My Rating
“Darkling”
Several college girls have gone missing, but why isn’t anyone looking for them? Strange events have been occurring at Ivy Hollow University ever since that cape-wearing Goth loser enrolled. Why did she get placed in the dorm with the legacy students? Oh my God, what a bummer! She’s totally going to ruin slumber party night! And that stupid cape—don’t even get them started. The fashion police called, and they want to issue a citation for excessive lameness.
Elsewhere in the university library, the cape-wearing weirdo, Darla Lang, has discovered a secret entrance leading into a hidden chamber filled with magical tomes and forbidden research material. Wait, how did all of this get here? Is she the only person at Ivy Hollow who knows magic exists? More importantly, why is that girl Phoebe following her?
Darla turns to confront her new stalker. Will Phoebe Hayashi prove to be friend or foe? With several students missing and something supernatural lurking beneath the surface of Ivy Hollow, it is time for these two amateur investigators to crack open the books and solve the mystery of the missing sorority girls!
What is the story behind the Goth chick wearing the old-fashioned cape? How popular is Phoebe Hayashi’s paranormal podcast? Is that Nethric Portal for real? Collect the one-shot to find out!
Review
So, who exactly is Darkling, and what is her role in the larger Archie universe? Good question! The background material included in this one-shot provides a little history on the character. Apparently, Darkling made her debut way back in The Mighty Crusaders #3 from 1983. I actually have that series sitting in the Relic Keep archives, so it looks like I have some investigating of my own to do.
As for her power set, Darla Lang comes across as a dark witch operating somewhere along the same supernatural lines as Sabrina Spellman and her ilk. Is Darkling a potential competitor to the Spellman family, or do their magical worlds even intersect? I have no idea. What really caught my attention was Darkling’s Cloak, which appears to be permanently attached to her. Darla also mentions a curse surrounding her condition, suggesting that her abilities may come from something very different than the Spellman family’s traditional witchcraft. There is definitely enough mythology here to make me curious about her earlier appearances.
Overall, Darkling delivers an entertaining supernatural mystery mixed with some wonderfully cheesy college humor. There is almost an old 1980s campus comedy hiding underneath all the witchcraft, missing students, secret rooms, and magical portals. The power of the slumber party is strong with these ones! Seriously, how do any of these girls find time to study?
The biggest problem is that the one-shot feels more like an introduction than a complete exploration of Darkling. Just when Darla, Phoebe, and the mythology surrounding Ivy Hollow start becoming interesting, the comic is already heading toward the finish line. I would gladly read another story featuring these characters, especially if Archie Horror decides to dig deeper into Darkling’s curse and her place within its supernatural universe.
For now, I’m giving Darkling three out of five stars.