A review by isabelle_the_bookdutchesses
The Archies & Other Stories, by Matthew Rosenberg, Alex Segura
4.0
The Archies and Other Stories is divided in three chapters. All three chapters are different stories. We got The Archies, Big Moose, and Jughead: The Hunger. In this regards it's like Road to Riverdale. You get a look at a couple of different Archieverse storylines and if you like any you can pick up more of it! I can already tell you I added some to my wishlist ;)I've broken down my review for each chapter and did an overall rating at the end. Each chapter got it's own rating as well, as they are completely different stories with different art styles.Chapter One: The ArchiesThe Archies is about the band Archie starts. Archie wants to start his musical career and with help from Jughead he decides to start a band. It was a good start to this bind-up comic as it takes you straight back into Riverdale and the Archieverse. I enjoyed the art work in this one. It was clean and colorful and fit the story well.I really liked reading about these characters again, most of my favorites were in this story. But I have to say the plot was extremely thin. It didn't really work as a one-shot for me personally. When looking up the Archies I saw that there are currently two volumes published so that might be why this was a bit of a let down for me. I might pick up the first volume and see if that convinces me to continue reading this series.It was definitely enjoyable to be back with these characters and in this world. Unfortunately it wasn't a great storyline so I can't give it more than 3 stars. I did like the art work!
3/5 stars
Chapter Two: Big MooseThis chapter is about Moose and consists of three short stories. And I have to say it felt like those three short stories brought me more than the whole The Archies story arc. It was very enjoyable to read. All three stories are done by different artists so we got three very different art styles. I liked getting to know Moose better, especially the second story got me to really appreciate him as a character. It was also great seeing Jughead involved so much. Let's break it down into the three short stories.Moose vs the Vending Machine I liked the art in this story. It fit the story and it gave me a comical feel overall. The story was a bit stereotypical but definitely enjoyable. I think it set us up for the second story nicely.Have it all I loved the art for this one. And I loved the story a lot. It got me to really appreciate Moose as a character. You get see how he has to juggle school, sports and his social life and you get a great insight into his character. We also got to know Midge a little better which made me appreciate her more as well.The big difference Unfortunately I wasn't a fan of the art style for this story. The story seemed a bit 'meh' at the beginning and I was a little bit let down after the great second story. But it ended great in my opinion and that really lifted the whole story.
4/5 stars
Chapter Three: Jughead: The HungerThis story tells us about an alternate Riverdale universe where there are werewolves in Riverdale. I really liked that storyline, although you have to be able to see it as a separate or alternate story because obviously it doesn't fit into the normal story. We see our main characters with some of their known characteristics but with a little something extra for some of them as well.I liked the colors that were used and the vibe of the art. But I wasn't a fan of the actual art itself unfortunately. I didn't like how the characters were drawn for example. The story I liked very much and that ending left me wanting more. But I do think it all went a little bit too fast. It would've benefited from some extra pages just so the story could've been expanded a bit more. The first volume for Jughead: The Hunger is already on my wishlist and I hope to get it soon!
3,5/5 stars
Overall rating:Very enjoyable bind-up comic! Not all stories were of equal quality but overall I definitely enjoyed myself. There are quite some different art styles, you probably won't like all of them as they are definitely different from each other. If you're a Riverdale or Archieverse fan like me this is a must read and something you absolutely need in your collection.
3,5 stars
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actual rating: 3,5 stars. Full review to come!
3/5 stars
Chapter Two: Big MooseThis chapter is about Moose and consists of three short stories. And I have to say it felt like those three short stories brought me more than the whole The Archies story arc. It was very enjoyable to read. All three stories are done by different artists so we got three very different art styles. I liked getting to know Moose better, especially the second story got me to really appreciate him as a character. It was also great seeing Jughead involved so much. Let's break it down into the three short stories.Moose vs the Vending Machine I liked the art in this story. It fit the story and it gave me a comical feel overall. The story was a bit stereotypical but definitely enjoyable. I think it set us up for the second story nicely.Have it all I loved the art for this one. And I loved the story a lot. It got me to really appreciate Moose as a character. You get see how he has to juggle school, sports and his social life and you get a great insight into his character. We also got to know Midge a little better which made me appreciate her more as well.The big difference Unfortunately I wasn't a fan of the art style for this story. The story seemed a bit 'meh' at the beginning and I was a little bit let down after the great second story. But it ended great in my opinion and that really lifted the whole story.
4/5 stars
Chapter Three: Jughead: The HungerThis story tells us about an alternate Riverdale universe where there are werewolves in Riverdale. I really liked that storyline, although you have to be able to see it as a separate or alternate story because obviously it doesn't fit into the normal story. We see our main characters with some of their known characteristics but with a little something extra for some of them as well.I liked the colors that were used and the vibe of the art. But I wasn't a fan of the actual art itself unfortunately. I didn't like how the characters were drawn for example. The story I liked very much and that ending left me wanting more. But I do think it all went a little bit too fast. It would've benefited from some extra pages just so the story could've been expanded a bit more. The first volume for Jughead: The Hunger is already on my wishlist and I hope to get it soon!
3,5/5 stars
Overall rating:Very enjoyable bind-up comic! Not all stories were of equal quality but overall I definitely enjoyed myself. There are quite some different art styles, you probably won't like all of them as they are definitely different from each other. If you're a Riverdale or Archieverse fan like me this is a must read and something you absolutely need in your collection.
3,5 stars
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actual rating: 3,5 stars. Full review to come!