013.  It has been collected in 19 tankōbon (similar to a graphic novel), and VIZ Media has published the series in the United States as a series of English-language, paperback graphic novels.

A few years after the end of the original series, Hino began producing a series of “special chapters,” episodes of Vampire Knight that take place after the events depicted in Vampire Knight Volume 19, which contained the final chapters of Vampire Knight.  VIZ Media is publishing an English-language translation of the new chapters in the graphic novel series, Vampire Knights: Memories.

Vampire Knight focuses on Yuki Cross, who eventually learns that she is a pure-blood vampire.  Her first love interest is Zero Kiryu, a human suffering from the curse of the vampire.  Yuki eventually falls in love with Kaname Kuran, a pure-blood vampire.  At the end of Vampire Knight, Kaname sacrifices his body to create new vampire-killing weapons for the vampire-hunting Hunter Society.

As Vampire Knight: Memories, Vol. 2 opens, Kaname experiences the events that occurred during his thousand-year slumber as memories.  While Kaname sleeps, Yuki and Zero begin a romance and contemplate marriage.  However, vampires begin threatening Zero because he is a vampire hunter, and they do not want him tainting, Yuki, their “pure-blood” princess.

Can Yuki and Zero overcome the forces arrayed against them?  Meanwhile, vampire scientist and inventor, Hanabusa Aido, begins a doomed romance with Sayori Wakaba, a young human woman.  Can either of them really accept the fact that Sayori will suffer the fate of all humans – to die one day, while Zero will not.

As I wrote in my review of the first volume of the Vampire Knight: Memories manga, I did not like the end of the first Vampire Knight manga, especially the “death” of Kaname.  In general, however, I really liked the series, and I enjoyed the prettiness of creator Matsuri Hino's art.

Vampire Knight: Memories Graphic Novel Volume 2 is a little stronger than the first volume.  The series is now more a melancholy supernatural romance, purely so.  The original series deals with the politics of Cross Academy, a school attended by vampires and humans who did not know that vampires attended.  Vampire Knight also focuses on the internal politics and intrigue of vampires and Hunters.

The new series is quite a bit different.  I like its focus on themes of love, family, and obligation.  The five chapters contained in this second volume also deal with how complicated relationships can be and with the fragility of life, especially that of humans.  If fans did not get enough of Vampire Knight, Vampire Knight: Memories is a worthy second serving.

A
8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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