My birthday came recently, and as a present to myself, I went and bought some comics from the local bookstore. I’m sure I’m behind the 8-ball when it comes to these particular comics I’m about to review, but I think their merit bears repeating.
I generally like all of the Jughead comic book stories, even the ones where he’s being a total unlikable jerk to Ethel. So I felt like my love for Jughead was going to be put to the test when I read #201, where Jughead has to take on all of Prof. Flutesnoot’s public service projects by himself due to his big mouth (apparently, Flutesnoot has made attempts at several other projects, which the gang have helped out on, only to have them go bust. Jughead talked everyone out of helping Flutesnoot with other projects due to their pipe-dream sensibilities). It takes a lot for me to really like an environmental story, mostly because people generally use the same conventions. Although the moral of this book is a bit preachy, it’s not given to the reader in a totally preachy way; there is an actual buildup to the lesson. There’s an actual story to be read, and it’s an entertaining one. There’s enough snark, wit, and flow of action(and the cause and effect of those actions) that makes this environmental story one that might actually make some people want to pick up a shovel and start planting trees.
I usually don’t pick up comics starring Archie–I’ll be honest, he’s not my favorite character of the bunch, even though he’s the star of the entire Archie Comics industry (reasons why I don’t like him so much might be written in another post sometime later). But I do find him entertaining on some level, and I was curious to see how he would hold up in a James Bond-esque storyline. This Man from R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E. title has been around before, making #610 a reboot, and since I’d never really taken notice of the title’s original run, I thought I’d give this a whirl. It was highly entertaining, one of the most entertaining Archie Comics books I’ve read in a long itme. It seemed to have a lot of the madcap sensibilities found in the silver and golden ages of Archie Comics. We also get to meet Archie’s super-spy/journalist cousin Andy, who remarkably doesn’t get mad initially when Archie follows him to the secret organization P.O.P. As I hinted at in the last sentence, there are a small number of character and plot problems, Andy’s delayed reaction being the biggest one. But the charm of the book overwhelms the negatives.
For both of these issues, I have to say that I’m impressed with the thought behind both of the storylines and artwork. Thank goodness Archie Comics switched to comic book-standard glossy paper, something I was begging them to do. Also improved upon is the coloring; the glossy paper helps with the color somewhat, making the inks stand out much more, but also attention to shading and highlights has greatly added to the depth of the stories. Also, both covers, especially #610, are eye-catching, conveying enough old-school style without making the comics look totally dated. If I may expound more on #610‘s cover–Fernando Ruiz has been my favorite current Archie artist for a while now because he seems to be the most daring and pop-culturally aware, able to convey the charm of old-school Archie art while keeping the characters looking fresh, current, and in the same time period as us readers (this also extends to details in clothes and the backgrounds). For him, making things current isn’t so much a gimmick (as it seems in a lot of Archie comic books) as it is a natural extension of himself and his drawing style. I think the cover for #610 is probably one of his best pieces yet. It shows everything I was writing about above; the composition reminds me of one of those old-school Marvel spreads drawn by my favorite Marvel artist ever, the late (and still awesome) Dave Cockrum. It’s also reminiscent of the old-school James Bond posters and even references how many anime and manga posters are laid-out. All in all, it’s a great cover, one the best Archie Comics has put out in a while.
If you haven’t bought these two books yet and want to get started reading Archie Comics, bypass all of the big gimmick stories for now and pick these two up. They show what Archie Comics is about when it’s at its best–telling great, entertaining stories.
[...] Archie Comics is keeping their storytelling game up with Jughead #202 and Archie #611, and I’m glad. [...]