A Carefree Mind of Her Own With a Devilish Look in Her Eye

Yeah, yeah, Countdown, multiverse, major changes, yadda yadda...but what about the really important book that hit the stands this week: Betty & Veronica Double Digest #151?

I picked it up, and thought it was an interesting experiment to have a typical Archie story drawn in a (relatively) more realistic style. I was, however, a little irritated by the fact that we didn't get to see Archie himself (or Jughead or Reggie...let alone Mr. Weatherbee or Miss Grundy) in the new style, and will have to wait for the next chapter. What a tease... (True, we do get a glimpse of Archie on the inside back cover's preview of the next few covers.) I did get a kick out of the movie posters for "The Web" and "Madhouse"...I'm always a sucker for an in-joke.

Unfortunately, while a "straight" Archie story was, as I said, a neat idea, I just wasn't that impressed by the artwork itself. Almost immediately after reading the issue, I realized who the perfect artist would have been for a "realistic" Betty & Veronica story.

Man, I wish Stan Drake was still alive...