Moose & Midge: "Breakup Blues"

The third volume in the Archie "New Look" series of stories, Breakup Blues shows what happens when Midge decides to go on a date with Reggie Mantle for a change of pace from her domineering boyfriend Moose. The result is a lot of teenage drama. Moose is jealous and angry, and so the couple goes "on a break." During this break, Midge has fun doing things she normally does not get a chance to do. But Moose makes her jealous when he starts dating a new girl, Judy Johnson.

The story is part of a continued effort to show Archie and the gang in more realistic situations. For example, when he and Betty try to bring the old couple back together, their scheme does not work and Midge and Moose get very angry at them. Their friendships get strained (at least for a little while). There is an attempt to break out of the sitcom feel of many Archie tales, but in the end (spoiler warning!) the status quo wins out and Midge and Moose reunite.

The tale is scripted by Melanie J. Morgan, who has worked on all the New Look stories. The story, as before, comes from a 1992 novel written by Michael Pellowski and John Goldwater. The art is by established comic veterans Tod Smith and Al Milgrom, both of whom have drawn a wide array of different comics over the past three decades.

For some preview pages from this volume, scroll down a little on this page.

The bottom of this page has preview pages from the end of the story. Check out the what looks like a theatrical hard rock band (!?!) pounding out the dance tunes at the big dance contest where the teens are dancing either disco or hip hop. It's difficult to tell which...