Best Geeky Finds – Riverdale: This Isn’t Your Parents’ Archie (or Even Your Child’s)

I first became interested in comics as a child, not by reading about superheroes or adventure stories, but through ham radio. Every year I would go backstage at the All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron with my dad as he radioed in each driver and coordinated races. Every time I came there would always be something to read, and it would always be the same comic: Archie’s Ham Radio Adventure

I don’t remember much about this specific comic, only that it led me to pick up other Archie comics whenever I might see them, at book sales or yard sales. The stories of Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Jughead Jones and the many other students living in the town of Riverdale were wholesome tales appropriate for children of all ages without worrying about violence, sex, drugs or worse material that caused so many advocates for comic banning to protest. While it ultimately grew to be more of a pop culture pile-on, introducing the crew to the likes of the Ramones, Sharknado and, most recently, the undead, the comics remained much the same, updating characters’ ideas and actions without changing their design.

So for a comic that hasn’t changed much between 1942-2015, it was a shocker when the CW announced a new teen soap/drama, Riverdale. While two new Archie comic series currently exist since the original series ended with Archie’s death, one being a reboot with more contemporary characterizations, I did not see how this world would survive alongside Supergirl, Arrow or Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. It seems the show’s creators didn’t see it surviving either, based on the changes made in the pilot episode that premiered last month.

More like a remake of Dawson’s Creek instead of the darker Twin Peaks it appeared to be based on trailers, Riverdale introduces us to a more ripped Archie Andrews (K.J. Apa) as he comes back from a summer working for his dad’s construction company, along with a few extracurriculars. Coming home he meets up with his friend Betty (Lili Reinhart). It seems Betty likes Archie, but Archie may not feel the same about her. Meanwhile, Veronica Lodge (Camilla Mendes) comes to town with her mother after leaving behind Hiram Lodge and somewhat illegal business practices. All the while, the town still grieves over the death of Jason Blossom, which may or may not have been an accident, suicide or murder. Of course, there must be brooding, as it is a teen show, so the entire show is told from the point of view of a very emo Judghead (Cole Sprouse) who has been writing and narrating the story of his friends from Pop’s Diner.

Along with other characters such as Josie & the Pussycats, Moose and Kevin, the show takes a dark turn that is very unlike Archie and more like the OC or Dawson’s Creek. It does incorporate Archie’s song writing (which only now does anybody realize is terrible, but I can’t wait for the cover of “Sugar, Sugar”), and the classic Betty/Veronica friendship/rivalry. But as compared to both either the original or the new comics, Riverdale is unlike any stories we have read before. Given the shows currently airing on the CW, there is a good chance this will survive its first season, however it may not get a second if the show persists as it did in episode 1.

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