The Best of Archie Comics, Book 1 by Frank Doyle

Each story was self-contained, with no continuity, so if Jughead ended the story by turning into an ostrich, you didn’t expect him to still be an ostrich when you turned the page. The usual format for an Archie comic was that it consisted of four stories, two of them six pages and two of them five pages, plus the occasional one or half-page gag. With this type of comic, you can’t recommend memorable story arcs-there weren’t any, unless you count the time Betty and Me turned into a parody of the soap opera parody Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman). But the company’s output still seems underrated to me, in part because they’re in a style - the monthly humour comic with little or no continuity - that has never been fully appreciated in North America. I’m an Archie fan, which is not to say that I’m a fan of the way the company treated its great artists, or that I deny they put out a lot of mediocre comics. But it’s a promising start that honours the spirit of the traditional Archie story while expanding it to a serialized, 22-page format.īut since today is the day when a new era begins for Archie, I thought I would talk a bit about the past of Archie, and specifically, recommend some great Archie comics.

Other devices, like Archie talking to the reader a la Zach Morris or Ferris Bueller, will take some getting used to, and it’s too early to tell if future issues will be as funny as the very best Archie work.

Writer and artist do a particularly good job on Jughead, a character who’s easy to get wrong he’s completely right here, in attitude, look (he has his beanie, of course it’s been out of date since the ’40s, but you can’t have Jughead without it) and body language.

Staples’s art is the highlight of the first issue with colourists Andre Szymanowicz and Jen Vaughn, she’s doing a beautiful job creating an art style that’s less “cartoony” but still appropriate for a light comedy.

Mark Waid ( The Flash, Daredevil) is the writer and the first three issues will be drawn by Canadian artist Fiona Staples ( Saga). Today’s the day! Today’s the day Archie launches its new #1 issue, revamping the world’s longest-running, anachronistic humour comic in a slightly more modern way.

The Best of Archie Comics, Book 1 by Frank Doyle