Afterlife with Archie
Afterlife with Archie is a comic book published by Archie Comics beginning in 2013, depicting a zombie apocalypse that begins in the town of Riverdale in an alternative reality. It is written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, with art by Francesco Francavilla, and is inspired by a zombie-themed variant cover which Francavilla did for an issue of "Life with Archie". The comic is Archie Comics' first title to be sold only on the direct market (that is, in comic shops), as opposed to on newsstands; it is also the company's first title not to be aimed  at children and is rated "TEEN+", as it includes content and subject matter never explored in any previous Archie title, including extensive realistic violence, some gore, necrotic themes, disturbing scenes, and moderate language. The comic was conceived not long after Archie Comics officially dropped the Comics Code Authority standard from their entire line-up in 2011. Issue #8 was the first to feature the company's Archie Horror logo. The Archie Horror imprint also publishes four other series: "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina", "", "Vampironica", and "Blossoms 666". The titles share several characters, but they are not directly related to each other . Story arcs. Volume 1: Escape from Riverdale (Issues #1–5). After a car driven by Reggie kills Hot Dog, Jughead asks Sabrina to bring his beloved pet back to life. She does, but with terrible consequences: Hot Dog becomes a zombie, and bites Jughead, who subsequently becomes a zombie and spreads the contagion. Volume 2: Betty: R.I.P. (Issues #6–10). Weeks after Archie and his friends left Riverdale, they are now following along the deserted highways of America trying to stay one step ahead of the growing horde of zombies that were once their friends and family. This volume was expected to  consist of 7 issues (issues #6-#12). The comic has not had any issues release since issue #10 on August 31st, 2016. While cover art does exist for issues #11 and #12, they have never been published in single issues or collected editions. List of characters. Some of the characters who are either deceased or part of the zombie horde include Hot Dog, Jughead Jones (classified as Patient Zero), Principal Weatherbee, Ms. Grundy, Ethel Muggs, Terry “Pop” Tate, Coach Kleates, Fred Andrews, Archie's dog Vegas, Mayor Martinez, Forsythe and Gladys Jones, Moose Mason, Midge Klump and Jason Blossom. In issue  #8 it was revealed that the souls of the dead citizens of Riverdale still roam the Earth as ghosts while their bodies are zombified, implying some greater force - who turns out to be Cthulhu - is controlling their corpses. Some other characters who have died before the events of the series include Hermione Lodge, Jellybean Jones, Cheryl's dog Sugar, and General Keller. Reception. The first eight issues sold out. In reviewing the first issue, Lonnie Nadler of "Bloody Disgusting" wrote, "With its balance of real dread and sugary teen drama, "Afterlife with Archie" captures the spirit of the best horror  flicks of the late 70s." "The Plain Dealer"'s Michael Sangiacomo described the series as "brilliant" as well as "fascinating and wonderful." Jody Arlington at NPR called it "terrific" and a "masterpiece" that is "actually scary." Writing for "Salon", Mark Peters said that "If this were a list of the best comics of  rather than the best superhero comics, I’d probably put "Afterlife with Archie" at the top." Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater has said that his father, the late John L. Goldwater, would have been "shocked by "Afterlife" (...) but shocked in a great way" regarding the modern  incarnations of characters and stories. Jack Morelli won the 2015 Harvey Award for Best Letterer for his work on the series.