Archie 5 Cover by David Williams

A fantastic Archie Comics cover by the always great David « Brohawk » Williams.

To be completely transparent, I discovered Archie Comics through their highly fun and successful horror line revamp of their character first and the Mark Waid penned serie second.

I was always aware of the characters but the interest simply was not there, not having grown with these characters as a child and overgrown what I perceived as their age target.

But those new series were excellent and most issues offered great covers by many great artists.

Then I saw this particular cover in the solicitations and was really struck at how perfect it was.

I think that David perfectly captured the joyfulness often associated with these four core characters.

The enthusiasm of (their) youth so to speak, combined with the Mom & Pop aspect of their lives and their town.

Each is smiling but still distinctive which I find truly impressive. Veronica is a bit sure of herself but not yet haughty. Archie is just wholeheartedly positive. Betty has a bit of a naïve touch and Jughead is slightly smirking. All smiling, true to their own personality.

I find that the placement of characters is also well done. Veronica and Jughead serve as “book ends”, being both dark haired and also sporting whimsical and mocking personalities. While Archie and Betty in the middle both have light colored hair and are both more naïve than their friends.

Lastly, I find that the piece as a true American Way vibe, kind of like they are all proudly looking at the flag type of thing (like a “join the army” poster?). Archie Comics represents to me the essence of the all age American comics. So the circle is complete in that sense.

For all these reasons, this cover really popped at me. I was bummed to see it quickly sold when first offered for sale. Then when it popped during an auction house session, I knew I had to go for it.

This is part 3 of my 2020 CAF b-day party.