In comics, there are fewer titles more innocent than those in the Archie family tree, of which Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a sturdy branch. The Sabrina stories, from her first appearance in 1962 on through Melissa Joan Hart’s onscreen portrayal, are safe and sexless, a neutered teenage riff on Bewitched, and gleefully ignorant of our country’s shameful past regarding women accused of witchcraft.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina changes all that. As Sabrina Spellman prepares to celebrate her 16th birthday, a dark figure from the past arrives to seek revenge. Visually, it takes the brightly colored world of Sabrina and smothers them in the colors of fall--oranges and browns and blood red. Trees are all leafless and the sky is always on the edge of dusk. Magic isn’t used to help clean the house or finish homework, it summons demons and corrupts the innocent.
This time next year we’ll get to see the comic come to life on TV courtesy of writer series Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the creative force behind the CW’s Riverdale. Until then, get this book in your hands as soon as possible. This book is a perfect companion to the spookiest month.
