Archie, Vol. 1

Waid, Mike & Fiona Staples. Archie, Vol. 1. 2016. 176p. ISBN 978-1-62738-880-1. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

Archie and Betty have been best friends since they were toddlers. They did everything together. Now juniors in high school, things continued apace until Betty’s friends tried to change her so she would become one of the girls, and not continue her pursuits of mechanics and video games. They wanted her to reveal her inner “hotness,” but the process undermined her relationship with Archie through the now infamous “lipstick” incident.

Now apart for the first time, Archie and Betty are trying to navigate life and high school. Jughead keeps a cool head and attempts to help his friends by not rushing them back together. Unfortunately Veronica Lodge moves to town and attends Riverdale High, her first experience of public school, and she is immediately smitten by Archie as he accidentally destroys her new house. Anything that makes her daddy mad is a good thing for Veronica. Reggie Mantle, meanwhile, plans on getting in Mr. Lodge’s good graces. When approached by Betty and Jughead to break up Archie and Veronica, Reggie is only too happy to oblige.

Archie’s band and universe is all back in this re-imagining of the town of Riverdale, updating it to today’s smartphones and contemporary clothes but retaining the essential elements of interpersonal conflicts and relationships. With crisp illustrations and smart dialogues, fans of graphic novels will appreciate this new take on a story 75 years in the making.