Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever: What If... #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Are you the type of reader that wonder 'What If?' Have you ever wondered 'What if George Washington was a cyborg?' or 'What if Billy the Kid ever rode a T-Rex?' Well, then Archie Comics has got a comic book for you. Join Family Comic Friday as we explore Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever: What If... #1

Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever: What If... #1

Written by Bill Golliher
Art by Dan Parent and Rich Kowslowski
Published by Archie Comics
Pages:
Retail: $2.99

 

I've been a fan of stories that expand the imagination. I grew up reading Marvel's What If... comics that asked epic questions such as 'What If Spider-Man Joined the Fantastic Four?' or 'What If Wolverine Became the Lord of Vampires?' Some of those stories have now since become reality, such as 'What If Jane Foster Found Thor's Hammer?' But then you've got some weird What If's. Like the one that explored what would happen if the planet eater Galactus became an Elvis impersonator. 

 

As i got older, DC Comics upped the imaginary story game with their Elseworlds imprint. With these slightly more mature stories, we learned what comic book lore would be like if Superman did not survive the destruction of his planet Krypton or if Green Lantern lived during the time of Aladdin's lamp. Apparently, DC also has a fascination with vampires as the company has also explored what would happen if Batman too became the lord of vampires!

 

I'm guessing you can tell that I love these imaginary stories. They're a big chunk of my collection! and it's ever growing with publishers like IDW and even Archie producing these fanciful titles! Thus, I think you can tell how excited I am to see Archie jumping back into 'What If' waters with this new comic!

 

Explore what would happen if Betty was the rich one and Veronica was poor! Could Jughead be a better ladies man than Archie? And imagine the extra trouble Archie could get into if he had an identical twin brother! All that and more awaits inside this all-ages approved one-shot by Bill Golliher and my personal favorite Archie artist, Dan Parent. Together, Golliher and Parent bring back the classic Betty and Veronica with a speculative twist!

 

I only wish that the stories did not end how they did. Two tales explore other ideas but they seem to fall back into the established character tropes by the end of the story. The Archie and his twin story had a predictable ending. Only the story about if Betty and Veronica were both witches seemed to have a great surprise ending. But I didn't feel like that how the two forever friends ended up being witches was ever properly explained. Were they born into it? Or did they become practitioners of the dark arts in order to woo Archie Andrews? I guess to further exploration that aspect might damage the all-ages charm of this comic book.

 

This book had a great premise! More please? Don't make this just a one-shot! There's so many other 'What If' scenarios out there. Bring in Moose and Midge and Reggie. Don't just focus on the main 4 characters next time. This book has great art that is perfectly timeless. Let's just see a little more willingness to change things up without feeling like the plot line has to always fall back to the forever love triangle of a redhead, a blonde and a brunette.

 

 

Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever: What If... #1 debuted in print and digital formats on January 22nd, 2019. 

 

For more Family Comic Friday and other reviews, check out my blog: Madman with a Book!