Catching Up With Archie Week chugs along with a look back at Archie's younger days. This is the second collection of Little Archie adventures, and I reviewed the first one
here. This book expands on the first in that it covers stories by
Dexter Taylor as well as Bob Bolling.
Bolling is the originator on Little Archie and he shows off that he has not lost any of his storytelling chops in an original story produced just for this volume.
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| Oooh, look out for the frazzle beam! |
This new plot by the Mad Doctor Doom is delicately yet fulsomely rendered, and in general, I find his stories to be more personable, full of adventure, human, and unique. For example, the verve of young Veronica is absolutely palpable in this panel from a story where Archie poses as a private eye.
Meanwhile,
Taylor's stories lean more toward sitcom-style plots. His stories are frequently about Archie annoying Mr. Lodge
or full of pratfalls such as when the girls decide to teach Archie a lesson when he denigrates their abilities to play baseball.
These tendencies also pervade his more fantastical tales, such as the one where Jughead gets an alien for a pet, and the pet can grant wishes.
Still, Taylor's art style captures a lot of the energy and whimsy of youth. I find the art by both to be absolutely charming, and I like being able to appreciate and compare each artists' work here. Although I prefer one's stories to another, they are both entertaining. Taylor's stories are just more on the side of broad comedy while Bolling's seem more detailed and fleshed out adventure plots. One can do far worse than to check out this book for some wonderful art and delightful stories that young people will appreciate.
The book is available for purchase
here.
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