Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Vol 1: The Crucible

I was never really in to Archie comics as a kid. I knew the names of the main characters, but I never sought out or read the comics. Which means that, even though I watched Sabrina the Teenage Witch religiously when it was part of ABC's TGIF lineup, I had no idea there was any connection between it and those comics. But with the success of Riverdale, a dark, edgy Archie, Sarbina's getting a similar makeover.

My familiarity with the TV show helped me orient myself in this comic. I already knew most of the major players: Aunts Hilda and Zelda, Salem the Cat, Harvey the boyfriend. But the comic takes that cast in a very different direction. The series is set back in the 60s, and it is straight-up sensational horror.

This presented a bit of a problem in the first issue in that I didn't really connect with any of the characters. These are horrible people (literal Satanists) doing horrible things. Things improve as Sarbina grows up and becomes slightly more ambiguous, being half human. But she still uses magic mostly to improve her own life.

It isn't until the villain of the piece shows up that I felt like rooting for anyone. Her vengeance is an extreme reaction, but at least I understand her motivation. And I'm no fan of the people she's trying to kill either.

Parts of this book were a clear homage to Neil Gaiman's Sandman, and those were my favorite parts. Mostly because of the recognition factor, since they referenced my least favorite part of that series. But that also helped me put the book as a whole in the context of horror. That context let me stop worrying and just have fun with the story and the magic.

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