THE BOOK
ARCHIE & FRIENDS HOT ROD RACING #1
Story: Craig Boldman | Art/Cover: Stephen Butler
Archie Comics Publications | $3.99
A BRAND-NEW STORY kicks off this NEED FOR SPEED issue! "The Race to Save Face" is the first appearance of Daisy Thunder of the Southside Serpents, who challenges Archie and his crew to a charity race through Riverdale. Can Archie prove that his souped-up jalopy can best Daisy's hot wheels? All that plus more racing fun!
THE REVIEW
Don't be fooled by the big, red #1 on the cover: This is actually Archie & Friends #17 (per the indicia). Sadly, Number-One mania is pernicious and ubiquitous, extending even to Archie Comics, which aren't especially collectible.
There are five stories in this issue, which is pretty good value for $3.99. Four of them are hot-rod-related reprints — all of which are better than the new lead story, "Daisy Thunder," by Craig Boldman and Steven Butler. It introduces the titular character as a continuity implant, whom we see in flashback to Li'l Archie days, but actually didn't exist until this issue. She even calls him Li'l Archie in the first panel, as she announces she is "back in town." Of course, she looks just like Betty & Veronica (and Cheryl Blossom) but has a different hair color. In this case, pink.
She's here for the Riverdale Road Race, which Archie has entered with his classic red jalopy from days of yore. Don't worry, "Dilton has reinvented the engine." The race takes them past the Mighty Legends of Justice Museum (which looks suspiciously like DC's Hall of Justice), complete with cameos by The Shield and Brain Emperor. They also drive by "the creepy Igor Estates" (which looks not-at-all suspiciously like Archie's Mad House).
But the writing seems aimed at children, and isn't really that interesting. Good Archie stories are pretty much gag-a-minute (whether in dialogue or pictures), but if this story doesn't offer much effort in that direction. Even the punchline at the end (where Daisy, whose raison d'etre is auto racing, naturally wins) was tired and not at all funny. The best line is Archie having "windshield vipers" to chase away bats. It's all downhill from there.
Fortunately, there are four reprints to provide more funny. They include:
- "Winner Take All," by George Gladir and Bill Vigoda, from Life with Archie #99 (Jul 70);
- "Racy Story," by Mike Pellowski and Bob Bolling, from Archie & Friends Double Digest Magazine #28 (Aug 2013);
- "Drag Drama," by George Gladir and Dan DeCarlo, from Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica #135 (Mar 67); and
- “The Moose Is Loose,” by Frank Doyle and Gus LeMoine, from Everything's Archie #13 (Apr 71).
Naturally, the one I enjoyed most is the one drawn by Dan DeCarlo, my favorite Archie artist of all time. But even without my obvious bias, "Drag Drama" is probably the funniest one, with all the characters remaining in character instead of being forced into drag-racing roles for which small-town teens are ill-suited. The least funny of the four is, naturally, the one not by veterans George Gladir and Frank Doyle. It's also, not coincidentally, the most recent.
It's almost like today's writers don't understand Archie's timeless humor. Or maybe they do, and today's readers do, and I'm the one out of step. What do I know? I still want a comprehensive Dan DeCarlo hardback series that I will never get.
I'd settle for Samm Schwarz!
Replies