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Road to Riverdale Vol. 1 by Fiona Staples, Marguerite Bennett, Adam Hughes, Mark Waid, Chip Zdarsky
chloeandbooks's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
Not what I expected at all, I'm quite disappointed. If you've never read the original Archie comics, you might enjoy it though.
Not what I expected at all, I'm quite disappointed. If you've never read the original Archie comics, you might enjoy it though.
sarahrusty's review against another edition
3.0
I read this right after finishing season 1 of Riverdale. I liked that it gave a snippet of each character in other comic creations. I am more excited to see Riverdale comics after the show though instead of previous canons from other issues.
maedo's review against another edition
3.0
As a kid, whenever I earned any money I insisted on going to the grocery store with my mom to pick up two things: a copy of Tiger Beat (got to get those JTT and Andrew Keegan posters) and the latest Betty & Veronica digest. That the show Riverdale exists takes me right back. I sort of love the idea of those cheeky, bubbly comics I remember being taken in a modern noir direction.
If the show plays its characters a little too straight, this collection previewing the first volume each of five modern Riverdale reboots (Archie, Jughead, Betty & Veronica, Josie & the Pussycats, Reggie) plays things a little too cheeky at times. Jughead's story by Chip Zdarsky had me actually smiling as I read because it was the right balance of play and story that the character deserves. But the Betty & Veronica volume, narrated by Jughead's dog, was way too verbose, focused as much on Archie and Jughead as on the girls, and the real conflict starts at the end. I know it's only a teaser for the rebooted series, but obviously they are the reason I picked this up and I don't want to continue and that is disappointing. Sigh.
The good news is that Archie's volume felt, indeed, like a modern version of the comics I used to read. Realistically, I knew reading this book would be to figure out which volumes of the new Riverdale-verse I'd want to check out. And now I know I can get my Betty and Veronica fix from Archie or Jughead. I'll be seeking out more of both of those series.
Also, I oddly liked Reggie & Me. This series is ALSO narrated by the MC's dog, but this time it actually works. (Still, who would have though 2/5 of the reboots would be narrated by dogs?)
If the show plays its characters a little too straight, this collection previewing the first volume each of five modern Riverdale reboots (Archie, Jughead, Betty & Veronica, Josie & the Pussycats, Reggie) plays things a little too cheeky at times. Jughead's story by Chip Zdarsky had me actually smiling as I read because it was the right balance of play and story that the character deserves. But the Betty & Veronica volume, narrated by Jughead's dog, was way too verbose, focused as much on Archie and Jughead as on the girls, and the real conflict starts at the end. I know it's only a teaser for the rebooted series, but obviously they are the reason I picked this up and I don't want to continue and that is disappointing. Sigh.
The good news is that Archie's volume felt, indeed, like a modern version of the comics I used to read. Realistically, I knew reading this book would be to figure out which volumes of the new Riverdale-verse I'd want to check out. And now I know I can get my Betty and Veronica fix from Archie or Jughead. I'll be seeking out more of both of those series.
Also, I oddly liked Reggie & Me. This series is ALSO narrated by the MC's dog, but this time it actually works. (Still, who would have though 2/5 of the reboots would be narrated by dogs?)
rachelcabbit's review against another edition
3.0
A selection of stories from the New Archie comics as a taster to encourage readers to pick up the new series and tune in to the TV show based on the comics, Road to Riverdale Vol 1 is a bit of a mixed bag. Each chapter focuses on a different spin off character and some seem longer than others. The stories jump about the time line a bit but the comic does its best to introduce the characters to those totally new to the series.
I had little experience with the world of Archie comics as it never seemed popular in the U.K. - though I had heard of the characters via references in US tv shows. I started watching the Riverdale TV series when it started and enjoyed it though the comic book characters are a bit different!
My least favourite comic in this collection was Betty and Veronica. It seemed to drag.
My favourite was Josie and the Pussycats - it felt very much like something standalone and required little prior knowledge.
I’m not a fan of dogs narrating the chapter so Betty and Veronica and the Reggie comics were a bit awkward to me.
