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• Price: $3.99
• Rated: All Ages
• Pages: 28
• On Sale: June 20, 2018
• Writers: Ian Flynn, David Williams, Gary Martin
• Artists: Kelsey Shannon, David Williams, Gary Martin, Kelsey Shannon
• Letterer: Jack Morelli
• Publisher: Archie Comics

From the Publisher – Riverdale High’s new substitute teacher is very odd. Snubbed by the scientific community, he plans his revenge-on the students of Riverdale High! It’s going to take a team of people with some mighty powers to stop him. Archie Comics’ two most renowned superhero teams are going to meet up for the first time ever in this special mini-series! Features cover 1 of 2 special connecting main covers!

Our We Talk Comics WeView – Every comic book reader/collector has probably picked up an issue of Archie Comics at some time in their lives. Even non comic connoisseurs at a young age have had an adult hand them a four color floppy consisting of the gang from Riverdale. Though Archie Comics has successfully tried to expand their readership with reboots (like Mark Waid’s excellent Archie series), horror (kicked off with the surprise hit Afterlife with Archie) and adult material (the “Dark Circle” line), it’s great that they also try to keep some fun kid friendly books on the shelf ready to entice the younger generation into the comic book fold. I’m just not sure if Archie’s Superteens versus the Crusaders is that book, because I’m not sure who the target audience is.

On one hand, the concept seems like a fun one. Archie’s Super Teens meet up with The Crusaders. In terms of story telling, it moves at a brisk pace. Introductions are made quickly and efficiently and there is plenty of action. There are heroes in capes and masks, a mad scientist, a giant killer robot and, with only nineteen story pages, it won’t exactly tax a younger reader’s attention span. At first glance, it seems like a good comic for kids.

On the other hand, the jokes aren’t very funny, the best one being an Abbey Road gag on page one that very few kids will get, and even it wasn’t that great. Perhaps, in fact, it’s not for kids? Perhaps it’s a tongue-in-cheek retro team-up story for adults. I mean come on, Archie’s Super Teens are an alternate reality version of the Riverdale gang first introduced back in the mid-sixties and combined into a team in the mid-nineties. Each main Archie character their own super heroic alter ego.

The Crusaders are a super team much like the Justice League or The Avengers created by the publisher for their “Red Circle” line during the late seventies and early eighties, made up of characters who originally debuted in the silver or golden age of comics. Since then the “Red Circle” characters have been rebooted and revived several times. First in 1983 and again in 1991, and then again in 2007 as part of a licensing deal with DC Comics. Archie Comics then took another stab between 2011 and 2014, before yet another re-brand with their mature readers “Dark Circle” imprint in 2015.

And therein lies the problem. If it’s a book aimed at children, they are using variant versions of their characters that have not exactly been a stable of the publishing line since their introduction, and some of which are currently part of a Mature Readers line. If it’s a book for adults it’s thinly plotted, undersized, not very funny and doesn’t even tap into any nostalgia (not even with the misleading hero versus hero title).

The artwork is clean, crisp, and tells the story well, but like the writing I’m not sure which generation it’s aiming for. There’s a very fun retro robot character who seems to be trying to appeal to an older reader, but the more modernized versions of the Riverdale gang seems like it’s trying to appeal to younger readers. It feels out of sync. The versions of the Crusaders appear randomly plucked from past runs which is kind of odd but probably good since the last thing they would want is a kid saying. “I loved Black Hood, can I get that issue of his comic?” while pointing at the “Dark Circle” version of the character which has the hero as a scared, murdering, drug addict.

Ultimately, I’m disappointed to say the book is not clever or complex enough for an adult to enjoy. A kid may like the action but it’s probably not a wise marketing choice for a book aimed at kids since there are no other versions of these characters available except in some $1 back issue bins that date back decades.

Rating – Very Good (VG) or 4/10

Review by Brett Harris

Love the review? Hate the review? Disagree with me? I’m happy to talk comics on twitter @BrettTHarris

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