Archie #666

From the unread comics stack. I got this issue at a comic shop in the US last summer, just on the notoriety of it being the final issue of such a long run.

Title: Archie
Issue: 666
Date: July, 2015
Publisher: Archie Comics
Writer: Tom Defalco
Penciler: Dan Parent, Fernando Ruiz, Tim Kennedy
Inker: Rich Koslowski
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Editor: Victor Gorelick

An epic run comes to an end with the 666th (with a few offhand references to "the end" as the only acknowledgement of the infamy of that number) installment to Archie. This is an ending, but only for the purpose of rebooting the series.

The story here is that Archie has racked up 666 detentions, and it's finally about to get him expelled from Riverdale High. As the news spread, Archie's friends reminisce on the well-intentioned mayhem that has accompanied Archie, and they make plans to try to save him from having to finish high school across town.

There were a couple of sly references to some of the alternate-timeline Archie books that Archie Comics has put out lately, but otherwise, this story was bland nostalgia with a few sentimental moments.

The format of the book leans heavily on short flashbacks and light on new plot. That being said, the simple story was well executed and did a nice job of capturing the essentials of what makes Archie and his friends such enduring characters.

Rating: 6.5/10

Life With Archie #16

Picked this one up at Barnes & Noble tonight.

Title: Life With Archie
Date: February, 2012
Publisher: Archie Comics
Writer: Paul Kupperberg
Penciler: Fernando Ruiz, Pat Kennedy, Tim Kennedy
Inker: Al Milgrom, Bob Smith
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Cover: Fernando Ruiz, Bob Smith, Glenn Whitmore

The first gay marriage in the history of Archie Comics is really two marriages, thanks to the unique format of this book. Life With Archie contains two stories set in parallel, but distinct universes, one with Archie married to Veronica and one with him married to Betty.

The format allows a variety of interaction and subplots and the whole magazine-sized book manages a high degree of complexity without being inaccessible to a new reader. There are even some hints of some subtle supernatural or fantastical forces working in the background amid all of the soap opera drama between the adult versions of the Riverdale gang.

And spanning the whole thing as a single plot is the story of Kevin being wounded while serving as a US soldier in the Middle East, and eventually falling in love with a physical therapist who helps him to recover from his injuries. The action scenes are good, and the romance is handled in a way that feels real and makes sense.

I came into this with high hopes for the kind of positive story on gay marriage that we need to see more of across the spectrum of media. The handling of the marriage was excellent. The rest of the book was just as good.

Rating: 9/10