Comics Review: An Archie Bundle

The morning after I had put in an order for a bundle of Archie digests and an Archie trade paperback, I asked myself why I did that the previous night.  I followed my chain of reasoning and found that I had meant to do it and had reasons to do it.  Given how many times I’d sworn off buying comics and that I had no more room for more comics that still felt like an insufficient explanation.  Well, too late.  Let’s just enjoy the comics. 

 

The trade was something I wanted that happened to be on sale for half price.  That explains that.  Archie usually sells digest bundles and sometimes trades as “mystery bundles.”  The price is good, but I didn’t want any duplicates of something I already have.  Then they offered a “pick your own bundle” from an offered list of comics.  I felt almost compelled to buy this to encourage them to do it more often.

 

Except that the bundle deal didn’t work.  I picked some titles, but the order didn’t go through on the website.  It was late, so I abandoned the order without finishing it.  I got an e-mail from the Archie the next day telling me that I’d left items in the cart.  I wrote back about my problem.  No less than Betty Cooper herself on their technical support staff wrote me back and thanked me for pointing out the issue and said that she was working on it.  Indeed, she fixed it and, not wanting to let Betty down, I completed the order.  Unfortunately, the fix eliminated some choices I was interested in that were apparently sold out, which may have been the trouble.  I had to go with some alternates, which was a bit disappointing.         

 

Archie’s Explorers of the Unknown

Archie has turned out to be a fairly malleable concept over the years.  Recasting the gang as Challengers of the Unknown-like adventurers seemed natural enough.  I’m not familiar with the old 50’s DC comic, but I get the basics.  The real selling point was the finely detailed artwork of Rex Lindsey.  I suspected he’d do a good job on an adventure comic and, indeed, this was a whole lot of fun. 

 

This volume covers the whole concept from two Archie Giant stories and a six-issue limited series.  There is a little bit of continuity between the stories in the series and the last issue does sort of complete an arc.  It’s really too bad there isn’t more.  The stories do follow a format.  Maybe it would have gotten old, but maybe the format would have expanded and changed a bit if it had continued.    

 

The Archie characters are adults in this, though still a bit immature.  Betty and Veronica are still fighting over Archie.  Everybody has a certain role on the team.  Veronica as the hand-to-hand combat expert is kind of the strange one.    

 

Reggie does look strangely appropriate with a pencil-thin mustache, but Cheryl Blossom definitely won the makeover contest.  Little wonder she keeps having her way with Archie.

 

This image is not in any of the stories.  Was it a cover?  (The covers aren’t included in this volume.)

 

The adventures are fairly wide-ranging.  They get sucked into The Matrix at one story.  (Actually, I think these stories predate The Matrix.  Maybe more of a Tron reference, instead.)

 

Veronica gets turned into a mermaid in one story, although one wearing business jacket.  She’s also more evil than sexy in this, frankly.  It’s what you wanted, but not how you wanted it.  

  

Look, the girls are wearing jetpacks.  Freaking jetpacks!  What more do you need to convince you to buy this?  (This one was on sale for half-price.  I think they’re closing it out.  Hurry!) 

 

Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics #290

This is a winter, but not a Christmas-themed, Archie digest.  I picked this one because I needed four for the bundle and it featured a new story with the Archie gang and Josie and the Pussycats.  I’ll just hit some highlights from it.  Overall, I’d tag this one as pretty enjoyable.

 

The new story was cute.  I like Dan Parent’s take on the look of the Pussycats.  However, it was only five pages.  That probably wouldn’t have justified a solo purchase.  (I actually wrote a fan fiction with a sort of similar premise as this story with the Archies filling in for some missing Pussycats.  It’s a fun idea.)

Ah, here’s Sabrina in a nighty.  That’s always her best look.  There was a small section of Sabrina stories in this digest. 

There’s a classic Dan DeCarlo section from maybe the 60’s.  These stories look gorgeous.  (Say, could Archie Comics have an AI draw all of their new stories to look like this?  Should I have not have said that?  What have I possibly unleashed?)

 

In this story, Veronica’s fairy godfather brings her Adonis-like snowman to life.  Ahem.  He’s quite forward with her.  I’d be insane with jealousy, but I have to admit, he’s quite dashing.

