[BOOK REVIEW] Archie Volume 1: The New Riverdale by Mark Waid

Title:  Archie Volume 1: The New Riverdale



Author:  Mark Waid



Artists:  Fiona Staples, Annie Wu and Veronica Fish

Genre:  Comedy / Romance / Drama / School

Year Published:  2016

Year Read: 5/18/2016

Series: Archie #1

Publisher: Archie Comics



Source:  Purchased



Content Rating:  Ages 13+ (Some Language)

Introduction:

WHAT!?  ARCHIE IS GETTING A REBOOT!?

Who would have thought the day would come when Archie Comics would finally decide to reboot their beloved “Archie” series which has been around for nearly sixty years now!  I must admit, I was quite surprised at this new establishment for Archie Comics (I mean come on, Archie and the gang have been in high school for the past sixty years now)!  So, when I heard that Archie was going to get a reboot and it was being written by Mark Waid of “Daredevil” fame, along with artwork by Fiona Staples, Annie Wu and Veronica Fish, I will admit that I had mixed feelings about this whole thing since A) I have a love / hate relationship with reboots and I was worried that they were going to mess up one of the greatest comic book icons of all time with this reboot and B) with all the constant reboots going on during this decade, I was getting sick and tired of having yet another reboot of a beloved classic character happened.  But, as it turns out “Archie: Volume One: The New Riverdale” had certainly exceeded my expectations in a fantastic way!

What is this story about?

Meet Archie Andrews!  He goes to Riverdale High School and is best friends with food loving Jughead Jones and was in a relationship with his childhood friend Betty Cooper (do not even ask why they broke up).  One day however, Archie’s world changes when Veronica Lodge, the daughter of a billionaire moves into Riverdale and he ends up falling instantly in love with her.  Unfortunately, this puts him at odds with Betty and Jughead as they do not want to see their friend being used by this rich snob and they will do everything in their power to make sure that Archie does not end up with Veronica!

What I loved about this story:

Mark Waid’s writing: Wow!  I was quite impressed with Mark Waid’s writing in this story!  Even though I was quite familiar to Mark Waid’s work in the past, I never would have thought that he would create a truly interesting and modern retelling on everyone’s favorite teenage comic book icon!  I loved the way that Mark Waid gave an interesting new spin to each character, such as making Betty more tomboyish than in the original series (it really shows when she has trouble giving herself a makeover) and making Jughead more cynical. But, I loved the fact that Archie still remains to be the lovable goofball he was in the original comics and his clumsiness is definitely played for higher laughs here!  I also loved the way that Mark Waid still kept the characters and its setting faithful to the original comics, but still modernizing the situations they are in such as actually showing us Betty and Archie breaking up and how that breakup affected them afterwards.  I loved the fact that the story is a mixture of drama and comedy as it made the story much more interesting to read and there were various moments where I laughed and cried such as feeling great sadness over Archie and Betty’s breakup, but laughing my butt off from Archie’s clumsy shenanigans!

Fiona Staples, Annie Wu and Veronica Fish’s artwork:  The overall artwork in this volume were amazing to look at, as all the “Archie” characters are drawn in a realistic and refreshing way that made me really relate to these characters.  But probably my most favorite artwork in this volume were the ones done by Fiona Staples as her artwork is so gorgeous to look at and I have always loved her work on Brian K. Vaughan’s “Saga!”

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

Anyone who has been reading the “Archie” comics for a long time might be a bit shocked that there is some language in this volume including the use of “hell” in one instance.  However, the language is not too strong and it would be easy to overlook this whenever you read this volume.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Archie Volume One: The New Riverdale” is a truly fantastic volume that fans of the original “Archie” comics will enjoy and I am definitely looking forward to reading more of this series soon!

[BOOK REVIEW] Daredevil Volume 1 by Mark Waid

Title:  Daredevil Volume 1



Author:  Mark Waid



Artists:  Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin



Genre:  Superhero / Comedy / Action / Adventure / Suspense

Year Published:  2011

Year Read: 11/21/2014

Series:  Daredevil #1

Publisher: Marvel Comics



Source:  Library



Content Rating:  Ages 15+ (Fight Scenes and Violence)

Introduction:

Now, I will admit that the first “Daredevil” comic I had actually picked up was Frank Miller’s “Daredevil: The Man without Fear” comic, which I enjoyed immensely!  Now, I am diving into Mark Waid’s portrayal of the legendary superhero Daredevil and I will admit that I found this version of “Daredevil” pretty interesting so far!

What is this story about?

After the events of “Shadowland,” Matt Murdock has finally returned to New York City at his old law firm.  But due to outing himself as Daredevil, Matt is finding it more difficult to hide his secret identity as everyone at his law firm are starting to take advantage of this secret and making Matt give up various cases due to the court not supporting his secret identity as “Daredevil.”  Later on however, Matt soon discovers that there are some mysterious crimes at work in New York City.  First, the Klaw, Master of Sound, ends up returning to the city and then, Matt ends up trying to help out a blind kid who is accidentally thrown into danger when the kid overhears the plans of an international criminal organization, that involves the world’s most fearsome supervillain groups like H.Y.D.R.A, and the organization is looking to kill the blind kid in order to keep their plans a secret.

