BETTY AND VERONICA #221 REVIEW

[Blake Petit]

Review by: Blake M. Petit Blake@comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Good
Title: The Big Prize and other stories

Veronica’s out to win the big Halloween costume contest – but she needs Betty’s help!

Writers: George Gladir, Kathleen Webb & Barbara Slate
Pencils: Jeff Shultz
Inks: Al Milgrom
Colors: Barry Grossman
Letters: Jack Morelli
Editor: Victor Gorelick
Cover Art: Jeff Shultz
Publisher: Archie Comics

With Halloween coming up, I thought it’d be fun to throw out some reviews of seasonal comics that don’t usually get the coverage here at Comixtreme that Superman or the X-Men enjoy – hence this spotlight on Betty and Veronica #221, which has a suitably wholesome Halloween tale as its lead. In “The Big Prize,” rich girl Veronica has come up with a sure-fire bet to win this year’s big costume contest. She’s bringing not one, but five costumes, with quick changes planned at various points in the evening to impress not only the judges, but a major fashion designer who’s in the area and just may be in the market for a new model. Veronica can’t pull it off alone, though – she’s going to need Betty’s help.

Archie comics are famous for their formulas, and this is a fine example – one member of the gang sets her sights on a goal, but the ending gives us a cute twist. It’s a fun story, perfectly suitable for the kids, and that’s what you want from Archie.

In “Code in the Head,” Veronica sees Betty drop a slip of paper written in what appears to be a secret code. Ever-suspicious, she comes to the conclusion that Betty and Archie have developed a code to cut her corner off their eternal love triangle. I’ll admit it, I’m a Betty fan, and any story that shows Veronica treating her like a legitimate threat or Bets getting the upper hand in the Battle For Archie gets a thumbs-up in my book.

In “Career Daze,” Veronica blows off the professions lined up for discussion on Career Day, and Betty launches into a description of how those jobs – scientist, teacher, dentist and so on – could each very well be an adventure. Then in “Bag It,” Veronica snags an expensive handbag, while Betty goes for a lookalike at a cheaper price… and a mix-up teaches Veronica a lesson.

It takes a lot to make an Archie comic exceptional, but it also takes a lot to make one terrible. Most of them, like this one, are simple, wholesome fun – the sort of comic that you can give to kids without fear in the hopes that it will entice them to start reading and maybe lead them to other comics in the future. And I, for one, am eternally grateful that there’s anyone left making comic books like that.

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