Jughead Jones has got high school figured out, until their old and easy going principle is replaced by one that seems to be intent on ruining everything Jughead has deemed important.
Why this book?: I was looking to get into more comics, and Jughead is supposed to be aroace!
With knowledge that the recent TV adaption of this comic (or was it the adaption of Archie? I don’t know.) erased Jughead’s aroace ID, I was a little wary going into this story. I didn’t want to be disappointed, with Jughead, with the rep, or with the story. I realize that’s a bit of a high bar, but I am getting tired of amisia in so many books.
In all honesty, I only got one of those three things, and even though I got the most important, I still feel a little stiffed. Jughead being asexual was directly stated in the story, and it felt natural in how it was incorporated. I actually really related with Jughead and how he reacted to people in relationships, and how he acted. Literally, Jughead is me. But. He was also a dick at times, and I found it hard to like him the majority of the time. He was a shitty friend, and, in all honesty, he wasn’t really protagonist material.
However, past this, I just really couldn’t get into the story. Maybe it was because this is my first Riverdale comic, and that I hadn’t read Archie, but I just really disliked the story. It felt all over the place, and I honestly couldn’t tell what was going on. Whenever Jughead went to sleep/unconscious/fainted, he would dream up the fantasies, and I was just really bored by them, and wanted to get back to the actual story. Even with those stories being so absurd, I also found the main story to be . . . lacking. It honestly just felt like another of Jughead’s fantasies, and I found myself just as uninterested in the main story.
Final Rating: ★★★☆☆
Overall?
The best word to describe Jughead is ‘meh’. While I appreciated the spot on rep, and coded aro-ness, I just couldn’t bring myself to like the story or the characters. But it wasn’t bad. Just uninteresting and confusing.
Would I Recommend?
If you’re looking for diverse comics, sure! The aroace rep was really nice, and others should be aware that just because the show is aroace-misic, that doesn’t mean that the original story is.
Trigger warning for casual conversational ableism and minor violence.
Additional Information:
Published: July 28th, 2016
Publisher: Archie Comics
Page Count: 176
Genre: Comic/Young Adult/Humor
Synopsis: via Goodreads
Riverdale High provides a quality education and quality hot lunches, but when one of those is tampered with, JUGHEAD JONES swears vengeance! Well, I mean, he doesn’t “swear.” This is still Archie Comics after all.