Archie Comics 2020
Written by Bill Golliher
Pencilled by Dan Parent
Inked by Jim Amash
Coloured by Glenn Whitmore
Lettered by Jack Morelli
Betty and Veronica are two best friends with hearts of gold—and this collection of stories proves just that! Watch as the besties volunteer for kids’ summer reading program, run a fundraiser for Riverdale Children’s Hospital, answer phones at a local telethon and donate something near and dear to Veronica to help the less fortunate.
Life is just better with these all-ages Archie books pure and simple. These classic creators bringing back the kids to tell these stories will put a smile on your face. I love the fact that within each vignette, there are four complete stories, which are not only entertaining with their hi-jinks and such but they all have a message and the ones in this issue all mimic each other and are something that is so poignant in today’s world. So this is certainly something the entire family can read and then talk about at a device free meal. It is interesting to see the takeaway folks have from these and that is just as fascinating as the stories themselves.
The way these are being told is utterly marvellous. The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented beautifully. I also love the fact that Betty & Veronica are best friends and competitive as all get out with each other whether Archie is involved or not. Yet we are able to see them work around that and still know their friendship is so solid that nothing, not even some healthy competition, is going to destroy that. The character development is sensational here and the way the girls are brought to life through the way they act and react to the situations and circumstances that they encounter. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story it is easy to see just how well everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow.
I am a fan of these stories, these creators and I am constantly in awe of how they can write such short stories and make them feel as epic as they do. Sure they are fun and make us laugh as they showcase things we can do to help those around us that’s never changed but I find myself drawn to them more and more as I grow older. This is the kind of book I wish everyone would read.
The interiors here are absolutely stunning. Dan lays down the foundation and he’s able to really make the kids, kids--teenagers. He gets to play fashion plates with the girls as we see them in more and more outfits and it’s cute that he’s able to represent fashion in today’s world on Betty & Veronica. The inking is on point and it brings everything together beautifully. As a team they extraordinarily well together and it shows on the pages. I adore the fact that we are seeing more and more backgrounds being utilised here to really flesh out the moments. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a masterful eye for storytelling. Glenn’s colour work is as solid as it comes and he works his magic here to bring this four colour kind of eye to the stories perfectly. Four colour is the way things used to be with limited shades available so that he is able to keep this as close to perfectly classic in appearance as he does shows some bloody good talent.
Betty & Veronica were the original leading ladies of comics, well they debuted in 1942, and ever since they’ve not only complicated Archie’s life but they've been the kind of role models that girls, and boys for that matter, can look up to.