Riverdale Vol. 2 by Roberto Aguirre-SacasaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I thought the first three volumes (focusing on Kevin Keller, Reggie Mantle, and Pop's restaurant) were stronger than the last two, which were about Doiley and the core four. After reading "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and "Mantle the Magificent," I had a better understanding of Kevin, Reggie, and Josie, all of whom are more minor characters on the show, but nonetheless very interesting. To me, very much like Angel and some of the follow-up comics in the BuffyVerse, this volume of comics was about making some of the more questionable characters more likable, or at least more relatable, namely Reggie and Veronica. I've always been more sold on Jughead and Betty's relationship than I have been on Archie and Veronica's. (In other words, I'm a big Bughead fan). The "Metropolitan" issue, while I think it could have been more developed, did beg the question of what could go awry in Betty and Jughead's relationship and what might help Archie and Veronica's survive. It'll be interesting to see, especially since I'm predicting that the CW will want the show to last beyond when the core characters graduate from high school. Will we have Riverdale goes to college, very much like we followed the Dawson's Creek characters to college at the turn of the century? I look forward to seeing how the fanfiction/Omnibus comics help me to learn more about the characters from this show I've grown to love so much more than I thought I would. Honestly, I watched it as a way of relating to my middle school students, and because I love comics and was interested in the Archie characters. But now, I realize that this show is for Generation Z what Dawson's Creek was for me. :) I am officially a Riverdale fangirl. In particular, it's interesting to see how Kevin's narrative is both similar to and different from Jack's story in Dawson's Creek.
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