cover of #637

So, Once Upon a Time… oh, right, that’s a TV series…

Anyway, these two issues of Archie tackle a very similar scenario: because of a (typical) Archie mistake, the population of Riverdale swaps lives and places with the residents of Storyland. Archie, as Prince Charming, Sabrina, as the Magic Mirror, and Jughead, as Old King Cole, are the only three who remember who they were and understand what’s going on. The rest of the story is the tale of Prince Charming’s efforts to fix the mess, with plenty of kissing fair damsels and a nice little war along the way.

It’s a light, entertaining take on the old perennial story of switching time lines/dimensions… without the scary parts. Nice for kids. Actually, that’s one of the potential great values to this: it can serve as a wonderful starting point to get kids interested in the classic fairy tales. As an adult raised with them, I know the back stories to all the characters that pop up in the two comics. For a youngster who hasn’t had an interest in “that old stuff”, this just could spark some interest.

They’re worth picking up, if you’re not usually an Archie fan.

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cover of #638

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