Betty & Veronica by Adam Hughes (Betty & Veronica

Betty & Veronica (2016) #1-3

by Adam Hughes

BETTY AND VERONICA BY ADAM HUGHES VOLUME 1 collects legendary artist Adam Hughes' iconic three issue run of the ALL-NEW Betty and Veronica comic series. Betty and Veronica are America's sweethearts... until they turn on each other! Friendships will shatter. Cities will burn. Nails will be broken.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Humor, Contemporary

104 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 28, 2017

About the author

Adam Hughes is an American comic book artist and illustrator who has worked for companies such as DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros. Pictures, Playboy magazine, Joss Whedon's Mutant Enemy Productions and Sideshow Collectibles.[4]

He is best known to American comic book readers for his renderings of pinup-style female characters, and his cover work on titles such as Wonder Woman and Catwoman.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love so much about this. I love that the narrator is 'Hot Dog', Jughead's dog and he always is fun. I love that the writers are making fun of the main plot point. Pop's is going to be shut down again and the characters say something about how this happens every month or something.

Betty and Veronica are great together. I think I like the Vixens biker gang better, but this was awesome. Betty and Veronica split and they are on opposite sides of the Pop debate. Veronica wants the new coffee shop and Betty wants to save Pops. The whole town is split between the two capable girls. Don't get in the middle of these two powerhouse women. They are both the total package.

These archic comics are so much fun and I had a blast reading this.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Betty and Veronica have certainly never looked better than now with Adam Hughes drawing them. Some will say his art is cheesecake, but he has toned it down for this series. The dialogue is surprisingly snappy for someone known only as an artist. This is only 3 issues long with an issue of Jughead to pad out the page count.

[Sumit Singla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why? Why? Why? Whyyyyyy! I'd read a lot of Archie comics in olden times, and thought it might be good to read a reboot just for nostalgia sake. What an absolute piece of trash and a terrible waste of time. I regret that 30 minutes of life are irretrievably lost. Thankfully, it was free on Comixology Unlimited, so at least I didn't spend money on it! I shall now atone by reading a couple of volumes of The Walking Dead.

P.S. If you would like to reward me for saving you some time, I do accept (vegan) coffee...

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adam Hughes brings his cheesecake art style and a tongue-in-cheek attitude to this stupidly fun story of Betty and Veronica fighting over the fate of Pop Tate's Chock'lit Shoppe when a Starbucks-like chain wants to turn it into a coffee shop. I found myself chuckling quite often.

And then, tucked into the back is Jughead (2015) #12, wherein Ryan North and Derek Charm bring their Squirrel Girl techniques to bear on my favorite burger eater -- Sorry, Wimpy! -- and it works quite well.

[Alex Sarll]

I know some people considered this the fly in the ointment of the Archie relaunch books; Adam Hughes is quite a cheesecake artist, the plot leans heavily on catfight tropes, and there's even a gratuitous swimsuit scene, albeit a knowing one. And if I'd read it circa the first series of Riverdale, which had the girls much more as friends than rivals, and teased the obvious solution to their eternal triangle with Archie, I'd maybe have felt likewise. But instead I read it during a break in the second series, where Betty and Veronica are not just rivals but apparently members of opposed crime families. So whatever sins of male gaze may be committed, I'm just enjoying the gentleness of a Riverdale where hipsters are the worst threat, the courthouse has been closed down due to a lack of crime, and the panels are suffused with the falling leaves of a glorious autumn. Plus, it's entertaingly meta, peppered with well-deployed references to everything from the Hulk to the Kinks, and narrated by a dog, who calls Betty 'Earscratch McAwesome-Lap'. And yes, Hughes is cheesecake-y, but for me his art has always stayed the right side of icky, and when paired with Jose Villarubia's colours he does make absolutely everything look gorgeous, not just his leads.

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite of the New Riverdale books. The dog narrator is just plain weird, and the story is just barely ok. Including that particular issue of Jughead just shows how mediocre this particular book was in comparison to most of the rest of the line.

[Pipsprite · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first comic that I’ve read in a very long time but I’m starting to love the Archie universe! The characters are amazing and I truly love both Veronica and Betty. The art style was super interesting and to have a dog narrating the entire thing was genius.

Longer review to come soon!

[Cathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has some entertainment value, and I admit to being tickled that a comic would use the word atavistic on the first page. However, all such vocabulary is uttered by Jughead's dog as narrator, which almost immediately signaled that any winks or wit would be compromised with too-obvious canine humor. The teens themselves drop more than a few modern pop culture allusions, which kept the dialogue lively. The story, on the other hand, fully embraces unflattering female stereotypes and then excuses it with a final reveal that did not offer the balance the creators somehow believe it did. Suspension of disbelief does have its limits.

