Written by George Gladir; Frank Doyle; & Bob Bolling
Art by Dan DeCarlo; Bob Bolling; Stan Goldberg; Rudy Lapick; Vince DeCarlo; Bill Yoshida; Marty Epp; Barry Grossman; Dexter Taylor; Bob Smith; Jack Morelli; & Digikore Studios
Cover Art by Dan DeCarlo & Dexter Taylor
SUMMARY:
Released by Archie Comics in 2017, this 304-page archival paperback showcases Sabrina the Teenage Witch; Josie & The Pussycats; & Little Archies. Though specific publication dates aren’t provided, all these stories clearly go back decades. Notably, there is a brief disclaimer re: how some of the outdated story material could be construed as socially insensitive.
The fourteen Sabrina’s are: “Presenting Sabrina the Teenage Witch;” “Witch Pitch;” “Sister Sorceress;” “Tennis Menace;” “Double Trouble;” “Strange Love (guest-starring Veronica & Archie);” “An Uncle’s Monkey;” “Witch Fulfillment;” “A Brew Stew;” “Carnival Capers;” “True to Type;” “Plant Life;” “Witchkit Warning;” and “The Nose Knows.”
The eighteen Josie’s (from her pre-Pussycats solo title) and Josie & The Pussycats stories are: “A Gym Dandy;” “Neat Workers;” “Muscle Hustle;” “Track Down;” “Footlight Follies;” “The Bright Side;” “Show Biz Blues;” “It’s Curtain Time;” “Sweater Girls;” “A Bad Sport;” “Native Nuisance;” “Force Feed;” “Off to a Good Start;” “Take Me to Your Leader;” “Please Take Note;” “Sing a Song of Sixpence” (guest-starring Veronica); “Club Crisis;” and “The Image.” Note: Of them, only the last tale credits the retitled series officially as Josie & The Pussycats.
The nine Little Archie’s are: “Little Archie;” “The Flash;” “The Big Loser;” “On Mars;” “Lawbreaker;” “The Strange Case of Mystery Map;” Little Archie’s “Joke Page;” “The Super Sleuth;” and “The New Kid.”
REVIEW:
Chalk it up to quantity over quality, as, unsurprisingly, lightweight nostalgia goes only so far. Out of forty stories and a so-called ‘joke page,’ only Veronica Lodge’s amusing guest spot in a Josie & The Pussycats tale bears a second look. The bland Sabrina and Josie & The Pussycats collections offer at best some innocent reading. Their appeal, however, is geared strictly towards undemanding fans.
Little Archie ages the worst – despite good intentions, these painfully unfunny tales struggle to be readable. The first sample – Little Archie plays ‘married’ with Veronica & interloper Betty – spells out clichéd elementary school kids, but its sexist spoofing is hardly endearing. The same applies to Little Archie’s mystery map caper where it more closely resembles a wanna-be Jonny Quest plot than kiddie Riverdale. Amidst these middling tales, Little Archie isn’t cute, no matter if the kids are drawn that way. In the end, this book’s best asset lies with the top-notch production values, including the original artwork being nicely refreshed. Ink alone, unfortunately, doesn’t hide the ultra-tedious storytelling filling up Archie’s Big Book: Magic, Music & Mischief.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
There’s a table of contents. Each of the three sections has a single-page introduction explaining the general context.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 3 Stars
