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Chilling Adventures in Sorcery
Chilling Adventures in Sorcery
Presented by Sabrina the Teenage Witch, this collection features some of the most horrifying classic stories to ever be published by Archie Comics, collected for the first time in graphic novel form. Featuring an all-new cover by comic artist extraordinaire Francesco Francavilla ( Afterlife With Archie )!
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 23, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
June 27, 2024
Hey! This wasn't bad at all!
Normally, when I see a black and white comic I run like Satan himself is chasing my tubby ass through the woods. But this one had several things going for it that canceled out that reaction for me.
First, I love anything Archie-related, and this is labeled Archie Horror Anthology. So, ding, ding!
A few of the stories are introduced by Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but not all. As the stories go on, I think it switched over to a different...thing. <--Red Circle
Which, I'm assuming is still Archie, but not. Ish?
Doesn't matter, but I noticed it and felt the need to share.
Second, I've always wanted to read one of these old horror comics. I was never allowed to read anything this satanic when I was a kid, so there's always been the appeal of the forbidden to this stuff. Oooooh! I'm so bad!
Except it's kinda lame considering I'm way too old to be bad. Or at least the kind of bad that comes from reading old comic books.
Still. <--tingles!
The third (and maybe best thing) about this one was the length of the stories. 3 pages, maybe 4? For someone with an attention span like mine, the short story format really sparkles like a...like a sparkly thing that...you know...like a...what was I talking about?
Were the stories scary by today's standards? No, probably not. But they weren't badly written or so cornball-y that I couldn't stand to read them, either. There was, admittedly, a distinct corn flavor to most issues, but so what? They're old! Embrace the corn, I say!
Anyway, some were better than others, but I think that's to be expected in an anthology. Most of these, however, were pretty cool and I imagine that if I'd read them as a kid back in the day I would have absolutely fallen all over myself to get more of these comics.
Normally, when I see a black and white comic I run like Satan himself is chasing my tubby ass through the woods. But this one had several things going for it that canceled out that reaction for me.
First, I love anything Archie-related, and this is labeled Archie Horror Anthology. So, ding, ding!
A few of the stories are introduced by Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but not all. As the stories go on, I think it switched over to a different...thing. <--Red Circle
Which, I'm assuming is still Archie, but not. Ish?
Doesn't matter, but I noticed it and felt the need to share.
Second, I've always wanted to read one of these old horror comics. I was never allowed to read anything this satanic when I was a kid, so there's always been the appeal of the forbidden to this stuff. Oooooh! I'm so bad!
Except it's kinda lame considering I'm way too old to be bad. Or at least the kind of bad that comes from reading old comic books.
Still. <--tingles!
The third (and maybe best thing) about this one was the length of the stories. 3 pages, maybe 4? For someone with an attention span like mine, the short story format really sparkles like a...like a sparkly thing that...you know...like a...what was I talking about?
Were the stories scary by today's standards? No, probably not. But they weren't badly written or so cornball-y that I couldn't stand to read them, either. There was, admittedly, a distinct corn flavor to most issues, but so what? They're old! Embrace the corn, I say!
Anyway, some were better than others, but I think that's to be expected in an anthology. Most of these, however, were pretty cool and I imagine that if I'd read them as a kid back in the day I would have absolutely fallen all over myself to get more of these comics.
December 15, 2019
Grab a copy of this wonderful gem and be transported back to 1970's horror comics.
May 2, 2020
Chilling Adventures in Sorcery collects isssues #1-7 of the Red Circle horror title of the same name.
Since I've gone all in on the Archie horror line, I picked this up, not reading what the contents actually are. Aside from the Red Circle super hero titles, I'm pretty ignorant of the non-teenage Archie-style books Archie put out in the past.
The seven issues within contain horror approved by the Comics Code, albeit in 1973 after the code was relaxed a bit. The stories themselves are nothing spectacular, watered down DC style tales, much like what DC was doing on House of Mystery and House of Secrets in the early 1970s.
The art wound up being the big attraction here. Gray Morrow has his hand in many of the tales, drawing, writing, or both and really tears it up on art. How Gray Morrow never had a long run on anything for the Big Two, I'll never know. Alex Toth does a single story, as does Howard Chaykin. The first two issues feature horror done in the Archie house style and those wound up being my favorite just because of how unusual the approach was.
