Talking The ‘Sabrina Annual Spectacular’ With Ian Flynn And Steven Butler

Not all witches can be well-intentioned like Sabrina and the Wicked Trinity (led by Amber Nightstone) are definitely up to no good in the Sabrina Annual Spectacular. It all has to do with a character named Mother Striga — otherwise known as the first witch — who Amber wants to bring back to life. Here’s what writer, Ian Flynn, and artist, Steven Butler, had to say about Mother Striga’s debut (plus an EXCLUSIVE panel featuring some classic monsters like the Creature from the Black Lagoon with an adorable floatation device):

Rachel Bellwoar: Naturally Sabrina and Amber are arch-enemies. What made you decide to pit them against each other for this special?

Steven Butler: That was all Ian — all I know is that I’m glad he did because Sabrina is my favorite Archie character to draw, and Amber is a perfect nemesis for her.

Ian Flynn: You said it yourself: they’re arch enemies. Where Sabrina uses her magic wisely and to help others, Amber uses it recklessly for self gain. And since she’s always losing to Sabrina, she’s going to escalate, leading to the resurrection of Mother Striga.

Bellwoar: While the Sabrina Annual Spectacular is a one-shot, the events of this issue are going to be spilling over into the Archie Halloween Spectacular and the Josie and the Pussycats Annual Spectacular. Will Sabrina and the Wicked Trinity still be the focus or will those issues continue the story from other characters’ points of view?

Flynn: Sabrina is the central binding factor to all three stories as she tries to deal with Mother Striga. The Wicked Trinity are featured, but they aren’t forefront throughout.

Butler: I love that I got the opportunity to draw all those guys in every single issue — it’s all about the ancient evil that has been unleashed!

Bellwoar: In the press release for this issue, Steven, you talk about being inspired by mummies when coming up with Mother Striga’s design. What made you think Egyptian mummy for a witch?

Butler: Well, I knew she was supposed to represent ancient evil — we even talked about her being the very FIRST witch in the Archie/Sabrina universe. I thought of one of the most ancient civilizations and kind of went from there, but she doesn’t have to be Egyptian; she could go even further back than that to ancient Sumer or even fabled lands like Lemuria or Atlantis. I like the idea of keeping it vague — it adds that extra layer of mystery to her that I believe makes her even more alluring as a character.

Bellwoar: Amber seems pretty confident that resurrecting Mother Striga is going to be the hard part, but is she really going to have an easy time telling the original witch what to do?

Butler: We’re gonna have to stay tuned to find out! All I know is that things can get highly volatile when those guys show up!

Flynn: Amber thinks she knows what she’s getting into. She really, really doesn’t.

Bellwoar:  It’s all about to play out at the so colorfully named Eyegore Estates. What can you tell us about that manor?

Flynn: It’s the place where the things that go bump in the night hang out. It’s where the weird and the worrisome are normal, everyday folks.

Butler: The way I drew it, I treated it more as an entire village for monsters and supernatural beings, kind of like a “safe harbor for misunderstood creatures.”  Archie Comics’ very own “MonsterZone,” if you will.

Bellwoar: You can’t have a story about witches without familiars and it looks like both Percy and Salem are going to be in attendance for this showdown. Do you prefer writing and drawing for a cat that can talk or a python that communicates through body language?

Butler: I like drawing both! I’ve drawn Salem a lot more than Percy so far, but I hope to get the chance to draw that perfidious python again. There’s so much you can do with a character like that; he kinda reminds me of Sir Hiss from Disney’s Robin Hood!

Flynn: Both have their perks, but I’m 100% biased towards Salem. Give me Salem all day, every day.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Ian and Steven!

With inks by Lily Butler, colors by Glenn Whitmore, and letters by Jack Morelli, Sabrina Annual Spectacular goes on sale September 4th from Archie Comics. The FOC date is August 12th.