Riverdale: The Ties that Bind

 

As a kid I loved to read the Archie comic books because there was a stack of them at my dentist's office. The kids were teenagers, but there was an innocence about the kinds of trouble they got into that made it endearing for me as a tween. But when CW started the Riverdale series, these teens from the 50s suddenly are depicted as angsty, angry, dark teens. Even the virginal Betty is not virginal. Between the usual relationship drama and school rivalries, it seems like these teens are haunted by the sins of their parents and must continue to face stalkers, murderers, serial killers. . .oh my! 

The dark colors of this comic and the odd, almost alien pigments of the pictures makes it clear that Riverdale is a dark space and there is no safety in dark spaces. This particular comic takes the teens on their own harrowing experiences, but the teens and the readers need to wait for the next book in order to find out what the connection to their experiences are with the strange symbol that Jughead found. All we know is that the same symbol is oddly present in every character's experience, but they may not have seen that symbol. They are just happy to be alive and together at the end of the night, but that is not even half of the story. As readers, we are left just as clueless. Stay tuned!

Publication date: May 4, 2021

From the Publishers:

Jughead's locked in and left behind with Moose at Stonewall Prep, Veronica is trapped with Cheryl at a nearby suburban shopping mall, Betty and Polly are stalked by a possible madman when a girls' night goes horribly awry and Archie is held hostage by a 'long lost relative' of Fred's who's come to town seeking payback of any and every kind.

Will Archie and company even make it to sunrise? If they do, will they ever be the same again?