Treating its titular witch very seriously, and taking its role as a horror comic very, very seriously, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #6 takes a breath in between arcs to reveal the secret histories of a few familiars.
From the Archie marketing maestros:
“Familiars” is the perfect jumping-on point for the critically acclaimed horror hit Sabrina! Every witch needs a familiar, and through the ages, Salem has faithfully fulfilled his duties to Sabrina. This chapter lifts back the cloak of time to reveal the dark history of how Salem came to be and serve his master.
 In this issue’s backmatter, writer (and Archie Chief Creative Officer) Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa explains that this stand-alone issue takes its cue from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman as “a universe in 22 pages.” It begins with the magic animal-denizens of Sabrina’s house taking a moment in between snacks (one mundane, one horrifically grotesque) to take stock of each other…
The colors from artist Robert Hack shift from gothic browns, blacks, and tans in the framing story, to vibrant yellows, greens, and purples in long-ago India, to autumnal reds, oranges, and browns in 17th century Massachusetts. Throughout the series, Hack has offered Warren-esque pencils and inks creating no doubt that this is not the Sabrina of TGIF or kids comics of yore. His devils are grotesque and hircine. His witches are both sensual and grotesque. And his bodies – the actual characters he pencils, both human and animal, look like real bodies. This helps make the issue’s overall feeling of dread all the more palpable.
This issue’s narrative concerns two stories-within-a-story. First the cobras Nag and Nagaina tell the cat Salem of their human lives in India and how they were tempted into witchery, in a story that references “Riki-Tikki-Tavi,” “The Monkey’s Paw,” and perhaps other stories or films or art that I’m not quick enough to catch on just two readings.
“This series is in dialogue with other works of art/literature/cinema,” says Aguirre-Sacasa in the backmatter. He’s letting this story unfold as it will – he calls the work “instinctual and organic and – mutable.” This feeling, too, intensifies the sense of danger and dread throughout. There is a doom that follows everyone we meet, from the familiars to John Proctor and Abigail Williams of Salem’s story of Massachusetts (and, of course, from The Crucible – and, before that, from the historical Salem itself), to Sabrina herself. For some, we learn their dooms in this very issue. For some (like Sabrina), they are yet to be revealed.
The teenage witch barely appears in this issue’s tale, but she is a constant presence. Salem the cat, who was once a sinful man from the sea, is now dedicated to her safety. This is a quiet moment before the storm.
Is this a story about stories? Not really. We’re not given clues that any of these tale-tellers are unreliable narrators. Despite the appearance of an actual devil (perhaps the actual Devil, but it’s always hard to tell), and the line of dialogue, “Old Scratch … he’s always lying, that one,” the familiars seem to be honest and self-aware. But then, they’ve been alive for several centuries – I suppose that gives them ample time to know thyselves.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #6: “Familiars.” Story by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Artwork by Robert Hack, Lettering by Jack Morelli. Covers by Robert Hack and Andrew Pepoy. Published by Archie Comics.
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