In the 1990's there were a lot of epic comic book storylines that made
major news such as the death of Superman and Superman and Lois Lane
getting married. Archie Comics proved it, too, could generate national
publicity with their own major storyline. Namely, after over 50 years
of a love triangle battle, Archie was finally going to choose between
Betty and Veronica! You can imagine how much interest this generated
among long-time fans. Often overlooked is the fact that Archie and the
gang had been among the longest running comic book series in history
with legions of fans, young an old. Could it be that the love triangle
that started before WWII would finally be resolved? The tale would play
out over the course of four issues in 1994: Archie #429, Betty #19,
Betty & Veronica #82, and Veronica #39, and they are all collected
in this one historic volume. As noted in the introduction, fans were
clamoring for months, begging for hints as to who would finally win
Archie's affection.
The tale begins as Archie is seeing hearts over a love letter he
received. Betty and Veronica demand to know who sent Archie the letter
but Archie is having so much fun seeing them squabble he decides to make
them wait. Betty and Veronica each think the other sent the note and
so begins a no-holds-barred battle for Archie as we've never seen
before. The under-handed tricks fly fast and furious! Veronica fools
Betty with some tickets to a charity dance with the wrong date.
Veronica ends up at the dance with Archie while Betty is fixing his car!
Betty crashes the party in style wearing one of the skimpiest dresses
ever seen in an Archie comic. Veronica fights back in her own "dress to
kill" style, eventually leading two a duel of super soakers between the
two long time rivals. But in the end, Archie has a big surprise for
both of them.
This was just a fun story from beginning to end. Betty and Veronica
are at their most "catty" with claws fully extended as they go after
each other like never before. And one cannot but laugh as Archie sits
back, watching the pair fight over him, knowing he has a huge ace up his
sleeve. Absolutely hilarious! Reggie, of course, makes an appearance
and stirs up as much trouble as he can and Jughead makes a brief cameo
as well. Archie Comics proves that in 1994, and now in 2005, that they
can still delight their fans, young and old. The great thing is that
even if you have not picked up an Archie comic in decades, you can still
read this story as it is truly a stand-alone classic for the ages.
This is a 48 page Prestige format comic with the beautiful Archie-style
art that you've come
to know and love.
full colour
Dan Parent (born 1964 in St. Albans, Vermont) is an American comic
book artist and writer best known for his work for Archie Comics. A
graduate of the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, Parent
began working for Archie immediately after graduation. His writing of
the Love Showdown series from 1994 received widespread attention. Parent
has also illustrated Felix the Cat, Barbie, Disney Adventures, and a
wide variety of other titles.