 

Here’s Ronnie with the cute bob haircut.  I admit, I’ve always liked this look.  

 

There’s a longer story featuring Betty as a female barnstormer from the 30’s.  It has a good punchline with Veronica as a Hollywood actress meeting her new co-star.

 

 

I’m not usually a fan of the Little Archies, but this one is well-rendered and cute.  Betty gets involved with a radio soap opera, but can’t listen to the ending of the story at school.  Mr. Weatherbee, who is revealed to have a wife in this, punishes her, but does make sure that Betty finds out how her radio show ends.  The artwork really tugs at the heartstrings.  

 

Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics #304

The bright, colorful cover with Sabrina on it and the promise of more Sabrina comics inside was enough to get me interested.  Actually seeing this cover in person, the Dan Parent cover is really good.  The little thumbnail didn’t do it justice.  This should be a poster or at least a full-sized comic cover.  About a third of the digest is Sabrina stories, including a new one.  This is for her 60-th anniversary celebration.  Again, this digest is pretty good fun overall.    

 

Some of this is older Sabrina material, such as from the Sabrina Collection Vol. 1, but this time, it’s in color.  (And we’ll be revisiting some of this material again in another Sabrina volume I picked up after this order.)  Here’s a bit from an older story where Sabrina is being a mischievous witch.  

 

And here’s Head Witch Della.  It’s hard to believe anybody could upstage Sabrina in looks, but there she is.

Here’s a couple of clips of a somewhat off-model Sabrina.  These do look better in color.  They’re very 60’s-ish and they’re an intriguing What If in her character’s development.

 

Sabrina has two iconic looks, in my opinion.  One of them is her lounging.  It’s like her natural pose.  (The other look is her in the nighty, as above.)

 

I think this qualifies as an “only in a comic book” moment.  Contrary to what you’d expect, Ronnie and the emu get along well in the story.  (They do not attempt to sell you Liberty Mutual Insurance in the story, either.)  

 

Isn’t she cute?

Here’s a famous Archie extra “photobomb.”  Archie artists occasionally tire of drawing Betty and Veronica and insert other attractive young women into random panels.

 

Other interesting stories include a reality show filmed at the Lodge mansion (Mr. Lodge and Archie make for good TV conflict), the girls join the roller derby team, and there’s a sort-of silent story with Betty (like that famous G.I. Joe story with Snake Eyes, but less violent). 

 

Also with this order, I received two Christmas digests, but I’ll read and review them when we’re more in the Christmas season.

NM State Aggies vs Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders Men’s Basketball 11-14-24

After the Women’s Basketball game ended, dad’s friend, Janet, went to another seat to be with her son for the Aggie Men’s game against the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders.  Dad growled at me to go get my dinner, because he wanted to leave, “pretty quick.”  He’d only agreed to stay till halftime.

 

A bunch of people came in for this game (attendance 4,114).  Going around the crowded concourse, I went to over to the grill for an Aggie Burger.  And I found out that the price of the burger had gone up from $6 to $10, since last season.  The line was also about 10 deep. 

 

I went over to one of the other concession stalls and looked for pizza.  They had it there, but they only sold whole pizzas, not slices or personal pizzas.  (I think their whole pizzas were $20, which would not be bad if you’re feeding a group.  A family below us was sharing one.)  I settled on the Pete’s Combo with a hot dog, chips, and a drink.  How disappointing.  I’m finally here with the grill open and just end up with a hot dog.  At least, I liked mine.  Dad didn’t like his.

 

The little Native American girl performed the Anthem in Navajo again.  I saw her around the press table during the game, still wearing her tiara and sash.  What can I say?  She’s a princess and was going to let everybody know it.  The team had a really classy player introduction video, along with a black & white video showing the history of the program.  The handsome guy in the middle of the poster, I was finally able to identify as Robert Carpenter.  This guy should think about taking acting classes, if he doesn’t have a serious major.  Not so classy was the program for the game.  It was just plain paper.  Also, Student Section was not entirely filled.  That was a poor showing.                

 

First Half

As the game began, dad’s former co-worker, Beverly, who was sitting by us, moved over beside me.  She was having trouble seeing from her seat with a tall person in front of her.  The 90-year old was pleasant company for game.  She was enthusiastic and made some insightful comments about play.  Meanwhile, dad was not speaking to me.  He barely wanted to be here for the Women earlier and wanted to go home.

