REVIEW: Jughead #11

Poor Mister Weatherbee, if only he knew that his student could mistake a demonic horse-bull-man for him.

Jughead #11 starts immediately after his failed date with Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Trying to hide her magic from Jughead, Reggie and Hotdog, She casts a spell on her friends so that magical things appear uninteresting. So when they are attacked by the monster, Reggie and Jughead see Mr. Weatherbee popping out of the bushes.

A couple of days later, Jughead explains to Sabrina that he didn“t realize she was asking him on a date and that he is asexual. It is a touching scene that reinforces his identity and allows Sabrina to express her frustrations as well. One thing that I like about the scene, was that it showed how coming out is a continuous process. Even though Jughead came out as asexual back in February, it is a process that he has to do with the new people in his life. But he shows that it can get easier with practice and the acceptance of his true friends.

Ryan North (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) handles this gracefully without interrupting the fun feel and the jokes in the rest of the book. I liked how, Sabrina, although wrapped up in her own problems, accepted Jughead for who he was. This leads well into the idea that they can just be friends and help each other out.

Derek Charm“s (Generation Zero) art cleverly reflects the traditional Archie art style while giving it a more modern look. The visual jokes play well. The wordless parallel panels showing how much Jughead and Sabrina have in common as well as how different their lives are, is a great example of showing and not telling. It is clear why he is becoming more and more popular.

While letterer’s don“t usually get much recognition for what they do, Jack Morelli really sells the Sabrina cut and paste spell joke well. I loved the old-school labels. It helps make the book such an enjoyable read.

[yasr_overall_rating]

Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Jack Morelli
Publisher: Archie Comics

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Andy Hall

Sent from the future by our Robot Ape overlords to preserve the timeline. Reading and writing about comics until the revolution comes. All hail the Orangutan Android Solar King!