Spoiler Warning!


You were warned.


Actually, the cover says it all and it’s just what you’d expect.  That’s not necessarily good.  There weren’t any real twists or unexpected situations.  Too much of this issue was concerned with all of the nominal events surrounding any wedding.  Not enough time was spent on the characters’ feelings, which would have made the event more meaningful as an Archie story.  There were quiet moments, but they didn’t do a good job of addressing what lead up to the wedding.  I know the big moment deserved a two-page splash, but the other big panels took up space that would have been better served with more story.  (And the art wasn’t all that great to begin with.)  

Archie’s motivations and feelings were reasonably well covered here.  That one panel of a shell-shocked Archie with Dilton’s “I think he’s gone catatonic!” observation, seemed very relatable.

But then there was his pre-wedding chat with Betty where he uttered this line:

“You were… are… to me, the sister I never had!”  

To borrow a phrase, that statement is “mindblowingly inappropriate,” given the frisky, intimate nature of Betty and Archie’s relationship.

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Sister!  I have a feeling that in a couple of issues that line is going to seem even more out of place than it already does.  Fortunately, this stunner actually leads to one of the best moments in the comic as Archie asks Betty to be his best friend forever.  That was entirely in-character for an adult Archie.      

This was mostly about Archie (it’s his title after all), but this really should have featured Veronica a lot more.  It’s her wedding day after all.  We still don’t even know what Veronica was thinking when she agreed to marry him!  At least there should have been more comedy here.  I have little trouble imaging Veronica as Bride-zilla with complete catastrophe ensuing on the wedding day.  Maybe this scenario will get played out in an upcoming issue?

How did Betty get over the marriage?  It’s kind of implied, but should have been stated.  Betty seems to have gotten along okay in the interim and even found a good substitute for Archie.  This was all a little too easy for a resolution between Betty, Veronica, and Archie.

Speaking of inappropriate, Archie and Reggie hugging at the wedding looked terrible.  Maybe it was the pose.  Maybe it was the history between the characters.  I don’t know.  I was pleased to see them reconciled later on with Archie helping Reggie out with a job.  (And neither of them hugging.)

Then there was this strange thing with married names that came up during the issue.  Err… “Mrs. Hiram P. Lodge, but you can call me Mrs. Lodge!”  Did Mr. Uslan not know that her name is Hermione?  How did she feel about the wedding anyway?  Then later, I’m not sure what was going between Archie and Veronica over her last name.  I remember in the anime, Kimagure Orange Road, it was a big deal when Kyousuke first started calling Madoka by her first name, a sign of intimacy in Japan.  (The “Summer’s Beginning” movie.  It might be available on Youtube.)  This wasn’t like that at all.  

The setup for the next issue looks good with Archie suffering from massive job stress and Veronica’s pregnancy announcement.  We’ll see.

Overall, all of my problems with the issue were forgiven with that panel of Archie giving Veronica a facial with the cake.  As I once advised a nervous groom, “This is the only free shot you’re going to get.”

If you're trying to think in-character as Archie, you can see how hard it would be for him to articulate why he made his choice.  It almost seems implied in the story that Archie and Veronica had become closer in college, or at least that Veronica had stayed closer to him than Betty had.  The scene in the comic actually would have worked fine, but for the "sister" line. 

I doubt Betty will stay with Henry.  He's just a guy she's dating to prove she's capable of getting over Archie.  Once she's had time to start living her life and adjust to the new job and new city, she'll be over him.

“You were… are… to me, the sister I never had!” 

Wow 

Sister... that he dated and probably had a really close relationship. That's messed up. It would be appropriate if he said, "friend." or something along that nature.

But, I dunno...that whole "I love you like a sister" comment...if I were Betty, I might have decked him.

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Good Captain, you have summed up the subject perfectly.