 

A&M started the game with backcourt violation off the tip.  Carl Cherenfant began the Aggie scoring with a jumper.  Carpenter hit a 3 and things were looking good.  However, the Aggies had a bad pass.  Christian Cook, the iconic-looking guy on the left of the poster with the long braids, prevented a layup and the Islanders did not score on the possession.  Cook then hammered a three and the Aggies were up 8-0 with 17’ left in the half.

 

Jack Nixon on the radio call commented on the Islanders’ uniforms.  They were black with neon green trim and blue numbers.  Jack thought they were nice, but the numbers were hard to read.  His partner, Anita Skipper, laughed at him.  (This is why you bring a radio and want to have the call during the game.) 

 

The Aggies had committed a couple of fouls early.  A&M got in the board with 3 free throws off a foul on a 3-pointer.  Aggie big man (7’) Emmanuel Tshimanga drew a foul and made one of two.  Anita was all over him.  “Why can’t big men shoot free throws?”  A&M came back and missed a pair, while Aggie Peter Filipovity made one of two.  The only thing this really proves is that all these guys need more free practice.  10-3 Aggies with 15’ left.

 

Aggie Gabe Pickens came in with bright pink shoes.  That was a bold (?) choice.  In play, Peter ran the gauntlet down the lane for a layup.  Anita was trying to count the steps he took doing so, but lost count.  I guess the refs did too, and let it go.  Dionte Bostick laid one in for the Aggies to make it 14-7.  Jayden Walker for A&M banked in a 3.  I don’t think he called it, but it still counted.  A&M then made a layup and Nate Tshimanga took the foul.  The crowd booed the officials for it.

 

Coach Hooten is fun to watch on the sidelines.  He’s a bundle of energy running up and down his lane.  I saw him grab Zawdie Jackson and literally shove him over to the Scorer to check in.  (I’m pretty sure Zawdie wasn’t that reluctant to play.)  On court, Garry Clark hit a 3 for A&M and suddenly the score was 16-15 Aggies with 13’ left.  Bostick made a layup and Emmanuel got a basket with a spin move in the lane to increase the lead to 20-15

 

The Aggies then came up empty on their next three trips.  Thankfully, A&M wasn’t able to capitalize on it.  The Aggies went ahead and took a timeout.  In the break, Molly Kaiser from the Women’s team was brought back out on court.  She was honored as the C-USA Player of the Week, in addition to being the Scholar Athlete of the Year.  She’s got a high GPA and is working on an MBA.  And I was impressed with just the 35 points in last week’s game.

 

Another Aggie missed shot led to an A&M layup to make it 20-17 with 10’ left.  Aggie Edward Nnamoko was fouled and made both of his foul shots.  Jack chastised Anita for her bias against big men making free throws.  (Ed is 6’10.”)  Cook was blocked on a shot, but Carl made a jumper to make it 24-19 with 7’ left.  Timeout.

 

The Sundancers performed in the break.  They looked good.  Jack reported that the Aggies were shooting 47% and were up 14 to 7 in rebounds.  Carl knocked down a 3 back in play to make it 27-19 Aggies with 6’ left.  Anita commented on the guys’ all wearing low-top shoes.  She couldn’t imagine playing basketball without some ankle support. 

 

Zawdie was fouled and converted on a one-and-one.  Aggie Jaden Harris grabbed a loose ball and poured in a jumper.  Peter made a rebound and laid it back in.  The Aggies were looking good up, 33-23, with maybe 4’ left in the half. 

 

Dad grunted and stood up at this point and announced that we were leaving.  I apologized to Beverly and said that we had to go, because it was past dad’s bedtime.  He did not appreciate that comment.  In fairness, dad said his main problem was that the Pan-Am seats were bothering his back.  I have offered to bring a cushion for him, but he won’t have it. 

