“Every day you’re still alive is a miracle” might well sum up my life.
Creative Staff:
Story: Mark Waid
Art and Colors: Pete Woods
Letters: Jack Morelli
What They Say:
With Veronica Lodge back in town, everyone’s vying for her hand–from Archie to Toni to Reggie Mantle! Romance runs deep in Riverdale this issue!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Ever since she returned from the Lycee de Rich People, Veronica and Archie have struggled to make their relationship work. Although they still care about each other, they don’t quite seem to connect. They vibrate at different frequencies and can’t find a way to get them to match.
Ronnie’s father sees this, and despite his problematic propensity to see everything in terms of business, he does love his daughter and values her happiness. This doesn’t excuse what he does, but it does help explain it.
In a nutshell, he puts together a group of bachelors—the sons of the rich and powerful (and the ones who owe Lodge money or favors)—and he creates a fake Teen Achievement award along with a fake ceremony. He puts Veronica in charge of choosing the best applicant to receive the award in the hopes that she’ll find one of the young men attractive. For Hiram Lodge, that’s a win-win: his daughter is once again happy, and she’s no longer with Archie.
While this goes on, everyone’s favorite teen heads to his favorite camping spot get some alone time. Lucky for him, Veronica stopped by the soda shop before the “award ceremony” and told Jughead all about it. Nobody’s fool, Jughead knows exactly what Hiram is up to, and he plans to put a stop to it.
In a way, both Jughead and Hiram share the same goal in this story: the restored happiness of someone they care for deeply. The difference lies in their approach. Lodge lies, but Jughead tells the truth.
Not surprisingly, Lodge’s plan backfires, and Ronnie and Archie finally get back in sync. Ronnie and Jughead also discover a new appreciation for each other, but, as Archie says, it’s only a matter of time before Veronica makes fun of his hat or Jughead makes fun of her being rich. Sometimes people just can’t help themselves.
Mark Waid and Pete Woods put together a delightful issue here. It’s funny, it’s sweet, and its invested with an emotional maturity that many stories across every medium lack. Everyone acts from a place of love in this story, and the conflict comes not from their intentions, but from their methods. Veronica and Archie try their best to start where they left off so many months ago, but neither can find that groove they so easily fell into before. They avoid hurting each other at all costs, but the distance between them ends up doing just that despite their best efforts.
Hiram Lodge loves his daughter and wants her to be happy. He also wants her to be with someone he feels is worthier of her, so, like a proper businessman, he tries to take care of both problems at the same time. That’s just efficient. He also knows that if he pushes, Veronica will almost automatically go the other way, so he couches his matchmaking efforts in that farce of an award ceremony. It’s obviously not the best way to approach the problem.
Jughead comes off as the pure soul in this story. Despite his dislike of Veronica, he immediately goes off to find Archie and help him and Ronnie reconnect because he just wants his friend to be happy. Once again, Jughead proves he’s the coolest teen in Riverdale and a darn fine person to boot.
Pete Woods lines and colors bring this all to life. His style is simple and delightfully cartoony, stretching reality just a bit here and there to accentuate the comedy of the scene or the emotion of the moment. His style definitely works well with Waid’s words and they craft a charming, funny story.
In Summary:
For those keeping score, Archie just hit its nineteenth home run. This comic never fails to delight in its humanity, its intelligence, and its dedication to storytelling. It says a great deal that a group of characters that have been around for seventy years manages not only to remain relevant, but to continue telling excellent stories. Dr. Josh gives this an….
Grade: A+
Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Archie Comics
Release Date: 19 April 2017
MSRP: $3.99
