The princess and the parade float.
Creative Staff:
Story: Mark Waid
Art: Fiona Staples
Colors: Andre Szymanowicz with Jen Vaughn
Letters: Jack Morelli
What They Say:
Something strange is looming over Riverdale—and it’s taking the shape of a giant mega-mansion owned by an elusive mogul. Why has he chosen the quaint town of Riverdale, USA as his base of operations? And how is he going to use the teens of Riverdale High to further his political aspirations? Big questions and challenges await the teens and townsfolk—meanwhile, a new student has graced the halls of Riverdale High and she’s turning heads in a BIG way! Find out all the answers to these important questions in the third issue of the biggest comics sensation of the season!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Veronica Lodge hits Riverdale High like a hurricane and God help everyone, especially her new lapdog/servant Archie Andrews. In the previous issue, Archie went to do some late night work on the construction of the Lodge’s mansion, and in typical Archie fashion, he accidentally knocks it to the ground. Mr. Lodge never saw the teen, but Veronica did, and she has a great memory for faces. She uses this memory to press Archie into some sort of indentured servitude.
To be honest, though, Archie doesn’t really seem to mind. He begins and ends the issue as a lovesick teenager, and he would have been her servant anyway even if Veronica didn’t subtly threaten to reveal his identity to her father. For all his good qualities—loyalty, kindness, compassion—Archie tends to get into situations over his head and has to be saved by his friends. The issue even begins with Jughead saving him from being run over by Veronica’s car, providing a fairly apt metaphor for the relationship between the three: Archie doesn’t look, Veronica doesn’t stop, and Jughead can’t stand to see his friend used this way, especially by a stuck up snob like Ronnie.
It’s not hard to empathize with Jughead. The comic does a fabulous job of making Veronica snooty, judgmental, and downright abusive. Her poorer qualities are displayed for all to see, but they are also tempered by a certain amount of grace and charm and a deep vulnerability that only Betty witnesses.
During lunch, Veronica takes a bite of a sloppy joe and immediately vomits in front of everyone. She walks out of the cafeteria for the women’s room, and there she calls her father, demanding him to take her home. She breaks down crying, and Betty—who had been in the women’s room all this time—comes out to help the poor girl. She helps Veronica clean up and even brings her a change of clothes, which Veronica uncharitably calls a “parade float.”
Up to this point, Betty cared nothing about Veronica or the way that she treated Archie. Jughead tried to enlist her aid in a conspiracy to save their friend, but she refused, saying that it wasn’t her business. Well, Ronnie made it her business.
It’s clear that the rivalry between these two girls has very little to do with Archie, and more to do with the way their personalities clash. Mark Waid writes about this a little bit in his afterword, stating that Archie’s indecisiveness was one of his lesser qualities, and I agree. Archie comes off as a better person when he’s not playing one girl against the other, and this new dynamic between the characters also helps define this new interpretation of the classic comic.
The characters are also more multi-layered than they were before (which is not a slight against the classic comics at all). Waid and Staples made a gutsy move when they introduced Veronica, because she’s very unpleasant. At the beginning she represents everything wrong with our celebrity obsessed culture and the people who thrive in it, like the Kardashians or the Hiltons. However, she’s given one key moment of vulnerability that humanizes her and makes her relatable. Despite her attitude, she is in a new school in a completely different environment, and that’s difficult to do when you’re an adult, much less a teenager. She handles herself poorly, but there still exist hints of a deeper person underneath the Versace.
All of this is brought to life by Fiona Staples, Andre Szymanowicz, and Jen Vaughn. Staple’s art is a joy to look at, especially the expressions on her character’s faces. She also manages to add in just a hint of elasticity at the right moments to exaggerate a scene, which I find very impressive. And man, did this art team manage to draw the grossest sloppy joes imaginable. That’s no mean feat, either.
In Summary:
Archie #3 brings the core characters together and sets up the main conflict that will play throughout the series. Smartly, this creative team has changed the Betty-Veronica-Archie love triangle to something a little more tenable that puts Archie in a more positive light (I mean, sixty years to choose one girl? That’s way too long!). The issue also features a very interesting—if brief—afterward from Waid and a reprint of a classic Archie issue (this time it’s the first appearance of Veronica). Once again, Archie has proven to be one of the highlights of my month. Dr. Josh gives this an…
Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Archie Comics
Release Date: September 30th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
I’m still waiting to pick up this issue from my local comic store, but I’m excited to read it. The first two issues were fantastic, especially the new art style. Fiona Staples can do no wrong in my book. But yea, I’m looking forward to Veronica’s new character and how she fits into the reboot.
um, this is nitpicking but it was her chauffeur who almost ran over Archie.