Archie Comics 2019
Written by Brian Augustyn & Mark Waid
Illustrated by Tom Grummett
Coloured by Glenn Whitmore
Lettered by Jack Morelli
Can a rocking teenager from a small, sleepy town find fame and fortune through this new phenomenon called “rock and roll”? When Archie Andrews proves to a local DJ that he’s got the makings of a hip-shaking stardom, he begins an ascent to fame that will carry with it both triumph and tragedy.
This is fantastic, aside from the fact that this is the team that brought us 1941 it just keeps showing that Archie is as popular as he ever was if not more so. For me it reinforces what I have said elsewhere about how exciting it can be to see them in these scenarios while knowing you can always go back and read the originals. To see them in different era's that were being published in but in completely new and original ways is something that I think is being brilliantly done.
The opening here is sensational and it does precisely what it is designed to do. It piques the readers' curiosity and with just enough information to entice the reader therefore ensuring the desire to want to see and know more. I know it did that for me and I was already planning to read this, but what it did do is take the story to a level and places I wasn't expecting it to and that is what I look for. The way that this is being told through the story & plot development and the character development bringing us the twists and turns as it reveals information to the reader is extremely well done.
There is one thing about the way we are introduced to Archie this issue that took me by surprise and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. Last time I checked Riverdale wasn't a Catholic School so to see Principal Weatherbee walking around with a ruler and having a strict song playlist just feels off to me. I guess it can be a sigh of the times but I dunno it just doesn't jive with me somehow. Though I will say this the fact that Reggie can play a Cello impresses me to no end, the guitar anyone can play but the Cello is a much more serious instrument and I love seeing that!
Good Golly Miss Molly I had forgotten just how gosh darn good Tom's work is. The man definitely has this extraordinary way of creating imagery that just captivates the reader. From the first page to the last what we see is the work of an industry great. The way we see the composition inside the panels so we see this sense of depth perception and scale is so well done. Plus the authenticity of the era comes through so incredibly well. Then of course there is the way we see the different races and well yeah I am blown away. The way that the varying weights of the linework are utilised to create this attention to detail is phenomenal. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we se the angles and perspective in the panels shows a master storytellers eye. Glenn, I keep saying is such a talented colourist and folks really need pay more attention to his work I mean if you look at this brown jalopy compared to the other cars we see the way that the pattern is done through colour is ridiculous. The choice of colours and how we see their varying hues and tones to showcase shading and shadows is gorgeous stuff.
This has me excited as we get to see the way the kids would and should act in this era and when you add into this the Archie's musical history the story takes on an even larger appeal. Once again these folks have taken a more realistic approach to Archie and his friends and made them infinitely more interesting and relevant than ever before.