The Archie comics have had a lot of weird out of continuity comics and iterations in the history of the series set in Riverdale. They’ve had crossovers with the Punisher, Predator and even the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as well as spinnubg off into horror territory with Jeghead as a werewolf. Some of many of these little side trips from the norm have ranged from surprisingly fun to just plain wha? This particular series however just strikes me as pointless.
This is an idea suitable for a one shot or maybe even a three part limited series but after reading issue 7 of RAVMBAV, which is arguably the longest and worst name for a comic but what else could they call it, I can’t see any reason this has gone on for so many issues and the fact that it feels like its meant to go on for many more. If this is your first issue you will have no idea how or why Sonja and Vampi are in Riverdale, or even how Sonja knows english. Vampi’s crossover is a bit more plausible and while the comic tries to work within her cannon as an alien stranded on Earth trying to find a means of saving her world, she is awfully blasé about the fate of her world, species and even family. Honestly I was able to get into mutant turtles hanging out in Riverdale with greater ease than Sonja and Vampi, it’s just a very poor fit it thix comic. Even when the last few pages reveal a connection to Vampi’s world of Drackulon it all just feels shoehorned together. The plot moves forward in such a heavy handedly, convenient way that it could have inspired the script for The Rise of Skywalker.
Unfortunately the story just doesn’t grab my interest, the exposition is welcome to help establish who Vampi and Sonja are to a degree and there is some payoff but surprisingly lacks impact thanks to the affect of the characters both hearing and telling the stories. Worse still I didn’t find anything engaging about any of the four main characters. I had no connection to them, no empathy for their situations and just couldn’t find a means to relate to them. Even when the book shifts into moments of action I lacked interest because I had been given no reason to feel for these characters.
ART
Ok lests start with a big pet peeve of mine, the cover art is very nicely done and I find it to be superior to what’s in the interior and this is not uncommon in comics. No, my issue with the cover is that it shows all the ladies getting arrest photos taken but this DOES NOT happen inside the book. Its an annoying bait and switch tactic that happens all to often in current comics. Covers should get you excited about what’s happening inside the book, not some random piece of character art.
Now normally I don’t need crazy, dynamic, superhero style art in a slice of life book like Archie, but if you are going to add a space vampire and a barbarian warrior from thousands of years ago into the mix you have created certain aesthetic expectations with that premise alone. Sadly, the art here is not very inspiring. While there are no issues with panel flow and the artist does use some dynamic angles the pages are mostly flatly mudane. Action scenes takes an even bigger hit as the posing of figures often looks awkward instead of graceful or powerful and the facial expressions look weird. I don’t get the feeling that action is this art tema’s strong suit.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I’ve seen far better Archie crossovers over the years that were either inventive, interesting or funny. RAVMBAV is not one of them I’m sad to say. I’d pass on this one.
SCORE: 1.5 out of 5
Writer:Â Amy Chu
Art:Â Maria Laura Sanapo
Colors:Â Mohan
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