Dan Parent

It's a pretty fun comic. Cheryl might not be wanting to get a job for the most altruistic reasons, but whatever gives someone a kick in the butt to take on some responsibility and hard work?

When Pine Point high school closes down, 50 new students and a handful of new teachers arrive at the steps of Riverdale High School. Archie and his friends find themselves in the midst of a number of rivalries and shenanigans as a result. Veronica is troubled by a new fashion diva and the rumor of another rich kid attending Riverdale High; Betty is repeatedly scooped at the school's Blue And Gold paper by a new photojournalist; the tables are turned on Reggie as he becomes the subject of a show more number of pranks; Jughead finds himself being followed by a trio of girls who know everything about him; and Archie can't seem to appease anyone as he tries to make the new crew feel welcome. Even Principal Weatherbee is troubled by a new teacher who seems to be gunning for his job.

To be completely honest, I've never really been a fan of Archie comics. I could never understand what was so amazing about Archie that he had two girls constantly fighting over him, and in general, representations of women in the comics' history have been abysmal. The new TV show based on Archie characters has been good enough that I was willing to pick up this book when I passed by it at the library. Unfortunately, I found it more in line with the comics than the show. The book is a light and quick read, but some of that is because its storylines are so cheesy and the characterizations are completely one note. If you're a fan of the comics, you'll probably enjoy this book. If you haven't read an Archie comic before, this book may not be for you as it jumps right into the middle of the action with the expectation that readers already know the main characters and their personality quirks. Personally, I found it to be the usual Archie universe nonsense.

Representation of women continues to be an issue for this series, even in this book written in 2012. At one point, a male high schooler angrily yells at a female student passing by, "You don't have to be a snob. I winked at you, and you didn't smile back!" Archie then steps in to 'save' the day but explaining that the girl in question is blind and didn't see the wink. No mention whatsoever of how women aren't obligated to respond to every leering male they encounter. At one point during Betty's rivalry with the new student on the paper staff, she is upset because the new girl gets a choice assignment where "she gets to photograph the best looking boys in school!" Girls in the Archie universe only have one real concern -- finding a cute date. Actual career considerations don't really matter, huh? And, of course, at multiple points throughout the book, Archie is jealous when Betty or Veronica show interest in any guy other than him, and both girls throw a fit when he seems to be only welcoming the new female students. This is all despite none of these characters actually being in a romantic relationship with another at the time this comic is set.

There are attempts in this book at being inclusive such as the aforementioned blind student, as well students of numerous ethnic backgrounds/races, but some of it is done in such a way to feel as though the creators are just trying to hit a diversity quota. For instance, one student is immediately described as "of Native American descent" upon introduction, while other students are described by things like what clubs they participate in, what musical instruments they play, etc. In other words, most students are defined by their actions, while this student is defined by his ethnic background.

Overall, I was mostly disappointed in this offering, although I have to admit it made for some pretty brainless reading material, which was kind of nice for a change of pace from some of the heavier books I read. show less

Kevin Keller: Drive Me Crazy is very episodic. In the first chapter, each of the characters has to present a report on an inspirational figure, and Kevin chooses George Takei. Takei finds out about his report and decides to pay Riverdale High a visit. In the second chapter, Kevin has some car problems that complicate a date at the drive-in movie theater. In the third chapter, Kevin is now dating his first ever boyfriend, Devon, but there's just one problem: Devon isn't out yet. In the fourth show more chapter, Kevin's secret admirer is back (his first appearance was in a previous volume I haven't read), and both he and Kevin are starring in Veronica's musical. Devon, meanwhile, struggles with jealousy.

This is apparently the second (?) Kevin Keller volume - I thought about getting the previous one through ILL first but instead decided to just jump in.

This read much more like the original Archie comics than the Archie and Jughead reboots did, despite being more in-your-face about its progressive aspects. I found the art style to be a bit creepy, with everyone smiling 90% of the time, the dialogue was stiff and not particularly well written, and the stories beat readers over the head with their messages.

Kevin Keller is the first openly gay character in the Archie Comics universe, and it's great that he exists. It's also nice that he's not the sole gay person in Riverdale, although he seems to be the only gay guy that anyone is dating. In this one volume, Kevin goes on dates with three different guys and meets a fourth guy who was his secret admirer in a past volume. I was somewhat confused when Kevin said that Devon was his first boyfriend ever, since I'd thought Todd (in Chapter 2) was Kevin's boyfriend, and it seemed like Brian (in Chapter 1) might have been a past boyfriend of Kevin's.

It was great that Kevin got a few stories that weren't solely focused on him being gay - his car borrowing troubles and date at the drive-in were a nice examples of this. Unfortunately, there were times when I felt like Kevin was more of a big gay after school special. The end of the George Takei chapter and the "oh no, my boyfriend is in the closet" chapters were particularly glaring examples. The George Takei stuff was corny, but the stuff in Chapter 3, with Devon, struck me as being potentially painful for some readers.

Kevin began dating Devon knowing that Devon was still in the closet because his parents were homophobic and wouldn't support him the way Kevin's parents did. However, Kevin hadn't even arrived at their first date before he started to have problems with their relationship. He hated that he had to drive out of his way to meet Devon and that they had to be secretive. When kids at school started to find out, Devon said some hurtful (and extremely dated - "I'm not fruity or light in the loafers, as they say!") things to try to reestablish himself as definitely not gay. (Okay, seriously, I had to google "light in the loafers." Does anyone who is not in their 70s even use that phrase anymore?)

Things between Kevin and Devon devolved to the point where Kevin said he couldn't date anyone who was still in the closet. And yeah, he has the right to decide what's best for himself when it comes to relationships, but I disliked that the "happy" resolution to their relationship woes involved Devon coming out and becoming homeless after his parents kicked him out. Veronica gave him a place to stay, but still.

Oh, and one thing I noticed: although I'm pretty sure that even the original Archie comics allowed its characters to kiss on-page, the most Kevin did with anyone was hold hands or hug. After a bit of googling, I discovered that Kevin does get an on-page kiss later on in the series, so that's good. If two heterosexual characters can kiss on-page and still be considered sickeningly wholesome, two gay characters should be able to do the same. Although, from what I've read, Kevin's kiss results in him having to deal with a homophobic stranger's complaints.

I don't intend to read more of this series, although I do have a Kevin Keller novel in my collection that I plan on reading eventually.

Extras:

Six pages of full-color illustrations of Kevin, Betty, and Veronica acting as fashion models.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

Kevin Keller is a newer addition to Riverdale. He's a gay teenage boy that goes to school with the gang. It's neat to have a whole book about him and I like that not every story focuses on his sexual preferences, mostly it's just incidental.