March with Archie

Dan Parent's snazzy pop-art covers to Veronica #192 and Betty & Veronica Spectacular #87 © 2009 Archie Comic Publications.

I never read Archie comics regularly, but my sister did, and there were plenty of times where out of curiosity or lack of new reading material they made their way into my hands. As we got older and she mostly dropped the Archie habit, I'd still get her the occasional issue as a pick-me-up or when something special came out. Recently I brought home five issues straight, Archie #587-591, relating the eternal teenager's "Freshman Year" at Riverdale High. Betty and Veronica, et al., are of course along for the ride.

Cover to the Freshman Year TPB © 2009 Archie Comic Publications.

The story is now being collected in a $10.95 softcover as Book One of The High School Chronicles, scheduled for May release [ISBN 978-1-87979-440-5]. If you've ever enjoyed Archies you'll likely get a kick out of the in-jokes and gentle continuity setting offered by writer Batton Lash, the creator of Supernatural Law and scribe of the infamous Archie Meets The Punisher.

We open on the gang regarding the high school with anticipatory awe, and it's compelling to see them bossed around by the kids who "own" tables at Pop's Chok'lit Shoppe or falling into certain habits for the first time — think of this as the Casino Royale of the Archie Universe, except not really. New characters are introduced and the familiar ones handled with aplomb, but I could have done without such Archie tropes as thinly veiled and poorly renamed references to the pop culture of the moment (Lost may stand the test of time, but the nod to it here will still feel dated). For me the somewhat predictable overall story was less interesting than the grace notes — a line of dialogue mentioning "pals 'n' gals"; allusions to Bob Bolling's Little Archie stories, Pureheart the Powerful, and other spinoffs; and perhaps most obliquely the threat of Jughead's family moving to Montana, a reference to Archie's original artist — but then I'm a 38-year-old comics historian, presumably just a bonus slice of Archie's target audience.

First three pages of "Freshman Year" courtesy of and © 2008 Archie Comic Publications,

originally published in Archie #587, clickable to read in enlarged view

Archie Comics has been shaking things up a bit by redesigning logos, giving Chuck a more prominent role (and making him an aspiring comics artist), and introducing the so-called "New Look" stories. The latter are continued over several issues — still unusual for Archie, "Freshman Year" notwithstanding — and illustrated in supposedly more realistic styles to generally horrendous effect. Comics stalwart Joe Staton, co-creator of the deliciously offbeat E-Man and artist on titles ranging from Green Lantern to Scooby-Doo, teamed with journeyman Al Milgrom to render one of the most bizarre Archies I've ever seen in the Jughead "New Look" story "The Matchmakers".

Covers to Archie & Friends #128, drawn by Fernando Ruiz & Bob Smith,

and the Matchmakers TPB, drawn by Joe Staton & Al Milgrom, © 2009 Archie Comic Publications.

Rich Burchett and Terry Austin's work on the latest "New Look" story isn't quite as jarring, and amusingly turns Veronica's father into the spitting image of Burchett's Commissioner Gordon in Batman Adventures, but it still feels unnecessary; Archie's sales numbers may well prove me wrong from an economic standpoint. Purists can be thankful that Stan Goldberg, perhaps the most definitive Archie artist after the late Dan DeCarlo, remains near top form, and Dan Parent has been turning out some nicely designed covers in the classic house style but infused with Pop Art elements and pop-culture themes. Clicking on the covers in this post will get you a larger view, so that you can better appreciate the vibrant colors, Archie's "New Look" sideburns, and Veronica's odd resemblance to Gwen Stefani below.

Dan Parent's catchy pop-cultural covers to Betty & Veronica Digest #188 and Veronica #193 © 2009 Archie Comic Publications.