Archie's Valentine's Spectacular 2026 #1

The all-new feature for this year's Archie Valentine's Day Spectacular was a parody of the massive Netflix animated hit K-Pop Demon Hunters. Only it wasn't funny. Plus, it was the most dreadful thing I have ever read from Archie Comics.  It was such a disappointment. The writing was unpolished. The artwork was amateurish; supposed to invoke the styles of anime and Manga. The story succeeded in neither. It ends with a question posed to whether or not this was the end of the assault on the singing talents of Josie, Veronica, Sabrina and Betty by an arcane force. For my sake, I hope this experiment has concluded. I don't think I could read another chapter of the 'Spirit Slayers in Love'. 

The 5 backup reprints were better. Not by much. The Frank Doyle two-parter where first Veronica and then Betty go overboard in attempting to make Archie their Valentine had moments of funny antics and stunning art. It just didn't feel very original. Cheryl Blossom's attempts to permanently drive a wedge between Archie and the girls shows just how self-centered Archie and Veronica could be. It was reinforced by a follow up where Veronica sends Betty away in tears and Archie confesses that he woos Veronica because of how spoiled she is, just convinced me further that Betty would be better off dating someone who would appreciate her more. Jughead, anyone?

The fifth and final story featuring the talents of George Frese was my favorite of the bunch. Clearly from sometime in the 1940s or 50s, I liked the classic look and feel. It was a typical Archie love triangle story but it had a more timeless appeal to me. I would have loved it if all of the backup stories were from this era.

If anything, this special has convinced me that while I am a fan of Archie Comics, I can do without the schmaltz. I love the wholesome nature of Archie's holiday tales. I adore the ingenuity of the parody stories. Plus, Archie does horror so well with a balance of comedy and unsettling suspense. So what in the world went wrong with Becky G!'s original story? Maybe not being familiar with the source material had a little to do with it. Having Sabrina's cat Salem use the term 'sus' had me rolling my eyes. I'm going be honest, with the use of gender neutral pronouns and a mysterious character who hates the band's message of hope and love, I thought at first that this was some sort of allegory about the immigration policies of our current presidential administration instead of Archie's version of K-Pop Demon Hunters.

I think overall, the original tale lacked a timeless quality to it. Plus, the reprinted material reminded me how selfish Veronica is. Also, Archie is just a darn fool, thinking more with his pants than his brain. I think from now on, I'll stick to the deep ends of the Archie Comics pool that I like best. Just as long as that section stays away from Netflix series as inspiration!

Rating; 4 out of 10 stars.