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| The Best of Archie Comics by Vic Bloom, Various |
Summary from Goodreads:
"Celebrate 70 years of Archie Comics fun with this massive full-color collection of over 50 favorite comic book stories hand-selected by noted Archie writers, artists, editors and historians. Also included are loads of entertaining behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the comics, their creators, and Archie's unique impact on America's pop culture!
Designed for young and old alike, this is both a must-have companion for anyone who has grown up with Archie and a perfect introduction for new readers."
Designed for young and old alike, this is both a must-have companion for anyone who has grown up with Archie and a perfect introduction for new readers."
Rating:
You know those moments when you find stuff in your room that relates so much to your childhood and you feel the sudden pull of nostalgia? Well, I kind of felt that way when I saw the Best of Archie Comics while I was visiting a local bookstore near where I live.
Archie comics were one of the biggest influences for my reading habit... okay, scratch that, I’ll admit it somehow grown into an obsession. A good one, not a bad thing I swear (yeah, keep telling yourself that!).
I started reading Archie when I was about 6 or 7 years old. It happened when our family was residing in Riyadh (my parents were OFWs back in the 90s). Since my parents had work in the middle of the day and being the kid who stays at home most of the day after school, I guess you can say I was bored (cartoons were of short supply back then and I’ve never really been much of a couch potato). One day, my dad took us to a book store. While my older brother went through the comics section for some Marvel and DC stuff, I came across some Archie Digest Magazines. I don’t know why I decided to pick them up, but when my dad asked me if I wanted to buy them I said yes without even missing a beat... and the rest is history.
Yup, I have been a fan ever since my first issue and here I am, in my twenties and still haven’t outgrown it. Back then, I always thought that the issues I pleaded my dad to buy me more (I’ve been a constant whiner to get new ones after I finish each) was too small and thin. I kept complaining to myself that they were too short and they’re just not enough. Now you can probably picture how I got all crazy-eyed when I saw a 400-paged issue of Archie. Imagine Kaa (the snake from the Jungle Book, Disney cartoon) and you’ll get the idea. LOL.
The Best of Archie Comics showed me how much this comic has developed in matters of story and most specially the artwork, which I never really noticed before how huge the changes it went through over the years. Also, I never really thought of how the whole Betty-Archie-Veronica love triangle started out and I’m happy to get a brief history on how it all began.
I really enjoyed reading this book and the trip back to my childhood just left me very grateful for discovering Archie, because reading has definitely taken a huge part of my life. I don’t think I would have grown into the reader that I am now if I hadn’t picked up my first Archie comic and that’s something I deeply cherish.
