Thursday, May 25, 2023

Comics Review: Chilling Adventures Presents... JINX: A CURSED LIFE #1

CHILLING ADVENTURES PRESENTS... JINX: A CURSED LIFE #1
ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS, INC.

STORY: Magdalene Visaggio
ART: Craig Cermak
COLORS: Ellie Wright
LETTERS: Jack Morelli
EDITORS: Jamie Lee Rotante; Vincent Lovallo; Stephen Oswald
EiC: Mike Pellerito
COVER: Craig Cermak
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Reiko Murakami
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (May 2023); on sale in comic book shops April 5, 2023

Rating: Teen+

Eternal high school student and teenage boy, Archie Andrews, and his friends made their debut in M.L.J. Magazines' Pep Comics #22 (cover dated: December 1941), and before long, Archie was the publisher's headliner character.  In 1946, the company changed its named to Archie Comic Publications, also known as “Archie Comics.”

But Archie Comics has a dark side, as seen in the imprint “Archie Horror,” which has been around for almost a decade.  The latest Archie Horror title focuses on Jinx Holliday, a modernized teenage version of the classic Archie character, Li'l Jinx.  Created by Joe Edwards, the high-spirited young girl first appeared in Pep Comics #62 (cover dated: July 1947).

Jinx Holliday makes her full-length horror comics debut in the one-shot comic book, Chilling Adventures Presents... Jinx: A Cursed Life #1.  It is written by Magdalene Visaggio; drawn by Craig Cermak; colored by Ellie Wright; and lettered by the great Jack Morelli.

It is a dark and stormy night when Chilling Adventures Presents... Jinx: A Cursed Life #1 opens.  That firecracker of a girl, Jinx Holliday, and BFF, Danielle “Danni” Malloy, are in a garage getting in some band practice for their two-piece garage band.  Then, here comes Archie Andrews.

Archie wants Jinx to help his pal, Jughead Jones, because he is acting weird, and Archie is sure Jughead is possessed.  He thinks Jinx can help with demonic possessions because … she is Satan's daughter!  Jinx and (reluctantly) Danni embark on a mission to save Jughead.  Is Jinx really the devil's daughter?  And if she is, is she better at necromancy than she is at rock 'n'roll?

THE LOWDOWN:   I have been reading comic books, on and off, for the better part of five decades.  I have sporadically read Archie Comics titles over that time, including some Archie Horror titles, especially Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.  Over the last few years, Archie's marketing department has been sending PDF copies of some of their titles for review.

Chilling Adventures Presents... Jinx: A Cursed Life, No. 1 is not great, but it is quite entertaining.  Writer Magdalene Visaggio throws in some nice surprises and hooks in the narrative.  The line work art of Craig Cermak serves the story well and is turned to eye candy by Ellie Wright's solid coloring.  The story and art combine to make the story pop, and that's the way to go with a comics story about demonic possession.  The pop catches both the story's humorous and edgy notes.

I rarely read modern-style Archie Comics' titles, but I would read some more of Jinx by this creative team.  Halloween 2023 will be here before we know it.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Archie Comics' “Archie Horror” imprint will want Chilling Adventures Presents... Jinx: A Cursed Life, No. 1.

[This comic book includes a two-page section on the making of Chilling Adventures Presents... Jinx: A Cursed Life, No. 1.]

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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