I liked the artwork and it seems fun enough though.
I had little experience with the world of Archie comics as it never seemed popular in the U.K. - though I had heard of the characters via references in US tv shows. I started watching the Riverdale TV series when it started and enjoyed it though the comic book characters are a bit different!
My least favourite comic in this collection was Betty and Veronica. It seemed to drag.
My favourite was Josie and the Pussycats - it felt very much like something standalone and required little prior knowledge.
I’m not a fan of dogs narrating the chapter so Betty and Veronica and the Reggie comics were a bit awkward to me.
I liked the artwork and it seems fun enough though.
rach's review against another edition
4.0
I read A LOT of Archie comics as a kid, so when I saw there was a show coming out with a fresh spin on these classic characters, I was intrigued. I was even more excited when I saw that they had relaunched a bunch of new titles, set in modern day, focusing on different characters.
This volume is a great introduction to each title, and really useful for getting your feet wet and figuring out which titles you want to continue reading. I see (via Goodreads) that you can continue to read all of the titles, in trades collected under the Welcome to Riverdale banner. I think it makes more sense to read each title as a separate entity, since we know their timelines don't exactly match up - for example, in one series, Archie is dating Betty, while in another he's dating Veronica, while in still another, he's dating neither. The only steady relationship in this universe is Moose and Midge.
So what am I going to keep reading? For now, I'll start with the primary Archie title. I really love Fiona Staples, and the art is as fantastic as you'd expect from her. The story is really interesting so far, as well.
I enjoyed the Josie and the Pussycats issue, but I'll admit I don't remember their characters as well and didn't feel as much of a connection to them. Reggie and Me is an interesting look behind a normally inscrutable "mean guy" character, and I love that it's narrated by his adorable pup Vader. This was my second favorite art. The Jughead storyline was silly and fun, though I admit to wishing Jughead cared about more than food, haha. The art is fun as well - I love Henderson's work on Squirrel Girl, so I'm comfortable with it.
The one I liked the least was Betty and Veronica. It wasn't my favorite art, though I didn't find it distracting, but my main issue was with the fact that I can't figure out if the girls are really friends. It seems like they are, and then suddenly Veronica is combative and they're fighting. Ambiguity like that frustrates me.
This volume is a great introduction to each title, and really useful for getting your feet wet and figuring out which titles you want to continue reading. I see (via Goodreads) that you can continue to read all of the titles, in trades collected under the Welcome to Riverdale banner. I think it makes more sense to read each title as a separate entity, since we know their timelines don't exactly match up - for example, in one series, Archie is dating Betty, while in another he's dating Veronica, while in still another, he's dating neither. The only steady relationship in this universe is Moose and Midge.
So what am I going to keep reading? For now, I'll start with the primary Archie title. I really love Fiona Staples, and the art is as fantastic as you'd expect from her. The story is really interesting so far, as well.
I enjoyed the Josie and the Pussycats issue, but I'll admit I don't remember their characters as well and didn't feel as much of a connection to them. Reggie and Me is an interesting look behind a normally inscrutable "mean guy" character, and I love that it's narrated by his adorable pup Vader. This was my second favorite art. The Jughead storyline was silly and fun, though I admit to wishing Jughead cared about more than food, haha. The art is fun as well - I love Henderson's work on Squirrel Girl, so I'm comfortable with it.
The one I liked the least was Betty and Veronica. It wasn't my favorite art, though I didn't find it distracting, but my main issue was with the fact that I can't figure out if the girls are really friends. It seems like they are, and then suddenly Veronica is combative and they're fighting. Ambiguity like that frustrates me.
kat_impossible's review against another edition
4.0
It was really great to have all those excerpts from the comics and get a feel for the source material of the show. The styles were all very different and I think I liked the art of Archie and Betty & Veronica best and Reggie's the least. Jughead will forever remain my favourite of the gang. Seriously, his relationship with food is just so relatable.
alannajaye's review against another edition
3.0
Archie - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was one of my favorites of the short story collection. The plot was evenly paced. It didn’t feel too rushed or too short. The humor worked for me. I think if you love the tv show, this is a good prequel to it.
