Afterlife With Archie #3 splits the cast up a bit with meaningful moments spotlighting Archie, Betty and Veronica, Moose and Midge, and Mr. Lodge. Mr. Lodge in particular has a profoundly thought provoking sequence that reveals the billionaire’s guilt over his wife’s death from so long ago. Lodge is so much more than a foil to Archie; he is his daughter’s protector and the first line of defense against the zombie threat. He is a pragmatist that wants to keep his beloved baby girl safe, a character trait that is in line with years’ worth of gags of Lodge trying to keep the boys away from his Veronica. This time though, it’s not just Archie trying to sneak into the Lodge Mansion to smooch with Veronica, this time the stakes are as high as they get and the audience feels it. In Afterlife With Archie, everything is accurate to the comics of the past, but nothing is sacred. The accuracy that Aguirre-Sacasa provides narratively, Francesco Francavilla does visually. Each character the artist puts down on paper is easily recognizable. When something horrific happens to a character (and it does…often) Francavilla still keeps all their recognizable aspects intact while twisting him or her into something vile. Afterlife With Archie is an endurance test. It’s an exercise to see how much a loyal reader can take, a test on how much evil can fans can tolerate watching their favorite icons endure. The book is hard to take emotionally, but damn, is it good! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!