What I loved about this story:

Mark Waid’s writing: I must admit that Mark Waid’s portrayal of “Daredevil” was pretty interesting and hilarious to read since I was so used to reading about “brooding and dark” Matt Murdock!  I loved the way that Mark Waid made Matt Murdock into a more fun-loving and witty character as it had been years since we had seen a more laid back Matt Murdock and it really made reading about him more interesting and fun!  I also liked the fact that Mark Waid made some references to Matt’s past events in “Shadowland” as it does indeed affect Matt’s current life, especially with the whole city knowing that he is Daredevil and Matt repenting for his actions in “Shadowland.” But probably the best thing about this volume is the fact that even if you have not read “Shadowland” (and I definitely have not read “Shadowland” yet), this volume makes it easier to jump into the story without having to learn so much about “Shadowland” to completely understand the story.

Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin’s artwork:  Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin’s artwork are truly creative and colorful to look at and greatly complements the mood of the story!  I loved the way that both Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin detailed the sound waves and effects that Matt Murdock sees in order to sense when people are nearby due to his blindness as it was truly creative! I often wonder how the artists would be able to portray Daredevil’s senses through the art and it was done so beautifully in this volume as you can actually see the sound waves coming from the person that Matt senses which makes the reader actually feel the senses that Matt is sensing.  I also loved the way that the fighting scenes are drawn as they made the fighting sequences extremely interesting to look at!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The reason why I gave this volume a four star rating was because I felt that the story tend to jump all over the place, mainly during the first half of the volume.  I actually felt that the second half of the volume was much more superior as we had a straight forward story than we did in the first half of the volume.  Also, I will admit that because I did not read “Shadowland” before I dived into this volume, I was a bit confused about how everyone found out about Matt’s secret or how Matt went out of control during “Shadowland.”

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Daredevil Volume One” is a great volume to read if you are a huge fan of “Daredevil” and if you want to read a comic book that is full of fun and action!

 

[BOOK REVIEW] Irredeemable Volume 1 by Mark Waid

Title:  Irredeemable Volume 1

Author: Mark Waid

Artist: Peter Krause

Genre:  Superheroes / Action / Adventure

Year Published:  2009

Year Read: 9/20/2014

Series:  Irredeemable #1

Publisher:  Boom Studios

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 12+ (Mature Themes and Violence)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

Introduction:

I have read many comic books from different companies including Marvel, DC, Image and Dark Horse, but this was honestly the first time I had read a comic book series from Boom Studios!  This comic book happens to be called “Irredeemable,” which is an Eisner Nominated Comic Book Series that is written by Mark Waid along with artwork by Peter Krause and man, was I in for one heck of a surprise when I started reading this comic book!

What is this story about?

In this volume, the Plutonian was once the World’s greatest superhero, but then one day, he suddenly went insane and started killing many innocent people.  His former teammates then try to come up with a plan to find out about what made the Plutonian snap and try to learn more about who he really is and how to stop him before he destroys the world!

What I loved about this story:

Mark Waid’s writing: Now, I will admit that I have read many comic books where the superheroes go bad (some stories were good and some stories were bad and should have never been printed in the first place), but this was probably one of the most unique takes on the classic “superhero going rogue” story line that I have ever read.  Mark Waid has done a great job at presenting the readers with a premise that would sound preposterous to some superhero fans, but ended up making this story pretty interesting to read!  I liked the way that Mark Waid explored the idea of a superhero going rogue through the Plutonian and the affect it had on his former teammates and his loved ones.  It is like seeing a close friend of yours suddenly going insane and you have no idea how or why your friend is going insane, which really makes this situation pretty personal for anyone who had to go through that in real life.  I also loved the mystery that Mark Waid provided in this story such as trying to figure out why the Plutonian went insane and what could possibly stop his rampage across the world, which I figure might be the main plot of this whole series.

Peter Krause’s artwork:  Peter Krause’s artwork was just amazing in this volume!  I loved how realistic the characters look and I also loved how Peter Krause drew the scenes where the Plutonian caused mass destruction all over the world, which was both chilling and mesmerizing to watch!  I also loved the way that the characters’ faces and bodies are shadowed whenever they are in the dark during the night scenes as they make the images much more effective to look at.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The reason why I took off a star from this book was because while I enjoyed the story about a superhero suddenly going rogue, I would have liked to know more about the Plutonian as a character and about his teammates also.  It felt like they just threw the characters into this situation without really explaining about why this is all happening.  Maybe the plot about finding out more about the Plutonian as a character and why he went on a rampage is a part of the big mystery for this series, but I still would have liked to learn more about the Plutonian in this volume just so I could care more about his character when he did go rogue.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Irredeemable Volume One” is an interesting comic book about what would happen if a superhero goes rogue and the lengths one must take to stop that superhero from destroying the world.  I am definitely going to check out the next volume to see what happens next!