Jughead - ⭐️⭐️
This story didn’t work for me. The characters to me didn’t feel right. Sometimes the humor felt weird and other times it landed right. There was a section of it that felt a little pointless. This was one of the lowest rated out of the collection for me.
Betty & Veronica - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m biased because they are my favorite characters but this story was perfect. One thing I loved was the storyline. For once it wasn’t about the characters problems and it was about Pop’s closing down and them fighting to keep it open. Second thing I loved was it was told from Hot Dog’s perspective (Jughead’s dog) and it just made the story ten times more hilarious. The characters being themselves just made the story so much better and I wish the whole collection was just Betty & Veronica.
Josie & the Pussycats - ⭐️
This was definitely the worst one out of the five. The main character (Josie) was annoying and rude. Obviously who character had some redemption when it came to the end but by then I just didn’t care.
Reggie & Me - ⭐️⭐️
This story was also told by the perspective of Reggie’s dog, Vader. I thought the story wasn’t needed. There wasn’t that much content there besides a dog loving his owner. I am giving it two stars just to the fact that I want to read more.
This was one of my favorites of the short story collection. The plot was evenly paced. It didn’t feel too rushed or too short. The humor worked for me. I think if you love the tv show, this is a good prequel to it.
Jughead - ⭐️⭐️
This story didn’t work for me. The characters to me didn’t feel right. Sometimes the humor felt weird and other times it landed right. There was a section of it that felt a little pointless. This was one of the lowest rated out of the collection for me.
Betty & Veronica - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m biased because they are my favorite characters but this story was perfect. One thing I loved was the storyline. For once it wasn’t about the characters problems and it was about Pop’s closing down and them fighting to keep it open. Second thing I loved was it was told from Hot Dog’s perspective (Jughead’s dog) and it just made the story ten times more hilarious. The characters being themselves just made the story so much better and I wish the whole collection was just Betty & Veronica.
Josie & the Pussycats - ⭐️
This was definitely the worst one out of the five. The main character (Josie) was annoying and rude. Obviously who character had some redemption when it came to the end but by then I just didn’t care.
Reggie & Me - ⭐️⭐️
This story was also told by the perspective of Reggie’s dog, Vader. I thought the story wasn’t needed. There wasn’t that much content there besides a dog loving his owner. I am giving it two stars just to the fact that I want to read more.
isabelle_the_bookdutchesses's review against another edition
5.0
Road to Riverdale contains the first issues of all the 'new Riverdale' comics. So you get Archie, Jughead, Betty&Veronica, Reggie&Me, and Josie and The Pussycats. This was a great way to get a feel for the different comics and to get hooked on them. I saw that there are currently more volumes of Road to Riverdale and while I really enjoyed this first volume I don't plan on getting the rest. I'd rather get the individual comics so I can keep reading more issues of the same story. I guess that's up to personal preference and might be different for someone else. This first volume does get 5 crowns from me though, it was the perfect introduction!
darkandbookish's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted this to be good, and to give me some insight to the new show on the CW. But instead I felt like I was reading a sampler that was trying to convince me to buy more. It was not the Archie adaptation I was expecting.
fablesandwren's review against another edition
3.0
This basically is just a group of the first issues of the following:
01. Archie
02. Jughead
03. Betty & Veronica
04. Josie and the Pussycats
05. Reggie and Me
They don't flow together. They aren't done by the same artist. They don't have a parallel story line. They are interesting, but not what I expected or wanted.
Oh, and Cheryl's name is mentioned in Jughead's dream and that's it. WHERE IS SHE?!
01. Archie
02. Jughead
03. Betty & Veronica
04. Josie and the Pussycats
05. Reggie and Me
They don't flow together. They aren't done by the same artist. They don't have a parallel story line. They are interesting, but not what I expected or wanted.
Oh, and Cheryl's name is mentioned in Jughead's dream and that's it. WHERE IS SHE?!