The Archie Horror line returns with a vengeance this fall, starting this week with Chilling Adventures Presents . . . Weirder Mysteries and continuing on into October with several new titles. But if you think you’ll be safe after Oct. 31, think again — Archie has announced Happy Horror Days, a one-shot holiday special that will add a bit of fright to your holiday festivities.
The one-shot will feature three stories, including a new Jughead: The Hunger tale by Frank Tieri and Joe Eisma, a Sheila Wu story by Joanne Starer and Butch Mapa, and a Sugar Plum story by Joe Corallo and Patrick Piazzalunga.
“In ”Twas the Night Before the Hunger,’ X-Mas turns into an X-Massacre when Jughead finds himself up against none other than a pissed off Krampus one fine Christmas morn. It’s a nice little tale of ho-ho-horror where we may see more than just Christmas cookies and hamburgers getting eaten,” Tieri said about his and Eisma’s story, which returns to the world where Jughead is a werewolf.
For her story, Starer draws from Icelandic folklore to give Sheila Wu a new friend. Wu was first introduced back in 2010 in a story by Alex Simmons and Dan Parent.
“Outcast fashionista Sheila Wu has one friend in the world. It just happens to be a terrifying, gigantic cat — the Yule Cat of Icelandic folklore, known to hunt children who don’t get new clothing for Christmas. When bullies Veronica and Cheryl Blossom mock her clothes and reject her gifts, well, they get a Christmas present they’ll never forget,” Starer said.
Finally, Sugar Plum, Santa’s fairy helper, gets re-imagined. “In my last Archie comic, Jinx Grim Fairy Tales, I had the opportunity to take the previously heroic character of Kardak the Mystic and reintroduce him as a villain that needed to be overcome,” Corallo said. “This time, I got to give the same treatment to Sugar Plum. I won’t reveal much more as I want to avoid spoilers, but I hope people are pulled in from the first page and shocked by where the story goes!”
Here’s the description of the one-shot:
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a… werewolf?! The holidays look a little different in Riverdale this year—Santa’s nowhere in sight but Krampus is on the rampage! Who can take him down? Why only someone who can meet his match, and that someone’s best friend/monster hunter. That’s right, WereJug returns to do battle with the horned and hoofed holiday beast with Betty Cooper in his corner! Then, we dive into the true story of the Icelandic yule cat, Jólakötturinn, and her master—Sheila Wu?! Finally, Reggie meets a nice girl that he takes to the holiday dance—but things aren’t as they seem when she systematically dismantles Reggie’s life! The holidays are horrifying in this special horror anthology that reunites the team of Jughead: the Hunger!
Script: Frank Tieri, Joanne Starer, Joe Corallo
Art: Joe Eisma, Butch Mapa, Patrick Piazzalunga
Colors: Matt Herms
Letters: Jack Morelli
Cover: Adam Gorham
Variant Cover: Robert Hack
On Sale Date: 12/14
32-page, full color comic
$3.99 U.S.
And here’s a look at Hack’s variant cover:
Look for it in stores Dec. 14.