“Riverdale’s own bombshell bloodsucker is back! Following the events of the Jughead the Hunger vs. Vampironica crossover, Veronica returns to her own universe, still a vampire. She’s not the same, and she knows it. And now she needs answers. But she may not be ready for what she’s about to discover!”

Written by: Frank Tieri and Michael Moreci

Art: Audrey Mok

Colors: Matt Herms

Letterer: Jack Morelli

Archie Horror

Release Date: December 4th, 2019

I’m no expert on the world of Archie: I’ve always enjoyed Sabrina, and started diving into the darker world of Archie, Archie Horror, with the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comics and show. I had been wanting to dip my toes in further, but wasn’t sure where I should start first.

Enter Vampironica: New Blood #1, sent to me for advanced review.

As a new reader, this seems like a decent place to jump in for people like myself: curious to start, but unsure where to really begin.

Vampironica: New Blood is set after the events of Jughead the Hunger vs. Vampironica – a crossover of the two pre-existing series. I know I need to go back and catch up on both the individual books and the crossover, but I managed to keep up with everything going on in New Blood for the most part. I really dig what Tieri and Moreci are doing with the portrayal of Veronica, as well as how this story is being set up so far. I already loved Frank Tieri’s work (and even got to meet him briefly at Planet Comicon earlier this year), and Michael Moreci has quickly become one of my favorite writers – so I knew I was in for something great.

But it isn’t just the writing that’s enjoyable.

The art is absolutely a feast for your eyes to enjoy.

I love creative teams that work so beautifully together on a page. From Mok’s gorgeous depictions of scenes and characters, making Veronica a badass high school age vampire, and giving us incredible scenes, to the absolutely stunning colors from Herms. (Seriously. Look at how amazing those colors are in just that page alone!) Each page is a treat, and every panel is a dynamic addition to the story. Top it off with letters by Morelli that fit perfectly – and you have a team giving us some of the most beautiful comic pages I’ve seen this year.

And speaking of beautiful:

In addition to the amazing regular cover by Audrey Mok, there are also four variants by Laura Braga, Rebekah Isaacs, Greg Smallwood, and Wilfredo Torres. I may definitely have to pick up a few of those!

Vampironica: New Blood #1 has a strong start as 2019 draws close to an end. I’ll definitely be picking this series up for myself, as well as backtracking to catch up on the books before. If you’d like a review on those – let me know!

Have you read any Archie Horror? What’s your favorite?

– Angel