The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Vol. 1: The Crucible

Set in the 1960s, this Archie spin-off draws heavily on the tropes of pulpy teen horror comics. Warlock Edward Spellman marries a mortal wife instead of a witch, gaining a powerful enemy. His daughter, Sabrina, is taken from him and raised by two aunts—who happen to be witches. Years later, teen Sabrina is faced with all of the usual preoccupations: a football-star boyfriend, auditions for the school musical, swirling hormones, and a bloody Satanic ritual that will mark her coming-of-age at 16. Unlike most young witches, Sabrina has a choice: to live as a normal human or to dedicate her soul to the devil and gain access to unlimited power. Both choices come with a terrible price. Hack’s brushy line work captures Sabrina’s youthful naïveté and decay and murder in dark forests. Aguirre-Sacasa’s (Afterlife with Archie) well-realized characters and humor bring depth to what could have been a rather dreary tale of revenge and gore. (Aug.)