School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Archie Andrews and the Riverdale teens have been reimagined by Eisner Award-winning writer Waid and "Saga" artist Staples with a fresh, 21st-century spin in time for the franchise's 75th anniversary. While still keeping the boy-next-door charm and sweet sensibility of the original comics, this volume, which collects the first six issues of the new iteration, has a more modern twist. Blonde Betty is a baseball-slugging, down-to-earth car mechanic; Archie is a hapless but cool, guitar-playing teen with a streak of bad luck; and new girl Veronica Lodge is a sleek reality TV alum with a knack for dating boys whom her rich father wouldn't approve of. School dances, breakups, mean boys, gossip, and, of course, love triangles make up some of the drama that peppers each issue. Flashbacks and backstory for each character are presented, so readers new to the series won't feel lost. The art, with contributions by Wu and Fish, reflects the modern vibe of this redesign, complete with edgy but somehow timeless clothing; diverse secondary characters, including Betty's multiple love interests; and a gem-toned palette that lets this comic pop off the shelves. The humorous narrative especially makes the philosophical Jughead, who seems to be teeming with ennui, crackle on every page he appears. Variant covers are featured throughout, and a preview of a Jughead-focused comic is appended. VERDICT Archie is reborn, and fans and new readers alike will be clamoring for more.-Shelley Diaz, School Library Journal © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
There's a lot that's new about everybody's favorite freckled, love-tossed Riverdale teen in this contemporary relaunch. To start, Staples's (Saga) art is bright, snappy, and crisply dramatic, not to mention three-dimensional. Also, Riverdale High is as multiethnic and sharply attired as a CW series. Jughead sports ripped jeans and a goth pout, Veronica is a "jillionaire" reality-show star, and the whole thing is rated "Teen" for some barely risqué innuendo and dialogue like "Oh, hell no." The writing from Waid (Kingdom Come) balances winsomely romantic (Archie says Betty "smells like flowers and motor oil") and honestly funny, like something that a PG-rated Kevin Smith could have pulled off. It would seem risky to mess with the tried-and-true Archie formula, but this heartfelt collection is less a tearing-down of the old order than an exuberant exploration of its possibilities. Staples and Waid keep the characters' foundations in place-Archie's still a lovable goof who can't decide between girl-next-door Betty and vampish Veronica-while building a wonderfully new Riverdale for them to explore. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* It takes Dilton-sized brains and Moose-sized guts to fully reboot a 75-year-old comic, but Archie Comics is clearly in the risk-taking mood, as evidenced by the unexpectedly fabulous Archie: The Married Life series and Afterlife with Archie series. In this six-issue compendium, Waid has no gimmick to hide behind: this is a straightforward, PG-rated tale of high-school friendship and romance, and yet it's as fresh and bracing as one of Pop Tate's malts (three straws, of course). It begins with Archie bruised from the Lipstick Incident, which abridged his lifelong love story with (literal) girl-next-door Betty. Enter the mega rich Lodge family into Riverdale, including gorgeous former reality-TV star Veronica, who accepts Archie's starstruck devotion as she would a puppy, until she actually starts to fall for him. Hating Ronnie on sight, Betty, scruffy pal Jughead, and villainous-but-sympathetic Reggie team up to wrench the two apart. Big deal, right? Well, yeah, kinda for the first time in a century, we get the hangdog affability (helped along by direct addresses to the reader) that makes our redheaded hero so magnetic. The earnest tone still allows for one-panel jokes and pop references (Archie's a zebra in the veldt), while Staples and company's congenial, yet savvy, use of frames particularly an affecting two-page showstopper of Ronnie covered in her own barf lend the story a modern clip. Another Archie achievement.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2016 Booklist
