Archie's Christmas Spectacular #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Family Comic Friday closes out the 2019 holiday season with the long-anticipated Archie's Christmas Spectacular #1!

Archie's Christmas Spectacular #1

Written by Dan Parent, Various
Art by Harry Lucey, Various
Published by Archie Comics
Retail: #2.99

When it comes to comic books, I look forward every year to anything and everything holiday related. It could be an Arbor Day special and I'm going to want it for my collection. And the publisher whose specials I go ga-ga for the most are crafted by Archie Comics! 

Their Halloween stuff is spooky without being overly terrifying. And their Christmas stuff is timeless and festive without being too preachy or syrupy. above all, it's just good, clean fun with a group of high school buddies! 

I used not be so enthralled by the world's oldest teenager and his friends. After I turned 12 or so, I moved on from Archie Comics.. But a couple of things have happened in the past 5 years or so to change my opinion on the wacky redhead. 

For one thing, the company upped it's game. Archie Comics was known for producing kids stuff that seemed stuck in a loop when it came to ideas. But with the Afterlife with Archie horror titles for mature readers as well as insanely nostalgic team-ups such as KISS and Sharknado, The Archies took a quantum leap into being relevant again.

 Another element that has greatly helped Archie Comics become an industry leader again has been it's TV programming. 10 years ago, the idea of an edgy teen drama about the residents of Riverdale would have been unthinkable. But when you have Jughead raising his dog Hot Dog, from the grave only to become a ghoulish zombie in the pages of a comic for teens and older, anything is possible in your live action mediums!

While Archie Comics has matured, they've done something that other publishers (I'm looking at you DC and Marvel) have failed to do: they've embraced their past! A special like Archie's Christmas Spectacular still maintains that innocence of the style of Archie Comics one read when they were kids. Nostalgia is a big money maker. With shows like The Goldbergs and Mixed-ish and a rebooted He-Man on the way, nostalgia might be bigger than ever! 

What Archie Comics does right with it's classic Archie fare is maintain a sort of timelessness to it's stories. Dan Parent sprinkles in some forgotten Archie characters such as Noelle, the daughter of Santa Claus in these yarns. (I'm still waiting for the return of L'il jinx, by the way!!!) Then you have artists such as Rosario 'Tito' Pena, who draws each character in a different style from the past 70 years or so of Archie Comics. 

Veronica, with her Veronica Lake hair-style, looks primed for the 1940s silver screen while Betty sports a spiky 80s fitness enthusiast's hair style and similar array of outfits. By illustrating the stories in such a way, you see elements of the past in these charming Christmas themed tales. But you can't quite put your finger on just which time periods these adventures were set.

Fans of Archie, young and old will delight in the four stories comprised in this holiday comic. The girls in this comic are certainly alluring. But there's nothing overtly or covertly sexual that should prevent young Archie fans from enjoying this Christmas read with their parents and guardians who too grew up on everything Archie. 

Production delays kept me from enjoying this special earlier than I got to. But that's okay as i enjoyed every panel and page. Though, I really think that the third story about a cookie competition between Betty and Veronica was reedited for the holidays. The outfits worn especially by Betty aren't appropriate for cold weather. Yes- this oddity peaked my interest in wondering if that story really was a non-Christmas reprint reboot. But with that curiosity aside, my only regret about this book was that it ended way too soon! 

For future reference, Archie editors, I'd gladly pay an extra dollar for 2 additional stories; just so I can keep the fun times going! 

With less than a week until Christmas, Archie Comics saved the best for last, making this issue filled with fun, pratfalls and Santa, certainly a holiday delight!

Archie's Christmas Spectacular #1 debuted in print and digital platforms on December 18th, 2019!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

This review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekery.com.