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Archie & Friends #101
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Archie
Andrews is 65 years old, but he doesn't look a day over
seventeen.
The old codger is joined by his young looking buds, Betty,
Veronica, Katy Keene, and Josie and the Pussycats, in the
comic book Archie and Friends, and they are all just as
hip, er, gnarly, eh, whatever, as the day they were first
introduced. Their publishers make sure that Archie and friends
never go out of style.
Katy Keene takes the spotlight in this issue and is every
young girl's fantasy, i.e., to be beautiful, intelligent,
accomplished, and admired. That fantasy is perfectly accomplished
by artist and writer Andrew Pepoy who is every fanboy's
fantasy, i.e., boy has he drawn everything over the years!
In this issue, Katy is on the red carpet at the VTV Movie
Awards, nominated for "Best Kiss", and the place
is packed by gently caricatured real actors and actresses
whose names have been changed to protect the innocent, er,
the publisher.
Pepoy's art is terrific, and he continues the gimmick that
has made Katy Keene a cult favorite over the years. Readers
design her clothes.
His art is reality based, clean, and attractive. His visual
storytelling is fun, crisp and flawless. Pepoy's story won't
win the Pulitzer, but Archie comics have never really been
about plot. They are all about characterization and the
experience of growing up.
Even for this reviewer (who is neither a young girl or a
fanboy, despite the rumors!), this story is fun, and Archie
and Friends in recommenced for preteen, teenaged, and old
codgers who like to pretend they are young again like me.
Archie and Friends #101/23 pgs. & $2.25 from Archie
Comics/various artists and writers/available at store-front
and on-line comics and book-shops, retail outlets, and at
www.archiecomics.com.
Andrew Pepoy is an associate member of the Oklahoma Cartoonists
Museum.
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