Thursday, November 1, 2018

[BOOK REVIEW] Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: The Crucible Volume 1 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa










Title:  Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: The Crucible Volume 1

Author:  Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa  

Artist:  Robert Hack 

Genre:  Horror / Drama / Romance / Witches / Family

Year Published: 2016

Year Read:  10/31/2018

Publisher:  Archie Comics

Series: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #1

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 15+ (Scary Content and Some Language)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 



Introduction:

After reading “Afterlife with Archie,” I was definitely looking forward to reading “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and see how this compares to the “Afterlife with Archie” series. I also wanted to read this graphic novel because I wanted to read it before I watch the new Netflix series “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina!”  Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the same writer of the “Afterlife with Archie” series, along with artwork by Robert Hack, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Volume One: The Crucible” is definitely worth the read!


What is this story about?

Sabrina Spellman is not your average teenage girl.  She is actually a half witch (her father was a warlock who married a mortal woman).  According to her aunts Zelda and Hilda, Sabrina has to be baptized on her sixteenth birthday in order to become one of the Devil’s handmaidens.  But, there are a couple of things that will complicate Sabrina’s demonic ceremony.  One of them is her love for a mortal teenage boy named Harvey Kinkle, as she cannot tell him that she is really a witch and that she will be celebrating a forbidden ceremony for witches. Another one is that an enemy named Madam Satan is going after Sabrina and is doing everything in her power to make Sabrina’s life miserable, due to Sabrina’s father choosing a mortal woman over her.  With her sixteenth birthday fast approaching, Sabrina must decide about what she really wants in her life and what she is willing to sacrifice to get the life she really wants.

What I loved about this story:

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s writing:  Wow!  Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has done it again with his stellar writing on the darker retellings of the characters from the Archie Comics!  When it comes to darker retellings of the characters from the Archie Comics, I believe that Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is probably the best suited at writing these characters due to making the characters so intriguing!  I am also usually shocked at how dark Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa can make these characters as I would not believe that these characters from the Archie Comics would do such heinous crimes, if it was not for the fact that these are darker retellings of the characters.  I also really liked the dark and mysterious atmosphere of this story as the witches are shown in a much more menacing and frightening light here than with what you would see in the regular “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” series.  The fact that Satan is the being that the witches worship makes this story even darker in tone.  I also liked the way that Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa made the story extremely emotional, especially for Sabrina since I really wanted to see Sabrina and Harvey stay together through all the terrifying events going on in this volume.

Robert Hack’s artwork:  Robert Hack’s artwork was just so gorgeous and frightening to look at!  I loved the way that Robert Hack made all the characters look extremely realistic, especially with their facial expressions.  I also loved how detailed the images can be during scenes of horror and violence and I found myself cringing a bit at some of the artwork because of how realistic they looked.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who does not like scary content, this volume has a surprising number of terrifying moments such as a witch ripping off the face off a person or a satanic ritual with the witches. 

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Volume One: The Crucible” is a truly fantastic graphic novel that manages to make a darker retelling of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” worth the read!




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