I'm reading Archie comics again; how did this happen

[sholio]

So I picked up the first tpb of the Mark Waid/Fiona Staples Archie, and it's actually ... good?! In a very homagey kind of way -- having read a lot of these comics when I was a kid, I like how Waid is incorporating a lot of the old comics' tropes (such as the JD-on-Scrubs-style dips into fantasy, or the asides to the reader) and yet somehow manages to stay on the "cute and funny" side of the line instead of tipping over into "embarrassingly cheesy." I liked it enough to go ahead and get the second of the collected volumes as well. I think that was about all I can handle for awhile; I've reached my limit for semi-pointless teen love-triangle shenanigans for the time being -- especially knowing that it's unlikely to ever be resolved in any way, because it's Archie comics -- but I did have fun and I don't regret buying them. I particularly like the new take on Betty, who was always my favorite character back in the day, and is even more so now.

(They only have Staples for the first 3 issues, but the later artists are pretty good too.)

Comments

[madripoor_rose]

Yeah, I've heard the Archie comics have gotten really good in the last few years. On my to be read list, but there've been great scans turning up at Scans Daily.

[sholio]

They ARE good! And in a way that's very old-school nostalgia without feeling dated, if that makes sense. There's also a surprising amount of ongoing plot and character development -- a lot more than I was expecting, anyhow. I think at this point I've burned out on any desire to read further (there's only so much teen romantic angst I can take, especially since Archie is not that much of a catch) but they were totally worth buying.

[madripoor_rose]

Nods. I'd like to catch up on the comics, but I'll probably be giving the new CW tv series a miss for the teen angst factor.

[thelostglove]

If and when you're up for more in that vein, Jughead is also delightful.

[sholio]

Ooh, I'll look for it - thanks! :)