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verkisto's review against another edition
3.0
I've been reading the Archie books for as long as I can remember. I have memories of begging my parents to buy me the newest digest on display at the grocery store, and I remember reading them over and over again. I had my favorite characters, and I took sides on the whole Betty/Veronica running plot (Team Betty!), so it's safe to say I was invested in the series as a kid.
The thing is, I don't remember Cheryl Blossom. At all. I might have been too old to be reading Archie when she was introduced (Wikipedia says that was 1982), but even if I was, she didn't make an impression. The way Waid introduced her in this volume made it clear she was an established character he was re-introducing, but for me it was all new. It didn't feel like Waid was expecting the reader to know the character in order to not have to create her backstory, but it did feel like he was playing to the audience more with her character.
She's not a likable character (she's not intended to be), but she's being presented as a third interest for Archie's affections. While Archie is still the klutzy, clueless teenager he's always been, Waid hasn't presented Archie as being so clueless that he won't see through her act. Maybe that's forthcoming; this volume is more interested in establishing her character and putting events into place to bring her to Riverdale. Regardless, I'll be interested in seeing how Waid puts the two character together.
As I said above, this book is all about Cheryl and getting her to Riverdale, but all of the events leading us that way feel forced. It made some sense for Hiram Lodge to send Veronica to a European boarding school at the end of Volume Two, but it still felt strained. Waid even succeeds in making her return feasible, but Cheryl's move was a little too pat to be believable. The pieces fit well enough, and thinking back on it, I can't see where Waid cheated to pull it together, but I'm not sure why he felt the need to move Veronica to Europe to do it.
Waid has done a good job so far with reinventing Archie for the modern world while staying true to the characters, but it feels like he stumbled with this arc. Now that the characters are all back on one place, the story should pick up and get back to what it's done well so far, but getting there was a bit of a disappointment.
The thing is, I don't remember Cheryl Blossom. At all. I might have been too old to be reading Archie when she was introduced (Wikipedia says that was 1982), but even if I was, she didn't make an impression. The way Waid introduced her in this volume made it clear she was an established character he was re-introducing, but for me it was all new. It didn't feel like Waid was expecting the reader to know the character in order to not have to create her backstory, but it did feel like he was playing to the audience more with her character.
She's not a likable character (she's not intended to be), but she's being presented as a third interest for Archie's affections. While Archie is still the klutzy, clueless teenager he's always been, Waid hasn't presented Archie as being so clueless that he won't see through her act. Maybe that's forthcoming; this volume is more interested in establishing her character and putting events into place to bring her to Riverdale. Regardless, I'll be interested in seeing how Waid puts the two character together.
As I said above, this book is all about Cheryl and getting her to Riverdale, but all of the events leading us that way feel forced. It made some sense for Hiram Lodge to send Veronica to a European boarding school at the end of Volume Two, but it still felt strained. Waid even succeeds in making her return feasible, but Cheryl's move was a little too pat to be believable. The pieces fit well enough, and thinking back on it, I can't see where Waid cheated to pull it together, but I'm not sure why he felt the need to move Veronica to Europe to do it.
Waid has done a good job so far with reinventing Archie for the modern world while staying true to the characters, but it feels like he stumbled with this arc. Now that the characters are all back on one place, the story should pick up and get back to what it's done well so far, but getting there was a bit of a disappointment.
woodenpersonality's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
vittoriav's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Cool cool graphic novel
calistareads's review against another edition
4.0
I'm having so much fun getting to know the Riverdale universe. Veronica was off in Switzerland boarding school. It ended up being a fun detour. Veronica has made an enemy in Cheryl and now she is coming after Archie to ruin Veronica's life.
Jughead continues to shine and he is the best character in this series. He is such a great character.
There is also an end epilogue story about Reggie and Me. It was told from the perspective of his dog and it was fun.
This new story is so great and I'm having fun reading it. I enjoy the art and the characters. This is some great entertainment for myself and I'm enjoying it.
Jughead continues to shine and he is the best character in this series. He is such a great character.
There is also an end epilogue story about Reggie and Me. It was told from the perspective of his dog and it was fun.
This new story is so great and I'm having fun reading it. I enjoy the art and the characters. This is some great entertainment for myself and I'm enjoying it.
justanothergirl_23's review against another edition
3.0
UGH
I love the characters and their stories and all
But
Stop changing the bloody damned artwork every two pages !!!!!!!!!!!!
