When it comes to “epic sagas,” horror might not be the genre that first comes to mind. Sure, there are long-lasting franchises like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Saw, and Scream. But in terms of long-form storytelling with world-building and distinct character arcs, the closest to a “saga” would likely be The Walking Dead, with not only its main storyline in both comics and TV, but its many spin-offs as well.
It’s also not always the first genre folks think of when the term “worlds colliding” comes to mind. Of course, there’s your Alien vs. Predator and Freddy vs. Jason—but that’s just it, it’s always two characters opposing one another. Seldom are there team-ups, converging timelines, and characters from vastly different landscapes put in a position to work together in horror; that’s generally saved for your standard superhero fare.
But that’s exactly what happens in Archie Comics’ newest Premium Event, The Cursed Library. The first chapter, released in August, picked up where we last left off with three of Archie’s main horror characters: Madam Satan, Jinx Holliday, and Danni Malloy. Oh, and Lucifer. I suppose you can say he’s a pretty main character in horror Archie Comics lore, too.
Many might not realize this, but Archie Comics has produced horror comics for over a decade. Afterlife with Archie in 2013 was the first to establish that Archie can seamlessly lend itself to the horror genre, placing the red-headed teen and his friends and family smack dab in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. And we’ve continued that with a variety of titles over the past ten years, seeing everyone’s favorite hamburger-happy pal develop a lupine taste for human flesh, Riverdale’s resident rich heiress turning into a bloodthirsty creature of the night, two infamous twins going from naughty to straight evil, and a variety of tales that place the beloved iconic characters and extended cast in some of the most horrific and nightmare-inducing scenarios imaginable.
Three characters in particular have emerged as tried-and-true horror heroines: Edward Spellman’s former flame/Sabrina Spellman’s nemesis/once-Queen of the Underworld/succubus supreme Madam Satan, daughter of Satan Jinx Holliday, and her time-traveling best friend Danni Malloy. Those characters may sound like they don’t make a ton of sense to not only be our featured players, but for their very different lives to intersect at all, but the work we’ve done over the course of our horror one-shots over these past three years explains it all.
And that all comes to a head with the three-part miniseries The Cursed Library, the second issue of which—"Omega”—is on sale Wednesday, October 23rd. In this limited event series, we’re in Hell—literally, at Lucifer’s castle, to be exact. With Earth turned into an apocalyptic Hellscape, Jinx realizes it’s time to make amends with her father if she wants there to be any hope of saving the world and just having a normal life playing in a band and avoiding homework. She attempts to make good by offering him a sacrifice—the defiled and browbeaten former Queen of the Underworld and traitor to the Dark Lord, Madam Satan—but could that truly be enough? Is it just his daughter’s respect that Satan wants? Either way, it’s a hell of a lot (pardon the pun) of responsibility to put on a 14-year-old’s shoulders!
I won’t spoil too much of the story for you, but if you’ve been following along with our horror offerings over the past decade, you’ll be delighted to notice that these three characters are by no means the only ones who make appearances throughout this miniseries. In fact, The Cursed Library is riddled with cameos and surprises guests from Archie’s vast, well, library, of horror comics (the title is starting to make a lot of sense now, isn’t it?).
Easter eggs—or I suppose these could be called Halloween eggs—aren’t all that outrageous to see in this genre. In fact, it happens in horror movies often! There are tons of nods to previous iterations of film franchises like the previously mentioned Halloween, Friday the 13th, and even the delightfully devilish Child’s Play, but even amongst directors’ previous films, a keen eye can showcase some special cameos and appearances you otherwise might not expect.
For example, director James Wan includes multiple nods throughout his filmography to his directorial debut: Saw. You can see the likeness of Billy the Puppet in the movies Dead Silence (2007), Death Sentence (2007), Insidious (2010), as well as those directed by Saw writer Leigh Whannell, like The Invisible Man (2020) and Upgrade (2018).
Horror movies have also become more and more self-aware, leading to the rise of the meta-horror genre made popular with films like Scream (1996) and The Cabin in the Woods (2006), because these movies take place in worlds that are aware of horror films, it is not a surprise that many of these are rife with Easter eggs and cameos.
For example, 2006’s Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon, directed by Scott Glosserman, uses a mockumentary style to follow the titular Leslie Vernon, who aspires to be a slasher and tries to recreate the experiences of Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and the like. It’s no surprise that this film would feature many nods to others in the horror genre, from the obvious to the more well-hidden, like the Lament Configuration puzzle box from Hellraiser that is placed on a table in one scene.
Even in your more avant-garde horror flicks like the recent Longlegs, you get small subtle hints, nods, and character callbacks to writer/director Osgood Perkins’ previous film, 2015’s The Blackcoat’s Daughter, like the silhouette of the “Shadow Devil.” (Also, Kiernan Shipka is featured in both films. In case you don’t know, Shipka was also the titular star of Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina series. There you have it, horror Archie Comics are also a part of the Osgood Perkins filmography—even if he doesn’t know that yet!)
Interconnected storylines don’t have to be a barrier to access for new horror fans—instead, they’re more of an added bonus. If you’ve been following Jinx’s story, there is great delight taken in witnessing her development as a character and her relationships with those around her—much like Sidney Prescott’s evolution over the course of the various Scream films. You’ll also be excited to see the fun familiar faces from Archie’s previous horror comics. However, if this is your jumping-on point—fear not! It’s a wonderful, thought-provoking, well-rounded horror story that is self-contained enough to enjoy on its own. But if you do enjoy it, there’s comfort in knowing that there is a whole world—actually, multiple worlds—to explore beyond The Cursed Library if you have not yet already.
Come to The Cursed Library for a storyline filled with familial drama, eldritch terror, existential crises, and dilemmas of personal autonomy, stay to find all the Easter eggs and nods to Archie’s vast horror library. We won’t even charge you any overdue fees!
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Read on for additional details on The Cursed Library #2: Omega, and go here to catch up on all the scary good installments of Archie's House of Horror!
An event ten years in the making has finally arrived... THE CURSED LIBRARY is a three-issue limited ARCHIE PREMIUM EVENT series that brings together the worlds of Madam Satan, Jinx, Danni Malloy, and a number of horror staples from the past decade.
When we last left off in Madam Satan: Hell on Earth, Jinx has the former Queen of the Underworld trapped in the mysterious library, as her father-bestowed demon powers have intensified. To stop Jinx from becoming like her father, her best friend Danni Malloy must rescue and convince Madam Satan to guide her through Hell itself to find the one thing that can possibly save her friend’s soul––Jinx’s mom. Along the way, they’ll also discover a number of faces they’ve seen before, though only in the pages of the terrifying tomes within the cursed library. This three-issue limited series horror event tells a story about the bonds that tie us together and how the only thing that can save the world from evil is radical love.
32-pages
Cover Art by Craig Cermak:
Cover Art by In-Hyuk Lee:
Cover Art by Julius Ohta:
Cover Art by Skylar Patridge:
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