When I was growing up, most of my
friends liked the superheroes like Spiderman, Superman, and Batman. I
like those characters as well but more when I was a teenager. When I
was young, let's say, under ten it wasn't a superhero that I looked
up to or enjoyed to read. It was this normal, everyday guy named
Archie Andrews.
Every now and then when my mom dragged me along with her to go grocery shopping I would talk her into buying me a non food related item. Almost every time I strategically waited till we got to the check out lane. Because sitting there waiting for me was typically the newest Archie Digest. I always had one of those little books in the car ready to read while my mom drove around town. Nighttime may have stopped some kids from reading but not me. I always had a flashlight so I could read in the dark.
There was even an Archie made for TV
movie which I loved. It was called Return To Riverdale and focused on
the gang at there ten year reunion. I haven't seen it in a really
long time but as a kid, I loved it. For the simple fact it was the
only live action Archie movie. It still has that honor which kind of
amazes me. Christopher Rich played the title role of Archie and to
this day whenever I see him in a show or movie my childhood comes
flooding back every time.
In my adult life, Im not gonna lie, I
don't read Archie that much. On occasion I will pick up a digest and
read through it hoping to bring some of that magic back. I still
enjoy them but must admit its not the same mainly due to being an
adult. Believe it or not, Archie is still very relevant these days by
creating “water cooler” type news. Whether its adding a gay
character or even have Archie marry both Veronica and Betty (in
separate universes, mind you) the company is very focused on making
headlines. In summer of 2014 they made a bold move that was quite
shocking but got leaked to the media a few months before it actually
happened. I won't spoil it just in case you haven't heard it but I
promise I have mixed feelings on the decision.
In all of these headline making news
items, one caught my attention. Archie was going to hop aboard the
zombie money train that has been running the tracks lately. Thats
right, Afterlife With Archie (which is a play on the normally titled
Life With Archie) was indeed going to grace the comic book shelves.
At first I scoffed at the idea thinking that there wasn't going to be
much thought given to the title. Boy, was I wrong. When I first
started seeing images before it hit the stands I knew this was going
to be something special.
From doing research, what help to get
this comic the green light was a variant cover done by Francesco Francavilla
which inspired this whole series.
Francavilla's artwork is absolutely
stunning. I don't know what else to say. The artwork seriously speaks
for its. From the first issue it is easy to tell that this is not a
comic designed for kids. People die. Lots of beloved characters die,
turn into zombies, and then eat other beloved characters. The artwork
does not hold back either. There are times where it is down right
nasty as you see these once innocent characters feasting on each
other. The art is a great blend, making it feel modern while also
having a B fifties horror movie vibe at the same time. It really is
the show piece of the entire book.
That's not to say that Roberto
Aguirre-Sacasa's writing is bad because its absolutely is not. In
fact what makes this story work is the fact that Aguirre-Sacasa
understands the Archie universe. The story is a simple but effective
one. Hot Dog, which is Jughead's beloved dog, is killed. Devastated
by this, Jughead finds a way to bring him back but as the story goes
Hot Dog is not his old self. Eventually, Hot Dog and others spread the
zombie virus throughout Riverdale and it does not hold back. As the
story goes on, you really get a sense of who the characters are more
than ever before. In fact, there is a brilliant flashback that
involves Veronica's parents that I will not spoil but longtime fans
will go nuts for it.
I would have never thought that this
story would have worked. It's a well crafted story that doesn't just
make them zombies for the sake of being zombies. This is what happens
when you get people that care about a franchise. They find a way to
make it work, they love on it so hard that there is no chance of it
being bad. I wish more companies would take note of this and hire
people that actually wanted a project to be successful for the long
term. This was Volume One of the trade paperback which collects
issues 1-5 of the ongoing series. Escape From Riverdale was the name
of this story arc which ended with me begging for another issue.
If you have any doubts about reading
this series, don't. It's so much fun, even if you were never a big
Archie fan you will still enjoy it. I can't wait to see the
development of these characters and where the story goes from here.
It has potential for the scope of this book to get really big if they
decide to take it that way. If you are looking for something to read
this Halloween season than this is the perfect addition to your
reading pile. I know that it's going to be a Halloween tradition for
yours truly from here on out.
-R.T.
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