When someone returns from hell to dish out revenge, it will be slow and calculating to be sure.
Creative Staff:
Story: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Art: Robert Hack
What They Say:
After the shocking revelations of last issue, Sabrina’s mortal boyfriend Harvey doesn’t quite seem himself. In fact, he doesn’t seem human. His body’s there, but his soul is… elsewhere. When the Witches’ Council refuses to help her, Sabrina turns to Madame Satan for comfort, playing right into her evil schemes.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Having read the first issue of Sabrina for the first time just last month, I thankfully didn’t have the long wait that others did for this installment. And that’s a good thing because the first issue, and this one, are very engaging reads that really makes you crave more to see what’s going on as it recreates a kind of old school horror comic with the technical growth and change in narrative style that makes it so compelling to today’s audiences. Similar to the first issue, for better or worse, Sabrina again isn’t quite the main player here, but that makes it work in its own way because it’s building a larger narrative and world for her to inhabit. Rather than follow her own awakening into that world, we see more of it from the adult side and get curious to see how she’s going to handle it as she begins to understand more of what’s going on.
And a lot of what’s going on is revenge, pure and simple. The first half of this book shows the depths one will go to and survive in order to gain revenge, as we’re introduced (eventually) to Iola, a woman who ended up in one of the darkest layers of hell where her faced was ripped off. She’s spent years surviving that in order to get back into the real world, where she gains a new face and doles out a little twisted justice of her own, as she’s in search of the woman that Edward married all those years ago. Iola, it turns out, was the one that was involved with Edward before he passed on her for Diana so he could bring Sabrina into the world as part of his place. Her being tossed away put her in a dark place where she’s now crawled out of to get her revenge. Narration heavy to be sure, similar to the first book, we really get into what makes Iola tick as she pulls herself together and makes her contact with Diana, as well as getting her revenge in a way one might not think of. It’s very well done, supremely creepy while playing slow with the pacing, and then shifting to her understanding that the union resulted in the birth of Sabrina.
That in turn lets the second half of the book shift to Sabrina’s tale, while mixing Iola in as well. Sabrina’s fun to watch here as she uses her powers to advance herself, with connections and other little quirks, and we get a good sense of where she is as it’s not like she’s living just the 60’s teenage dream. We also see the connection she shares with her mother that hints at the danger that’s coming, but is too vague and elusive to really work with. It’s a good kind of moment that foster that connection that could prove invaluable later on. While we see some solid Sabrina time amid this as more foundation setting, we also see how Iola is starting her other path of revenge and that she intends to really immerse herself in Greendale in order to pull it off. There’s a great kind of slow build about it with the way she executes her plans that really makes for a great read, since you’re not sure how soon she’ll cut loose or what other twisted little supernatural elements will come into play.
In Summary:
While not quite as strong an effort as the first installment, a lot of what made that book work is fully here, especially in the visual design. The costume design is fantastic and the way the horror side has such a great old school look about it completely draws me in, from the detail to the coloring of it. Iola’s story is what dominates here and it’s definitely one that’s setting up for a strong payoff, but I’ll admit I wanted a bit more Sabrina time and to get into her head a bit more. The tale of revenge is strong here though, one build in decades of anger and resentment that was fleshed out by flesh being removed in hell and some real torture and agony that had to be worked through. Iola’s definitely a compelling character from what we get of her here, and the people she deals with, and I do want to see what she has next in store since she’s set up rather well in Greendale now. I just hope we get a bit more Sabrina the next time around.
Grade: B+-
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Archie Comics
Release Date: April 15th, 2014
MSRP: $3.99
