Books

Comic Book Review – Chilling Adventures Presents Camp Pickens

Chilling Adventures Presents…. Camp Pickens One-Shot

 Writers – Jordan Morris, Blake Howard, Tim Seeley 

Artists – Diana Camero, Carola Boreli, Mike Norton

One of my favorite spinoffs to Archie Comics was the Archie Horror Line. I previously reviewed Blossoms 666, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Vampironica and I decided to check out the latest offering – Camp Pickens. 

This one shot features three stories – Bug Juice, The Curse of Camp Pickens, and Down and Out and Death Cursed. Jughead, Betty, and Veronica are the stars of each story. 

I was excited to read this latest offering from Archie Horror and I was let down after reading this comic. Each story has a flash of brilliance –a great setup but unfortunately, the payoff of each fall flat. Instead of trying to cram three short stories into one comic, it would have been better to turn this into a limited series where Camp Pickens is the setting, and each issue is dedicated to one person in Archie’s friend group and how they meet their demise. Maybe Archie giving an interview with the police about how each of his friends were killed at the camp site during a magical summer they were all supposed to spend together. 

Both The Curse of Camp Pickens and Down and Out and Death Cursed feel a bit derivative of Friday the 13th. Horror fans might like an homage or two to something that’s come before but if you have the opportunity to make something new, swing for the fences!  If you are going to just pull the best parts from horror movies and try to put the Archie stamp on it, why not have a crossover like Jason Voorhees Meets Archie? Archie and his Pals previously crossed paths and matched wits with the Predator. I’m sure Friday the 13th in Riverdale would fly right off the shelves.  

For the runup to Halloween, Archie Horror is bringing back their “Month of Mayhem.” I will definitely check out those comics and hope they are a return to form. 

Chilling Adventures Presents …Camp Pickens is currently available on Hoopla if you’d like to check it out. You can check out the next slate of Archie Horror Comics via the Archie Comics website here.