Review: Archie Vol. 2

Quick Summary

Pros: This volume delivers the same level of charm and excellence that the previous one did. It also works to show off Veronica as a nice person, rather than the villain she appeared as in the last volume.

Cons: If you did not like the first volume than you will not be happy with this one. The social media integration in this comic is starting to feel odd.

Overall: Archie and friends are up to some more crazy antics which promise to entertain. This volume builds upon the successes of the first one and continues to deliver even more. It builds upon its characters, further develops the world, and manages to tell a ton of jokes along the way. This is a great collection for anyone who enjoyed the first volume or anyone who just likes funny and quirky comics.

Story

The first volume of Archie had a lot of great moments and did a lot of great things to establish this “New Riverdale” universe, the only question was if it would be able to continue delivering the impactful yet entertaining stories that it was putting out. Archie Vol. 2 answers that question with an exclamatory “yes!”. The stories here are just as fun as the first volume and even manage to improve upon it in a few areas. Overall, this is another solid entry into this brand new universe and another indication that this reboot is going to do some great things for Archie.
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In this volume you will find laughs and drama mixed together in that quirky way that has become such a staple of Archie. I was afraid that they would either end up running out of gags or that they would dip too deep into the drama. It is safe to say that neither of these are present here as this volume holds true to everything the first one set up for it. I usually don’t like saying that I want more of the same from a comic but with a series this fresh and new feeling I surely hope they keep this up.

If there is something this volume improves upon from the previous one it is its depiction of Veronica. In the prior volume, Veronica only received a few choice moments that showed her human side, the rest of the time she was just shown as a spoiled heiress. Honestly, in the last volume she almost seemed to be a villain. This volume breaks from that and shows that she is a real person with real feelings, who also genuinely cares about Archie. This then helps to establish her as “one of the gang” rather than some homewrecker. The moment that made this for me was her breakdown in the grocery story, it was simply tragic to read. It also helps the story as a whole by providing her with some excellent character development. All in all, while last volume showed off how great Betty is, this one allows us to see that Veronica is pretty cool too.

One small problem this series has exhibited is the weird way it tries to use social media. In the first volume, Archie tells to reader to make sure to follow him on Twitter at @ArchieComics and to use the hashtag #lipstickincident. This seemed like a pretty harmless plug for the company’s Twitter, until it showed up again in this volume. Once again, this is not a big deal as it has only happened twice in this whole series but it does feel odd to have a company advertise itself and try to get itself trending within the pages of its own book. It just takes you out of the reading experience a little bit and feels rather out of place.

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Art

The first volume featured Fiona Staples absolutely gorgeous art, which is honestly hard for anyone to really live up. However, Veronica Fish’s art may actually fit this material a little bit better. The depictions of people do not look quite as lifelike and beautiful, rather they end up looking a little more cartoonish. This makes them looks a little bit more like they did in the original Archie comics and honestly also helps to contribute to the silly nature of the book. I personally am still not sure which style I prefer, but it is safe to say that it is rather close. Overall, the art might not look as gorgeous as it did in the first volume, but it does look a little more like classic Archie.

Continuity

This comic is the second of a newly relaunched Archie Comics world. This means that you really do not have to have read anything prior to this, besides Archie Vol. 1 (Review). Reading earlier Archie Comics will give you a little better perspective on the characters and how they interact but will not give you any additional information about their history in this relaunched comic. The stories started in this volume continue on in Archie Vol. 3 (Review).