SABRINA ANNUAL SPECTACULAR, NO. 1
ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS, INC.
STORY: Ian Flynn; Dick Malmgren; George Gladir; Frank Doyle
PENCILS: Steven Butler; Dick Malmgren; Bob Bolling; Dan DeCarlo
INKS: Lily Butler; Jon D'Agostino; Rudy Lapick;
COLORS: Glenn Whitmore
LETTERS: Jack Morelli; Bill Yoshida
EDITORS: Jamie Lee Rotante; Vincent Lovallo; Stephen Oswald
EiC: Mike Pellerito
COVER: Steven Butler and Lily Butler with Rosario “Tito” Peña
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (October 2024)
Rating: All-Ages
Sabrina in “Awakening!”
Sabrina the Teenage Witch is an Archie Comics character that was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo. Sabrina Spellman first appeared in Archie's Madhouse #22 (cover-dated: October 1962).
Archie is releasing a trio of “annual spectaculars” that involve the machinations of a new character, “Mother Striga.” She makes her debut in Sabrina's Annual Spectacular, No. 1. Her debut story will continue in the forthcoming Archie Halloween Spectacular, No. 1 (October 2, 2024) and Josie and the Pussycats Annual Spectacular, No. 1 (November 6, 2024).
Sabrina Annual Spectacular offers four reprint stories and opens with the new five-page story that introduces Mother Striga, “Awakening!” It is written by Ian Flynn; drawn by Steven Butler (pencils) and Lily Butler (inks); colored by Glenn Whitmore; and lettered by the great Jack Morelli.
“Awakening!” opens in the neighborhood of “Eyegore Estates,” the place that hosts all the things that go “bump in the night.” Sabrina the Teenage Witch and her cat, Salem, are shocked to discover that everyone is acting like zombies... even the zombies.
Soon, Sabrina learns that her nemesis, Amber Nightstone, has unleashed an evil more powerful than she expected. It's Mother Striga, the first witch and the mother of all witches!
THE LOWDOWN: Over the last few years, Archie's marketing department has been sending PDF copies of some of their titles for review. One of the most recent is the new one-shot comic book, Sabrina Annual Spectacular, No. 1.
In the the opening story, “Awakening!,” writer Ian Flynn teases big things to come, but this first chapter can really only tease. The stars here are the art team of penciller Steven Butler, inker Lily Butler, and colorist Glenn Whitmore. They create a playfully macabre and pop Gothic sensibility that really sells this story's setting, plot, and characters. Whitmore's other-worldly, almost psychedelic colors are the perfect accompaniment to the Butlers' Charles Addams' like aesthetic in this story. Also, Jack Morelli's lettering puts the finishing touch to this delightful tale. Although “Awakening!” is only five pages long, it is really a classically cool comics story.
Two of the reprint stories are from Sabrina's creators, George Gladir and Dan DeCarlo. The classic Sabrina story, “Haunt Taunt,” is written by Gladir and drawn by Bob Bolling and Rudy Lapick and originally published in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch #60 (cover dated: June 1980). DeCarlo pencils “Strange Love,” written by Frank Doyle and published in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch #1 (cover dated: April 1971).
Dear readers, I will always recommend classic and classic-style Archie Comics stories.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of classic-style Archie Comics and of Sabrina the Teenage Witch will definitely want to get a copy of Sabrina Annual Spectacular, No. 1.
A
★★★★ out of 4 stars
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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