Awwww, Yeah...
DISCLAIMER: Everybody's got a unique taste in comic books. What appeals to you, may not appeal to me; and, vice versa. From a background of nearly twenty-five years in radio, what I believe is that publishers are looking for something mass appeal. I believe that's true of any entertainment medium. Film, television, books, comics, video games. A producer is looking to make the most off something that reaches the largest audience. I say this, for obvious reasons: when I browse previews or the covers at my local comic book store, I'm looking for something I'm going to re-read.
I haven't been following the re-launch of The Mighty Crusaders. I did read The Comet and The Fly and The Crusaders from the 1991 Impact Comics line. I picked up the Crucible mini-series. I didn't follow Tiny Titans or the Li'l Archie-Tiny Titans crossover.
I do enjoy Archie's Super Teens. Archie as Pureheart the Powerful; Jughead as Captain Hero; Betty as Super-Teen; Reggie as Evilheart.
Archie's Superteens Versus Crusaders is a book I think I'll be re-reading.It opens with Riverdale's own "Fab Four" heading off to class. They're taking familair Abbey Road. Jughead is reading a Mighty Crusaders comic. Principal Weatherby tells Jug that he better put the comic away when class starts. Their first class is Science. Their substitute for Ms. Grundy is Doctor Zardox, who launches into a "mad scientist" rant before launching a giant robot that lays Riverdale High to waste. The first victim is Jughead's precious Vendy, the vending machine.
The Black Hood arrives and alerts the rest of The Crusaders. The Eliminators are monitoring Zardox's progress.
Archie, Betty, Jughead and Veronica power up as Super-Teens. It's all very Power Rangers, with a two-page splash.
Unfortunately, their first encounter with Zardox's giant robot does not go well...
The story is light-hearted and fun. It's not one gag after another. The "Fab Four" are fun and playful with each other.
Zardox is over-the-top.
There's the tease that The Crusaders and Eliminators and Archie's Super-Teens will all meet in the next issue.
The way the story unfolds and is paced; although, it could have been a single, over-sized issue. David Williams and Gary Martin seem to be carrying the story and art, working with writer Ian Flynn and artist Kelsey Shannon. There are a lot of creative people involved in this. That calculation shouldn't diminish the mileage on enjoying the story.
I'm excited to see more of The Super-Teens.
For nostalgia and light-hearted fun and hi-jinks, Archie's Super-Teens Versus Crusaders earns five stars.