Story wise, Chilling Adventures in Sorcery was average but the abundance of Gray Morrow art raises the grade to a 3.5.
Since I've gone all in on the Archie horror line, I picked this up, not reading what the contents actually are. Aside from the Red Circle super hero titles, I'm pretty ignorant of the non-teenage Archie-style books Archie put out in the past.
The seven issues within contain horror approved by the Comics Code, albeit in 1973 after the code was relaxed a bit. The stories themselves are nothing spectacular, watered down DC style tales, much like what DC was doing on House of Mystery and House of Secrets in the early 1970s.
The art wound up being the big attraction here. Gray Morrow has his hand in many of the tales, drawing, writing, or both and really tears it up on art. How Gray Morrow never had a long run on anything for the Big Two, I'll never know. Alex Toth does a single story, as does Howard Chaykin. The first two issues feature horror done in the Archie house style and those wound up being my favorite just because of how unusual the approach was.
Story wise, Chilling Adventures in Sorcery was average but the abundance of Gray Morrow art raises the grade to a 3.5.
March 26, 2023
What a fun collection of old school Archie horror comics! Highly recommended for fans of Tales from the Crypt-style horror anthologies.
October 27, 2020
This volume reprints the first seven issues of the comic CHILLING ADVENTURES IN SORCERY first published by Archie Comics in 1972. Later issues were moved under the Red Circle imprint, which I think was the horror/superhero line of Archie. I was aware of this title but didn't really know much about it.
I'm not sure if the original issues were in black and white, but this collection is, and it works. It reminded me of Creepy and Eerie, and even used some of the same artists. As far as the story goes, they are pretty much the same type of tales you would get in Creepy and Eerie. This title obviously used those magazines as a blueprints as each one even has one of those "real life horror" pages that discuss the origins of monsters and evil. Overall, while the quality may not be as good as the best of Creepy and Eerie, it's better than the worst. The early stories have Archie Comics style art, and it was a little weird to see dark horror stories in such a cartoony style, but it was unsettling enough it worked. But by later issues the art style had changed into the more traditional horror art one would expect.
I will admit I'm a huge fan of horror anthology comics and sometimes rate than higher than most, but this was a pleasant surprise. If you enjoy Creepy and Eerie or other horror magazines of that type, give this one a try.
I'm not sure if the original issues were in black and white, but this collection is, and it works. It reminded me of Creepy and Eerie, and even used some of the same artists. As far as the story goes, they are pretty much the same type of tales you would get in Creepy and Eerie. This title obviously used those magazines as a blueprints as each one even has one of those "real life horror" pages that discuss the origins of monsters and evil. Overall, while the quality may not be as good as the best of Creepy and Eerie, it's better than the worst. The early stories have Archie Comics style art, and it was a little weird to see dark horror stories in such a cartoony style, but it was unsettling enough it worked. But by later issues the art style had changed into the more traditional horror art one would expect.
I will admit I'm a huge fan of horror anthology comics and sometimes rate than higher than most, but this was a pleasant surprise. If you enjoy Creepy and Eerie or other horror magazines of that type, give this one a try.
September 13, 2018
I took a same break and this book was left half- finished. I really enjoyed it.
Some very interesting and spooky stories.
Some very interesting and spooky stories.
October 20, 2020
I am an absolute sucker for old style "Tales from the Crypt" type stories. "Chilling Adventures in Sorcery" is a collection of said comics from the 1950's. Now there is a warning at the beginning of the collection to be aware of...shall we say...insensitive depictions of...everything (minorities, women, minority women, you name it). And there was definitely a lot of stuff that wouldn't make the cut today but these stories were a blast in their cheesy over-the-top fun. Bad guys got their just desserts. Heck, good guys got their just desserts! Desserts for everybody!
Were there obvious vampires that somehow fooled everyone? You guessed it.
Were there offensive gypsy woman by the truckload, handing out curses like they were peanuts? Oh, for sure.
Were there hairstyles scarier than the stories that contained them? Afro-sure!
