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A review by rach
Road to Riverdale by Adam Hughes, Mark Waid, Chip Zdarsky
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.