Jughead #3

Jughead #3
Released by: Archie Comics
Released on: December 30th, 2015.
Writer : Chip Zdarsky
Art : Erica Henderson
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When this third issue begins, Jughead's mother has taken away his video games because he was expelled from school for carrying a knife to school. He says he was framed, and his old lady believes him, but she still doesn't want him lying around playing video games. So he talks his trusty dog, Hotdog, for a walk while his dad makes the case in the principal's office, saying that he used the backpack for a fishing trip and left the knife in there. The expulsion is downgraded to a suspension - it's a lie, but it works.

Outside the school, Archie is flying a little drone of some sort but it catches on fire and crashes. So much for that science project, Ms. McCone has him write an essay instead. Veronica gets to sit this project out, conflict of interest you see (the Lodge's have manufactured more than one drone). On his way home, Archie runs into Jughead and everyone's favorite redhead tells him how the teachers are teaching them strange things - drones, hacking, stuff like that. Then Stanger shows up and kicks Jughead to the curb, so he goes to kill some time at Pops' place...

…where he daydreams about saving the place from a killer robot! It turns out the teachers are in enemy agents and the students not students at all but undercover special agents, highly trained to deal with such things.

He wakes up from the day dream and his friends, out of school for the day, have arrived. At which point, he has a revelation of sorts.

And we'll leave it at that.

Highlighted by a fun Man From U.N.C.L.E./James Bond super spy parody sequence, this third issue of the newly revamped Jughead is just as much fun as the first two issues were. Zdarsky's story is building nicely, working in all the humor that you would want out of a Jughead-centric tale but creating some welcome continuity here too. The writing is funny and witty, working in pop culture references to make these classic characters fit in the modern day in which the story is set but not overdoing it or making it feel forced. It works, and the artwork from Erica Henderson is fresh, clean and fun to look at.

This issue also contains some vintage Jughead material in the form of a strip called Penny-Wise from 1950 and a second strip, also from 1950, called The Missing Links. Lots of fun.