A “little” magic for Archie and the gang.
Creative Staff:
Writers/Artist: Franco & Art Baltazar
What They Say:
Archie’s wildest day ever starts with a cat eating his homework — and things just get crazier from there! But this isn’t just an ordinary cat, and this certainly won’t be an ordinary day for Little Archie and his friends.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I’ve enjoyed several of Fraco and Baltazar’s works over the last few years, from their original properties to the playful look at existing properties, as they’re the kinds of things that just make you grin. I get why they don’t work for some people but there’s always that time where you just have to have fun with characters and we’ve seen that across publishers for decades. It may not be something that can sustain itself but when you get a book like this, especially a 40-page oversized installment of fun, it’s the kind of very simple but accessible project. This one is essentially what you’d expect in terms of style if you’ve seen their works before and the simple truth is that like those other projects the Archie gang is ripe for interpretation into this kind of “little” form to play with. And with Josie and Sabrina one-shots coming up there’s a whole lot more to explore as well.
That said, I do find these kinds of books hard to review because they are such simple gags once the setup gets underway. The delight comes from watching it play out and the expressions of it all, especially in this form. The concept here is cute as Sabrina is heading to sleep and Salem ends up heading out into the night to find someplace else to be. It’s here that overnight Salem essentially pops out a couple of primary colored copies of himself, including a red one that perches itself on Archie’s face while he sleeps. When Archie wakes up and deals with it, it doesn’t take long to realize that Archie’s been supercharged with static electricity. So much so that he ends up disintegrating his homework and realizing just how much trouble he’s going to be in from that.
That leads to all sorts of chaos at school that’s even more fun, particularly as he ends up in detention and dealing with punishments there. The book has fun in bringing in other characters with Jughead and his crazy burger placement scheme – much to Weatherbee’s delighter – as well as Veronica’s being convinced that Mrs. Grundy is really a zombie. Some of this takes on an even more amusing tone if you’re watching the Riverdale show and interpreting things through that lens. But, realistically, this one-shot is playing off of the very classic Archie designs and concepts rather than anything else and that innocence and charm shines throughout beautifully, making this a heck of a fun time.
In Summary:
I’m predisposed to like this book already based on my interest in the Archie books in general across a range of interpretations as well as liking what this team has done with several other series over the years. With a bigger than normal page count and a lot of silly material to work through, this is a real delight to read and have fun with and it’ll likely be well complemented by the two follow-up books that are coming with other properties from the publisher. Fans of the creators will like this and those that are Archie fans will be grinning from ear to ear in seeing it play out. Definitely worth adding to your collection.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: All Ages
Released By: Archie Comics
Release Date: March 29th, 2017
MSRP: $4.99