A high, high recommend for all horror loving cheese balls.
Were there obvious vampires that somehow fooled everyone? You guessed it.
Were there offensive gypsy woman by the truckload, handing out curses like they were peanuts? Oh, for sure.
Were there hairstyles scarier than the stories that contained them? Afro-sure!
A high, high recommend for all horror loving cheese balls.
Read
January 16, 2020Old Archie horror comics, with work from the sort of comics artists who tend to hugely enthuse a sort of comics fan that I am not – Alex Toth, Gray Morrow, Dick Giordano (OK, and some early Chaykin, who is a name to which I can put faces). The tales are all short, and even the ones that aren't wholly straightforward are of such a vintage that many of the twists barely register as such. Sometimes the horror is so firmly in the service of justice that it feels more like a morality tale – not least the story of the teacher who seems ineffectual, but has a delightfully innovative way of dealing with bullies. Mostly, though, the attraction does lie very much with those artists, and even then not straight away; the first couple of issues are very much in the Archie house style, and introduced by Sabrina (looking like her cheery old Teenage Witch self, but in sentiments a little closer to Chilling Adventures mode), before she steps back and the comic takes a sudden swing into a much darker and more torrid look. It doesn't always work – in particular, the stories which supposedly have mediaeval settings look a lot more like sword and sorcery, but then I suppose that confusion is not uncommon in America (see also, mixing both of the above up with modern Europe). But for the most part they're very pretty, agreeably gothic little snacks to eat between meals, and in particular, and despite all the grisly demises, I found them surprisingly soothing as bedtime reading.
April 27, 2018
This is a charming volume of something rather unexpected from Archie Comics' past. The first two issues are drawn in the famous Archie "house style" and are narrated by Sabrina. After that, the tone shifts entirely, with darker stories and no Sabrina (although, in my head, I still read the narrator with her voice).
Some tales are truly chilling, while others are quite tame. The "Essays" pages, purporting to be factual, can cause a reader to look sideways at the page; but then one realizes it's filler meant to entertain a younger reader.
The real star here is the artwork, especially that of Gray Morrow, who doesn't get enough attention in comic fandom.
Some tales are truly chilling, while others are quite tame. The "Essays" pages, purporting to be factual, can cause a reader to look sideways at the page; but then one realizes it's filler meant to entertain a younger reader.
The real star here is the artwork, especially that of Gray Morrow, who doesn't get enough attention in comic fandom.
December 19, 2018
Chilling Adventures in Sorcery is a collection of some classic horror comics that is a great pleasure to read. A warning, however, that it is quite dated: there are some things that won't go over well with readers of a modern sensibility and the pacing is distinctly different from that of modern comics.
January 4, 2019
I liked the Sabrina hosted stories but I didn't care for a lot of the artists in the comics. Almost all the stories were similar which got boring and stale after a while. Plus there were a lot of errors in the writing; words left out of sentences that made no sense. It's more of 3.5 star book for me.
June 30, 2024
ocena: ⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
przeczytane: 01.01.2024
gatunek: horror
forma: ebook - komiks -j.angielski
moja opinia: Hmm... Myślałam, że będzie to ciekwasze... Historie nie były jakoś porywające, czytało to się bardzo szorstko, bez takiego flow.
przeczytane: 01.01.2024
gatunek: horror
forma: ebook - komiks -j.angielski
moja opinia: Hmm... Myślałam, że będzie to ciekwasze... Historie nie były jakoś porywające, czytało to się bardzo szorstko, bez takiego flow.
dnf
January 21, 2019This isn't particularly long and I probably could have finished it but it just wasn't grabbing my attention.
Classic camp fire 'horror' stories.
Classic camp fire 'horror' stories.
May 29, 2023
This book is a reprint of the1970s "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina." The stories are tame next to other stories from that time. The highlight of the first two issues is the classic Archie comics art style and Sabrina hosting the stories. Then starting with issue three Sabrina is no longer the horror host and the art work takes a big nose dive in quality. However, the stories improve. So, what we have here is a case of good art work and good storing telling not happening at the same time. This is a major shame.
