The title of this $3.99 Archie/DC comic really says it all; Harley and Ivy meet Betty and Veronica. Well, actually they don’t meet them. Not yet, but soon.
You see, Mr. Lodge is up to no good. Backstory: He has a project up his sleeve that has questionable motives, and Ivy wants to stop him. Lodge has organized a fundraising costume ball, and some of the Riverdale kids have been given tickets to attend, just so Lodge can look good. Harley and Ivy see this as a way to get close to Lodge, so they manipulate their way into the ball.
While this first issue essentially sets up the scene for issue 2, which will presumably delve deeper into the actual “meeting” promised in the title, a lot of fun opportunities have been lost along the way.
Many scenes run too long, and consist of the characters whispering comments under their breaths, giving dirty looks, and grumbling. In the classic Archie stories, those were treated as moments of pure physical comedy, but in this more realistic rendering of the characters, the passive-aggressive encounters are played straight. Not funny, just grumpy.
Harley and Ivy have their moments here and there, but even they don’t have strong dramatic moments in this first issue. Maybe in issue 2?
Pick this one up only if you are a completist.
The story is by Paul Dini and Marc Andreyko, art is by Laura Braga.
Newsdesk