Sabrina the Teenage Witch #1
Writer: Corinna Bechko
Artists: Kano and Nick Cagnetti
Publisher: Oni Press
"You're a wizard witch, Harry Sabrina"
Life of the Party
Sabrina Spellman just found out she’s a witch. Her cat, Salem, is something called a “familiar.” Oh, and he can talk. Now he won’t shut up about the rules and what she can and can’t do, and can’t she just be a teenager for one night and go to a party? What’s the worst that could happen?
Well…
Trick or Treat
I don’t think I’ve ever read a “traditional” Sabrina comic in my life. I’ve seen issues of Archie where she appeared, and I read the far more horror-themed Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. By far my biggest exposure to the character was watching the sitcom with Melissa Joan Hart in the 90s.
This all goes to say that I don’t have any great attachment to the character or preconceptions of how an issue of her comic “should” go. I went into this with pretty much no expectations, just curiosity.
And I have to say, it was pretty fun.
It seems like this particular take on the character is a bit of a mixture, combining some of the more serious horror elements of Chilling Adventures with the melodramatic sitcom elements of, well, the sitcom. It’s a good mix, and that’s probably the best way to make sure that neither section of the fanbase feels alienated by this new title.
Sabrina comes across like I’d imagine a teenage girl whose life just got turned upside down and is being told what she can and cannot do would act. I grew up with two brothers and now have two sons, so I know nothing about raising girls to know how accurate her portrayal is here. Not that witches are real, anyway. They aren’t, right?
But I digress. Sabrina is understandably overwhelmed by everything that has happened, and when your talking cat brings you the body of some sort of demon-rat thing, it’s enough to freak anyone out. So when your cat tells you how to properly dispose of the creature but you’re already late for a costume party where you’re going dressed up as, wait for it, a witch, you just dump the creature in the trash can out back and promise to finish the ritual later.
If only the creature didn’t get back up and crash the party with some friends…
The creatures are creepy and effective, especially when one tears its own skin off to get away. Before the chaos, the teenagers sounded like real people, talking about each other and fixating on their crushes. There’s an intriguing mystery regarding why Sabrina’s powers manifested when they did, and what she saw. It’s still an Archie Comics title at its core, just with a bit more of that Oni Press edge.
No Instruction Manual
Corinna Bechko writes both the main story and the very fun backup pages, which contain guides detailing how humans can work with their familiars and how familiars can work with their humans. The backups are a lot of fun, with the humans and the familiars being told basically the exact opposite about each other and who’s really in charge in the relationship. As for the main story, it’s well paced and introduces all of the major players efficiently, although Sabrina and Salem, of course, get the most attention. I’m a cat person, so Salem is automatically my favorite. The dialogue feels realistic; Sabrina and her friends sound like teens and not like small adults. And the appearances of the creatures are creepy and unnerving, giving the story its horror vibes.
The artist on the main story is Kano, who has taken a break from fighting in the Mortal Kombat tournament to… wait, you say that’s the wrong Kano? Okay, got it, that makes sense. Kano the artist (not Kano with the cyber-eye) brings a cartoonish but detailed style to the book that works well to blend its two genres into one. His characters are very expressive, and even without dialogue you could get so much from everyone’s faces. Even Salem is remarkably expressive, and there’s usually not a lot you can do with a cat’s face. The rat-like creatures are creepy and gross, and he gets some effective panels with Sabrina facing them down. Kano colors his own work, and he keeps a dark shade over everything, so even when the characters are in a brighter environment, there are still shadows and heavy blacks to maintain an overall horror feel.
The artist on the backup stories is Nick Cagnetti, who I’ve been a fan of since I read Spirit of the Shadows. He brings that same Kirby-inspired style here, and adds a ton of fun imagery to the already entertaining familiar manuals. He colors these pages in his usual bright palette, giving everything an almost pop-art look. It stands out in contrast to the more subdued main story, but since the backup is much more lighthearted, it works to make these pages truly stand out.
First Impressions
Sabrina the Teenage Witch #1 took a character that I know very little about and put together a strong introductory take that featured horror and drama in equal measure. The characters are interesting and relatable, and the expressive artwork adds to the overall feel. Even though the story is basically a one-and-done, there is enough unfinished business and intrigue to keep me coming back for more.