Another month, another issue of Archie, and an entertaining one at that. Actually, as I’ve said many times before, Archie Comics, Inc. has increased their storytelling ability infinity-fold since switching to new management. By releasing some of the cobwebs of the past, Jon Goldwater has allowed the company to come into the 21st century (finally!). However, the comic titles keep a healthy respect of the past, which comes into play throughout The Man from R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E. storyline.
Part three of R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E. has Archie, Chuck, and Jughead trying to solve the riddle of the Walking Dazed while battling Mad Doctor Doom (whom I will refer to as M.D.D.), Sharry the Spy Girl, and their cronies Chester, Crammer, and Cranston. The stakes get racheted up when Dilton, Archie and the gang’s most reliable hope of getting a vaccine for the Walking Dazed serum, becomes one of the Dazed himself, leaving Jughead to mess with chemicals in hopes of getting the correct recipe for a vaccine and Chuck and Archie to fend for themselves against M.D.D’s army of dazed civilians.
Firstly, the cover is another winner by Fernando Ruiz , Rich Koslowski, and Tom Chu. As to why Betty’s on the cover and not Jughead is another story entirely, since Betty is dazed in the book. Of course, there are inconsistencies on all of the R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E. covers, and on the whole, it’s not too much to gripe about since the covers are very entertaining.
The story itself is highly entertaining, with exposition interwoven competently. As I said in the first paragraph, there is a lot of referential nods to the past, particularly the James Bond movies, what with Crammer having a vague European accent; Archie and co. making use of some crazy x-ray/laser-shooting sunglasses, a thimble that turns your hand into an iron fist, and a pen(which wasn’t used yet; perhaps in the final part it will be); and a panel showing a small montage of Archie’s cousin Andy’s life as a secret agent, complete with a scarred villain stroking his pet cat, Andy tied up with a laser coming at him, and Andy in white dinner jacket holding the seductive, dangerous Bond Girl.
A hilarious running joke is Sharry (a master of disguise) making Reggie doubt his girl-noticing abilities. In the last issue, Reggie saw Sharry and, when he finally caught up to her, was freaked out when he saw he was talking to Sharry-turned-Ms. Beasley. This time, he catches up to Sharry only to find that he’s talking to Ms. Grundy (who, I’ve now realized, is a dead ringer for Dorothy from The Golden Girls). Also, for those keeping score, M.D.D. is another green character who isn’t made on the green=black mold.
One final note has to be made about the final page, which features a lot of minor characters–Raj, Wendy Weatherbee, Tomoko, Nancy, Maria, and Frankie. Hurray!
Overall, this is another well-written, well-choreographed issue. I can’t wait to see how this story will resolve itself. What did you think?