I love the characters and their stories and all
But
Stop changing the bloody damned artwork every two pages !!!!!!!!!!!!
rach's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure how I feel about the introduction of Cheryl Blossom. I know that everyone is in a different situation in the comics than they are in the TV show, but this is the first character that I met first on TV, and although her character doesn't seem different per se, her situation definitely is. One of the central plot points of the TV show is Cheryl dealing with the death of her twin brother Jason. Her family is also one of the oldest, richest ones in town. In the comic, not only do they only move to Riverdale because the Lodges bought them out, but her twin isn't even dead. I get that there need to be differences, and that these can potentially lead to new, interesting relationships, but so far, Cheryl and Jason have seemed just like one dimensional jerks. I was hoping Cheryl trying to target Archie and steal him away from Veronica would lead to some hijinks along the lines of her acting falling for him or something, but apparently that's not the case, at least so far. I'm hoping volume 4 will lead to more depth from the Blossoms, especially now that they know they're NOT actually poor now, like their dad told them. Also, yay, Veronica's back! I missed her being with Archie!
mcacev's review against another edition
4.0
Archie Vol. 3 collects issues 13-17 of the series, written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Joe Esima. After losing the mayoral election, Mr. Lodge sends Veronica to a private, all-girls boarding school in Switzerland, where Veronica thinks she’s made a friend, only to be engaged in open conflict with Cheryl Blossom, the school’s de-facto Queen. Back in Riverdale, Archie is having an existential crisis that seems to overlap with his parents’ 20 year anniversary; and Jughead may have contributed to it.
First things first: we finally have a good permanent artist! While not my favorite, Esima’s style works well for this series; it’s blocky and cartoony, and he has a pretty good grasp on all the characters, and the slapstick humor of the show. I really like the way he draws Cheryl and Veronica specifically, and my only complaint is that Jughead sometimes goes off model, especially his nose. However, I cannot overstate how much the series is improved by having a consistent art-style, and I hope he stays on for the rest of the run.
On the writing side, this was by far the best of the volumes. I felt like the issues built up to a specific point, none of them felt like filler, and for the most part I really enjoyed the story-line we got. I also really liked Veronica in this, which was a miracle, if I’ve ever seen any. So let’s go over the issues.
Issue 13 mostly focuses on Veronica adjusting to her time in the new school. I liked that she was struggling to stay her usual snotty self, while also still being a spoiled girl. I think her transformation would have worked significantly better, had we seen her grow out of being a snob in a better way throughout the rest of the series, rather than just 1 issue. I also really like Cheryl as an antagonist; she’s the typical mean girl, but she’s so over the top and entertaining that I really, really enjoyed her. There’s something that works for Cheryl so much more than it did when Veronica was filling this role, and I think it’s that their rivalry doesn’t revolve around a romance. What Cheryl does to Julia is still awful, and she’s absolutely a bully and a terrible person, but for whatever reason that I can’t explain, I found that much more entertaining than Archie mooning over Veronica.
The Archie story-line was fine; I liked the parallel between him mourning Veronica and Betty mourning Archie. I didn’t however find the moping that entertaining and I was glad we focused mostly on Cheryl.
Issue 14 is Veronica’s payback, which was absolutely bonkers and hilarious. I could watch a whole movie of just Cheryl and Veronica coming up with excessively ridiculous ways to get at each other, and I would not be bored. Again neither is a nice person for doing this, and I liked that Veronica felt some guilt over what she does to Cheryl, but it was just entertaining to see her win.
The Archie story-line was meh. Archie goes on a forced date with a girl named Madison he doesn’t like, and as a result he decides to become exactly like Jughead, because Jughead is absolutely 100% himself and confident in who he is. I liked the banter between Jughead and Archie, and their friendship is very heartwarming and fun, so that made the issue for me. I’m glad we are at least back to Archie/Jughead shenanigans.
Issue 15 focuses mostly on Jughead planning the anniversary party for Archie’s parents, while Archie moaps. There’s a lot of slapstick, but the parts I really liked were Jughead’s talk with Betty about why Archie wants to be like Jughead in the first place, and Jughead telling Archie that he feels insecure and thinks bad thoughts too, but he just has trained himself to not feel as much for what other people do, like Archie does. The bit with the coin and Archie’s parents was also really sweet.
With Veronica, I liked that we get some development on Mr. Lodge. He does love his daughter a lot, and wants the best for her, even though he doesn’t always know what and how to achieve the best for her. I liked that Veronica got what she wanted in the worst possible way, though the contrived reason for why now Jason and Cheryl have to move to Riverdale was a bit much.
Issue 16 is the only one of the issues I could call filler. It has to do with Veronica making a deal with the headmaster to finish the semester early with passable grades so she can go back to Riverdale, while also designing a suit for him. Back in Riverdale, we are introduced to a new character, Dilton, who invents an app where people can rate anything and anyone, and they start rating each other (or rather Reggie starts it, because of course he does). There’s a funny scene where Marmaduke goes after Reggie, but mostly Dilton is introduced as another love interest for Betty, which… I could’ve gone without.
Issue 17 was hilarious. It follows Cheryl as she tries to woo Archie, by completely over the top actions, because she thinks that he really is all the things Veronica made him out to be. It’s pretty funny to watch her completely misinterpret Archie as a person, and Jason’s increasingly resigned efforts to get her to chill. The ending was fun too.
Essentially, this is what I figured Archie would be as a series: fun, heartwarming and carried entirely by the characters. It’s a shame we had to wait until vol. 3 for it to get this good, but better late than never. I’m curious to see what the future will bring.
