Archie Comics Celebrates America's 250th

My favorite comic book store came through once again. No- they went above and beyond! In the chaos that is finals week (which is actually almost 3 weeks in length) at the high school I teach, I somehow overlooked this new release. But the guys at Books Do Furnish a Room looked out for me and ordered a copy of this America250 special, knowing that I collect holiday themed books. 

Now if you're someone who feels that America is going in the wrong direction, based on the leadership, you might be thinking that yet another company has sold out to the semiquincentennial fervor. However I don't think that's the case with Archie Comics. For one thing, I own a copy of a 1976 bicentennial special edition of Life With Archie. (That issue's cover by Stan Goldberg, was used as the foundation for the variant cover the guys at BDFR ordered for me.) Archie Comics has never been one to avoid supporting a cause or festivity. And there have been decades full of patriotic stories published starring the citizens of Riverdale all the way since Archie Andrews' first appearance in 1941! So, no, this will not be an issue that could cause you to feel conflicted about your moral stance on the state of affairs of the United States of America. In fact, it might actually make you feel just a little bit more patriotic inside.

My biggest complaint about this special is that there is not an all-new story to start things out like with the Archie Halloween or Christmas spectaculars of the past decade. It's 100% reprints. However they're all reprints that I don't seem to own. So that's a plus.

The first story shows what happens when Betty plans a school wide social studies project in which all of the Riverdale High School students and staff dress up as their favorite figures from American history. Then Veronica travels to Vermont and Connecticut to research the lives of patriots Ethan Allen and Nathan Hale and ends up running into a literal blast from the past. Readers then see what it might be like if Jughead was the POTUS before then exploring the Reggie Mantle administration.

I take that back! There is one thing in this issue that is a part of my holidays collection of comics and graphic novels. From that 1976 Life With Archie is a one-pager quiz about Presidents and the states. Despite having taken this quiz 4 years ago previously, I scored a 6 out of 10. Though in my defense, I accidentally skipped question #6 getting confused because it was too similar to question 5, which asked which state was the birthplace of the most US presidents. I think I somehow thought that they were the same question. Though to be honest, I probably wouldn't have guessed that Ohio was the state of origin of the 2nd most number of Presidents.

Worth Consuming!

Rating;9 out of 10 stars.

Archie Christmas Spectacular 2025 #1

I've said it once and I will say it again: the Archie Christmas Spectacular is the holiday release I look forward to the most. Maybe it's a longing for nostalgia in my getting older. Maybe it's because I love Archie. Maybe it's because I love Christmas. More than likely it's all 3!

This year's offering features Dan Parent, my pick for the definitive modern era Archie creator. Parent has a love of classic Archie while not being afraid to embrace modern norms. Case in point: the fan favorite Kevin Keller, Riverdale's first gay character. While Dan Parent has been quite progressive, his all-new story features a trio of classic Christmas characters from Archies past.

Christmas fairy Sugarplum insults Jingles the Elf when her first pick for her date to the North Pole Christmas Dance- Archie- is snapped up by Santa's daughter Noelle. In response, Santa's helper promises revenge.Jingles snatches up Veronica and he does it by deception, transforming himself into a hunk. Sugarplum ups the ante by turning herself human and bringing Reggie to the North Pole. Soon, it's a love triangle of Yule tide proportions with Archie and the gang smack dab in the middle!

This special also features 4 additional stories which are supposed to be reprints but were all new to me! Dan Parent pens and pencils 3 of them and they all pay tribute to the publisher's rather large and somewhat forgotten cast of supporting characters.

Betty and Veronica flashback to the Little Archie days thanks to being hypnotized. Foes from Sabrina the Teenage Witch's past threaten to disrupt Riverdale's New Year Eve festivities. The last pair of stories star Jughead's cousin Wilbur Wilkins. Wilbur and Archie both go ice skating only to be outdone by Juggie. Then in a story penned by Tom DeFalco, Wilbur has trouble finding the perfect gift for his secret Santa. Featuring dozens of characters from over 80 years of Archie Comics, it was a real Who's Who and it had a great punchline.

I did find that a couple of the stories were a bit clunky; especially the all-new tale. I just don't think 5 pages is enough for an epic level opener. The Halloween special had this problem too. If the high ups at Archie ever read this review, I hope that they might consider devoting more pages for the all-new feature in the holiday specials. I think 8-10 pages would be acceptable and if the cover price had to go up 50 cents to do it, I would be okay with that.

Massive kudos once more to my favorite LCS. They've been managing to get me the classic variant covers for the holiday specials lately. Once again, I got the cover I wanted. It's an all-time Christmas classic by Dan DeCarlo. I must have been really good this year!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

Archie Halloween Spectacular 2020 #1

A couple of days ago, I reviewed this year's annual Archie Halloween special. I had mentioned that there was a story inside that seemed to continue a continuing plotline from the past couple of spectaculars and it made me feel like I had missed something. Afterwards, I did some digging and discovered that I had somehow missed last year's edition! Not sure how I did that. But it lit a fire under me to search around for it as I still have a couple of gigantic piles of books to bag, inventory and add to my collection.

I thought I hit pay dirt when I found this book. Satisfied, I began reading it without checking the publication year. After reading the first story that was devoid of neither Sabrina the Teenage Witch or those Halloween sprites Trick and Treat, I discovered that this was the Halloween special from 2020!

Now October, 2020 was right in the middle of the pandemic. The entire comic book industry shut down and most of the holiday specials announced for release in October and December were postponed. So I likely didn't get to buy this book until early in the new year of 2021. That would explain how I missed this one. But where in the heck is last year's book?

The 2020 special was in my opinion kinda dull. Although I suspect that if I would have had this during the doldrums of COVID-19, it would have been a highlight of my home bound Halloween season. (It's amazing what seasonality and your current circumstances will make a ho-hum book feel like a masterpiece.) (And compared to how good this year's Archie's Halloween Spectacular was, this book just couldn't compete!)

The all-new opening story finds Archie determined to scare Reggie after being humiliated for the last time. It's a story that I know that I have read before, only by different writers and artists. And probably not set during Halloween.

The immediate follow up story was much better, even though it wasn't set at Halloween. Inspired by the movie Night at the Museum, Jughead and Archie spend the night at the local history museum. As a prank, a couple of employees dress up as cavemen and scare the boys silly. 

The next tale funds Archie in his eternal predicament: committed to taking Betty and Veronica to the Riverdale High Halloween Dance at the same time. But in a twist, there's a third player who's impersonating both the the girls. If you're familiar with the legend of the Betty-Archie-Veronica love triangle, you'll know immediately who the fourth wheel is and it's NOT Sabrina! 

And yes! I knew who it was!

Archie specials typically have 4 stories. But the 2nd and 3rd yarns are pretty long. So the 4th entry is a one-pagers that I've read previously somewhere before. It's a parody of the famous demon on the airplane wing episode of The Twilight Zone. I love it and I wonder if they ever made more of those...

I enjoyed this read. I would have really loved it if at least all 3 large tales were all about pranks instead of just the first 2. Plus I wish there was more creativity behind the new opener. It felt more like a mid-90s stagnant era Archie Comic instead of a more dynamic 2020s offering. I guess I have been spoiled by the superior quality of the past several years of holiday specials...

As for the cover by Jeff Shultz and Rosario 'Tito' Pena, this is why I would choose Betty over Veronica any day of the week?

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Happy Horror Days One-Shot

I've been learning over the years how the holidays are filled with creepy characters and horrible stories from around the world. So who better than Archie's horror imprint to provide some festive frights? From 2022, Happy Horror Days offers 3 tales designed to bring holiday fear instead of cheer.

Frank Tieri returns to the Jughead: The Hunger universe he created with a story that answers the question: What would happen if Krampus ran across the path of a hungry werewolf? 

Then Veronica makes an Icelandic immigrant's first Christmas in Riverdale hell by berating their fashion sense. Little does Ms. Lodge know about the legend of the deadly Yule Cat.

Finally, under pressure from his parents, Reggie wishes for a girl he can take to Christmas dinner with. Little does he know that his prayers have been answered by a pair of devilish imps.

The opening story was more black comedy than horror. Lots of funny banter that if the main Jughead: The Hunger books are anything like this Krampus caper, then I most certainly wanna get my hands on them. The other two stories were like most classic horror comic tales. It's the twist endings that elicits the scares. The closing panels to both stories were absolutely creepy. But I think it's that last panel of the Reggie story that is really going to stick with me for a while.

I loved this anthology. The annual Archie Christmas specials are the books I look forward to the most each holiday season. They bring forth a magic of the holidays and this special is no different. Except that it's black magic instead of Christmas magic. I'm kicking myself for not having read this one sooner because I feel like if I had given praise to this one-shot sooner, we could have had 2 more years of scary Archie Christmas comics.

Well, there's always next year.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Archie & Friends: Summer Lovin' #1

This summer time fun special was something I meant to read when it debuted in 2022. Unfortunately it got buried in my ever growing to-read pile, only to see the light of day just recently.

The main story introduces a new love triangle to Riverdale. Veronica's cousin Harper has returned for the summer. This means for Reggie a chance to restart his relationship with the teen. However, there's a new player in the mix, Eliza Han, an African-Korean American with ADHD and is pansexual. At the summer carnival both Reg and Eliza vie for the affections of Harper. But it looks like love will have to wait when everyone gets sick from riding the Gravitron. 

The opening story was written by Tee Harper with artwork provided by my favorite modern Archie artist, Dan Parent. I was surprised that the main feature was only 6 pages in length. Especially since the cover promises an introduction to Eliza Han. Instead, the back-up feature took up the majority of this book, which was 32 pages in total length. It involves Archie trying to win the affections of Veronica by practicing for the Riverdale beach windsurfing championship. Did I mention he's rather bad at it? Written by Tom DeFalco, the story features an often forgotten member of the Archie-Betty-Veronica love affair; one Ms. Cheryl Blossom who decides to train poor Archie just to get revenge on Veronica.

The back up was illustrated by Pat and Tim Kennedy. The brothers artwork looks really new and I know that it's a newer story because Kevin Keller is a main character in the story and he's only been around since 2010. What I want to know is this: was the windsurfing story brand new or like with other specials of the past, a reprint? 

With a Halloween or Valentine's Day spectacular, the reprinted tales look older. Why didn't the editors pick such a more modern story to fill in the gaps? And if it's an all-new story as well, I'm crying FOUL! Why does this one-shot get special treatment of original material but the holiday annual books get stuffed with stuff that I've more than likely already read!?

I've said it before and I will say it now: I'm willing to pay $3.99, up from the standard cover of $2.99 for all my Archie specials to contain more original stories than 1 measly 6-pager. C'mon Archie Comics! You do so well responding to fan demand, let's make this happen!

Before I go... Great cover by Bill Golliher. Love the Easter egg to the birth year of Archie!

Worth Consuming!

Rating 8 out of 10 stars.

Archie Halloween Spectacular 2022 (Family Comic Friday)

I look forward to this annual offering of Halloween frights and delights from Archie Comics. For the most part, this year's release didn't disappoint. 

As with previous years, there is only 1 new story. Readers are introduced to Trick and Treat, two spirits that embody All Hallows. Treat is all about the costumes, candy and fun of the holiday. Trick is about the horror, mischief and mayhem of the fall event. In their debut, Trick and Treat have a bet to see who can have the better Halloween evening: poor Archie who spent all his costume money on a date with Veronica the week prior or Reggie, whose costume hasn't really scared anybody.

I was hesitant about these new characters. But they really were charming. (Though, is that a noose around Treat's neck???) I had such an enjoyable time with these Halloween sprites that I wonder if there might ever be a crossover with them and Christmas time fan fav, Jingles the Elf?

There were 4 reprinted stories included with the Trick and Treat original debut. The first trio of stories were part of a trilogy. Betty and Veronica become owners of a pair of cursed pieces of costume jewelry. After a number of mishaps, they finally are able to get rid of the baubles only for Archie to claim them. That ended part one. In part two, Archie and Jughead wear the accessories for their costumes. While at a costume party, everything goes wrong to the point that Archie tosses his necklace away. Juggie however, decides to give his bracelet to his baby sister, Jellybean. This ends part two. Part 3 sees Jellybean, now wearing the trinket, being babysat by Betty and Veronica. Realizing that the tot has one of the cursed items, the girls summon Sabrina, the Teenage Witch to help dispose of it!

I didn't know that the previous story had 3 parts! I had read the first two segments before and liked them. So the third chapter was all new to me. That volume was written and illustrated by in my opinion, the quintessential modern Archie creator, Dan Parent. For 95% of that section, I was in love. But then a huge gaff occurred in the plot and it ruined the whole story. 

Before Sabrina casts the bracelet into limbo, she comments that she'll make Betty, Veronica and Jellybean forget that she can do magic. Yet, when the regalia disappears, not only does everybody know Sabrina is a witch, Sabrina herself mentions not being able to descern where the cursed necklace went.

I read that section of the story 3 times trying to make sense of things. Did I miss something? Did the spell not work? Maybe I read it wrong. Maybe someone else was supposed to forget. The only thing I can think of is that the amnesia spell takes affect after everybody falls asleep. Only, I'm not really sure. Though a very funny Bite-Sized Archie one-pager was included in this issue and it might explain why nobody forgets at story's end.

Our last reprint story has Archie and Jughead having to ride out a storm in a mansion with a creepy inventor and his even creepier butler. It was a fun story that involves mishearing things for comedic effect with a plausible ending that has a great twist to things. A really great misdirect to bring about closure. Too bad I've read this one before, too.

One thing I got to say about the 2022 spectacular is that the editors should have chosen 3 stories that didn't appear in one of last year's Halloween-themed digests. I know that I've read enough Archie that I'm going to stumble across a story here and there that I have read previously. But come on Archie Comics, spread things out a little bit! There's tons of other Halloween themed stories out there that weren't printed in other Archie publications just last year that you could have used instead,... weren't there? 

The all-new story was great. The thrill of learning that a two-parter I really enjoyed had a third entry was really cool. Too bad that finale had a confusing ending. And the other story was good. But really, lets get a little bit of variety here, folks!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Archie's Mad House (2016 Halloween Comic Fest Mini-Comic)

Recently, Archie created an imprint comprised of more adult horror titles such as Afterlife with Archie. The imprint was called Archie's Mad House. This book is NOT a sample of those titles. 

Long before it grew up, Archie's Mad House was a monthly comic in the 60s that generally revolved around a central theme. Holidays such as Christmas and Halloween and Valentines were biggies. However, towards the end of the series, the Archie gang didn't even appear in the book. It was a title in which just about anything could happen. 

This 2016 mini-comic features two Archie stories set during Halloween. There's 2 stories and as well as 2 one-page gags. The best story has Reggie pissing off Jughead royally to the point that Reg thinks he's going get it when Halloween comes around. In typical Jughead fashion, the ambivalent teen is more devious than people suspect and does nothing allowing Reggie to slowly go crazy waiting for his just desserts. 

 At only 16 pages, there's a ton of fun packed into this book. It's one reason why I consistently grab the Archie mini-comics during each Halloween Comics Fest. I know that I'll get the most bang for my buck. Of course, I know that this is a free comic but sometimes, those freebie's just aren't worth grabbing. Not here- Archie's Mad House is definitely Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Jughead: The Hunger #1

Story by Frank Tieri
Art by Pat and Time Kennedy
Colors by Matt Herms
Inks by Bob Smith and Jim AmashPublished by Archie Comics 

Earlier this year, in it’s pretty successful attempt to re-brand itself as more contemporary, Archie Comics issued a series of one-shots with a horror theme. Under it’s Archie’s Madhouse imprint, Jughead: The Hunger was one of those titles. Editors promised that if any of those stand alones were a hit, they would return in a new monthly series. Well, The Hunger was a smash and the editorial staff have kept their promise.

The book begins a month after the events of the Jughead: the Hunger one-shot. Jughead Jones is on the lam from werewolf hunter Betty Cooper. He’s run away and taken a job at a circus, cleaning animal cages by day. By night, Jughead chains himself to his trailer until his animalistic urges pass. Meanwhile, Jughead’s last victim before fleeing Riverdale, Reggie Mantle is about to see life in a unexpectedly new way…

Books like Jughead: The Hunger and Afterlife with Archie are what I wish the CW’s take of the Archie Universe, Riverdale, was more like. In fact, when rumors swirled that the Afterlife with Archie storyline was going to be the focus of season 2, I bought the entire run. I would much rather watcha scary live-action version of Archie and the gang, than a 90210 murder mystery.

Thankfully, there’s books like Jughead: the Hunger to whet my appetite. Written by the amazing Frank Tieri (Gotham Underground), there’s so much creepiness in these 22 pages than in most horror movies in theatres now days. Plus, I really like this kick-ass Buffy the Vampire Slayer version of Betty. And I love how she man-handles a very wimpy Archie Andrews!

Jughead: the Hunger features art by The Death of Archie’s Pat and Tim Kennedy. The duo put a unique spin on the characters. It captures a classic image of these iconic characters while updating them for a modern day thriller. Add amazing inks by Bob Smith and Jim Amash with the eerie color palette of Matt Herms (Afterlife with Archie) and you’ve got a potential visual horror classic in the making here.

Some readers may hate this new take on a nearly 80-year old group of teenagers. But this series is an alternate take on the Archie gang. So put away your established biases and take a chance on Jughead: The Hunger. I promise you, after one issue, you’ll be rushing back to your LCS in November for seconds!

Issue #1 of Jughead: The Hunger debuts in stores on October 25th.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Archie Halloween Spectacular #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Welcome to another edition of Family Comic Friday. It's where an established comic book collector reviews comic for parents of kids who love to read comics but need guidance on age appropriateness and overall quality of the title. It's my hope that my reviews will help both you and the young reader in your life discover the world of kid friendly comics.

For today's book, we continue to get in the Halloween spirit with a 2017 holiday special from the leader in family friendly books- Archie Comics. 

Over the past couple of years, Archie has re-branded itself to some degree. Mark Waid's reboot of Archie incorporates teenage related issues like homosexuality, race, gender and illicit drag racing with a more series tone. Just recently, all-American girl Betty Cooper has become a paraplegic because of an illegal street race involving Archie. 

Some will say that the CW drama Riverdale is behind the more grown-up look at America's favorite red head. But the change in tone has been going on a lot longer at Archie with the publisher finding great success starting in 2013 with mature horror titles like Afterlife With Archie and the Chilling Tales of Sabrina. While this Halloween special has a few scares, they are nowhere near as frightening as these new twists on the Archie mythos.

The Archie Halloween Spectacular contains a trio of Halloween stories featuring the merry prankster of Riverdale- Reggie Mantle! All three yarns are reprints from Archie Comics' more subdued days as a family friendly comic book publisher. The first two stories star the Archie gang as teenagers and look to have been published sometime in the last 10-15 years. This comic doesn't list from when the stories were reprinted. But I can guesstimate the age of the stories as that's about when current Charlton Arrow editor Paul Kuppenberg worked as a writer on numerous Archie titles.  

The last story is features Little Archie. These were a series of stories written about the younger days of Archie, Veronica, and the rest. I'm going to say that the Little Archie episode is from the late 70s-early 80s based on the artwork. The series was stopped in 1983. Plus, the character of Ambrose Pipps, who makes a cameo in this adventure, wasn't created until around 1975. 

Regardless of the age of these stories, I enjoyed them. Each story gave me a chuckle or two and yes one story actually gave me the chills. But there's nothing in this book that should be overly objectionable for parents and guardians.

I particularly like that while Archie Comics is trying to adapt to the future, it still embraces it's nearly 80 years of publication history. It's like they are trying to offer something for both mom, dad, teenager Sally, and grade schooler Billy. While a majority of this book might be considered too old for the Riverdale TV series crowd, this is a Halloween special that has a little something for everyone who is a fan of the Archie gang.

The Archie Halloween Spectacular #1 is reccomended for ages 8-12.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 stars.

Archie Christmas Classics

  

What with the Force Awakens coming out next week and working, working, working... (I'm a chef, so this IS my busy season) I am a little behind on my Christmas-theme readings. But I started it out with a massive bang!

   Archie Christmas Classics is a giant 192-page time capsule of holiday themed Archie Comics from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. There aren't just Christmas stories in this book but holiday pin-ups pages, pages to color, and a bonus 2-page prose story from the 1940s. 

   I read a ton of Archie Comics as a kid. I've also read a lot of Christmas Archie stuff since comic back to collecting in 2007. So, it's a wonder that there was only 1 story in this collection that I've ever read before. I'm so used to getting a treasury that's filled with, if I'm lucky, about 50% of things I've already consumed before. Not the case here. And there was only one story didn't I wasn't much of a fan of and that was because it included some renegade Santa's helper elf character that everyone seemed to know (but me!)

   Published in 2011, this is a very fun and entertaining collection of stories that include just about every one of your favorite Archie characters, holiday cheer, magic, and the Christmas spirit. Worth every penny I paid for it!

   Worth Consuming!

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.