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Reviews
The Death of Archie: A Life Celebrated by Tim Kennedy, Paul Kupperberg, Pat Kennedy, Fernando Ruiz
kriziaannacastro's review
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
breanne_smythe's review against another edition
4.0
Didn't know this was a continuation of the story of sort of an AU Archie graphic novel. Enjoyed it, but now will have to search out the rest of the series even though I know how it 'ends'
Never once considered Archie growing up and finishing at Riverdale High when I read the comics as a kid, or even as a young adult. Though technology was changing in the cover art of the comics I saw at the checkout stand, Archie to me, is, and will forever be a high school student no matter how many decades he and his gang have been around.
Never once considered Archie growing up and finishing at Riverdale High when I read the comics as a kid, or even as a young adult. Though technology was changing in the cover art of the comics I saw at the checkout stand, Archie to me, is, and will forever be a high school student no matter how many decades he and his gang have been around.
comicbookchick25's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5 stars
This... Was extremely hard to read. Like literally this made me want to cry. So, yeah this is officially the most depressing comic I've ever read...
Archie had been a love of mine for so many years now. Every time that I went grocery shopping with my mom I'd get a digest and it kind of began from there. I obviously know that there are more Archie titles before and after this one that i have yet to read, but this still felt like the end of something.
But I have mad respect that the way he went out was by protecting the life of Kevin when a man who was murdering gay people tried to originally kill him. And I found that panel where he says his last words to Betty and Veronica to probably be the most depressing shit I've seen in my life.
But since it bummed me out so much I couldn't rate it five stars but it was still a fantastically written story.
This... Was extremely hard to read. Like literally this made me want to cry. So, yeah this is officially the most depressing comic I've ever read...
Archie had been a love of mine for so many years now. Every time that I went grocery shopping with my mom I'd get a digest and it kind of began from there. I obviously know that there are more Archie titles before and after this one that i have yet to read, but this still felt like the end of something.
But I have mad respect that the way he went out was by protecting the life of Kevin when a man who was murdering gay people tried to originally kill him. And I found that panel where he says his last words to Betty and Veronica to probably be the most depressing shit I've seen in my life.
But since it bummed me out so much I couldn't rate it five stars but it was still a fantastically written story.
whipcreamsucks's review against another edition
5.0
THE. UNTHINKABLE. HAPPENS.
The height of my Archiemania was when I was 12 and beyond resolved that I wanted to be a cartoonist when I grew up because of Archie. And seeing THIS title come out as a 12-year-old completely floored me. However I didn't come across an accessible copy until about 2 years later, when I had more or less mellowed out but still loved the series with all my heart (who tf is Riverdale, I don't know her).
I'm beyond glad to say that The Death of Archie in itself is still as shocking, expertly scripted and staged, and for me it's even more emotional than I remember because now I finally understand during the final pages. My God. I also realise on this reread that Kupperberg and it's GENIUS and makes me want to cry buckets. The Archie Team did NOT hold back with this one, also inserting a grand variant cover gallery + behind the scenes drafts of their storyboarding of this comic. I've always adored this cover gallery; it has everything: nostalgia, crippling sadness, and so many different art styles and techniques and compositions that make me want to tear my heart out. If I hadn't wanted to keep on drawing comics because I liked it before, this is the comic that really opened all my other eyes to how cartooning is planned; truly and indisputably an art form and it should be rightly celebrated.
Even more so on the theme of celebration: during the. It's the most emotional scene post-Archie for me, and is perfectly topped off in the final pages when . It's perfect. Archie may be gone in this timeline, but everything stays, and will continue to stay.
There's absolutely nothing stopping this from being a 5-star read. Rock on, Archie!
The height of my Archiemania was when I was 12 and beyond resolved that I wanted to be a cartoonist when I grew up because of Archie. And seeing THIS title come out as a 12-year-old completely floored me. However I didn't come across an accessible copy until about 2 years later, when I had more or less mellowed out but still loved the series with all my heart (who tf is Riverdale, I don't know her).
I'm beyond glad to say that The Death of Archie in itself is still as shocking, expertly scripted and staged, and for me it's even more emotional than I remember because now I finally understand
Spoiler
the meaning behind the placement of John Donne's "No Man is an Island" poemSpoiler
deliberately concealed the identity of Archie's wifeSpoiler
(see: the tipped milkshake representing the world turned upside down after Archie knocks it over to take the bullet)Even more so on the theme of celebration: during the
Spoiler
renaming of Riverdale High to Archie Andrews High, Kevin Keller gives a speech celebrating Archie's life and what he meant to the town of Riverdale and the people there, and in turn celebrates the people who gave Archie his morals and Riverdale's community spirit in coming togetherSpoiler
the gang meets at Jughead's shop and recite the poem... and Jughead makes the soda for the redheaded boy and his blonde and dark-haired girlsThere's absolutely nothing stopping this from being a 5-star read. Rock on, Archie!
puddingtaco's review against another edition
4.0
The death of an icon. The story reads where Archie could have ended up with Betty or Veronica is a rather clever way of letting the reader decide his path leading up to this tragedy. Great book that touched on equality, love, friendship without being overly saccharine. To be sure, it is sweet, but not nauseating. Farewell, our red-headed friend.
vegebrarian's review
4.0
Having never read Archie, this was a weird place to start but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. There's a lot of topical references here - gun control, gay rights and dealing with the aftermath of tragedy. It still has a very aww shucks sorta feel about it but it did have quite a bit of framing from the writers to give new readers context for the past 75(!!!) Years.
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