Archie vs Predator #1 Reviewed

Dark Horse Comics presents the crossover we never knew we wanted

By JOHN LOCANTHI

Archie Andrews and his Riverdale buddies are those relatable, everyday teens we know and love. Predator is a killing machine. Both comic franchises have been a part of many memorable crossovers, but Dark Horse Comics' new series Archie vs Predator (or AvP) might be the most satisfying yet. They're the original odd couple. Except instead of shacking up together, the predator is cutting these stuck up Riverdale punks down to size.

The comic begins with Archibald Andrews and his buddies planning their spring break. Cheryl and Jason Blossom of well-to-do Pembrooke are going yachting in the Caribbean. After Jughead finds a winning ticket at the bottom of a potato chip bag, Archie and the gang are off to Costa Rica, just as a mysterious spaceship crashes down nearby.  

 

Allow me to be frank at the commencement: I do not read Archie Comics. I know the characters solely from characters discussing them on TV shows and in movies. I have no idea whether Jughead really does spend every frame eating or Cheryl Blossom actually wishes for the death of the proletariat, but having an affection for Archie Comics isn’t necessary here. It might even be better not to have one. The writers at Dark Horse don’t seem to care for Archie either.

Subtlety is nowhere to be seen as AvP opts for blunt, obvious satire of the Archie-verse. Women rip apart each other’s clothing as they fight about the outcome of a beauty pageant. Jughead might have a tapeworm. The drawings are sexed up. The predator’s HUD is a tool for emoji jokes.

There are some laughs simply from the shock of how these once wholesome characters are acting—especially at the beginning—but it loses momentum as the story speeds along. Shock, awe and novelty have a short shelf life and there’s little sign that the writing and planning for the series have any interest in going deeper than “How about a crossover between Archie and Predator? lol.”

But it isn’t fair to judge an entire series after the first scene-setting entry, Archie vs Predator #2 coming out on May 20 certainly looks like it will provide the Predator in Riverdale hijinks we all so desperately crave.

 


 

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