 

As predicted, we had no trouble getting out of the parking lot and dad delivered me back home.  Frankly, I was a bit unhappy, because I was enjoying the game.  I don’t have much opportunity to see the Men play.  When I saw them two seasons ago, they were terrible, so it was good to see them playing well.  I turned on the radio at home to keep listening to the game.  It was 48-32 Aggies at the half.  This was sort of the best case scenario.  I thought going into this that the Aggies would be up big by this point, and I wouldn’t be missing much by not being there for the rest of the game.                 

 

Halftime

Soccer Coach Rob Baarts was there at the game and was interviewed by Jack.  He’d brought the team to respectability in his tenure and they’d had the biggest ticket sales ever this season.  Jack didn’t ask him, but he was clearly worried that Coach Baarts is going to depart for greener (more money) pastures. 

 

In the Football pregame on the weekend, AD Moccia was also concerned about keeping him.  Aggie Football was playing Texas A&M and not the Corpus Christi one.  (I think there’s at least three Texas A&M’s.)  The Aggies were there for the $1M+ payout to help fund NMSU Athletics.  It was reported that 13 to 16 A&M players are making more money in their NIL endorsements than the Aggie Football Coach Tony Sanchez is in salary.

 

Second Half

I got comfortable and I was sort of watching a TV show, while still listening to the game barely taking any notes.  The Aggies were up by 20.  They seemed comfortable, too.  With about 14’ left in the game, A&M went on a 7-0 run to make it, 69-59.  The Aggies called a timeout.

 

From here, the Aggies went down to a 6-point lead.  Cook hit a 3 and made a jumper to keep the lead.  A&M was called for goaltending with 1:30 left, but they kept scoring and whittled it down to a 4-point lead.  The Aggies missed their next two shots with under a minute left.  Carl fouled out.  A&M missed both free throws, but got the rebound and a layup. 

 

The Aggies were up by 3 with 19 seconds left.  Anita said she couldn’t watch anymore.  The Aggies were pressed on the inbounds.  Peter fired a baseball pass down court to Bostick for a slam dunk.  With 12 seconds left, A&M made a layup and converted on a free throw.  The Aggies were only up by 2 with 7 seconds left.  Cook was fouled and converted on one of his free throws for a three-point lead.  A&M had the last possession.  They missed on a three.  The ball was laid in inside for 2.  Perhaps the player was hoping to be fouled.  The Aggies won it by the absolute minimum, 83-82!  Whew!       

 

I blame myself.  I should have driven myself over, as dad had originally suggested, and stayed for the end of this game.  This is what I get for being lazy (and not wanting to fight traffic leaving).  Coach Hooten was not angry in the postgame interview.  A&MCC had played UTEP and UNM before this game and come back on both of them to make the games close.  They’re scrappy.    

 

Islander Isaac Williams led all scorers with 21 points.  Jayden Walker had 14 and Garry Clark had 13.  A&MCC shot 38%, 32% on 3’s, and 63% on free throws.  They had 65 points off their bench to 34 by the Aggies.  This is probably why the score was so close.

 

Dionte Bostick paced the Aggies with 13 points.  Four other Aggies were in double figures:  Christian Cook had 12 points, Zawdie Jackson and Carl Cherenfant each had 11, and handsome Robert Carpenter had 10 points with 10 rebounds.  Emmanuel Tshimanga also had 10 rebounds.  The Aggies shot 41%, 31% on 3’s, and 72% from the free throw line.  The Aggies have a good group who can score, but they need to be able to lock down on defense better. 

 

The Aggie Men have two upcoming afternoon games on their schedule that dad might be interested in going to.  I’d like to see more of them.  Maybe my workplace will offer some tickets.  Once again, I apologize for these last two recaps.  They were really bad.  There were too many distractions for me to do a good job. 

 

Quick view on other Aggies Sports

Aggie Volleyball lost in straight sets to Middle Tennessee on Friday, but won in five grueling sets on Saturday.  I wonder what happened on Friday.  I don’t know.  Their tournament starts next week. 

 

As mentioned above, Aggie Football played Texas A&M on Saturday and lost 38-3.  It could have been worse.  The Aggie defense made two interceptions in the endzone.  They had a decent running game on offense, but they just can’t throw the ball effectively.  Shiyazh Pete got a mention in the broadcast.  At first, they thought he’d committed a false start, but it was actually a neutral zone infraction by A&M and his reaction got the Aggies the call.  Jack called him, “Smart.”