About Archie 2015 #1
Archie 2015 #1 is written by Mark Waid. The artwork is by Fiona Staples, Annie Wu and Veronica Fish. The series was released on July 8th of 2015. It is published by Archie Comics.
There are a plethora of variant covers available for this issue created by J. Scott Campbell, Colleen Coover, Tania del Rio, Joe Eisma, Francesco Francavilla, Genevieve F.T., Michael Gaydos, Sanford Greene, Robert Hack & Steve Downer, Dean Haspiel, David Mack, Moritat, Mike Norton, Jerry Ordway & Jose Villarubia, Ramon K. Perez, Ron Salas, Greg Scott & Steve Downer, T. Rex & Andre Szymanowicz, Brittney Williams, and Chip Zdarsky.
Archie is one of the longest-running comic book series of all time. This new series serves as a refresher for the Archie characters. It offers a more modern take on the series and setting.
For those who are not familiar with Archie, it is a comic book series about Archie Andrews, your typical American teenager. He attends Riverdale High with his best friend and always hungry Jughead. Archie has two love interests. His love is constantly torn between the “girl next door” Betty Cooper and the rich, high-class Veronica.
Archie 2015 #1 starts fresh with Archie and Betty breaking up after a very long relationship. Everyone at school is shocked and wants to know what happened. With the homecoming dance coming up, people are wondering who will now be crowned king and queen.
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Archie 2015 #1 Review
I like that they had Archie be a 4th wall-breaking narrator in this issue. I think this is a great way to introduce new readers to the world of Archie and Riverdale. Readers get an overview of the characters and setting from the protagonist’s perspective.
It is interesting that the series starts with Archie and Betty breaking up. We are all used to Archie trying to decide whether he wants to date Betty or Veronica. Starting the series off with the end of a longstanding relationship is a nice touch that helps refresh the series.
I won’t spoil it here with details, but Jughead is a devious mastermind! He puts together a plan that is executed perfectly. He has always been one of my favorite Archie characters and I am happy to see him in full force!
I am a huge fan of Fiona Staples’ artwork, and this comic is no exception. One of my favorite panels in this issue involves Archie leaving the movie theater. Instead of the patrons talking about the movie, their speech bubbles just have their star-rating of the film. I thought this was a really creative way to draw this panel. A lot can be said without actually having words in the speech bubbles.
Another similar and interesting aspect of the artwork comes when Archie is playing guitar. Instead of having action text or the typical sound waves, Archie becomes surrounded by sheet music notes. I have never seen anything like it and thought it was an awesome touch. The art in this book is very creative and makes for an interesting read despite already knowing all of the characters.
Archie has been getting a lot of attention over the past few years, including multiple adaptations for television. As a life-long Archie fan, this has been an excellent experience. As for this 2015 series, I think it is off to a great start. The team working on this comic has done an amazing job at refreshing and modernizing this classic series. I can’t wait to see where the series goes from here!
What Did You Think?
Have you read Archie 2015 #1? What did you think?
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