Archie #8 Review


I am not going to ruin anything from Archie #8 in this review. To ruin such a glorious comic would be a travesty. In my previous review of the reboot, I stated how impressed I was with how Ryan North has been able to balance the iconic humor of the classic Archie stories with real-life drama and intrigue. This issue brings all of that to a beautiful climax. All in one issue, we see the genuinely loving relationship between Archie and his parents, realistic issues of poverty, and the glaring divide between Archie and Veronica’s respective upbringings.



The promotions for this issue read as follows: “Veronica’s father (and Archie’s arch-nemesis!), Hiram Lodge, is running for Mayor of Riverdale! But will he save, and even improve the town-or will he destroy it? Find out in this next installment of the hottest comic of the year!” This is somewhat misleading. The actual conflict in the issue is not as widespread as the description implies. Rather, it simply revolves around a small portion of the residents of Riverdale. Maybe the next issue will have more of Mr. Lodge’s campaign promises.

My qualms with this issue are far and few between. Firstly, Mr. Lodge’s levels of outright villainy are somewhat perplexing. In the original comics, despite some questionable continuity, he could usually be counted on to do the right thing. In the new series, he is a manipulative jerk, willing to play around with the livelihoods of townspeople just to achieve a certain goal. I hope that future issues will flesh him out.

Secondly, this issue’s conflict is resolved extremely quickly. Normally, this might bother me more, but the level of emotion in the issue makes it less irritating. As it stands, the resolution comes off as being more convenient than contrived, especially because this appears to be the start of a new ongoing arc. Rather than a magical button to make everything better, it acts as a standard band-aid. Not a permanent solution, but a temporary cease-fire.

I implore you, please check this issue out. Support the new run so we can get more quality content. If you’re not reading the series now, then you’ve missed out on just two months shy of one year of a wonderful series.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or the Harry Potter books.