JUGHEAD: THE HUNGER (10 out of 10) Script by Frank Tieri; Art by Michael Walsh and Jack Morelli; Cover by Michael Walsh; On sale 3/29/2017.
I’m going through Riverdale withdrawals. Since the show has been on vacation and will return on the 30th, I’ve had to fill my time somehow. I read all of Archie. I started Twin Peaks. But it’s not enough. I need more suspense and thrill from the Archieverse. You could say I’m…hungry?
Truly sorry for the pun, but Jughead: The Hunger is an excellent one-shot comic to fill that void while you wait for new Riverdale. No spoilers here, but The Hunger is not for the faint of heart. It starts with a murder and slowly escalates to be delightfully gory. If you’re a fan of Archie Horror, your horror-hungry heart will swoon over this one-shot written by Frank Tieri. The art by Michael Walsh is reminiscent of the work done by Francesco Francavilla in Afterlife, by focusing mostly on variations of blues and reds. Daylight and calmer scenarios reflected in blue, truly morbid in dark red, and historical events (yes, there’s a Whedon-esque history lesson involved and it is incredible) shaded in orange. Francavilla does contribute a variant cover, which would easily allow The Hunger to fit with your collection of Afterlife. It is a one-shot, so the cliffhanger ending left me feeling both satisfied and needing more of this alternate reality.
Being the conspiracy theorist I am, I hope this one-shot turns into an episode of Riverdale. In the meantime, I’m happy with all the one-shot comics coming my way from Archie Comics, horror or otherwise.