Archie’s House of Horror: THE EVIL TRINITY

Where are all my witches?

Like many women my age, I was fascinated by the idea of ​​witches for a formative part of my youth. Buffy the Vampire Slayer wasn’t quite my thing, I loved Charmed. My VHS copy of Applied Magic was played more than a yo-yo (this was the 90s after all). And of course I was an enthusiastic spectator of Sabrina – Totally Bewitched!.

Have I dabbled in magical arts myself? No, and I won’t pretend that I have. But man, have I wished so many times that one day I would wake up with magical powers. I also wished that one day I would wake up and have a twin too, since I also have the T*Witches novel series.

When it came to classic Halloween tropes, witches were often treated the most lightly for a long time. Witch media conjured up images of scrawny young women, fashionable clothing, and wiggly noses instead of the familiar green-faced, warty-nosed, and pointy-hat image.

It’s funny how the very things that are closest to reality and have the most horrific true backstory lead to some of the more benign portrayals in the media.

While the turn to the more gruesome side of witchcraft and the dark arts seemed to boom in the modern era, some much, much earlier media explored the idea more deeply. The first to grace the screen was Häxan: Witchcraft through the ages. This Swedish silent film was released in 1922 and presented a series of dramatic vignettes that revealed the historical roots and superstitions surrounding witchcraft from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Presented in a documentary style, Häxan manages to mix terror and black humor in a film that is as disturbing today as it was when it was released over a hundred years ago. (And another fun fact: Robert Hack’s alternate cover for CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA #3 was an homage to the poster art for Häxan).

A few decades later, Black Sunday, Released in 1960, the Italian Gothic horror film is set in Moldova and tells the story of a witch brought back from the dead to seek revenge on her killers. The mix of fantastic visual witchcraft, atmospheric style and the stunning looks of lead actress Barbara Steele (who would later become a well-known scream queen) made this film unforgettable and still terrifies its audiences over sixty years later.

Let’s speed things up three decades later, with one that people may be a little more familiar with – the 1990s The witchesDirected by Nicolas Roeg, based on the novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. A film based on a children’s novel should not be as scary as The witches (and even with a more benign ending, which Dahl greatly dislikes), and yet the grotesque makeup and horrific special effects ensured that the film would be etched in the minds of 90s kids for decades to come. The witches tells the story of a group of, you guessed it, witches (led by the Head Witch, masterfully portrayed by Anjelica Huston) who want to turn children into mice. A fairly innocuous, classic witch premise, which is further enhanced by the visuals that recall classic depictions of witches with even more terrifying attributes (thanks to Jim Henson Creature Shop).

And then of course I couldn’t talk about witches in the media without mentioning: The Witchreleased in 2015 (starring Anya Taylor-Joy in her first leading role), is probably the most terrifying and realistic portrayal of the witchcraft panic of the 17th century. Although the witch herself is rarely seen on screen, she manages to scare you every time she appears, although the real horror comes from the psychological aspect of the family destruction caused by her thirst for revenge.

Just one year after the release of The witch. 2016 The Love Witch blends horror with comedy in a retro-styled story of a modern-day witch who uses magic to make men fall in love with her, often with disastrous results. The witch’s future was a metaphor for women in general in this film, which explored women’s innate powers of intuition and looked at love and desire from a feminist perspective.

THE WICKED TRINITY from Archie Comics is an homage to many of the earlier witch media and stories, but at the same time spins a story all its own. A big influence on this title was a small film from 1996 called The craft. In many ways, The craft was the opposite of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. These were teenage girls who practiced magic for their own nefarious gain and suffered the consequences of their actions; it makes sense that The Wicked Trinity (consisting of Amber Nightstone, Jade Kazane and Sapphire Gill) is in many ways modeled after Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle, as they are Sabrina’s arch-enemies. And since THE WICKED TRINITY is an extension of Sabrina’s magical world, these humorous elements, as seen in films such as Girls Club – Be careful, they bite! or The Love Witch serve as compensation for the severe effects of their magic.

Amber, Jade and Sapphire just want to practice their magic openly and without prejudice. And maybe use it against those who have wronged them. And take a little revenge on other witches they don’t particularly like… OK, these teenage girls aren’t innocent. But there is still something to be said about the radical pursuit of staying true to yourself and being able to openly live the life you want.

Because who wouldn’t want that? Witches and mortals alike.

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Read on for more details about The evil trinityand go Here to catch up on all previous parts of Archie’s House of Horror!

The evil trinity
Sabrina’s magical nemesis Amber Nightstone and her sidekicks Jade Kazane and Sapphire Gill seek to become the most powerful witches in the world. Isolated from so many others around them, the three have formed a coven based on their individual needs for vengeance and true freedom. But when dissension arises within the ranks, their small coven is in danger of being wiped out from within. *Retail orders for all covers placed by the FOC date are 100% returnable (no minimum order)*

Screenplay: Sam Maggs
Art: Lisa Sterle
Colors: Ellie Wright
Letters: Jack Morelli
Cover: Lisa Sterle
Variant cover: Soo Lee
Sale date: 6/12
32 pages

Cover art by Lisa Sterle:

Variant cover art by Soo Lee: