Jughead volume 2

Jughead, Vol. 2 by Chip Zdarsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jughead Volume 2 collects issues 7-11 of Jughead.

I'm nearing the end of my Archie stash but I needed something uplifting after all the Mark Russell books I've read recently so I picked this up. I figure I can always grab more Archie books next time they have a sale.

Anyway, this book collects two stories. In the Chip Zdarsky one, Archie and Jughead go camping and find themselves first at the Mantle family reunion, then lost in the woods. It was some good mindless fun. In the second story, by Ryan North, Jughead becomes infatuated with a woman in a burger suit who turns out to be a certain teenage witch. This would normally be a spoiler but Sabrina takes up half the cover. The second story was right up my alley, probably because of the Pratchettesque footnotes.

Jughead's portrayal as being asexual is new to me but I thought it was in keeping with the character's history since he's more interested in burgers than women. Both Zdarsky and North give Jughead more depth than he's had for most of his history. I love Derek Charm's art. It's a sleek style that has echoes of the classic Archie style without being bogged down by it. I'd like to see more of what he's done. Hell, I'd love it if he did Plastic Man. Also, I say it in almost every Archie review but I love the way they handle color in their books, using it to set the mood without going overboard with computer effects.

Jughead, Volume 2 is a lot of fun and contains the best man/woman in a burger suit romance I've ever read. Four out of five burgers.

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