As the first issue of a two-part miniseries, “Archie’s Superteens Vs. Crusaders” #1 literally cuts to the chase. A fresh but impeccable sense of what makes the Archieverse tick carries the book from there to its whirlwind cliffhanger. Dive in head first and have fun. (Warning: minor spoilers ahead.)
Written by Ian Flynn,Cover by David Williams,
Gary Martin and
Kelsey Shannon
David Williams and Gary Martin
Illustrated and Colored
by Kelsey Shannon, David Williams
and Gary Martin
Lettered by Jack MorelliRiverdale High’s new substitute teacher is very odd. Snubbed by the scientific community, he plans his revenge—on the students of Riverdale High! It’s going to take a team of people with some mighty powers to stop him. Archie Comics’ two most renowned superhero teams are going to meet up for the first time ever in this special mini-series!
The first issue of any series is a tricky proposition. It needs to balance multiple, equally important priorities while commanding the reader’s attention and enticing them to come back for more. The plot needs to be compelling, but if we don’t yet understand what drives the characters forward, we may find it hard to care. Conversely, if the creators spend too much time explaining character motivations and exploring their inner most thoughts and desires, the action will likely bog down and fail to keep us engaged. In “Archie’s Superteens Vs. Crusaders” #1, writers Ian Flynn, David Williams, and Gary Martin wisely decide to chuck the idea of backstory out the window and simply dive right into the action.
After three brief introductory pages that show Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica arriving at Riverdale High on “another picture perfect day,” we learn there’s a substitute teacher by the name of Doctor Zardox. A literal cartoon villain, his character design walks the fine line between a cheeky send-up of mad professor tropes and over-the-top clichés. Clad in a green sweater vest with comically short brown pants that are conspicuously rolled up over his thin, bony ankles, he sports tiny spectacles, massively bushy eyebrows and a shiny bald pate fringed with unkempt gray hair.
Almost immediately, he launches into a tirade about being an under-appreciated genius and vows to teach the world a valuable lesson. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a handheld transmitter and pushes a big red button, instantly activating a secret trap door in the floor of the science classroom. WHA-BOOM. Three panels later, Zar-Bot appears, ready to wreak havoc on Riverdale.
At this point, as a reader, you have two basic choices: bristle at the implausibility of this unlikely sequence or join the comic’s creators and fully embrace the absurdity of it all. Needless to say, the latter is way more fun. Clearly, the writers and illustrators are having a blast. With a combination of big, bold panels, bright colors and fantastic lettering, the superhero iteration of the 21st century Archiverse practically leaps off the page. Compositions and layouts are brilliant and when a character makes an entrance, you know it.
Zar-Bot bursts onto the scene, framed by flying red debris and huge 3-D letters that help give the book a slight Golden Age feel. A few pages later, Black Hood first appears, towering above us in his sleek yellow and blue costume, the wheel of his motorcycle looming in the foreground. Even the sinister villains, the Eliminators, share a brief tableau, standing together in their secret lair as though posing for a spontaneous selfie. Yes, it’s all a bit campy and decidedly cartoonish, but there’s a definite purity to it. None of the creators tries to disguise what they’re doing, much less apologize for it. Pore over the colorful pages and you can pretty much hear the artists say, “Yes, and” to each other. In this case, more is more.
Snarky, self-referential dialogue adds to the fun. As students flee the high school, for instance, Principal Weatherbee’s voice booms over the loudspeaker, “Please follow the super villain emergency protocol! This is not a drill!” Later, when Zar-Bot faces Archie and the gang in their Superhero personas of Superteen (Betty), Pureheart (Archie), Miss Vanity (Veronica) and Captain Hero (Jughead), he laments, “Where are the Mighty Crusaders?! I won’t sully myself on you cosplaying understudies!”
Ultimately, with a creative team composed of three writers and three artists – not to mention Archie Comics stalwart Jack Morelli on letters – this book is remarkably tight and cohesive. Illustrators Kelsey Shannon, David Williams and Gary Martin expertly capture the contemporary Archie milieu, while wonderfully balancing that with a playful yet authentic superhero aesthetic. Weather it’s a splash page of our four iconic teen protagonists striding the familiar halls of Riverdale high or a similar splash page of their four superhero alter egos assembling to save the day, each feels equally fresh and completely on point. With a lighthearted visual tone and consistently funny, self-deprecating script, this book already feels like it has serious legs.
Final Verdict: 8.8 – If you embrace the concept and don’t overthink it, this is a great summer read.
