Archie #1 (2015)

Archie #1 came out with over 20 variant covers.
This is the cover to issue #1U, art by T-Rex.

     

 74 years after his debut in issue #22 of Pep Comics, the powers that be decided to reboot Archie Andrews and his gang. Tackling that momentous task are Mark Waid (writer) and Fiona Staples (art.) Now Archie is a character that's going through many incarnations- Little Archie, a caveman, a rocker, a zombie, and countless other roles. But at the heart of each story, the Riverdale gang was wholesome and innocent.

   Archie couldn't decide between Betty or Veronica. Jughead was lazy and addicted to food. Reggie was also trying to one up Arch and Moose and Midge were the perfect couple. That was the Archie gang in it's very essence; whether they were living in colonial times or performing a parody of MASH (as the Archie Players.)

    It's not like Archie didn't adapt with the times either. Moose wasn't stupid, turns out he was dyslexic. Archie entered a bi-racial relationship with Valerie from Josie and the Pussycats. Even a gay character moved into town in the form of Kevin Keller.

   So why did Archie have to be completely remade? Don't get me wrong, I love Mark Waid. If you've read my blog much, you'll know how much I am a fan of his recent work on Daredevil. Waid is a great writer and when I met him a few years back, at a mass signing he was only 1 of 2 who actually talked to the fans and not just grunted 'hey' before passing the book to the next guy to sign.

   In Archie #1 Archie and Betty have just broken up but neither is sure if that was the right thing to do or not. Complicating matters is that Betty decides to go to a school dance with another guy as Archie keeps avoiding her. But thankfully, the day is saved when Archie fills in for the lead guitarist who is a no-show. However, things are not all hunky dory as at the very end of the book, Arch walks past a giant billboard proclaiming that Lodge Industries are moving into town.

    That's right folks, Veronica doesn't even appear in this book. Along with that, Jughead is more of a slacker than ever before as he doesn't even have food as a motivator for him to do anything and Reggie is virtually a non-entity.

From what I can tell about the future of this book is that when the Lodge's move to Riverdale, the love triangle between Archie/ Betty/ and Veronica will begin and I am assuming so will the Archie/ Veronica/ Reggie one as well. Why did we have to reboot Archie for that? Presumably, Mr. Lodge's company moving to town will impact someone, probably Mr. Andrews, into losing their job and Veronica's dad will probably be more cunning in trying to remove Archie from the picture altogether. But, you don't need a reboot to do that stuff either.

   Making Archie black or gay, or even a woman would be a true reboot. All Mark Waid does is take a beloved childhood icon and make him unrecognizable with new art and designs by Fiona Staples. But again, why do that at all? It was just announced this weekend at Comic-Con that Archie and the Ramones will be teaming up for a special issue. The artwork is to be in the classic Archie Comics style that have thrived for over 40 years.

   This issue also reprints the very first appearance of Archie in that issue of Pep I mentioned earlier. It's supposed to show the reader that times change. Yes- the Archie of 1941 looks very different from the Archie of 1970,96, or 2014. But so did Superman, Batman, and Captain America when they first arrived in the Golden Age of Comics. But with all of these characters, their iconic looks evolved while maintaining a timeless style that any child could point out of a line-up. (Don't believe me- take a picture of Batman from 1938 and a picture of Archie from this issue. The child will instant point out Batman but be clueless as to who this red-headed guy is.)

My point is: the Archie gang of 2015 looks more like kids you would see at the mall- not Pop's Chok'lit Shoppe.

   If this was a book made up of completely new characters, I would be singing it's praises. For a contemporary look at teen life in the New Millennium, it's flawless. But as the next generation's Archie- it lacks depth, nostalgia, and recognizability.

    Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.