Next week, Archie Comics will launch Fear the Funhouse #1. The newest entry in the writer’s Month of Mayhem, and the primary Archie Horror title for youthful readers, features a trio of terrifying tales that includes adolescent Archie and the Riverdale gang in barely scary situations. Ahead of the difficulty’s launch, Archie has launched previews of two of the tales, “Snack Attack” by Micol Ostow and Lissette Carrera, and “Whatever Happened to Dilton?” by Magdalene Visaggio and Ryan Caskey.
Here’s how Archie describes Fear the Funhouse #1:
An evening camping on the treehouse in the woods leads the pre-teen Archie and his associates to do what any child their age would do in that situation: inform scary tales! But every story grows creepier and creepier as the youngsters understand that possibly, simply possibly, there may be some reality to those tall tales in an anthology that’s equal elements Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps.
Along with “Snack Attack” and “Whatever Happened to Dilton?,” the brand new one-shot additionally contains “Suburban Legend” from author Michael Northrop and artist Diana Camero. The full concern is coloured by Matt Herms and lettered by Jack Morelli. The concern additionally contains an editorial part from Archie Senior Editorial Director Jamie Lee Rotante, spotlighting the event of and together with idea sketches and character artwork from the particular.
“We’ve been tossing around the idea of doing a kid-friendly horror anthology for years, so Fear the Funhouse is really a dream come true,” Rotante informed The Beat. “We were inspired by animation and family-friendly Halloween classics of the past, blending things like Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and even yearly events like The Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors. We wanted to show that Archie Horror offerings don’t only have to be for older audiences, that even kids can get in on the spooky fun.”
“Snack Attack” scribe Micol Ostow additionally informed The Beat about leaping on the probability to be a part of this particular one-shot. “Our editor Jamie Rotante knows I’ll say yes whenever she asks,” she mentioned, however Halloween is actually my favourite season so this was a particular one, and it’s enjoyable to be writing youthful characters for a youthful viewers, too. One of essentially the most thrilling issues about working with a model like Archie is what number of iterations of the characters exist in the canon. There’s at all times a model on the market asking for a brand new interpretation or format and it retains the tales recent for everybody.”
When it got here to recruiting artists for Fear the Funhouse, Archie Art Director Vincent Lovallo had a singular problem forward of him. “We were looking at artwork that could ride that fine line of scary and edgy, but still acceptable for middle grade readers and adults alike,” he informed The Beat. “Lissette Carrera, Diana Camero, and Ryan Caskey did exactly that, and brought the classic Riverdale gang to life, plus some retro characters for long-time fans. Throughout this anthology, you can look forward to fantastic faces, terrifying twists, and creepy characters guaranteed to give you goosebumps the whole way through! It’s everything I loved about horror as a kid, and then some!”
For Ostow, “Snack Attack” is a narrative with a private connection to her household. “My story-within-the-story actually came from a Halloween season joke my father told us when we were kids,” she defined. “It’s ridiculously silly, but when delivered in the right tone, it actually can sound just creepy enough . . . until you get to the punchline. That’s why it hit the right note with me when I was kid, and why it hits the right note with middle-grade readers today. Generally, I think humor is a good way to diffuse anything that seems too intense or threatening, and it’s no different in horror.”
“Fear the Funhouse has three different stories with three very distinct styles,” Rotante added. “Micol and Lisette’s tale is classic campfire fun–it’s beautifully illustrated and feels like a familiar Halloween tradition! Michael and Diana’s urban legend is spooky in all the best ways—and it feels like it could lift right off the page and onto your TV screen! And Mags and Ryan’s story leaves the readers with one final, unsettling story: an Edward Gorey-inspired poetic tale that will send shivers down your spine. Every story is perfectly reminiscent of the different types of horror I’d read or watch as a child, and that’s something we really wanted to capture with this anthology. It should absolutely become a part of every kid’s (and family’s!) Halloween festivities!”
Check out the previews of each “Snack Attack” and “Whatever Happened to Dilton?”, in addition to Sweeney Boo‘s variant cover and Rotante’s editorial unfold, beneath. Fear the Funhouse is due out subsequent Wednesday, October nineteenth.
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