The Archie Comics universe has become a unique part of our pop culture, striking the balance between unbelievably quintessential and super specific. Even as they’ve turned into post-apocalyptic zombies, fought The Predator and The Punisher, and teamed up with KISS, the characters of the Archie world have remained pretty darn timeless.
Archie #700 takes this dichotomy into a new era, kicking off a new run with something that feels familiar, but not too familiar. If you were a reader of Mark Waid’s beloved Archie run, this sort of soft relaunch will probably serve as a logical next step. For people who want an excuse to dive back into the Archie Comics world and are familiar with anything from Riverdale to the older Archie issues, this is a pretty good place to start.
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To an extent, this issue’s tone and setup sort of feel akin to Archie’s live-action adaptation, in ways both at and below the surface. The issue even opens like a typical Riverdale installment, with a Jughead monologue filled with tons of sardonic wit. It’s clear that this version of Riverdale feels like what its TV counterpart would be like if the kids had a mostly normal life, one that isn’t filled with serial killers and evil games of D&D.
“Mostly” is the key word here, as Archie #700 presents its fair share of plot twists. The first twist is both hiding in plain sight (fans can probably deduce it from looking at this issue’s main cover) and a little genuinely surprising, and could serve as an interesting shift for the romance side of the Archie world. The second twist is probably more shocking, in part because there’s no indication of where exactly it leads.
On paper, Nick Spencer may have seemed like a conventional and unconventional choice to take on the Archie world. And while it’s unclear how things will evolve, especially as the mystery deepens, Spencer’s writing in this issue does show quite a bit of promise. The distinct modern voices of each character largely come through in this issue, although there is arguably a bit of room for improvement.
This push into the “new era for Archie” is accented by Marguerite Sauvage‘s stunning art, which carries over the unique blend of timeless and niche. The various characters of the issue each have their own little visual flairs, but there’s a real sense of cohesion to every panel and page. Every little detail, from the fashion to the backgrounds, are impeccably drawn, and the pastel colors feel like a cooler evolution of the candy-coated Archie comics of everyone’s childhood. Jack Morelli’s lettering also has this similar sort of cool update to it, making even the longest of Jughead monologues feel like a breeze to read.
Change is a weird sort of beast amongst the comics world, and the Archie universe has seen evidence of that in some pretty major ways. While this newest soft reboot might not be a completely drastic change, it shows quite a lot of promise. With intriguing mysteries, endearing character interactions, and gorgeous art, this debut issue has its fair share of surprises.
Published by Archie Comics
On November 21, 2018
Written by Nick Spencer
Art by Marguerite Sauvage
Letters by Jack Morelli
