Issue #1: Archie
Title: Archie #1 (2015)
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Fiona Staples
The Buzz: Possibly one of the most famous comics not involving a cape of some sort? Archie is one of those comics I read a lot as a kid and never picked up again, mostly because of the vapid and irritating focus on Betty and Veronica fighting over Archie, endlessly, for decades. But I keep hearing things, you know? About how the Archie comic has changed for the better, about diversity and representation and adapting to the 21st century and so on. I even occasionally picked up one of the fairy tale retelling comics for my daughters because they looked cute…
But this is a hard reboot. A contemporary reframing of Archie – in the hands of two excellent comics professionals at the top of their game. I mean come on, Fiona Staples drawing Archie? I had to check it out.
All You Need To Know: It’s a reboot so you don’t need to know anything! If you’ve ever read or had preconceptions about the Archie franchise, you need to know that this version is almost certainly less annoying than any other Archie comic you may have picked up over the last 75 years.
Okay, more seriously: Archie is a dude. A good-looking straight white teenage dude who is the protagonist in his own story, even though pretty much everyone else he interacts with is slightly (or greatly) more interesting than him. He’s Zack Morris and Dawson rolled together, only with red hair and freckles. Jughead is his best friend, Reggie is his frenemy, Veronica is the rich bitch brunette, Betty is the girl next door blonde. And: scene!
Story: We’re thrown into the social whirl of Riverdale High as the school has a collective meltdown over the breakup of its most popular couple, Archie and Betty. How did it happen? What went wrong? Everyone has an opinion. Meanwhile, a new rich family has moved to town and they have a daughter…
To my extreme shock, Mark Waid’s Archie is likeable. It helps a lot that he’s scrupulously fair as he relates the true story (or at least part of the truth – we still don’t know the details of The Lipstick Incident) of his breakup with Betty. Betty comes across as pretty great, too – I love the version of her we get to know through Archie’s eyes – how capable, competent and funny she is, while at the same time going through something quite painful.
The friendship that still exists between the two is clearly important, and I like that they both defend each other as the rumour mill reaches epic proportions. It’s like the anti-Gossip Girl, in which being kind and a decent person is the thing that earns you social mileage at high school. (My daughter’s a year away from high school, don’t break my bubble)
Speaking of friendship, another revelation to me is that Mark Waid’s Jughead is also immensely likeable. JUGHEAD. His casual scorn of his classmates and the pressure they are pouring on Archie and Betty to get back together culminates in what has to be one of the most elegant (and yet somehow also lazy) forms of sabotage ever. Jughead is a good friend!
Overall the whole thing has a strong sense of meta, and positive vibes. It made me smile.
Art: Drawing Archie and his friends in anything other than the signature pop-cartoon style they have worn for so many years is one hell of an artistic challenge, but Staples has risen to it well with her more realistic (for comics!) indie interpretations of the characters. All of the iconic elements are there, but they feel contemporary and fresh. I like the importance given to colours and faces, I like the physical diversity among the depiction of the female characters including those in the background (as opposed to the old school “every girl’s a pin up unless there’s a joke in it” tradition) and there’s a really fantastic splash page in which Archie plays guitar in front of people for the first time.
But What Did I Miss?: Nothing! Starting Archie from here is the best possible place to start reading Archie! It may possibly ruin you for the franchise but frankly you’re not missing that much…
Would Read Issue 2?: I actually got this as part of an omnibus issue containing the first 3 issues so that answer is yes! I really like how the series develops, particularly the introduction of Veronica and the complexity allowed to her usually one-note character (I still like Betty more, but that’s not a new thing for me). I have to come to terms with the fact that the issues are $4 each on Comixology and don’t seem to get any cheaper after a few months (sigh) because I plan on reading further ahead. I’m also now a lot more intrigued by the Erica Henderson & Chip Zdarsky Jughead after reading previews over the last week with the character canonically acknowledged as asexual.
Read it if you Like: Contemporary YA fiction, Dawson’s Creek, webcomics like Questionable Content, Multiplex & Dumbing of Age, Archie I guess?
Other titles reviewed in 2016:
Hellcat #1
The Adventures of Supergirl #1
