When I picked up this book, I hadn’t realized that “Freshman Year” is a prequel to the classic “Archie” series that have lasted decades. In this version, Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, and Reggie have been friends from middle school continuing onto high school together. The book begins with them at a park, looking towards the high school and wondering what the future holds. Mr. Weatherbee, aka “The Bee”, was Archie’s middle school principal and is also transferring to the same high school as a promotion. As opposed to typical comic book style of very short tales, this book walked the audience through their first school year – illustrating both the kids and The Bee fitting in their respective roles. Some “drama” was unnecessary – that Jughead and his family moved away for the first chapter only and a biker gang drama that was a fizzle. Some “drama” is widely expected – peer pressure, bullying, dating, and peer interactions at both the kids level and the faculty level. All in all, it’s worth reading if you grew up reading Archie and the Gang though it’s not as light hearted as the typical comics. ( )

It was a nice idea by somebody to do an Archie "prequel", showing the gang as they enter freshman year at Riverdale High. And there are some nice touches here. But one of the charms of "Archie" comics was generally the innocence and the disconnect from the harsh realities of teen life. This collection introduces issues such as bullying and rejection by the popular kids. The author brings such a ham-handed, unrealistic approach to resolving the problems that teen readers would probably be repelled, as I was. You probably shouldn't bring mature issues into a comic if you can't write about them in a mature fashion. ( )