Regarding the art, I appreciated the palette playing into the autumn setting: muted oranges and browns and the motif of swirling leaves. I was also struck by the fact that many of the male characters looked like believable teen boys, with awkward features and a mix of boyishness and emerging manhood. However, this book is about Betty and Veronica, and they are consistently portrayed as anime dreamgirls, much too mature for their age and highly sexualized, which though it may be predictable is nonetheless exasperating and insulting.

My nostalgia has not been served, nor my interest in seeing the characters translated into a different age.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adam Hughes is a great artist, but really not an appropriate choice for a book aimed at teenagers. Betty and Veronica are gorgeous, but they are supposed to be babies still! What does this book think it is... Riverdale? (Actually, Riverdale manages to look more age-appropriate though both the show and book are guilty of unnecessary bikini/lingerie shots). The story is nothing special. Betty and Veronica have a war, and everyone feels pretty one-note. What an odd odd choice on the part of Archie.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was kind of upset with the artwork for this. Especially if you know my love for Archie and Riverdale then you know I am upset :/

[Tisha (IG: Bluestocking629) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flashback to little kid Tisha. Along with my Flat Stanley, Charlotte’s Web and The Shining (yes. Not a typo) books on my bureau I also had Archie and Casper comics. I loved them all. I read and re-read them till my next birthday or visit from Santa when more books and comics would hopefully arrive.

Well this brought me back. So much fun!

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't bad but was pretty typical, other than the Adam Hughes art. The gang has to save Pop's Choklit Shop (again. I think they've done that about 100 times, literally, although they do poke fun at that in the story so it's not like they're unaware). This time, however, Betty and Veronica find themselves on opposite sides.

It's not bad, and comes across as a typical Archie story when it's all said and done. Plus, the Hughes artwork is sexy as always. Nothing new here, but at least the old is decent.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not usually a fan of modern, off-model reinventions of classic characters but for Adam Hughes I'll make an exception. It was fun to see realistic yet instantly recognizable versions of everyone from Archie to Mr. Weatherbee. I also liked that there were a lot of little Easter egg gags aimed at older readers. (I wonder how many kids will get the "Wimpy" reference.)

As a counterpoint, the Jughead comic (not by Hughes) included in the book as a bonus (gee, thanks) looks and reads like it was done by grade school kids and is atrocious.

[Javi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otro de los cómics del bundle de Archie que pillé. La verdad es que si no estuviera incluido en el bundle es poco probable que me acercara a él ni siquiera habiendo leído los otros cómics de Archie pero a las pocas páginas ya estaba living con el salseo que tenían las dos. Poco más que añadir con una historia sencilla, simpática y efectiva pero que parece que se olvidará pronto. El dibujo está bastante correcto y no era lo que espera de Adam Hughes. Curioso sin más.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. This is only the third Archie universe book I've ever read, so I admit that I'm still not at all familiar with the characters. Is Veronica really this shitty of a person...? I feel like the story overall was kind of weak, but I guess for a mini series I can't expect anything that requires the time needed for significant story and character development. (but even for a mini series, it was weak. Soooo.)

[Shaun Winters · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed roughly 90% of the 3 issues collected here. I didn't mind the dog narration that seems a theme often in Archie comics, but did mind the cliched ending and a few moments that they thought were funny that just come off annoying. Overall, I would rather read some of the older stories than this, but it is still enjoyable to read once.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another day, another Archie comic that I love. I thought this story was fresh and new while still being reminiscent of the original series. There were parts where I found myself chuckling out loud. I also really loved the art. Archie forever <3.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be 4 stars if they didn't do the dog narration again! But I love seeing this story not focus on male characters, romance, and seeing that their friendship was most important in the end!

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun. I love the art, and it was an entertaining storyline. The dog narrator was an odd choice, though.

[Jess Bragg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adam Hughes has a great sense of humor, a great sense of style and I had a great time reading this very funny book! I didn’t know he could write! But he can and does very well.

[Wren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have some concerns about the blatant sexualization of these teenage girls tbh, but the art and writing are both REALLY good.

[BookCupid · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't the funny and light comedy I'm used to when reading an Archie. The only thing interesting were the different type of drawings. It gave it a more artistic look. But plot wise, meh.

[Arnela · Rating 3 out of 5]

It only collects issues 1-3 so it's not a very long read it all, definitely something that can be carried onto the bus or to keep you busy during medium-ish breaks of time that need filling. There's no over-arching plot, like most Betty & Veronica [as well as Archie and Jughead comics] the kids are going through something that will help them learn and grow and change. A big name coffee chain [similar I feel, to startbucks] has come to take over Pop's diner. It's the beginning of modernization for the town of Riverdale, but not the best kind. It's the cheap, cliche, one-on-every-corner, touristy kind of future. And I, like Betty, am not a fan.

