#181
The new material was comprised of the New Look story “No Baseball for Betty.”  The story was a bit heavy-handed and lacked any humor.  Rod Whigham’s artwork was actually pretty good.  Unfortunately, it didn’t have the charm of the classic look and wasn’t of the same quality of any typical superhero comic book.  The New Look in general is just stuck in the middle; not the style you expect for Archie and not good enough to win you over.

Of the reprint material, a few stories stood out for me.  Swing Time features a swing dance competition in period costume.  Jughead and Veronica make an unlikely, but effective dance pair.  Betty, in her original 40’s look, cuts a rug with the Bee, wearing a yellow zoot suit.  I liked the highly animated, somewhat cartoony, art style of two Betty stories, Senior Sitter and To Tell the Truth.  Unfortunately, I don’t know who the artist was.  In a not very original, but still amusing story, Court of Last Resort, Betty and Veronica take their claim on Archie to teen court.  The issue is settled by the teen, female judge, who takes ownership of Archie herself.

The Katy Keene reprints from the 80’s take a sentimental look even further backward.  Sis imagines a day in the 1800’s while going through Grandmother’s Trunk.  Mademoiselle Mannequin tells the tale of a fashion designer and his inanimate model through the decades.  Though Katy only shows up at the end, I really loved the story.  I only wish it were longer.  There’s so much more that could be done with the story.

Finally, Cheryl Blossom dresses up her cousin Elaine in Family Matters.  The red head is worried that Archie might take an interest in Elaine (why not, he does every other pretty girl), and fixes her up with Dilton.  Cheryl also gives her a fashion and style makeover to further sabotage her looks.  Imagine going out with wild hair, a snowsuit, clown make up, and a feather boa.  Dilton loves the look anyway and Cheryl’s parents, once they find out what happened, make sure that the punishment fits the crime.  The look isn’t terrible fetching when forced upon her either.

#186
The three new stories in this were frankly terrible.  The Archie gang is pretty clean cut to begin with, but all of these charity/volunteering stories with zero conflict or laughs are hard to take when piled on each other.  There’s not even any romance between Archie and Betty or Veronica.

To make matters worse, the reprint Archie gang stories aren’t even worth mentioning.

Classic Sabrina is featured in three stories of magical humor.  Funny, but very gag oriented. 

The 80’s Katy Keene reprints all had a holiday theme.  In A Real Doll, we learn that Katy is dating Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Even in a comic book, this seems truly unlikely.  Katy meets three, short older men who, without any credentials, convince Katy to model doll clothes for them.  “It’s for the children,” they say, a line usually reserved for justifying horrible legislation.  Of course, it turns out that they work for Santa Claus, and they send her a Katy doll with all the clothes that she modeled (full size and doll size).  I liked the story.  It was sweet and had a great pinup page.  (Thanks to nocutename.)
http://www.archiefans.com/gallery/d/21600-1/kk29_clothing.jpg
The story also asks the reader if they’d like to find a Katy Keene doll under the tree for Christmas.  I wonder if anything ever came of that blatant marketing attempt.  And, “yes,” I would. 

In the Christmas Pumpkin, we delve into the life of a pumpkin.  There he is, sitting the barn, unused as a Jack O’ Lantern for Halloween or for a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, and destined for the compost pile.  Poor Mr. Pumpkin.  Thankfully, Sis rescues him and fulfills his purpose as a Jack O’ Snowman and a pumpkin pie.  Okay, sue me, I thought it was sweet too.

In Cheers for the New Year, we have another story mostly featuring Sis, as she makes up a list of resolutions before the big party.  Arnold is with Katy again, and I can’t understand how this keeps happening.  The other thing I can’t believe is Katy’s tiger striped party dress.  That couldn’t have even been fashionable at any point in the 80’s.  Or ever.  Sorry, even a supermodel couldn’t look good in that outfit. 


Overall, I have to worry about the new material in these digests.  The reprints are hit or miss, but the new stuff is all miss.  Moreover, I generally buy the digests for the supporting characters: Josie, Sabrina, and Katy, since they don’t have regular titles.  All of their material is reprints.  The floppies usually have better material, but the digests are the better sellers.  It would seem that the digests deserve and need better new stories, including the supporting characters.