Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #9

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #9

Archie Horror 2014

Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Illustrated by Robert Hack

Lettered by Jack Morelli

“WITCH WAR” Part 3: “The Sacrificial Lamb”

Sabrina has brought Harvey’s body back to life (along with her father’s soul). But there is a cost to everything. Unless she wants the Gates of Hell to open, Sabrina must find a person to sacrifice in Harvey’s place. But wait… Sabrina would never kill someone, would she?

It may have been six years but honestly it is so dang great to see this book again and that it picks up where the last issue left off. I really like the previously intro page to get everyone reacquainted with the book, it’s a smart move. This is just another fine mess that Sabrina has gotten herself into and while she thinks she has a plan let’s face it she's sixteen and that means she has no real clue what she’s doing and isn’t doing her homework in the right kind of way. I gotta say though this is the book I’ve been missing all these years and it’s like picking up with an old friend where you don’t miss a beat and it’s like you’ve been besties seeing each other everyday and not a six year hiatus.

I absolutely adore the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is exquisitely presented. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interactions as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter is utterly phenomenal. This brings their personalities to the forefront with such bloody ease and it’s glorious to see. The pacing is excellent and how we see it takes us through the pages revealing the story it takes us into this world with such great aplomb.

I love the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. The layers of course open up these avenues to be explored and they add this unreserved depth, dimension and complexity to the story. I mean I don’t think she knows her father is in Harvey’s body and this is something I can’t wait to see explored. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is faultlessly achieved.

The interiors here are totally and completely bloody brilliant. The style of the work we see perfectly exemplifies the mood, tone and feel of the series. The linework we see with its varying weights and techniques being utilised to bring about the attention to detail that we see is unblemished. The backgrounds that we see throughout really do wonders in enhancing and expanding the moments. They also work well within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show an amazing eye for how colour works and how to maximise their effects.

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The Spellman family is back and it’s great to see that no time has passed and Sabrina has to deal with her actions even if no one else thinks she can handle these kinds of decisions. How we see her father too shatters any and all expectations we might have had of him and the ramifications of this is going to be a sheer delight to see unfold. The writing is impeccable and the characterisation is flawless while the interiors bring this all to life with such apparent ease. This is why we loved this book to begin with and now that it’s back I hope it isn’t going to go anywhere anytime soon.