[Jeffrey]

http://archie-blogs.archiecomics.com...g-married.html

I seriously love the world of Riverdale.

[Art]

I used to read all of them. I will probably check this one out.

[redbaron]

i hope it's not veronica... honestly I haven't read an archie in at least 10-15 years.

how many times have they *almost* had a wedding before now?

[earlessdog]

This is what I think.

This was a long time needed thing for the Archie industry to re-generate some popularity and sales and to get people rekindled into the comics. But I'm pretty confident that Archie won't end up marrying Veronica, for the vast majority of an one time Archie reader opposes Veronica. I think in the end he'll either not get married at all or he will get married to Betty, to please to audience, because quite honestly, if he marries Veronica, sales will drop on Archie comics, drastically I think.

[Micahb]

Ugh.
I refuse to read this.
Is it going to be a totally separate short arc totally off by itself? Or will they be married in all comics after?
This would be worse then Pam and Jim getting married.

[Shift]

He's not marrying Betty or Veronica I betcha.

[Jeffrey]

Originally Posted by Micahb

Ugh.
I refuse to read this.
Is it going to be a totally separate short arc totally off by itself? Or will they be married in all comics after?
This would be worse then Pam and Jim getting married.

...wait, wait, wait. Are those characters from The Office or something? Get outta this thread. In five years your show will be mostly forgotten, but Riverdale will loom in Idea Space like the gates of friggin' Troy!

I don't trust Archie Comics. In the 90's, they did something close to this, only they injected Cheryl Blossom into the mix. It ended with the status quo intact.

This one is set in the future, right? So it's non-binding (or Jughead's Time Police can come restructure the timeline). I've heard that Archie is going to pick Veronica, which somewhat bugs me.

But then again, as blogger Christopher Bird showed via these two attachments below, Cooper IS crazy.

[conceived in fire]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

...wait, wait, wait. Are those characters from The Office or something? Get outta this thread. In five years your show will be mostly forgotten,

15 or 10 years, maybe. 5 years? Fat chance.

[Skeeter]

Major props on the mention of Jughead's Time Police.

I wasn't aware that this storyline is taking place in the future. But if Archie picks Veronica over Betty, there should be riots.

[Jeffrey]

Originally Posted by conceived in fire

15 or 10 years, maybe. 5 years? Fat chance.

It'll at least have become a "Hey, you know what show I had forgotten about? The Office! What, put it on my Netflix queue? Naw, I've have to watch Current Popular Comedy tonight."

[Micahb]

*ignores the Office comments, as they are irrelevant*

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

This one is set in the future, right? So it's non-binding (or Jughead's Time Police can come restructure the timeline).

Ah, ok. That makes me feel semi-better about the whole thing.

Originally Posted by Skeeter

But if Archie picks Veronica over Betty, there should be riots.

Either is a horrible choice...Veronica is horrid because of obvious reasons...but Archie is such a jerk to Betty, and she just keeps coming back. Really, she deserves better.

[earlessdog]

Does anybody know what happened? It was a 6 part series, I'm sure they have all been out now. Unfortunately I never bought any because i've been so broke and never think of it when I have money.
What happened?

[Jeffrey]

Originally Posted by earlessdog

Does anybody know what happened? It was a 6 part series, I'm sure they have all been out now. Unfortunately I never bought any because i've been so broke and never think of it when I have money.
What happened?

Here is something I'd never thought I'd never write in a post regarding Archie Comics though I'm happy to do so: SPOILERS

The miniseries starts with Archie considering his future, musing on the Robert Frost poem "The Road Not Taken." He walks down a street called Memory Lane, which the narration tells us is a road he's always walked down, but is now walking up (or vice versa, I don't have the issue in front of me. The key is that he's walking a direction on it that he usually doesn't). Then, he finds a yellow wood that forks (like in Frost's poem) and takes one of the forks (left?).

Here begins a several-issue "What If?" where he proposes to Veronica. He does so while visiting her in New York, where Betty has established herself. Betty sees Archie propose through a window and is heartbroken - Jughead, who is with her, is pissed that Archie didn't tell him beforehand. Betty agrees to be Ronnie's maid of honor and the wedding is a big affair. Hiram Lodge, Veronica's dad, gets Archie a job in his company, basically inventing it (vice president of something or other) just to keep an eye on Archie and Ronnie. Archie becomes very stressed and is always tired and has little time for Veronica. Then he discovers, she's pregnant!

I tuned out around here, because I didn't realize they were going to do a "What If?" regarding him marrying Betty and I was annoyed with the series.

Goldberg's art is terrible. In fact, Christopher Bird takes a look at it and I can vouch that the art only gets worse as the mini-series moves on.

I tuned back in for the Betty special. Archie proposes and Betty of course is thrilled. Veronica is mad and initially refuses (rather harshly) to be Betty's maid of honor, but as she watches Betty walk out the door in tears Ronnie's heart melts and she apologizes.

Archie moves to the big city (New York, I believe) with Betty in a mirroring of the upwardy-mobile, high-paid job she was getting in the "Arch marries Ron" universe. Archie tries to make it as a musician and ends up as a nightclub singer or something like that. Nothing seedy, maybe it's a pizza parlor thing. Bottom line is, Betty's colleagues are not impressed. She starts moving in higher circles and her bosses look down at Archie when he comes to social events. Archie gets hot-headed about this, but Betty's bosses are still impressed by Betty and her resolve. Still, for Archie's sake she moves back to Riverdale, where they both (I believe; Archie at least does) gets a job working at Riverdale High for Mr. Weatherbee (who suggests that Archie would make a great music teacher, and is right). Then, Archie finds out that Betty is pregnant.

And I tuned out there until the very end. Archie is done walking the real-life (err...real-life to him) Memory Lane. He tells Reggie and Jughead about his experience (which is pretty epic, I guess - living years of an alternate life through "magical realism" daydreaming) and they playfully mock him. He rushes to Riverdale High where Betty's school color guard is practicing and tells Betty that he really appreciates her and offers to drive her home after practice. She smooches him and in his euphoria, he offers her a date on Saturday night (you KNOW where this is going...hella classic). Later that evening or so, he goes to Ronnie's house to tell her how much he appreciates her, and also makes plans...in a kiss-drunk euphoria, again, for Saturday night, again).

AND THEN BOTH GIRLS SHOW UP AT POP TATE'S JUST AS ARCHIE REALIZES HIS MISTAKE, WHICH IS CREEPY BECAUSE HE'S AT A TABLE WITH JUGHEAD WAITING FOR HIS DATE(S) AS IF JUGHEAD WAS GONNA COME ALONG???

So, it ends on a "we're back to where we started" note.

Honestly, I'm not advocating lesbianism, but maybe Betty and Veronica ought to become two celibate spinsters and live together like two old maids. It'd make their lives easier.

Also, this guy really jumped the ol' gun, eh?

Also, I'm an idiot: Wikipedia has a too-detailed summary which corrects my errors.

My thoughts:

1) I didn't like how the "Arch & Ron" storyline doesn't give a happy ending for Betty. She doesn't end up with anyone. Yet in "Arch & Betty," Ronnie ends up with Reggie and is shown enjoying her high society life.

2) I cried at several points, as lame as some of it was. What made me cry:

a. At Archie's wedding to Veronica, he and Reggie talk about their rivalry, say some nice things, and share a friendly hug. I wept. So sue me. Later, Reggie's out of a job and Archie works things out so he can hire him. I misted up again.

b. Ronnie being a ☺☺☺☺☺ to Betty, then both of them bursting into tears and reconciling.

c. Ronnie, ever the ☺☺☺☺☺, buys a dress meant to upstage Betty at Betty's wedding, which will feature a cake that Betty herself made. Ronnie starts to enter and sees that Betty's homemade cake has collapsed, which clearly upsets Betty greatly. So Ronnie feels bad about her attitude, phones in an order for a massive cake, and changes clothing into a less-than-impressive waitress outfit.

(c) really shows that the writer Michael Uslan gets the characters. When Ronnie gets Archie, Betty is depressed but supportive, though she expects Ronnie to rub it in (Ronnie doesn't). So Betty is fragile but upright. Ronnie, however, when Betty gets Archie, is Queen ☺☺☺☺☺ in two separate occasions, and has to be coaxed through seeing someone else's pain to have a change of heart. This is the difference between Betty and Veronica. Betty is the morally superior of the two, in all honesty.

3) In the "Archie Marries Betty" universe, we see a very cool resolution: Midge is in a serious relationship with Jughead! Everyone thinks Moose will be mad, but he's taken up meditation (he may even be Buddhist or Daoist from his dialogue). Moose is portrayed as more thoughtful, and when someone is surprised he comments that "not all of us peaked in high school!"

4) Mr. Weatherbee offering Archie a teaching job in the "Archie Marries Betty" universe was awesome and touching.