There were several horror comics during this time sporting similar plot themes, but if they would have kept the classic Archie art style it would have stood out among the pack. Unfortunately, it is just another same old, same old book that gets lost as being average within its peers.
There were several horror comics during this time sporting similar plot themes, but if they would have kept the classic Archie art style it would have stood out among the pack. Unfortunately, it is just another same old, same old book that gets lost as being average within its peers.
November 18, 2020
I went into this volume not knowing anything about this series, but it turned out to be a super huge bummer. Issues 1 and 2 are great — Dan DeCarlo’s classic Archie-style drawings paired with pulpy monster stories with Sabrina the Teenage Witch serving as the Crypt Keeper. It’s ridiculous, but fun a d silly; it’s interesting to see wholesome art and characters in such grim circumstances. Then the rest of the book gets rid of DeCarlo’s drawings and Sabrina as the issues just turn into Creepy/Eerie knockoffs, and it’s such a departure that I’m actually angry, because a largely Archie-characterless book is completely not what I expected of something from the Archie library. It’s absolute bait and it’s garbage.
October 12, 2022
This is just such a treat. It reprints black-and-white horror stories originally published in Archie's Chilling Adventures in Sorcery line. They're great stuff. If you enjoy your 70s horror a little heavier on the mystery and magic over the gore, this will be right up your street. They're beautifully reprinted and it's a real delight to have them all in one place between two covers, especially in such a nicely designed edition - it fits right in with the other Archie Horror books.
These stories are creepy in the same way that watching an old monster movie marathon at Halloween with friends is - that is to say, not scary, but a lot of spooky fun. I loved it.
These stories are creepy in the same way that watching an old monster movie marathon at Halloween with friends is - that is to say, not scary, but a lot of spooky fun. I loved it.
December 31, 2020
A really enjoyable anthology series, all the stories were rather dark, but still somehow cheesy. I loved every minute of it. None of the story's I found full, they were short and sweet and while some left it up to the imagination, the conclusions were always satisfying and chilling. I liked that the first half was told by Sabrina, as if they were bed time stories told to her by Hilda and Zelda. Worth a read for any horror fan.
March 28, 2018
Definitely not a horror fan, but this collection was very good overall! I was expecting more Sabrina stories honestly... did enjoy the other comics though! Particularly “Warrior’s Dream,” “The Choker is Wild” (minus the racial slurs) and “Cat.”
September 14, 2018
It was fine for an older collection. It has the cheese of a lot of EC copycats of the day. I do wish there had been more Sabrina featured.
I liked that they took the witch tale sub-genre to a new place with a younger, attractive witch like Sabrina rather than the typical hag.
I liked that they took the witch tale sub-genre to a new place with a younger, attractive witch like Sabrina rather than the typical hag.
November 1, 2018
None of the stories really grabbed me, but I appreciated the 70s art style. I never knew Archie Comics put out anything other than Archie and Sonic, but apparently they had quite the line of horror comics.
November 22, 2020
Usually I stray away from black and white comics but these stories were amazing. This collection of retro Archie Horror Comics would be delightful curled up under a full moon in October. They were a fun collection of scary stories.
March 4, 2021
Classic horror comics. Some had a Sabrina front which was very cute, especially the one about Hilda. For the most part they were funny or moral or sweet rather than scary. But I really enjoyed them as a bit of light reading.
August 5, 2024
As a fan of Afterlife with Archie, Vampironica and Jughead the Hunger, this collection of tales was a bit disappointing. Many of the stories felt rushed and/or incomplete and would've been better served as three-issue arcs rather than one-shots.
April 1, 2018
Unfortunately not that great.
September 22, 2018
Go back in time to rediscover this collection of 1970s horror comics.
Narrated by Sabrina Spellman herself.
Narrated by Sabrina Spellman herself.
October 31, 2018
Read like a Tales from the Crypt.
January 19, 2020
Original Archie horror comics. Interesting dive into the past.
December 19, 2020
3.75/5 stars
November 14, 2021
Definitely chilling, but way too fast for my liking. Still wonderful.
Read
November 15, 2021I'm not going to give this one a numbered rating because I wouldn't be sure how to rate it as it is my first graphic novel.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews