In this “New Look” story, which has come to mean “poorly drawn versions of the Archie characters with turgid dragged-out soap opera plots”, Archie’s still planning to leave Riverdale. I know that won’t happen, so instead, I find myself distracted by Norm Breyfogle’s art, or as I call it, Invasion of the Giraffe People. Has Jughead been drinking Ralph’s Gingold stretching soda? On the next page, Archie and random volunteer recreate Mr. Fantastic’s elastic arms.

The only entertainment I’m getting out of this comes from the name of Archie’s new residence. He’s moving to Martinsville, which in Virginia was my dad’s family’s hometown. I also noticed that all of the ads in this issue, with the exception of the inside and back covers, are for Archie comics — collections, sets, online versions. Has their agreement with DC to share advertising ended? Or is no one much interested in buying print ads, as has happened with magazines?

A short reprint story about researchers trying to understand what teens think about when grocery shopping was amusing, as were some unexpected bits with Archie being stupid. It wasn’t his silliness that was surprising, but the ways in which he screwed up: reading biorhythm charts, TV anchor, teaching girls to box. The unusual choices at least provided some freshness to the plots.

Archie’s Pals ‘n’ Gals Digest #135

Given my dislike of the “New Look”, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this, the latest story to take that approach. It focuses on Reggie falling in love with a new girl, Bernadette, who’s a hard-working good student and has little tolerance for his pranking antics. Instead, she has more in common with Dilton. A psychology class and Reggie trying out for a national contest to find a stand-up comic, promise additional complications to come.

A focus on Reggie, who’s usually just part of the background, could be interesting, if they delve further into what makes him the way he is and why the others put up with him. The art, by Tod Smith, is better, too, although it was odd to see a more “realistic” version of Principal Weatherbee. Mostly, I liked Bernadette’s focus and how unashamed she was of her abilities, intelligence, and drive to succeed.

Also in this issue are some Sabrina reprints with her in Gravestone Heights, a neighborhood full of monsters, including her new friend Cleara, the invisible girl. (For someone who complains about not being seen, I’d think she’d wear clothes more often. Instead, as the stories continue, she adds a hair bow, lipstick, earrings, and a t-shirt. That’s all, which leads the reader in some odd directions if you stop and think about it.) Sabrina’s been glammed up with miniskirts, big earrings, boots, and cleavage, so these stories must date from the 80s.

Even weirder is Eye-da, a normal girl except that she has, instead of a head, a giant eyeball. I’d like to see more of these stories — I’m unfamiliar with them or their history, but I like the idea of gently weird teens hanging out together.

Betty & Veronica Double Digest #174

Wanna see the Archie gang as furries? Check out “Is This Place a Zoo?”, a reprint story included here. Betty and Veronica start discussing what kind of animal they’d be, and as they envision various creatures, the drawings reflect their ideas. So Veronica becomes a gazelle wearing a hat or a leopard lady in a bikini. Strangely, when the girls change, their heads are included, but when Archie talks about being a gorilla, it’s his normal head on an ape body. It ends with Betty and Veronica in a cat fight, sigh. What fetish material this is.

Archie Digest #258

This small collection, full of holiday stories, would make a lovely stocking stuffer. Veronica learns to be considerate and not show off her wealth in a time of economic struggle. Archie finds pleasure as well as frustrations in playing Santa. Then he gives his dad an unexpected gift. My favorite, though, was the one where Betty and Veronica learned not to get into the spirit too early, as everyone went crazy with holiday cheer at school. I’m all for the “meaning of the season”, but it’s also nice to be reminded not to go overboard.

Also in this issue are a couple of Sabrina Christmas stories. That sounds like it would be an odd match, but it works surprisingly well, as she uses her powers to help out Santa and values working for money to shop over zapping things up. There’s a preview online.

(The publisher provided review copies.)

Archie & Friends #135

It’s a familiar story, best known to me from the Halloween episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but told with good cheer. Archie and his friends visit a new costume shop, where they become whatever they wear.

Now, there are several ways I thought this could have been improved:

• More modern costumes. I have a hard time believing all of these kids would pick the standard monsters — vampire, witch, wolfman, mummy — over something more up-to-date. But this does give the tale a timeless feel.
• More creativity. Both of the girls are witches? They couldn’t think of something different for one of them?
• I’d have liked to have seen the existing Archie witch characters instead of this new, undeveloped, magic-using villain.
• In fact, why isn’t friend Sabrina in this title at all? Goodness knows she’s not being used elsewhere.

But overall, it’s a nice bit of light entertainment for the holiday. Each character gets a gag based on their costume interacting with their personality. (Except for Reggie, whose fish-man appearance seems to have no affect at all on him.) The last-page punchline was the best part of the story — unexpected, suitable for the character, well-chosen for the premise, and funny, especially given the young audience. There’s a preview online.

Archie #602

And here we are at Christmas. It’s the conclusion of the imaginary story where Archie and Veronica marry — next issue, he’ll be marrying Betty. For some reason, they’ve been rushing through events in order to get to this point: Archie and Veronica have kids, which allows the heartwarming cover. It’s as though they think people aren’t really married until they’ve started spawning.

Like everything else in this storyline, the way they get there is predictable and boring. If you have ever seen a sitcom episode with a harried husband falling all over himself as he becomes a dad, you’ve gotten more entertainment than is on display here. There’s disrupting the Lamaze class, Veronica overeating, forgetting the wife in a panic when labor starts… Yawn. Some of the cartooning is bad as well: there’s a one-page sequence that’s meant to be physical comedy, but the artist didn’t bother to establish the physical layout of the room, so the events are hard for the reader to follow. The punchline, a broken cellphone, doesn’t go anywhere, so all in all, it’s just a puzzle.

That wasn’t the only bit that left me very confused as to why it was included. Mr. Lodge gets a Citizen Kane sled reference. We check in with Betty, who’s single, out of a job, can’t find a guy, and has no money, but none of that is followed up. None of her friends offer to help — instead, her sole function in the story is to be happy for Veronica’s pregnancy and miserable on her own.

Plenty of cliches, and nothing particular to these characters. This story could have been told with any set of young marrieds, and it probably would have seemed more original that way. What a waste of all this publicity. There’s a preview online.

Betty #182

Who’s proofreading these things? Page 1, first caption: “Dear Dairy”. She’s talking to cows now? Yet it’s right on her computer screen in the picture.

The story itself is about going back to school — first the worries, then shopping problems, wearing the same outfit as Veronica, tough teachers… It’s all rather generic, and much of it seems written more from a parent’s perspective than Betty’s. Overall, it’s a lot of griping. Perhaps the younger audience will better appreciate this sharing of their concerns than I did.

Jughead #197

The last story in this issue tickled me. Jughead shows up wearing a superhero outfit — baggy tights, goggles, cape. When questioned about it, he tells Archie that it’s laundry day and everything else was in the wash, which leads to this exchange:

Archie: And you just happened to have a superhero costume in your closet?
Jughead: Doesn’t everyone?

It’s a nice indicator of Jughead’s character done right: a true individual who doesn’t mind what others think when he’s confident in what he’s doing. The rest of the story illustrates everyday heroism and responsibility. It’s a cute little tale.

Veronica’s Passport

Veronica’s Passport
Buy this book

This slim collection ($9.95 US, 96 pages) reprints four stories where Veronica travels to exotic locations: New York, Paris, Rome, and India. Bravo to the publisher for including credits! All these tales are illustrated by Dan Parent, but the writers vary: Hal Smith, mainstay George Gladir, Kathleen Webb, and Chris Allan and Mark Waid, of all people. I might have guessed the latter, since in the Rome story, Veronica’s roommate’s name is “Nasthalthia”, a name I’ve only heard before used as the moniker of Lex Luthor’s niece in the Supergirl stories beginning in Adventure #397.

The stories were originally run in Veronica in the late 80s, which is apparent if you pay close attention to the fashions and hairstyles. But the point is to feel like you’re visiting these cities yourself, with lots of time spent on listing tourist landmarks in each location. The plots — Veronica becomes a sculptor or catches a jewel thief or goes to school overseas — are just excuses to keep things moving fast. They’re fun, and it’s a nice way to feel like you’re traveling the world as a princess. It’s a great use of the character who too often writers don’t know what to do with.

(The publisher provided review copies.)

If Archie Comics thinks that Archie marrying Veronica was a great promotion and sales bump, David Welsh has an even better suggestion for an Archie wedding, as shown here. Visit his site for the full-size image, where you can check out Archie’s expression in all its glorious detail.

The New York Times attempted to sensationalize the idea with a story that began “Is Archie Andrews a bigamist?” That ties into a lot of adult reader fantasies when they think about the Archie/Betty/Veronica triangle.

That news story continues by attributing an awful lot to one “what if” story:

The wedding, which began as a way to celebrate the 600th issue, has become a game changer for the company. “What the story has done is to introduce Archie on a global level,” said Jon Goldwater, co-chief executive of Archie Comic Publications. The company plans to roll out new titles for international markets, pursue film and TV opportunities and release a series of deluxe collected editions. …

Until the wedding story began to unfold, the core readers of “Archie” were female, between the ages of 7 and 17, Mr. Goldwater said. But the new story line has multi-generational appeal, he added, with feedback from readers indicating that the comic had been shared among parents and children.

Wow! All because of a wedding? I guess it’s true that they raise ratings. The writer of the story, Michael Uslan, is interviewed, and he reveals “The polls that I’ve seen ran about 80/20, Betty over Veronica, with Jughead continually coming in a strong third.” Let’s see THAT imaginary future!

Also mentioned are direct market sales numbers, which for #600 are estimated at “just over 54,000″ while #597 sold about 2,500 copies. However, that doesn’t consider newsstand sales, which last year were around 13,000 an issue, or five times the sales in dedicated comic stores. (Archie comics traditionally sell much better to the general public than in the comic market.) So we don’t know whether newsstand sales for this issue had a similar multiplier effect or whether this simply brought the comic to the attention of collectors.

The Rachel Maddow Show, on the other hand, follows up their earlier coverage with this clip, called “Archie punks everyone”, in which Kent Jones covers the “controversy” by pointing out that if we look at things from their viewpoint, the girls likely have other, different comic book fantasies:

Update: Archie Comics’ latest press release on the topic plays it up hard as responding to fan outcry, even though this “twist” was planned all along:

Since the world first found out Archie was getting married, fans everywhere hoped Betty would be the bride. But those fans discovered quickly Archie Andrews chose Veronica Lodge over Betty Cooper and they were angry! They felt Archie had made the wrong choice, and they are very vocal about it! On television, in the newspapers, and on blogs all over the internet, fans loudly rejected Archie’s choice. … They didn’t care that Archie and Veronica are happily married, that he has a good job and that they have twins. It didn’t matter what Archie wants, the fans want Archie to choose Betty! Now Archie Comics will listen to the cry of fans around the world and in ARCHIE #603, Archie Andrews will propose to Betty Cooper!

Nice spinning, pretending that this other alternate future follows from the first one. Kind of a shame that Veronica got her proposal in a jewelry store while Betty gets hers in a burger joint, but that’s one of the distinctions between the characters. Jughead doesn’t even appear on this cover. I guess they want to avoid that “third choice” option.

Tacky, tacky. The first reprint story in this volume is all about how insecure Archie gets after watching Veronica win a tennis tournament, a Charlie’s Angels-type movie, and a DVD about a female superhero. “All that unleashed female power makes an ordinary guy like myself feel like a wimp!” Way to be self-centered, you idiot. Why should a story about a woman fighter have anything to do with you? Why can’t you simply identify with the protagonist fighting evil? Girls are taught to watch stories of male heroes all the time and aren’t supposed to feel bad about it.

Archie then starts fantasizing about “all the gentle and adorable girls of yore… girls like sweet, sweet Betty.” Unfortunately for her, she’s been taking martial arts, which scares him away. The end. What’s the point of that? It’s not funny, it’s not a particularly good twist, and it never sets Archie straight about how dumb his attitude is. (If only someone could tell him “Veronica competing well is not about YOU.”) Boo on the company for perpetuating, by choosing this older reprint, the idea that there’s nothing wrong with boys getting insecure when they see successful women. I know that some younger readers may feel that way, and that’s natural, until they learn better. It’s that lack of learning that I’m objecting to, since Archie is older than 6 years old in this story.

I’m mentioning it here because the message is reinforced by a later Mad House reprint, one of those idiotic pieces from the 60s where the superheroine, Mighty Chick, is bummed out because no man will go out with her. She’s too strong. She can’t control her powers so she hurts the guy she hugs. She’s too competent. The only guy she can end up with is a “cowardly cheapskate” who uses her powers to get stuff for free. Tee hee, isn’t it funny to see a girl who’s not in her proper place, letting the men do the hard work? No!

Tales From Riverdale Digest #34

But then, I don’t think the editors think about the messages these stories are sending, or even whether they have an entertaining payoff. In the new lead story here, Betty goes off to tennis camp but spends the whole time texting her friends at home. I expected to see some kind of ending about learning to enjoy where you are and what you’re doing instead of spending so much time on an electronic device, but maybe they were afraid that would give the wrong impression, now that they’re running ads promoting their comics on the iPhone.

Instead, the purpose of the story seems to be to show some really weird poses in skimpy outfits. There are panty shots of girls in tennis dresses. Bikini babes going head over heels and with swimsuit straps falling off their shoulders. And a nurse in a micro-mini dress (at a girls’ camp?). It’s refreshing to see art that’s got a lot more energy than many of the Archie titles, but I wish we could get that action without the peep show-style poses.

I’m talking about this issue, though, because near the back there’s a really cool reprint from the late 50s or early 60s, back when Archie and Veronica were the couple and Reggie and Betty just more obstacles keeping them apart. The biggest obstacle, though, was their own obstinacy, as this story shows. The neatest thing about it, though, is that the only dialogue consists of the words “Archie” and “Veronica”, in many moods and tones. The rest is expressive silent storytelling. It’s a clever experiment that may have been inspired by Stan Freberg’s “John and Marsha” single.

Betty #181

“What should we write about that girls might be interested to read?”
“Well, they like movies and shows about fashion like The Devil Wears Prada and Ugly Betty, so let’s just tell that story over again with our character!”
“Sounds good to me, now I can take off early to play golf.”

Seriously, this is that movie starring Betty. She wins a magazine internship in New York City. She borrows high-fashion clothes and shoes. She writes copy for photo pages. (No, interns don’t do this.) She sits in on an editorial meeting (which in this case has been taken directly from Funny Face, to the point of the editor saying “Ban the black! Lose the blues! Think pink!”) where she is declared the new face of the trend and starts modeling. She even has Chad the assistant editor take her on a romantic walk through the city. (What? He’s not gay?)

It’s a lovely fantasy that, due to the location- and outfit-based art, is more entertaining than I expected, but I did find myself laughing at its transparency just a few times. There’s also a backup story about surfing dogs that was kind of silly-funny.

Archie #600

Yes, it’s part one of the Archie marries Veronica story … and I’m sad to say I have to agree with Bob Greenberger that the story was disappointing. The timeline doesn’t make sense. Maybe that’s just artistic license, but the abbreviations and inconsistencies don’t seem to be used for any story purpose. The character futures don’t make sense — they all go to the same university, and their careers after aren’t typical for either the established personalities or college graduates.

Most out of character, though, was Mr. Lodge. When Archie spends too much money on a fancy ring (something his parents shouldn’t have supported and Veronica shouldn’t have accepted, since it would never match what her daddy gives her regularly), and Veronica announces they’re engaged, he suddenly believes in nepotism and gives Archie a job as a company VP. I can certainly see him being generous to the new couple, even if it’s unlike him to not even say one word against them, but to flat-out say he doesn’t want Archie to find a job on his own? This self-made millionaire? I don’t believe it.

Also, Jughead spends the whole time moping around depressed and not knowing what he wants to do. The last part is plausible, even though in many stories he’s been the most creative and imaginative of the gang, but I can’t believe him being so morose about it. He’s always been an accepting, happy-go-lucky guy.

It’s a shame that such a promoted, visible Archie story had so many flaws.

Veronica #196

Veronica likes a song by Colbie Caillat, which leads to several creative pages where various images of Archie and Veronica illustrate the lyrics. That’s a different, attractive way of capturing an interest some of the readers likely share. The story then becomes about trying to get tickets to her sold-out concert, a classic plot that suits the character and the audience.

The followup, continuing the music theme, features Veronica considering breaking away from the Archies to take up a solo career. It guest-stars Alexander Cabot, manager for Josie and the Pussycats, who also appear. Fun story that does something new with the characters.

That image doesn’t do it justice, though. It’s a foot square, done in acrylics that make it resemble ceramic tile and give it a shiny gloss that evokes the commercial origins of the character, while the colors and background put the property in a new context.

Josie is one of KC’s favorite characters, especially this Dan DeCarlo-inspired version. He was so pleased with this that he immediately asked if it were possible for Amy to do Melody and Valerie to form a triptych. Last time we visited, we were lucky to see another series she’d done of smaller, 3″x3″ abstracts using a similar process.

When I prepared to post this, I asked Amy to share a little of her background:

Amy Carani is a Madison, Wisconsin-based graphic design artist/painter with a love of pop culture. She is married to long-time Legionnaires comic artist and Raven Software/Activison videogame artist W.C. “Cory” Carani and proud mother of one Giada Olivia, aka “G.O.”

Amy has been developing her color field/grid/pop culture paintings in the past five years. The painting ideas start as a small pencil thumbnail sketch. From there, a grid and color study is worked out on the computer. Amy then transfers the grid study onto a 6”x6” canvas and fills in color with acrylic paint. Once she is happy with the multiple color and grid studies, the painting then gets enlarged and finalized on 12”x12” or 24”x24” canvas masonite boards. The purpose of these paintings are to make people really look at them and smile.

Amy is available for commission inquiries for her gallery-style work through email or via Facebook. She also has samples available at the latter site.

In case you can’t read that caption, Reggie is saying “Why do you want to know my opinion on national health care?” as Moose steams up behind him.

Very timely, hunh? In this case, it’s downright precognitive, since this issue, Archie’s Pals’n'Gals Double Digest #13, has a cover date of August 1995. Note the price, $2.75, less than a standard 32-page comic these days for about six times the pages.

As of September 1, Archie Comics’ “Freshman Year #1″ is the most downloaded comic in iTunes history! Jon Goldwater, co-CEO of Archie Comics, said, “As the digital medium expands to include more forms of entertainment, we want Archie Comics to be at the forefront of new media. We are delighted to find our fans are already there and waiting for us. We announced the Archie Digital Comic for iTunes in May, and in less than four months our first offering, Archie Freshman Year #1, has become the most downloaded comic on iTunes. It is incredible!”

“Freshman Year #1″ was published in print form as Archie #587. Its popularity online is likely due to it being a clearly marked starting point; that’s safe for all ages; and oh yeah, free. It’s a bit odd that it’s a flashback story (in which Archie and the gang first meet each other as they start high school) but maybe readers see that as a good starting point.

I don’t know how anyone could go about verifying this claim, though. Does iTunes show stats? I found the Most Popular Books list, in which this is the first comic listed, and it’s #20 on the “Top Free Apps” list in Books (at the time of this writing). However, Archie uses the iVerse app, which is #12 on Top Paid Apps list in Books, while Comixology’s Comics is #11. iVerse also publishes Star Trek (IDW), books from Boom! Studios, and The Surrogates, among other titles. Comixology publishers include AdHouse, SLG, Moonstone, and Image.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not questioning it — Archie is the biggest comic name available on iTunes, if you ignore the motion comic animation approach DC and Marvel are taking. As a result, those apps aren’t on the same list — Watchmen and Spider-Woman are listed as TV shows.

I would be really curious to know just how many of those Archie readers were converted into becoming customers, paying 99 cents an issue for the following four installments. Are people just seeking free content to fill up their iPhones, or are they actually curious about Archie comics online? I started following the “customers also downloaded” links, and those were all also free offerings.

The press release continues:

According to Victor Gorelick, co-President and Editor-in-Chief of Archie Comics, “Archie Comics have always been about the High School experience. These days most High School students have iPhones or the iPod Touch, and that makes iTunes one of the fastest and easiest ways for our fans to get Archie Comics. We are excited by the rapid success with iTunes and will be producing new comics exclusively for iTunes in the near future.”

Leaving aside the logic jump in “we write about high school, so our readers are in high school” — many Archie readers are younger than the teens portrayed in the stories — I find this a good example of how mainstream popularity may different from the top of the Diamond or comic shop lists. I am disappointed, though, to hear about the online-only plans. I still prefer reading my Archie comics in print.

Pureheart is Archie as a superhero, so the material’s right up his alley. The stories will appear in five one-shots that are titled after Archie series of the 1940s: Pep Comics (where Archie debuted in issue #22 in December 1941), Jackpot Comics, Blue Ribbon Comics, Zip Comics, and Top-Notch Laugh Comics. Man, those titles bring back a whole different world, don’t they? The middle three were MLJ’s superhero books before Archie took over and the publisher changed their name to reflect their most famous character.

We’ll also see Betty as Superteen and Jughead as Captain Hero, part of Pureheart’s Emergency Patrol. And “wait’ll you see the super-versions of Veronica, Dilton, and Moose!” says Uslan. In the old days, Veronica played victim to be rescued, so at least she gets her own costume this time around.

Let’s hope that that also includes the Betty & Veronica comics! I’d love to see the earliest days of those characters.

The more I think about it, the more the split publishing makes sense — Dark Horse has been successful with Harvey reprints, and they know comic books, while IDW focuses on historical strips in their hardcover reprint line.

Update: Here’s a press release about the project, in which they release more details:

Each volume will be approximately 200-250 pages, feature embossed printing and a dust jacket, and carry both Archie Comics and Dark Horse names and logos. The initial plan is to release three volumes of each individual title per calendar year, with each volume retailing for $49.95. According to Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson, the series will run indefinitely.

Archie Digital Comics offers you HUNDREDS of Archie titles both past and present; from the 70s to the 90s, including the landmark Archie 200th and Archie 500th issues! You can read entire Archie & Friends runs including the complete “World Tour”, “Comic Con Caper” and the “Cartoon Life of Chuck Clayton” series. Plus, “Josie and the Pussycats”, “Jughead” from the 90s and today and Archie Classics like “Jughead’s Fantasy”, Archie as “Pureheart the Powerful”, the complete run of “Cosmo the Merry Martian”, “Archie’s Madhouse” and MANY MORE! Young Salem, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Betty, Veronica, “Betty & Veronica” are all available online from Archie Digital Comics! And more comics will be added EVERY MONTH!

Subscriptions are $9.95 a month. If you sign up for a year, it’s $49.95, or less than half that price. (Be aware: they will automatically keep billing you until you cancel, once you sign up.) Readers who subscribe now, “during the beta launch period”, will also get the printed copies of the much-discussed “Archie Marries Veronica” storyline included for free. At six issues, $2.50 a pop, that covers a month and a half of the subscription, a pretty good deal.

I find it odd that none of the site links — Questions, Contacts, Links — work without a subscription. You also can’t see how many or which titles are included without signing up. Maybe that will all be corrected once the site is out of beta. They have posted four sample issues on their signup page if you want to check the quality.

This two-part story sends the Riverdale gang to become living history re-enactors as part of a festival in Washington, D.C. The costumes make for some neat visuals, but I’m a little put off by the lack of recognition of how much work is involved in the job. Re-enactors study their period and culture thoroughly — it’s not something you can just walk into. “Educating tourists” is even listed as part of their duties, but no training is ever mentioned. (We do see Archie with a script and jokes are made about him having to memorize a variety of historical facts.) Instead, all the attention is spent on wearing cool costumes. I’m sure it won’t surprise anyone to find out that Archie winds up in the stocks, as happens in any sitcom history episode.

I’m not sure why it took two issues to tell this. The second issue is mostly random gags with individual characters exaggerated to make the jokes work: Archie doesn’t recognize his own dad. Reggie is power-hungry and a klutz. Veronica tries to buy the Washington Monument for closet space. (That’s the dumbest of any of the bits.) Betty tells stories about Lincoln while dressed in a Ancient Roman dress slit up much further than a teen should be wearing. It’s all very scattershot. See a preview of this issue at the title’s blog.

Jughead & Friends Digest #33

Pet lovers, take note — most of the stories this issue revolve around dogs. The new lead story features Jughead and Veronica taking their dogs to try out for movie roles. Juggie isn’t interested until he sees the catering spread typical of a Hollywood production. In order to make Hot Dog look like a hero, Jughead uses his imagination to turn movie examples into situations Hot Dog is already familiar with in order to get the desired reactions. Pretty clever!

I did find it odd that Veronica’s Mitzi looks like a generic cartoon hound, not a pampered pet. Actually, she’s drawn much like That Wilkin Boy’s Rebel, who makes an appearance later in the book. Same caramel coloring, with big back black spot.

Other stories feature wordplay with Hot Dog’s retrieval skills — “I said get a bat, not a hat/cat/mat!” — and a yucky food mixup. In the non-dog arena, oddly surprising stories show Jughead protesting a change in the ice cream man’s route by building a house out of popsicle sticks, imitating a bobblehead, and saving someone’s life while napping on a surfboard. Only Juggie could be that productive while asleep. See a preview of this issue at the title’s blog.

Veronica #195

Veronica goes to Paris for a month, where she meets another Archie who shows her all the usual points of interest. It’s a simple story, with no surprises, but competently executed, and it plays up Veronica’s uniqueness in being able to do this kind of world travel.

See a preview of this issue at the title’s blog.

They’re teaming up with Archie Comics to create “deluxe hardcover and trade paperback editions”. Although Archie has published their own collections of both old and newer material, this project is taking a definite historical approach.

Under the agreement, IDW will reprint sequential newspaper strips for the first time, offer multiple collections of the very best Archie comics material from the past seven decades, and add to the brand’s digital presence. The newspaper strip collections will be incorporated into the much-lauded Library of American Comics, helmed by Eisner award-winner Dean Mullaney.

The Bob Montana-drawn newspaper strips are reportedly some excellent material, rarely seen. But wait, there’s more!

In addition to reprinting original strips by series creator John Goldwater and original artist Bob Montana, IDW will also present Best Of volumes that showcase the work of Archie artists, such as Montana, Dan DeCarlo, and Stan Goldberg. “Archie has had so many talented artists throughout its history, each with their own take on the characters,” said Goldstein. “We want to offer fans the best from each of those eras, especially since much of this material has not been in print since its original publication.”

The idea of a “Best of DeCarlo” volume is troubling to me — I know there’s a market for it, but will that audience, many of whom are aware of how badly the publisher treated the creator in his later years, be willing to buy a book of his work co-published by Archie? Probably, they will, especially if from another publisher.

IDW also plans “special collections of Archie’s Madhouse and Archie as Pureheart the Powerful”, two of the wackier Archie concepts over the years.

Mentioned are not just the usual characters but “other long-standing Archie properties such as Katy Keene, Lil Jinx, the Red Circle Heroes, Sabrina, Josie & the Pussycats, Cosmo the Merry Martian, Pat the Brat, Wilbur Wilkins, Bingo Wilkins, Suzie and Ginger Snapp, just to name a few.” Wow, some there I’ve never even heard of! The press release continues:

Jon Goldwater purchased an ownership interest in the company with the intent of making Archie Comics [an] entertainment powerhouse. In his first few days as CEO he has already started negotiations on projects that will be announced shortly, including a big budget Archie feature film, a new Archie animated project, a Katy Keene television program, and a major music deal for the Archies.

Impressive, if all that happens. I know they’ve been pushing the music connections lately, with more stories about the gang as a band.

It’s the fourth “New Look” story, returning to the series that launched the more “realistic” approach. This installment is part two of four, in which Veronica works to save a nearby forest her dad has bought to bulldoze for an industrial plant that will bring much-needed jobs to Riverdale. It’s about the environment! And economic concerns! How timely!

And how overwrought, just like every other story in this series. Instead of listening to each other, Veronica and her father bicker and toss insults. Archie speaks pure exposition. And Mr. Lodge is fundamentally right: the wrong time to try and stop a project is after the deal and after the rezoning and after construction has begun.

I don’t even want to tell you who did the art (Rick Burchett & Terry Austin) because it’s so horrible. The faces don’t seem to be in the right places on the heads. It’s a good thing everyone uses everyone else’s name, because otherwise we’d only have hair and skin color to make the characters recognizable. It would have been better if they’d stuck to more standard angles instead of trying for unusual approaches that don’t come off.

The Archie characters, classic versions, have designs that are really pretty good! They’ve lasted decades, after all. One of the biggest problems with the “New Look” is tossing that out the window for designs that are generic and not nearly as good. People laugh at Archie comics for being two-dimensional and predictable, but these stories are the worst of the bunch.

There are some other oddities in this compilation, including one where Meow-Girl (Veronica) faces off against Cape Man (Archie, in red and purple). Betty (in Flashdance-style sweatshirt) repairs his costume, sweeps the cave, and repairs his cape cycle. There are two stylized Katy Keene reprints from the go-go 80s and a story where Betty plays mystery investigator, plus the usual misunderstandings, rivalries, and Veronica’s excesses. See a preview of this issue at the title’s blog.

Jughead’s Double Digest #150

In contrast, this volume uses imagination to freshen its familiar characters. Jughead falls asleep and wakes up 20 years in the future, where Jellybean is a funky cute young lady working at the Chocklit Shoppe, still there. It’s silly but faithful to the concepts.

The variety in these volumes is also praiseworthy. Reggie bets Juggie he can’t eat a 72-ounce steak in an hour (and get it for free). Veronica is repulsed and intrigued by his aunt’s homemade apple fritters. There’s physical comedy, with a baseball story where players get beaned a lot, puns in a cafeteria tale, and cute dog-and-kid humor with Hot Dog and Jellybean.

These are simple stories, but amusing. I read a lot of manga about food, but Jughead, done right, is the original gourmand. See a preview of this issue at the title’s blog.

Tales From Riverdale Digest #33

Maybe I’m getting batty from too much Archie, but I found several of these stories heart-warming. In one, Archie’s his usual clumsy self … but it’s while searching for a volunteer opportunity in which he can really contribute to the community. Another is from a time when the kids weren’t afraid to get indignant with authority — they face down a speed-trap-running sheriff/judge. There are still the head-scratchers, though. In a reprinted Weird Mystery, a wacky scientist builds a robot girl who’s a blend of Betty and Veronica’s personalities. How to defeat her? Reprogram her like Cheryl Blossom. (What?) See a preview of this issue at the title’s blog.

