REVIEW: 'Chilling Adventures: Betty - The Final Girl' #1 by Micol Ostow, Casey Gilly, Sam Maggs, Natalie Nardozza, and Carola Borelli

 

 

CHILLING ADVENTURES: BETTY - THE FINAL GIRL #1  

Writer: Micol Ostow, Casey Gilly, Sam Maggs

Artist: Natalie Nardozza, Carola Borelli

Publisher: Archie Comics

Release Date: February 15, 2023

Cover Price: $3.99

Veronica has invited Betty to her luxurious mountaintop chalet for a cozy weekend of skiing. But their girls' weekend is interrupted when Archie shows up and whisks Veronica off on their own snowy romantic adventure. What could go wrong at a fancy remote cabin in the mountains all by herself? Betty's mind races and she can't tell fact from fiction as she suddenly realizes she might not be so alone. Is Betty believing too much in the horror movies she's watched or is someone (or something) really out to get her? Find out in this BRAND NEW horror anthology one-shot that's equal parts Scream and When a Stranger Calls.

Score:

★★★1/2 (3.5/5)

Over the last twelve months in comics, there's been a number of horror anthologies. Some are more effective than others and part of the difficulty in producing a satisfying and terrifying horror anthology is working within the confines of a 22-page comic with three separate stories as is the case with 'Chilling Adventures: Betty - The Final Girl' #1 by Micol Ostow, Casey Gilly, Sam Maggs, Natalie Nardozza, and Carola Borelli. Creative teams have a small window to set up the premise and thrill a reader in seven or eight pages. While the three stories are pretty straightforward, they're bloodier than you'd expect with a fun use of final girl tropes starring some beloved Archie characters. 

The issue is cleverly set up by finding Betty alone in Veronica's luxury chalet. She's gone to get snacks and Betty occupies her time sleepily watching horror movies which leads to the question if the stories we're about to see are real or dreamt. It's the perfect vehicle to deliver some rousing and creepy horror action. Bridgette Reilly, Josie and the Pussycats, and Betty Cooper all have to contend with the threat of killers and it's very much in the spirit of  Scream and When a Stranger Calls. Watching them become elite final girls is rather rewarding and empowering. 

All of the artists show their versatility in creating equally vibrant depictions of Archie Comic favorites and the darker twists of impending violence and suspense. Readers should probably be older teens because of the violence, which isn't gratuitous but is intense. There isn't a bad panel in the entire issue. The writers and artists assembled deliver an impassioned ode to their favorite horror movies with a breezy and thrilling horror one-shot. It's cathartic and exciting to see Archie's final girls turn the table on deadly killers.