Comic Review: Jughead: The Hunger #7

Jughead: The Hunger #7

Archie Comics

Writer: Frank Tieri

Artist: Pat & Tim Kennedy, Joe Eisma

Archie and his friends have had numerous outings, both light, and dark. I love Archie and everything that encompasses Riverdale, but not every comic is a winner. Just know that Jughead’s current outing, The Hunger, is not one to miss. In this series, Jughead Jones comes from a long line of werewolves and have been hunted by the Cooper’s, as in Betty’s family. This all makes for interesting stories, but how is issue #7?

Reggie and his group of werewolves have kidnapped Jellybean, and Archie and Jughead have gone to rescue her. Things were heating up in the last issue, and this one is where it boils over. Jughead squares off with Reggie, while still human Archie goes head to head with werewolf Veronica. A lot is happening, but it all ties up nicely, which is what I like about it. There is satisfaction at the end of this issue.

Let’s discuss Frank Tieri and his ability to weave this tale with these characters. We have seen Archie Horror, now Archie’s Madhouse, feature these characters in horror stories. I follow Vampironica and have read Afterlife with Archie, but The Hunger is far and away the best I have seen from this imprint of Archie Comics. Tieri deserves the credit for this because he took a premise that could have fallen flat and breathed life into it. It’s fun. It’s campy. It’s eerie. It’s everything you want from a horror movie, but as a bonus, we get it all with characters we have loved for decades.

This series has Pat and Tim Kennedy in every issue but featured artists revolve in and out. Recently, they have been splitting the issue with Joe Eisma. Literally, splitting the issues down the middle. The Kennedy’s sketch pages 1-10 and Eisma draws the last half. Again, this could have been a disaster, but I love it. All of these artists are capable, and you can see the styles change even then the change is subtle. This could be some of the best art in Archie Horror or Archie’s Madhouse. The werewolves should be the hardest to pull off, but they look great in every issue even if sometimes you can’t immediately recognize which wolf is which.

I don’t want this series to end. It’s been an entertaining ride so far, and this issue shows us that one battle is over, but there are more coming. If you like Archie, and even if you don’t, Jughead: The Hunger is worth your time. Issue #7 shows no drop in quality at all.