- Archie Crossover Collection. A 2017 collection featuring five crossovers… well, rather, five comics of that long-standing tradition of having popular comic / cartoon characters meeting famous real-life artists and other celebrities. In this case The Ramones, Lady Gaga, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Strathan and George Takei. Let’s see one by one:
1. Rock ’n’ Roll Riverdale. Alex Segura, Matthew Rosenberg, & Giséle Lagacé. After a disastrous public presentation, The Archies (Archie, Veronica, Betty, Reggie and Jughead) feel so discouraged they disband right on stage. Taking a cue from Fred, Archie’s father, Sabrina uses her magic to send the band back in time to 1976, where they must win a battle of the bands judged by The Ramones —or risk being stuck in the past forever!
A surprisingly fun yarn with a slightly meaner edge than you would except of classic Archie comics (well, not taking into account the entire Horror imprint and / or the Riverdale spin-offs), and tongue-in-cheek references to classic Ramones songs (Blitzkrieg Pop, Pet Sematary, Commando, 53rd & 3rd, and many more) —and even to “Jingle Jangle” from the real-life The Archies.
But even more outstanding than Segura and Rosengerg’s scrip is Lagacé gorgeous art, which perfectly homages the classic Archie look while giving it a distinct modern redesign.
2. Gaga for Baba. Dan Parent & Jeff Schultz. After a less-than-enthusiastic Betty is dragged to a Lady Gaga concert by Veronica, she takes an inspiration from her kitsch style, crafting her own ‘Lady Baba’ persona to perform incognito at underground clubs (!), seeking to ditch her goody-two-shoes tambourine persona from The Archies.
One strange thing about this comic is that while Gaga herself is an actual character in the story, all of her songs are presented in what tv tropes likes to call “Bland Name Products” —easily recognizable parodies such as ‘Poker Head’, ‘Peperonni’ and ‘Romama’ (for Poker Face, Paparazzi and Bad Romance). Too high a fee for the lyrics rights, perhaps?
By itself it’s an entertaining yarn that one feels could have gone much further regarding not just Bety’s arc, but Veronica figuring out the mystery —and encouraging her friend to continue the double life!
3. Geek Face-off. Ian Flynn & Dan Parent. Dilton enters a coding race with none other than the creator of Facebook itself, while Archie, feeling left-out of the Geek trend, hires Reggie and Jughead to improve his smarts. Neither quite gets what he wanted.
The most formulaic of the five tales collected here, with a sub-plot that goes nowhere and a main plot that, while entertaining, feels somewhat haphazardly thrown together. Although, Moose’s quip “Can’t say I understand why you’d make a whole book about faces, but everyone’s gotta have a hobby, right?” is kind of amusing.
Basic Archie comics fodder —not bad, perfectly serviceable, but forgettable.
4. The Sack-rifice. Angelo DeCesare & Dan Parent. Moose quits the football team when he comes close to breaking the local sacks record (…), fearing that it would anger his hero. Said hero, Football legend Strahan comes to Riverdale (according to this comic, his Alma Mater) to woo Moose back to the team.
Similar to the previous entry, this one is saved from tepidness by including a slight comedic edge regarding sports celebrities —such as the talk show ‘The know-it-alls’, whose host describes it as: “The show where we prove that we know everything about sports and you know nothing!”. That, and the fact that until the very last panel, Moose remains convinced that Strahan is just his imaginary friend.
An okay humorous yarn, basically.
5. By George! Dan Parent. Kevin Keller presents a touching essay on George Takei, an inspiration to him for being both an Asian-American actor who overcame impossible odds and for being an out and married gay celebrity. So touching is the essay that Takei himself is convinced by his (real-life) husband Brad to visit Keller himself. Meanwhile Kevin hooks up with his old flame Brian at a comic-con.
Perhaps the most representative story of 21st. century Archie comics in this collection, essentially a mix of the classical art style and general feel-good atmosphere with topics previously ignored — homosexuality, prejudice and historical changes. While the ending can feel a bit too rah-rah, it is still a nice celebration of social progress. Kevin’s final monologue sums up the sentiment perfectly: “We’re living in better times. We can be who we are. And even though there’s always more work to be done, let’s be thankful for the ground-breakers who pave the way!”
In summary, a collection that is better than you might expect from the subject matter.
Next and last: ‘Betty and Veronica: Vixens’, quite possibly the most underrated of modern Archie comics.
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