“If you can’t enjoy riding a giant sassy winged cat on a perfect fall night…well, then what’s the point of saving anything, anyway?”
Creative Staff:
Story: Kelly Thompson
Art and Colors: Veronica Fish and Andy Fish
Letters: Jack Morelli
What They Say:
Events have passed a point of no return in Greendale and Sabrina has to take dramatic steps in order to save her family, friends, and the city itself from an out of control threat that isn’t exactly what it seemed to be. But all magic has a price and magic this big has a big price. Just how far will Sabrina go to protect the ones she loves?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Sabrina’s in a bad spot in this final issue. Her aunts are missing, someone or something is turning students into monsters, and it’s all up to her to save them. Luckily, she’s got an arsenal of magical items and a giant, sassy winged cat by her side, so it’s not a completely unfair fight.
This issue reveals the mastermind behind the events plaguing Greendale, and that ties my hands a little bit in reviewing, because I don’t want to spoil it. I enjoyed this series a great deal, and want y’all to support it, so I’m going to keep the plot points to a minimum. I will say, though, that the mastermind could have been better integrated into the story. The reveal does and doesn’t come out of left field, and the narrative and emotional impact is definitely stunted because of it.
I go back and forth on how much this affects the overall story. While it’s accepted wisdom that a good hero needs a good villain—and Sabrina’s definitely a good hero—this mini is also more concerned with building this iteration of the character and Greendale, so in that respect, the villain is more of a plot function than a character in his own right. It’s possible also that the villain will reappear in future minis and become more fleshed out in the process. That’s the issue with serialized fiction: taken on their own, the story arcs can be lacking in some areas, but when viewed in the context of the larger whole, it might work out very well.
Zooming out, even with this misstep, I thoroughly enjoyed this issue and mini overall. It was great fun seeing Sabrina go full superhero, and the storyline wrapped up nicely. The art was up to its usual level of excellence with Veronica Fish and Andy Fish crafting delightful panels full of wonderful color and excellent blocking and staging.
In Summary:
This is just a great, fun comic and I’m happy to see that Archie isn’t trying to make every Sabrina property fit the tonal and narrative mode of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. There’s plenty of room all different types of Sabrina stories, and they each have a place. I’m happy to report that this Sabrina will be back in 2020, and I hope you’ll be with me getting that first issue.
Dr. J gives this a…
Grade: B+
Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Archie Comics
Release Date: September 11th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
