Archie

Archie 13-17

Veronica’s trapped at a Swiss boarding school, the heinous Cheryl Blossom joins the cast, and Archie mopes around.  Not bad, but I’m here for the excellent interactions between Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica.  (Kind of like the core OC cast.  Except for Marissa, couldn’t stand her…)

Dilton Doiley.  DD.  Perfect Daredevil callback.

From the classic Born Again by Miller and Mazzucchelli.

Tula Lotay makes Cheryl look like a psycho here.  Appropriate.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Archie 18-27

This is more like it.  Betty gets in a major car wreck, and the repercussions for our gang are mesmerizing.  Definitely a case where I couldn’t stop reading.  Mark Waid nails the humor, shows the strength of Veronica’s character, poignantly demonstrates why Betty is so beloved in the community, and illustrates how Jughead is the not-so-secret weapon of the group.  This was on the cusp of hitting Good, juuust barely missing it.  (It comes down to the fact that if my collection went up in smoke, I wouldn’t feel the need to buy this again.)

Heh.  "Write on brain."

Great Greg Smallwood cover.

A full issue of when people realized how special Betty was.

I'm all on board with it.

Of course Archie gets the 2-page splash.

Jughead rules.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Archie 28-30

Blech.  You’d think a school dance would be a perfect venue for love triangle drama, but Waid chooses to waste it on Reggie, the Blossom siblings, and their criminal dad instead.  It’s a complete dud, and no wonder that I quit with two issues to go in Waid’s run.  (Keeping it because there’s some great Moose/Midge stuff, and Waid does a wonderful job of showing how Betty and Veronica don’t let their feelings for Archie keep them from being best buds.)

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine