We had already introduced you to Riverdale, the collection of stories around the characters of the TV series. Glénat, in his new collection Log-in continues the publication of the heroes of Riverdale. This time, we'll be looking at Riverdale features Archie released last week.
A New Beginning
While Riverdale faithfully took up the plot of the series, Archie is closer to the comic known to all in the United States but poorly published in France until the courageous choice of Glénat to publish one of the oldest American publishing houses, Archie Comics Publications… This comic brings together a team of artists from the first division. The screenwriter is Mark Waid, a screenwriter who has already written great stories about Daredevil, Flash and the masterpiece Kingdom Come. Fiona Staples is the penciller of the first three episodes. She was very successful in France thanks to her Saga series.
This title is part of what is called a relaunch in the United States. A publisher decides to relaunch all his series and bring new blood and more current topics while keeping the spirit. This is what happened a great success with Archie Comics in 2015. The authors decided to come up with completely new stories and drawings. It is therefore a perfect number to enter the new spirit of Archie.
The collection begins with an episode where Archie speaks directly to the reader as if he had just arrived at Riverdale High School. The new reader can easily recognize the characters who are physically quite different from the series – especially Archie's father – but above all it allows to see the differences in scenario. Jughead is a very funny clown here. No one knows why Archie and Betty, the mythical high school couple, broke up while the ever-rich Veronica arrives in town. This fairly classic love triangle works very well. Mark Waid succeeds by well-felt dialogues to interest us in the life of these high school students yet very different from the situation in France. Even though each episode tells a different story, there is much more unity than in Riverdale, with each episode centered on Archie and his family. The series is also more feminist with an episode denouncing the obligation for girls to give a perfect image (stereotyped). Staples' designs are stunning and perfectly match the pop spirit of the series. She is then replaced by Annie Wu and Veronica Fish who have a very similar style facilitating the transition.
A complete edition
Glénat not only translated the episodes but added a foreword by Fiona Staples and an afterword by Mark Waid. We also find all the American covers and last but not least a superb double page that explains the different stages of creation of the scenario to the finished page. We can simply regret this strange choice to put a flap blanket so fragile.
Riverdale introduces Archie is not only a way for fans of the series to discover another side of the series but it is also a great moment of relaxation for any comic book fan. JustFocus will be looking forward to future releases that will focus on Jughead in October, Betty & Veronica in September.
