Archie #1 reboots the franchise for today’s teens #LipstickIncident

Archie, Jughead, Riverdale and the Betty or Veronica discussion has been going on since 1941. However, the art for Archie hasn’t changed much since I was a teen in the early 80’s. The stories changed, there was a (gay) wedding, Archie got killed and technology entered the picture, but the art always remained the same. That has completely changed with Archie #1, a complete reboot for one of the longest, continually published comic books on the market.

I say comic books because there have always been a handful of titles relative to Archie and his friends. You’ll see one of them at the super market checkout and two or three others at your local comic book store. In a sense they are like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because they have always had concurrent titles with the same characters playing revolving roles or leads.

Archie #1 takes Riverdale back to square one. It starts out with Archie talking directly to the reader as a growing story is told from three different perspectives. Archie is first as he goes through the school halls and everyone is talking about his break up with Betty. Betty Cooper to be precise, she’s the same blonde Betty from the classic series, she’s a friend, a bit of a tom-boy and everyone really likes her.

The #LipstickIncident happened and only Archie and Betty know what really happened. Archie references that hashtag a couple of times, pop it into twitter and you’ll see a great conversation about this comic book.

The second chapter examines how Betty deals with the #LipstickIncident, Reggie Mantle and voting for the Homecoming Dance. Chapter three takes place at the dance where Archie is called upon to substitute for the guitar player who mysteriously had his hands glued to the steering wheel of his car. We also meet a skinny hipster teen with a crown shaped hat that is friends with Archie.

As Jughead says goodnight to Archie we see a billboard announcing that Lodge Industries is coming to town. Archie is wondering if a new girl could change everything and we know that Veronica will soon be in town to brunette things up a bit.

Archie is refreshing because it’s a good comic that doesn’t have super heroes, magic or monsters.  It’s just life and the characters that pre-teens, teens and beyond run into everyday. Everyone knows a Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Archie or Reggie and can relate to something about this comic book. The art is also a welcome change. Because the art is more realistic it opens itself up to being accepted to new fans of any age and the key people that the book is targeting.

After the main story there is a six page special reprint of the very first Archie story. It still has the main characters, clearly takes place in the early 40’s and is really goofy. However, it’s still about friends, relationships and growing up.

Archie is rated Teen for one curse word (HE double hockey stick….) and light teen drama. OK, I don’t really know why it’s rated Teen. Aside from that one word the comic doesn’t have anything objectionable at all in it.  It’s a fun, breezy comic that will appeal to anyone 8 and up. That’s another thing. The previous Archie comics had a feel that they were specifically for girls. This comic does not have that feeling and that is because of the art by Fiona Staples and the realistic feel of the story by Mark Waid.

Come back to Riverdale, the water’s fine. You will really enjoy Archie, or possibly the new Jughead comic coming out this October.