Archie Comics 2015
Written by Chip Zdarsky
Illustrated by Erica Henderson
One of the more highly anticipated series hot on the tail of Archie’s debut. Jughead intrigued us with his new background over in Archie and it’s time for America’s favorite hamburger junkie to take center stage. Of all the Archie characters I think more often than not if you ask people you’ll find Jughead is their favorite character. So with this it’s time to sit back relax and get to know him all over again.
Whether it’s the hat, the nose or simply the chilled laid back attitude there are so many reasons to like this character. Chip starts off with him pulling an all-nighter, not with homework god forbid but with video games. Dragoncide VII to be precise a Dungeons & Dragons style adventure unless I miss my guess.
`Archie picks him up so to speak and off to school they go. Here’s where I have a small problem. Fiona has really set the standard for the new look of the Riverdale gang. I feel they are supposed to be more realistic than ever before and unfortunately Erica, while talented, misses the mark completely. The characters seem more generic and cartoon like and to be honest I had no idea that was Betty until someone said her name she’s that unrecognizable. Though the encounter we see right off the bat and the question Archie presents well that’s going to take center stage.
Mister Weatherbee, who looks a lot like the old man from UP, is being replaced as school Principal. Alright I’ll go with that after all change is inevitable right. Being forced into early retirement his replacement Mr. Stanger is by his side and we immediately get a sense of this man. Oh and yeah it’s not good either, brusque and controlling with his new modern ideas of how a school be run and implementing changes left and right well this is where we see what Jughead gets passionate about.
The new Principal has instituted a new lunch policy where instead of what they used to serve regularly, like any sane high school in the country, now serves the same so called high-nutrition slop for every meal. So in his rush of madness at this new policy he faints dead away and we get this mini-story set in the D&D style world.
The relationship between Jugs and Betty isn’t quite same here as it is in Archie but ya know that’s okay too. Life isn’t always the same day to day or the same through different eyes. Though to see Jughead learn you can make food well that’s Betty’s contribution to the world. By taking him to the home-ec class where he gets the teacher to teach him how to make hamburgers she’s inadvertently unleashed a monster.
Though she will benefit from it and Jughead seems to be getting his own nemesis in the process which ironically enough seems to be the catalyst for his changing to a much more driven and smarter young man.
I like this Jughead he’s diverse, interesting and has that potential we love to see in the usual “slacker”, the laid-back guy who no thinks does anything. Sorry Erica but this needs to be more similar in art to Archie than to what they cancelled and to go along with Chip’s modern take on the character. It’s worth reading for the story.