Jughead's Time Police

After getting to preview the first issue of Jughead's Time Police in 2019, I had every intention of getting the rest of the series. Just for one reason or another, I didn't follow up. COVID had a little bit to do with it. But the majority of this miniseries came out before March of 2020. I guess I just got distracted or forgot about it all together until I saw the trade paperback at my local library. 

When I reviewed the first issue, I gave it 10 stars. Writer Sina Grace (Iceman) had crafted a very intriguing opening segment that blended modern Archie Comics with the original Jughead's Time Police series. The premier issue had Jughead being summoned to the future by a member of the time cops to help save the very fabric of space time. Once in the future, things get kinda wonky. 

There's an evil Jughead who wants to become the ruler of all reality. In order to do this, the evil Juggie has to get rid of the Jughead who features as the main character of this story as he's kinda like 'Jughead Prime'. For about 2 issues, the ultimate enjoyment I had from issue #1 had dwindled. The quantum physics behind this evil Jughead P. Jones was more mind-boggling with its time paradoxes than the plot of Back to the Future, Part II. Plus, I just felt that such a motivated and evil version of Jughead was impossible- even in the multiverse!

As the good Jughead is chased throughout time and space, things start to pick up. Since the editors themselves spoil the big plot twist on with the blurbs on the back cover, along with a couple of images from the story placed at the beginning of this volume, I'm just going to go ahead and say it: we get a Crisis on Infinite Riverdales with dozens of Jugheads through time and space and alternate earths coming together to defeat the evil Jughead. 

Bringing multiple incarnations of characters together has become the most common plot point used by just about every pop culture franchise there is right now. Star Trek. Power Rangers. Ghostbusters. And especially DC and Marvel have been trolling the multiverse for big bucks and ratings. It's starting to get a little boring. But if it can be done well, I'll still stay on the band wagon. While the reboot of Jughead's Time Police took a detour into implausibility, the story got on the right track for the epic grand finale. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.