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bashbashbashbash's review
4.0
When I was nine years old I used to hole up in this small library that had a huge collection of Archie comics. I was allowed to read them once I finished my homework. Archie was this vivid, but completely safe world, where any setback would soon be righted, any good deed duly rewarded. It was a safe place to hide from the world.
That was nearly twenty years ago. Just this past year I almost bought Archie comics in the supermarket check-out line, but didn't (I've been feeling waves of childhood nostalgia ever since my father died). But when I heard about this Married Life series – the Archie gang, all grown up, with Real Life Choices and genuine disappointments – I had to read it.
And, for the most part, it's everything I hoped it would be. The gang's all there, and life is tough, but it's Riverdale tough – that is, the reader feels secure that everything will come right in the end. I was surprised by how familiar the characters were, how seamlessly I slipped back into that world. Of course there's the weird, anachronistic feel of Archie world – at once point Midge refers to a "mohawk haircut" (who says that?!) – but that's part of Archie's charm. This is also a world where cheerfulness and friendship wash away the harsh realities (class and race and gender and the general confusions of being alive). But that's also one of the perks of reading Archie: for a few minutes or a few hours, you get to enter this world where everything works for the characters set down in it, where everyone fits, where everything functions.
It's such a pleasure to watch these characters grow up and gain a little depth (Reggie in particular, though Ronnie's pretty great these days, too). My only gripe is that Jughead, who was always my favourite character, has such a minor (and boring) storyline. Does no one else remember that Jughead can do pretty much anything he wants (he levitated once, didn't he?!). Jughead is like some demigod who's too amused by being human to bother with most things (except the most basic pleasures). He's also the most purely imaginative of the gang. So to see him sidelined in this kind of unimaginative role, the brilliant kid from high school who fizzles out into... a normal. (Also, I'm not too convinced by the Midge romance. Midge is so bland! And Jughead's gay, right? Right?!)
From you above you can probably tell that I maintain strong feelings about Archie et al. I've been missing Riverdale. It's pretty good fun to be able to come full circle with this new series. I'm looking forward to Book 2.
That was nearly twenty years ago. Just this past year I almost bought Archie comics in the supermarket check-out line, but didn't (I've been feeling waves of childhood nostalgia ever since my father died). But when I heard about this Married Life series – the Archie gang, all grown up, with Real Life Choices and genuine disappointments – I had to read it.
And, for the most part, it's everything I hoped it would be. The gang's all there, and life is tough, but it's Riverdale tough – that is, the reader feels secure that everything will come right in the end. I was surprised by how familiar the characters were, how seamlessly I slipped back into that world. Of course there's the weird, anachronistic feel of Archie world – at once point Midge refers to a "mohawk haircut" (who says that?!) – but that's part of Archie's charm. This is also a world where cheerfulness and friendship wash away the harsh realities (class and race and gender and the general confusions of being alive). But that's also one of the perks of reading Archie: for a few minutes or a few hours, you get to enter this world where everything works for the characters set down in it, where everyone fits, where everything functions.
It's such a pleasure to watch these characters grow up and gain a little depth (Reggie in particular, though Ronnie's pretty great these days, too). My only gripe is that Jughead, who was always my favourite character, has such a minor (and boring) storyline. Does no one else remember that Jughead can do pretty much anything he wants (he levitated once, didn't he?!). Jughead is like some demigod who's too amused by being human to bother with most things (except the most basic pleasures). He's also the most purely imaginative of the gang. So to see him sidelined in this kind of unimaginative role, the brilliant kid from high school who fizzles out into... a normal. (Also, I'm not too convinced by the Midge romance. Midge is so bland! And Jughead's gay, right? Right?!)
From you above you can probably tell that I maintain strong feelings about Archie et al. I've been missing Riverdale. It's pretty good fun to be able to come full circle with this new series. I'm looking forward to Book 2.
knowledgelost's review
2.0
When I was young tween, the only real reading I did was Archie comics. We had them in our house all the time; my parents must have thought they were safe enough because no one ever gets any action. There has been news recently about Archie being shot to death in the graphic novel Death of Archie which is the last book in The Married Life series. This news got me curious so I had to pick up the first trade paperback which covers the first six issues of this series.
I have always been on the side of Betty and never could understand why Archie would choose Veronica over her. Archie: The Married Life is split into two different timelines; almost like a Sliding Doors scenario, or, if you are a fan of Broadway, If/Then. This series follows the life of Archie married to Veronica and then Betty. There are some situations that are different in each timeline but mostly follow the same events. Unfortunately nothing much has changed since they were in high school.
Archie: The Married Life does try to look at the normal day-to-day issue facing adults but it holds back too much. For example, Midge finally breaks up with Moose because she is scared of his violent outbursts. This story arch could have gone into some interesting themes of emotional and physical abuse but it treads lightly around the topic. Moose does try and work on his anger issues but there is just so much more they could have done.
My favourite character was always Jughead and I enjoyed it when he hard a love life, luckily this is inserted into this series but not very well. He is getting married. I won’t tell you to who, but the only romance I saw between them was when they shared a milkshake at Pop’s Treat. This brings me to my next issue; why are they still hanging out at Pop’s Treat? I am sure it would be nice to have a place to hang but they could go to a bar or something different every now and then. They are working adults now, but they all still act like teenagers.
I think my biggest problem is the fact that this series is a sugar coated interpretation of what adult and married life would be like. No one has sex; although there was some alluding to an affair between Veronica and Reggie, but nothing happened. The series is still marketed to young tweens and this disappoints me, I thought Archie: The Married Life would have been a more adult look at the Archie world, I was wrong. I don’t even know if I want to continue, I might just read Afterlife with Archie instead.
This review originally appeared on my blog: http://literary-exploration.com/2014/10/26/archie-the-married-life-vol-1-by-michael-uslan/
I have always been on the side of Betty and never could understand why Archie would choose Veronica over her. Archie: The Married Life is split into two different timelines; almost like a Sliding Doors scenario, or, if you are a fan of Broadway, If/Then. This series follows the life of Archie married to Veronica and then Betty. There are some situations that are different in each timeline but mostly follow the same events. Unfortunately nothing much has changed since they were in high school.
Archie: The Married Life does try to look at the normal day-to-day issue facing adults but it holds back too much. For example, Midge finally breaks up with Moose because she is scared of his violent outbursts. This story arch could have gone into some interesting themes of emotional and physical abuse but it treads lightly around the topic. Moose does try and work on his anger issues but there is just so much more they could have done.
My favourite character was always Jughead and I enjoyed it when he hard a love life, luckily this is inserted into this series but not very well. He is getting married. I won’t tell you to who, but the only romance I saw between them was when they shared a milkshake at Pop’s Treat. This brings me to my next issue; why are they still hanging out at Pop’s Treat? I am sure it would be nice to have a place to hang but they could go to a bar or something different every now and then. They are working adults now, but they all still act like teenagers.
I think my biggest problem is the fact that this series is a sugar coated interpretation of what adult and married life would be like. No one has sex; although there was some alluding to an affair between Veronica and Reggie, but nothing happened. The series is still marketed to young tweens and this disappoints me, I thought Archie: The Married Life would have been a more adult look at the Archie world, I was wrong. I don’t even know if I want to continue, I might just read Afterlife with Archie instead.
This review originally appeared on my blog: http://literary-exploration.com/2014/10/26/archie-the-married-life-vol-1-by-michael-uslan/
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