The Archie Wedding story is what got me back into Archie comics once again, so I was happy when this series came out. The Archie Wedding books gave boThe Archie Wedding story is what got me back into Archie comics once again, so I was happy when this series came out. The Archie Wedding books gave both girls a "happily ever after" marriage story where here, in The Married Life, I felt Archie's marriage to Veronica was a train wreck. He's obviously happier with Betty. You can see the contrast of the marriages when the stories change from one timeline to the other. I felt the other couples' bonds were stronger in the Betty story as it seemed all the breakups happened on the Veronica side. I even felt the Betty story was more realistic. I see Archie being more a music teacher than a corporate guy....more
I think some fans were disappointed that this didn't follow the Kupperberg "Life With Archie" series. You know, "maybe Archie didn't die in that storyI think some fans were disappointed that this didn't follow the Kupperberg "Life With Archie" series. You know, "maybe Archie didn't die in that storyline" and this is supposed to be a continuation of that series. But this is a continuation of the original "Archie Wedding" story and the first issue of the "Life with Archie" which were also written by Michael Uslan. And from the start, you can see hoe Uslan and Kupperberg differed on story direction, such as Moose being a politician in both universes and Jughead and Midge are married in both. And they have a bigger storyline on the "Veronica" side. Being this was only a 6 issue series that lasted about 8 months, it's hard to compare this to the 37 issue. 4 year "Life With Archie". Dan Parent does some great artwork here, especially drawing the women who are now in their 30's. The series did touch on some very important subjects such as aging parents, politics, money issues, raising kids, etc. There is even a divorce which was predicted by Archie in the original series. The only things I didn't like in this series was Ambrose was portrayed as a creep in one universe and was left out of the other. Also, what happened to Ilana, Moose blind girlfriend who helped him with his anger issues? Midge got pregnant in the original series, but there is no mention of their child here. So, I will give this series "4 stars" for the artwork and some realistic storytelling....more
This is the story that made Archie Comics relevant again. I recently heard about about this story and I decided to purchase it after 40 years since thThis is the story that made Archie Comics relevant again. I recently heard about about this story and I decided to purchase it after 40 years since the last time I bought an Archie comic. I know there have been stories where Archie or another character dreams they are getting married, but in this story, Archie actually is shown two futuristic visions of how his life will turn out depending if he marries either Betty or Veronica. Archie and the gang are approaching high school graduation, which has Archie thinking about his future. He takes a walk up Memory Lane, which turns into two dirt paths. He decides to take the left path and save the "right one for another day". The left path leads Archie to a future where he marries Veronica, goes to work for Lodge Industries and has twins. Mr. Uslan stated in an interview that he picked the "Veronica" storyline to be first because she is more polarizing than Betty. Actually, Veronica is very nice in her story. She never once gloats or rubs it in Betty's face the she "won" Archie. Veronica has grown up. After a few years of marriage and babies, Archie decides to go for a walk again up Memory Lane on Christmas Eve. This time he takes the right path where he marries Betty which leads to a totally different story told. Veronica's wedding was storybook like where as Betty's was at Pop's Chock'lit shop with a cake that collapsed highlighting the different socioeconomic status Archie would face depending on the girl he marries. I know some readers felt this book was cheesy, but it's an Archie comic, so expect some cheese. I also saw some comments that he only asked Betty because Veronica was too busy. But, before he asked Betty, he told Jughead and Reggie that he made up his mind, but wanted to talk to the girls first. I believe he was going to tell Veronica that he doesn't fit into her world. Also, the sad look on his face when he leaves the house at the end of the "Veronica" story was interesting. Another interesting scene is after the babies are born, on the "Veronica" side there's only the parents and a handful of friends visiting. But on the "Betty" side, it seems the whole town went gaga over the babies. Also, the "Betty" story showed their marriage had a butterfly effect on the other characters' romantic lives with the most surprising pairing was Jughead marrying Midge. Ironically, those kind of surprises do happen in real life. All said, I felt this book did a great job in showing the characters as adults but still keeps much of the heart and humor that was a staple of Archie Comics for 81 years.
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