ARCHIE: 1941 — NOT YOUR common ARCHIE COMIC book

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KC Carlson by Stuart Immonen

A KC COLUMN by KC Carlson

Archie: 1941 #1 Peter Krause cover

There’s a extremely fascinating experiment happening with Archie Comics appearing in comic shops starting today. Archie: 1941 is a new 5-part miniseries written by mark Waid, who likewise composes the routine Archie title (Nick Spencer is taking over with problem #700), as well as his occasional composing partner Brian Augustyn. Augustyn is a former DC Comics editor as well as writer of things like Batman: Gotham by Gaslight as well as its sequel, Batman: Master of the Future, as well as (with Waid) great deals of problems of The Flash. Waid as well as Augustyn likewise co-wrote jobs like The Crusaders, X-O Manowar, as well as JLA: Year One (one of my faves!). Art for Archie: 1941 is by Peter Krause, finest understood for his work on Superman-related titles as well as a three-year run on The Power of Shazam, starring the marvel Family. Waid as well as Krause previously worked together on Irredeemable for BOOM! back in 2009.

Archie: 1941 #1 Sanya Anwar cover

Mark as well as the men didn’t pick the series title at random. In the genuine world, 1941 was the year that many of the traditional Archie cast debuted — in Pep Comics #22 — and, if you understand your history, a great deal of modifications were happening in our world (a bit something ultimately called world war II). Archie: 1941 juxtaposes the teen characters with extremely full-grown situations, as their history mimics ours. If you’re dissatisfied that Archie: 1941 isn’t providing up as much of the typical goofy hijinks as well as Archie slapstick, you may much better appreciate the vintage reprints in the different Archie Digests. however an Archie comic that really makes you believe — that’s a extremely unusual bird, as well as something to cherish.

Archie: 1941 #1 Francesco Francavilla cover

There are all type of bit things right here to remind you that you’re not reading common Archie stories. one of my favorites is that the look of the characters have been lightly re-designed, particularly the adults, who have typically been the most cartoony. The makeovers for characters like Mr. Weatherbee, Fred as well as Mary Andrews, Pop Tate, as well as (in the background) miss Grundy are greatly welcomed by me, as they much better serve the historical context.

The youngsters look a bit different as well, however that’s mainly because of Krause’s utilize of vintage garments style for the teens, which is both distinct as well as emphasizes the different characters’ characters — as youngsters of any type of age would do. Veronica’s bathing ensemble is… well, something…

Archie: 1941 #! Dave Johnson cover

The in-jokes are likewise great. Of course, Archie eats PEP cereal for breakfast! Jughead drinks soda out of a fountain-style glass. The teens view Andy Hardy films (complete with newsreels, which likewise subtly relocation the story along). Pop Tate lets it slip that Goldwater’s Diner may be searching for help. A youngster is shown holding a Jackpot comic book (which is an old Archie publication).

But many of this is fun distraction for the long-time Archie fan. Waid as well as Augustyn offer the visitor with conventional Archie humor to ensure that we don’t recognize exactly how much Archie is disturbed by progressively dark world events up until actually the last story page. I’ve checked out a great deal of Archie comics over the decades, as well as I’m quite sure that there’s never been an Archie story that ended with the words “Second world War!”

It makes me believe that the next four problems of the series will likewise be hitting upon things that we’ve never seen before in an Archie comic book. as well as not necessarily funny things…

Archie: 1941 #1 Aaron Lopresti cover

If it ends as strong as its starts, Archie: 1941 stands a extremely great possibility of being one of the most essential as well as unusual titles that Archie (the Publisher) has ever released. extremely great work, gentlemen!

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KC CARLSON: reading as well as collecting Archie Comics for over 50 years! I truly ought to have stopped for some sleep every few years…

WESTFIELD COMICS is not accountable for the dumb things that KC says. particularly that thing that truly irritated you. thing that’s irritating me today: stairs as well as doorbells.