Archie, Vol. 5 (2018)

I do like vol. 5 of Archie better than the one before it, although there’s still a good deal of melodrama.  I feel like I can safely say that Jughead issues #1-8 are easily my favorite Archieverse content.  But there’s some good stuff here (note:  in order to say much of anything here, I need to spoil the big twist from vol. 4.)

The characters are still reeling from the effects of the car crash in the last volume, although the one who was most affected by it, Betty, is the least demonstrative about it.  While Betty gets to work on physical therapy and uses a wheelchair as she hurries to get caught up in school, she keeps on a brave, self-sufficient face.  Meanwhile, her parents blame Archie for the accident and have banned him from having any contact with Betty.  As all his friends pitch in to offer support to Betty and her family, Archie is at a loss for what he can do to 1) show his friend he cares about her and 2) get out from under his own overwhelming sense of guilt.

Okay, so at least the start of the volume makes it clear that Betty isn’t most-definitely-physically-paralyzed-forever, and it’s instead more of a wait-and-see game to find out how she responds to physical therapy.  When you know that the character’s almost certainly going to walk again eventually, it’s better to just skip the “she’ll never walk again!!!” declarations right away.  But there’s still so much drama, up to and including a person in a wheelchair falling alone in their room when they try to stand up.  And this is on top of the usual Archie drama of the never-ending triangle.

To be fair, though, some of the drama is interesting.  I like the conflict between Betty’s parents and Archie, which leaves Betty caught in the middle, and Archie’s feelings of helplessness feel true to life.

However, my favorite parts are less about angst and more about characters being proactive in helping Betty.  I really like the detail of her friends divvying up her (many) volunteer commitments amongst themselves – it gets a little Mother Teresa-y at times, but it shows what a hole Betty’s absence leaves in the community, along with her friends’ realization that, more than anything, she’d want to know this work was still being done.  There’s also a strong Jughead subplot in which he pitches in in his unique way.  Even though I like Jughead best in his own comic, I’ve already made it clear that I still enjoy him in any form, so I’m always happy to see him featured in a good friendship plot!

I can’t say for sure how long I’ll keep reading Archie.  It’s enjoyable and the artwork is always nice, but it doesn’t grab me in the same way that other comics I read do, and one of these days, I may decide to cut it loose.  While I don’t think I’m at that point yet, I may reach it sooner or later.