Archie Digest #254

The first reprint in this one reminded me of the days when the characters were allowed to have more distinct personalities, instead of always hanging together. Archie, Jughead, Reggie, and Betty are sprawled out under a tree, talking about their plans for the summer (a theme for this issue). Then we cut to Betty and Veronica, now in dresses, perched properly on a sofa. No grass wallowing for our debutante! The setting and costume changes convey an awful lot that gets lost in more modern stories.

There’s also one in which Archie demonstrates the most sense I’ve ever seen in him. He’s been saving for years to help pay his way to college, and when Veronica and Reggie find out about it, he tells them off for counting on their rich parents. Then, when she assumes that he’ll use some of the money to take her out in the way she deserves, he really gets angry. It’s a demonstration of backbone that’s especially admirable these days. See a preview of this issue at the title’s blog.

The first issue (of 5) of the Freshman Year storyline is now available for free. Issue #2 or a Veronica story are also available for 99 cents. The rest of the Freshman Year story is promised to be coming soon, as are issues of Little Archie, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Young Salem, and Katy Keene.

Fun things in this one:

• Comments from other comic characters, including Reggie, Richie Rich, Daffy Duck, and the Incredible Hulk. (?!? Does this count as fanfic from the show writers?)
• They use both classic and “new look/realistic”-style art interchangeably.
• Betty’s blog is discussed. (”Betty really has a blog?” asks Rachel Maddow.)

I’m beginning to think that “fixing his car” — the repeated good quality attributed to Betty — is being used as code for something else. Her willingness to get dirty, perhaps? Keep Archie’s motor running?

Update: My last comment led to the following conversation:

KC: Are you saying Betty’s easy?
JDC: No, just that she may care so much for Archie that she may go further.
KC: I miss the idea of winding up with the girl next door.
JDC: Well, it was really sending the message to resist the lure of the big bad city, that true happiness was really in your home town. That changed when more Americans began living in urban settings than rural.
KC: And Riverdale changed when the outside world invaded, as symbolized by the rich Lodges coming to town.

I loved the way he used all those art samples to make his point that Betty’s the catch — because she can cook and fix cars! — while marrying Veronica would make Archie “a widely envied idiot”. (But both girls are called smart!) And the punchline rocks!

ARCHIE COMICS LAUNCHES MOBILE COMICS PROGRAM WITH iVerse!

Archie Comics’ line of comic books is one of the most successful, longest running lines in the history of the comic industry. The number one producer of English language, all-ages comics, makes the leap into the digital world of mobile content today with the launch of a new app for the iPhone.

I’m going to go ahead and spoil the surprise: Nowhere in this press release is there information on how to find this app or a link of any kind. So if you were interested in finding out more, as I was, you’re out of luck.

A Google revealed iVerse’s website; clicking the iPhone graphic shows that no titles from Archie are available yet on the iTunes store. Perhaps they should have coordinated this release with their partner?

Also not available is pricing information — current iVerse comic titles are 99 cents an issue. That seems high to me, but then again, so does the cost of an iPhone. I’d like to know how many Archie titles are involved and how extensive this program will be. Instead of that information, I get three self-congratulatory quotes, as follow:

Co-President Victor Gorelick explained “Archie Comics has always worked with legendary creators to create funny stories. Over the years, we have been successful in bringing those stories to each new generations. The new iPhone application allows us to better reach the next generation of Archie fans. We have always provided our readers with the best reading experience possible, and this new endeavor is no exception. People have come to expect high quality, humorous entrainment, and we always do our very best to deliver that to our fans with every comic.”

Co-President Fred Mausser commented, “We are excited about the possibilities of the new iPhone application. This will be another format for our fans to enjoy digital Archie Comics. The iPhone is an evolution for the comics industry and we look forward to bringing our tradition of humor and mirth into this new medium.”

Managing Editor, Mike Pellerito, “iPhone apps an area where Archie Comics foresees significant growth. We are focusing on iTunes with our partner iVerse. Selling our comics directly to fans electronically will expand our ability to get our comics in the hands of our fans in a whole new way. We have been included in the iPhone app with Comicology since their launch earlier this year and comics as a whole are doing very well on iTunes.”

So, nice thought, but the execution is lacking. Some idea of both when this new product will be available and how to get it is necessary to achieve the goal of driving your customer to buy it.

Update: It seems that this PR was just to announce the deal, not specifics of the online comics, which is why that information is missing. I think I was misled by the phrase “launch of a new app”.