When the Archie comics that chronicled the possible future marriages of Archie and Betty and Archie and Veronica came out, I picked them up immediately. It had been many years since I'd read Archie, but these comics seemed to in some way be speaking to those of us (and there are many) who read these comics as kids and wanted to know how it would all end up. I was quite pleased to see references to Robert Frost in those first six comics, one of my favourite poets, references that were proof that the writers on Archie were paying attention to the stories, not simply churning them out to entertain kids.
It would be a few years more until I started really enjoying Archie comics again, actively seeking them out in dollar bins and garage sales. But on my way across the country to Calgary, I picked up an issue of this series in my effort to get a comic in each of the towns we stopped in. It wasn't this specific issue, but that was the one that tuned me in to the fact that they'd continued the married life stories. I was intrigued.
Today's issue hit a bit close to home for me, unfortunately. These are well-wrought parallel stories that take the same personalities and project them beyond high school. It's fantastic to see the ways that the writers see the characters growing. Moose runs for mayor. In a fit of uncharacteristic insight, Reggie worries that he peaked in high school. Jughead, surprising no one, takes over the Chok'lit Shop. What's really great about these maturations is that none of them seem contrived. They seem, in fact, quite natural. That said, Archie, in both of the stories, is dealing with financial and employment woes, two stressors with which many of us can identify. While these might be somewhat uncomfortable subjects to tackle, it makes sense that this is what Archie comes to. He was always said to be "everyman" (though that's a problematic assertion if there ever was one), and even into his adult years he continues to be.
I have a few more issues of this in the collection that I'll get to eventually. You really can always rely on Archie comics.
Onward.
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