Archie and Friends #100 Review

I think it is really great how Archie Comics, in its dealings with the music duo, The Veronicas, managed to do what any good company will do when a case of inoffensive trademark infringement comes up - work out some sort of deal that helps both parties.

Part of the new understanding between Archie and the Veronicas involve the Veronicas (the singing duo made up of twin sisters Jess and Lisa Origliasso from Brisbane, Australia) making a guest appearance in the title of their namesake, Veronica Lodge. It was a great success, and in the 100th issue of Archie and Friends, the sisters make another appearance!

However, even though Archie and Friends #100 is written by Dan Parent (who also drew the story), who wrote the good first meet-up with the Veronicas, the story is quite disappointing. The major reason is because the whole concept behind the second meet-up just, well, makes no sense. The Archies are trying to hit it big, and in this issue, they get themselves a new agent, Bird Kroll, who is an interesting fellow. Bird works them hard, and finally gets them a place in the Riverdale Heights Beach Bash competition. However, the Veronicas end up showing up for the competition, too! Now don't get me wrong, Parent makes a point of having Reggie say that "real bands with big followings play that every year," but come on, if the Archies, who, at this point in the story were playing gigs for FREE, are in the competition - it just seems unfair for the Veronicas to be taking part of a competition with small bands. Just didn't work for me.

And then, in addition, Parent has Bird, who, up until now, has been a totally great agent, do something ridiculously over-the-top jerky. Just didn't work for me.

The way that the Veronicas (with Veronica along for the ride) geto ut of the jam they're placed in is clever, though. And Parent's art is great, as always.

The second story is a Josie and the Pussycats Manga story by Tania Del Rio, with art by Chris Lee. Lee's art is quite good, but Del Rio ALSO disappointed me a bit, as the story went a bit past "simple" and into "snoozefest" territory. There IS a neat "wink wink nudge nudge" scene where Alan happens to have a hair dryer handy when it is needed.

Finally, Parent does a better job with the last story, a fun story with Veronica's wacky cousin Marcy (who loves Sci-Fi), where the Archies get a local burger chain to give away raffle tickets with each burger purchase, with the prize being a date with an Archie band member of the person's choice. I won't give away the gag, but it's pretty funny.

However, the last fun story is not enough to get me to recommend this issue, which is a shame, as I was looking forward to it.

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