Review: Jughead: The Hunger vs. Vampironica #5
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Frank Tieri
Artists: Pat and Tim Kennedy and Joe Eisma
Colors: Lee Loughridge
Letters: Jack Morelli
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
Jughead: The Hunger vs Vampironica #5: Jughead Jones from his werewolf timeline and Veronica Lodge from her vampire timeline have met! And they actually have hit it off pretty well! That is a good thing as it will take both of them to restore realities balance as the Anti-Christ’s daughter, Jinx Holliday, has set all the timelines out of balance reading from the Book of Lucifer! However, Sabrina Spellman has tasked Archie and his friends with finding a spell book located at Riverdale High which will aid her in casting a spell to set things right again. Betty, along with her fellow werewolf hunting cousin, Bo, are in for more action as a pack of vampires are not so keen on all of this mayhem ending.
It’s Archie and his friends as you have never seen them in the conclusion of Jughead the Hunger versus Vampironica!
Positives
This is the conclusion of writer Frank Tieri’s amazing retelling combining of a LOT of Archie timelines to acknowledge the history that Archie writers have provided audiences. It also turns the corner to acknowledge some old versions of Famous Monster magazines and Vampirella that older readers may be longing for as DC has been acknowledging the Monster City within Gotham City. And Archie comics, along with Scooby Doo Apocalypse, has been turning to a darker version of Riverdale.
A battle for Riverdale in Riverdale High…just what a good Stephen King book would order. And Tieri doesn’t disappoint with Veronica getting to know she was descended from a long line of sadistic vampires. A spell book for Sabrina and Jughead gets to play the handsome hero. Archie may not like this timeline, but it works for this reviewer!
I hope Tieri will maintain this combination of a werewolf, vampire and witch story. I am not sure how Archie really fits in as he seems to be the one who has no powers to rely upon. Maybe he is the moral compass, but Tieri really turns him into an obnoxious Reggie in this final one.
Negatives
The events in this comic erase some elements to give forth a Marvel feel of when Thanos snapped his fingers. It’s a good method to give writers and characters a break, and to start a new. It’s a common writer tool and it might help this franchise even more as Jughead, Betty, and Archie are missing now. And Pops is not looking so good behind the counter of his soda shop!
Verdict
As I have read Famous Monsters and Vampirella and I have also read Archie in the past, I never thought those worlds would collide. However, here we are with Jughead: The Hunger vs Vampironica #5 and it’s not a bad taste in the mouth. At first, I thought it would be ketchup and ice cream – two great things that have no business being together. But actually, this works really well! And I hope Tieri keeps pumping these out as its time for Archie to hit more of a mainstream in both mystery and horror!