First things first: we finally have a good permanent artist! While not my favorite, Esima’s style works well for this series; it’s blocky and cartoony, and he has a pretty good grasp on all the characters, and the slapstick humor of the show. I really like the way he draws Cheryl and Veronica specifically, and my only complaint is that Jughead sometimes goes off model, especially his nose. However, I cannot overstate how much the series is improved by having a consistent art-style, and I hope he stays on for the rest of the run.
On the writing side, this was by far the best of the volumes. I felt like the issues built up to a specific point, none of them felt like filler, and for the most part I really enjoyed the story-line we got. I also really liked Veronica in this, which was a miracle, if I’ve ever seen any. So let’s go over the issues.
Issue 13 mostly focuses on Veronica adjusting to her time in the new school. I liked that she was struggling to stay her usual snotty self, while also still being a spoiled girl. I think her transformation would have worked significantly better, had we seen her grow out of being a snob in a better way throughout the rest of the series, rather than just 1 issue. I also really like Cheryl as an antagonist; she’s the typical mean girl, but she’s so over the top and entertaining that I really, really enjoyed her. There’s something that works for Cheryl so much more than it did when Veronica was filling this role, and I think it’s that their rivalry doesn’t revolve around a romance. What Cheryl does to Julia is still awful, and she’s absolutely a bully and a terrible person, but for whatever reason that I can’t explain, I found that much more entertaining than Archie mooning over Veronica.
The Archie story-line was fine; I liked the parallel between him mourning Veronica and Betty mourning Archie. I didn’t however find the moping that entertaining and I was glad we focused mostly on Cheryl.
Issue 14 is Veronica’s payback, which was absolutely bonkers and hilarious. I could watch a whole movie of just Cheryl and Veronica coming up with excessively ridiculous ways to get at each other, and I would not be bored. Again neither is a nice person for doing this, and I liked that Veronica felt some guilt over what she does to Cheryl, but it was just entertaining to see her win.
The Archie story-line was meh. Archie goes on a forced date with a girl named Madison he doesn’t like, and as a result he decides to become exactly like Jughead, because Jughead is absolutely 100% himself and confident in who he is. I liked the banter between Jughead and Archie, and their friendship is very heartwarming and fun, so that made the issue for me. I’m glad we are at least back to Archie/Jughead shenanigans.
Issue 15 focuses mostly on Jughead planning the anniversary party for Archie’s parents, while Archie moaps. There’s a lot of slapstick, but the parts I really liked were Jughead’s talk with Betty about why Archie wants to be like Jughead in the first place, and Jughead telling Archie that he feels insecure and thinks bad thoughts too, but he just has trained himself to not feel as much for what other people do, like Archie does. The bit with the coin and Archie’s parents was also really sweet.
With Veronica, I liked that we get some development on Mr. Lodge. He does love his daughter a lot, and wants the best for her, even though he doesn’t always know what and how to achieve the best for her. I liked that Veronica got what she wanted in the worst possible way, though the contrived reason for why now Jason and Cheryl have to move to Riverdale was a bit much.
Issue 16 is the only one of the issues I could call filler. It has to do with Veronica making a deal with the headmaster to finish the semester early with passable grades so she can go back to Riverdale, while also designing a suit for him. Back in Riverdale, we are introduced to a new character, Dilton, who invents an app where people can rate anything and anyone, and they start rating each other (or rather Reggie starts it, because of course he does). There’s a funny scene where Marmaduke goes after Reggie, but mostly Dilton is introduced as another love interest for Betty, which… I could’ve gone without.
Issue 17 was hilarious. It follows Cheryl as she tries to woo Archie, by completely over the top actions, because she thinks that he really is all the things Veronica made him out to be. It’s pretty funny to watch her completely misinterpret Archie as a person, and Jason’s increasingly resigned efforts to get her to chill. The ending was fun too.
Essentially, this is what I figured Archie would be as a series: fun, heartwarming and carried entirely by the characters. It’s a shame we had to wait until vol. 3 for it to get this good, but better late than never. I’m curious to see what the future will bring.
jilljemmett's review against another edition
4.0
When I was little, I didn’t like Cheryl Blossom. She made rare appearances in the Double Digests I read. In those comics, she would arrive in Riverdale and upset the love triangle of Archie, Betty, and Veronica. Betty and Veronica didn’t like her, so I didn’t either. Ironically, she’s now one of my favourite characters on the new TV series, Riverdale.
Cheryl plays a slightly different role in this story. She meets Veronica while away at boarding school in Switzerland, and she eventually makes her way to Riverdale. Meanwhile back in Riverdale, Archie has a kind of mental breakdown and decides to live like Jughead. That part of the story was strange, so I enjoyed the Veronica/Cheryl story better.
This is a great third volume in the series!
Cheryl plays a slightly different role in this story. She meets Veronica while away at boarding school in Switzerland, and she eventually makes her way to Riverdale. Meanwhile back in Riverdale, Archie has a kind of mental breakdown and decides to live like Jughead. That part of the story was strange, so I enjoyed the Veronica/Cheryl story better.
This is a great third volume in the series!