Paul Kupperberg

I finally got my hands on the second volume of The Married LIfe. Mr. Lodge is still very much the villain in both of the story lines although Fred Mirth has been added to the Archie Marries Betty storyline. although maybe Mirth is in both story lines? I still find myself confused sometimes, especially since a lot of the rest of the couples are working out the same way.

I am beginning to wonder two things, one, if the stories are somehow going to come together via some kind of time traveler show more and two, if someone else is pulling Mr. Lodge's strings in both stories b/c there are definitely hints of that in the Archie Marries Veronica storyline and as I pointed out in my review of the first book in the series, I don't remember Mr. Lodge feeling so over the top evil.

I am apparently a Betty girl b/c I like Betty better with both Reggie and Archie. I am a huge fan of how Reggie has changed in both story lines. He has definitely become more of a grown up.

So I definitely feel like I'm enjoying the school story line from Archie Marries Betty more, although I feel like I like Betty better with Reggie. I think my problem is that I was never a huge fan of Archie himself. He feels wishy washy in both stories where the women have always felt stronger, maybe b/c they could fight over him but still be friends?

Either way I can't wait to see where the two stories are going and I definitely plan on continuing to follow the series. show less

Unless I missed something, the "married to Veronica" half is almost pure misery, and the "married to Betty" half is almost certainly the happier timeline, if only Mr. Lodge would quit being the most evil possible industrialist.

I haven't read any Archie in a while, so revisiting Riverdale's citizens in grown-up, more responsible forms was fun. Of all the updates, I liked seeing Reggie reformed. Among this book's perfect-sense evolutions of the cast is Reggie as campaign advisor. Can he appear show more on "Veep?" show less

I haven't read Archie comics in years, but the other day I remembered the marriage storyline and decided to look into it. This volume covers the first 6 issues of that storyline. Archie takes a walk down memory lane and we get to see what his life would be like if he married both Betty and Veronica. I know not everyone is thrilled with the idea but the Betty/Veronica debate has gone on for years and it's a neat way to make everyone happy.

The alternate story lines are both pretty interesting show more and I like seeing what's going to happen in both scenarios. I will admit that since other factors differ, such as when other characters get married and what characters are doing with their lives. Sometimes, this gets a little bit confusing b/c you have a moment where you go "wait a minute...." but then you get yourself re-situated and keep going.

I did feel like they may have made Veronica's dad a little bit too much the villain. Now as I said I haven't read in years but I don't remember him being so evil feeling when I was a kid. He's making it impossible for people to survive in what is already a very difficult environment.

I definitely want to keep reading this, particularly since I want to see what turns out the same in both environments and what ends up different. show less

I have a guilty secret: I always enjoyed the "Archie" comic books, as a child, teen and adult. They're not great literature, and they don't exactly accurately portray American teens, and the story quality varies pretty widely (although the "good-girl" art has generally been pretty good). But there's a wholesome innocence that always appealed to me, curmudgeonly as I usually am.

This series takes our teens into young adulthood, with all the joys and pitfalls that usually come with it. We have show more two separate storylines here; one in which Archie has married Betty, and one in which Veronica is his bride. The two storylines alternate throughout the book, and sometimes the back-and-forth gets a little confusing. But there are some surprises here. Jughead (the inveterate girl-hater) winds up married to Midge, Moose's ex, who is now with his anger-management yoga instructor. In both storylines, Reggie turns out to be not such a jerk after all, and winds up with the girl Archie left behind. Mr. Weatherbee and Miss Grundy discover true love and marry, spitting in the face of her terminal cancer. And Mr. Lodge turns out to be pretty evil, willing to break laws and destroy anybody who gets in his way, even Archie and his loved ones.

The tone is quite different from the light humor of the high school days, but it fits the new depth of the series as characters I really came to enjoy reading about over the past 50 years or so have finally broken free of the frozen time warp that was Riverdale High School. show less