Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Volume 1: The Crucible: 05/21/20

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Volume 1: The Crucible by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Robert Hack is the first half of a two book series that was (in part) the inspiration for the Netflix show of the same name. The conceit here is that Sabrina, her aunts and her cousin (excised from most comics since the 1990s) are satanic worshipers, drawing their powers from their worship of the "Dark Lord."

The story centers on Sabrina's upcoming sixteenth birthday. It falls on Halloween during a blood moon (lunar eclipse). Out in the forest she is to sign her name in the dark lord's book and officially join the coven. There are forces at play for her soul and one of them is Madam Satan.

While Madam Satan plays a huge part in the television series (and is played by the delightful Michelle Gomez) is one of the evils inflicted on Sabrina, the cause of her summoning as well as her motivations are different in the comic. The funniest conceit that I wish the show had kept is that she was summoned by a rival coven of witches in nearby Riverdale. Yup: Betty and Veronica!

The comic has an edgy nostalgia to it but the plot is rather thin. It's basically sixteen years after a Rosemary's Baby scheme. Sabrina is that baby, now a teenager. Of course there's also the half-witch plot, something that's always been part of Sabrina's character sheet. The comic, though, focuses solely on the witch side of her heritage, with Sabrina's mother locked away in an asylum, and her father dead.

Four stars

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