The color is amazing, it's very soft, mostly muted, with some bright colors only when there's extreme emotions going on.

It's not that the art isn't well done, but it's that sort of semi-hyper-realistic style where it looks like it was overlaid onto a real image. I've forgotten the name for this style, it's not my favorite, but with the subdued colors it works much nicer than other comics use of it. It's definitely not for everyone, and I know some people who can't get into the story due to the visual quality.


Now the personal bit. I had a hard time reading this because I just hate people that behave the way Veronica is behaving. I hate them, those people are so rude, they see "THEIR" big picture not THE big picture of what's actually happening. They're the kind of jerks that would rather destroy something if it stops lining their pockets than let it go to someone else who might make something out of it. I just kept getting angry. Read half a page, get filled with unbridled rage, have to put the book down. It took me most of the day to read this, I felt too much. UGH, I'm tired!

Of course there's a twist and good things happen, there's always a proper happy ending to these things, but how it happens is for you to see, and hopefully it takes you less than a day to get there.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had already read part of this in Road to Riverdale collection, and actually commented a bit on the Betty and Veronica part in my review: "The art style was totally different than what you'd expect in an Archie comic, let alone for the girls; I don't know if I can say I liked it, but I definitely thought it was interesting. I also really liked the story and am hyped to read more when it is released."

I still stand by those comments, the art style wasn't what I'd expect from a B&V title - you'd think being Archie's gals, it would be sexy and have lots of curves, but that wasn't the case. I said I wasn't sure I liked it before, but I can say that it did grow on me, and I liked that B&V weren't totally sexy. I liked all the leaves blowing, I liked the back-and-forth banter of the word bubbles. I thought it was a very nice looking comic. (Oooh, and the red punch dripping from the sky! Brilliant!)

The story was pretty great, I wasn't sure if I liked it much, especially with B&V fighting the whole time. But, of course, with how it ended, it all made sense. And made me like it a whole lot more. And I loved their Halloween costumes - classic look Archie! Awesome!

All in all, I really enjoyed this one. It was a fun read, a good story, and if there are more, I'll read 'em!

[Megan ☾ Lawrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annoyingly, if you bought and read the Road to Riverdale graphic novels #1~3, you have already bought and read this - minus the extra content. And maybe most of that too since it had a chapter of Jughead (again, previously read...) too. So actually just minus the cover art BUT out of the Archie relaunch comics, this series is my favourite. The art is beautiful, the colouring appeals to my hipster-ass aesthetic, the story is fantastic and the narrator is great (literally who has a problem with a dog narrator!?) so for the content of the volume? ☆☆☆☆☆ for me buying the same content again, booo. But tbh it will look lovely on my shelf. Please keep going with these because I really love the Betty & Veronica arc!♡

[Woowott · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I got the first two issues and was not super pleased. But the more I've gotten into the New Riverdale, the more I realize that things aren't the same. So when I saw this collected edition, I thought I would finish the story.

I love New Veronica. She's cunning and sly, but actually a GOOD PERSON. Much better than the horrible old stereotype. And I like that B&V aren't frenemies anymore; they're actually friends and love each other very much.

Now I can ship them. Ahem. ANYway. So this ended up much better than I thought, though it was still the same old silliness. The art is lovely. Hotdog narrating was...a peculiar choice, but whatever, I've always liked him.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Good, nice for someone who has read ones twenty years ago. It's been modernized but not the basics are all still there and even the character looks are pretty much the same. It was cute.

Oh and something else I forgot until I just read another review - I actually really, really liked this art but these are basically sophomores in high school so maybe they shouldn't look like cute 22 year old adults. I actually remember reading them talking about leaving for college and the real world "in a few years" and was like 'damn, I didn't realize they were supposed to be this young'.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Archie reboot, so when it was announced that Betty & Veronica was getting one too, I couldn't wait. Needless to say, the wait was worth it.

While I am not familiar with Charm as an artist, he perfectly nailed the look and feel of the characters. Hughes captured the attitudes of Betty and Veronica, and I couldn't be happier with the results.

[Mrs C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice artwork with an entertaining story about Betty and Veronica brawling over the closure of a beloved diner. "Make sure the punch is red" - the art is eye-catching and expressive. I've seen the art of Adam Hughes before but I just only got a good look when I took the time to read a series starring my favorite Archie comics characters.

[FuvaXi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this story last night. This book is definitely addictive