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Archie: The Married Life #3
Archie: The Married Life Book 3
Featuring the headline-grabbing, Eisner Award-nominated, and sold-out wedding of Kevin Keller, Archie's most popular character in years, The Married Life Book 3 explores Archie Andrews' life down two paths--if he had married girl-next-door Betty Cooper or wealthy socialite Veronica Lodge. In this volume, things really start getting interesting, as the mysterious Dilton Doiley subplots that have been bubbling just below the surface since the series' beginning start to affect... well, everything!
Nothing is ever simple for Archie Andrews! In the Archie Marries Veronica storyline, the title relationship is facing some serious struggles. On the Archie Marries Betty side, Archie's trying to juggle more than his share of responsibilities... will he drop the ball? And in both storylines, Dilton and Ambrose are bringing some shocking, reality-shaking revelations to light that affect everyone in Riverdale... and possibly the world.
The Married Life Book 3 collects issues 13-18 of the popular newsstand publication Life with Archie Magazine !
Nothing is ever simple for Archie Andrews! In the Archie Marries Veronica storyline, the title relationship is facing some serious struggles. On the Archie Marries Betty side, Archie's trying to juggle more than his share of responsibilities... will he drop the ball? And in both storylines, Dilton and Ambrose are bringing some shocking, reality-shaking revelations to light that affect everyone in Riverdale... and possibly the world.
The Married Life Book 3 collects issues 13-18 of the popular newsstand publication Life with Archie Magazine !
320 pages, Paperback
First published February 26, 2013
41 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Paul Kupperberg
742 books53 followersPaul Kupperberg is a nearly 50-year veteran of the comic book industry as a writer and editor for DC Comics, Archie Comics, Marvel, Bongo Charlton, and many more. He is also the author of more than three dozen books of fiction and nonfiction for readers of all ages, as well as of short stories, articles, and essays for Crazy 8 Press, Heliosphere, Titan Books, Stone Arch Books, Rosen Publishing, Citadel Press, Pocket Books, TwoMorrows, and others.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 1, 2015
Just like the previous two volumes, getting more Lost-ie, and honestly, the gay wedding seemed pretty tacked on and tokenish. I mean, I appreciate the thought, but it didn't play into the plot at all, except as a setting for other stuff. I also don't appreciate that all of the gay and lesbian (and yes, those are the only other gender and sexuality spectrum choices portrayed) characters are new - and none of the heternormative sexuality of the core characters are questioned.
I also get a little annoyed at all of the "bests" flouted all over the cover. Archie has some things going for it - a lot of nostalgia for me personally, for one - but it's definitely not the BEST thing in comics. Archie himself is a vacuum of a character with no personality I can see (and as I said in my review of the other two volumes, I have read a LOT of books about him). And the drawing is not always consistent. I put this down for a night, and when I got back to it, I didn't recognize Reggie - I had to remember context to figure out that's who I was looking at.
So yeah, eh, but not enough to lose a star.
I also get a little annoyed at all of the "bests" flouted all over the cover. Archie has some things going for it - a lot of nostalgia for me personally, for one - but it's definitely not the BEST thing in comics. Archie himself is a vacuum of a character with no personality I can see (and as I said in my review of the other two volumes, I have read a LOT of books about him). And the drawing is not always consistent. I put this down for a night, and when I got back to it, I didn't recognize Reggie - I had to remember context to figure out that's who I was looking at.
So yeah, eh, but not enough to lose a star.
November 27, 2021
This is a collective review for Life With Archie: The Married Life, which is collected in six volumes.
I am not an Archie fan. Like most comics readers, I’m familiar with Archie - a brand that has been around for so long that even fi you aren’t a fan, even if you don’t buy the books, somehow, somewhere, you have read enough Archie to be familiar with the basic gist of it all:
Archie Andrews is an all-American teenager from the heartland city of Riverdale, where he runs a gauntlet of harmless misadventures that involve juggling his romances between rivals Veronica Lodge and Betty Cooper (each whom own an equal share of Archie’s attentions), and goofing with his friends, rivals and colleagues - Jughead, Reggie, Moose, Ethel, Midge, Chuck, Nancy, Cheryl, Kevin, Sabrina the Witch, Josie the Pussycats, and more. Along the way, he tangles with the adults in his life - mainly Veronica’s father, Hiram Lodge; Principal Weatherbee and Miss Grundy, who run Riverdale High; and occasionally Pop, who runs the Chocklit Shoppe, the local diner where everyone hangs out.
For the most part, the stories are nothing too dramatic; dealing with asking each other out on dates, pranking each other, riffs on typical high school rites of passage, etc. And for decades, this was Archie; a comic that aside from superficial updates that reflected the times (such as fashion, technology and slang), the comic remained trapped in amber. There was no character progression or meta plot, just a Groundhog’s Day of eternally repeating, low-stakes, harmless hi-jinks that was meant to be mild, fun, and safe. There’s a reason why so many grandparents buy Archie for their grandkids, even if they disapprove of comics.
In this way, Archie has been an extremely conservative comic. Not politically - it goes out of its way to steer clear of divisive issues, but when it does address them, it reflects the rising tide of the audience it serves, and even then it tries to aim for a middle road that offends no one. This is part of the whole trapped-in-amber thing. Archie and his pals, and Riverdale by extension, are meant to be a safe place where “at least somethings never change,” and where such a place is seen as something wholesome and embracing, rather than stifling and restrictive.
But that all did change in 2009, when a new generation rose to run Archie Comics, and after a brutal office battle (chronicled by an excellent 2012 article in the New York Times) resulted in the brand taking bold new changes with its property. New characters would be introduced (like Kevin Keller) who would reflect a more liberal society. The brand would also take the approach that after 75 years or so of pretty much running the same Archie stories forever, it would declare Archie and Riverdale to be a state of mind, and began running stories that were the Archie equivalent of DC’s Elseworlds - non-canonical, but fun takes on established canon. (Though it is worth noting that perhaps the most infamous of these - and maybe the one that established the idea of taking Archie in weird new directions - was 1994’s Archie Meets The Punisher.)
But supreme among these were a novel, and canonical, decision to finally have Archie propose to one of his girlfriends. As he did, there was a notion of him walking down Memory Lane and seeing how his life might play out if he settled down with Veronica or Betty. What resulted was an extended What If…? story in Life With Archie that became The Married Life, later collected in six massive volumes. The end of it all leads us to a plot point that was so surprising to readers that it made global headlines. The sixth volume tells you up front what it is, but I’ll spare you any spoilers so you can see them for yourself.
But in The Married Life, we get two parallel stories, one where Archie, married to Veronica, pursues a corporate life and one where Archie, married to Betty, returns to Riverdale High as a music teacher. Along the way, we get a lot of the same sort of low-stakes storytelling that makes Archie Archie—entire plot lines seem to magically appear out of thin air and are resolved fairly harmlessly not long after, with good results all around. But there are plot lines that have sticking power. We lose one character to terminal illness, and we see another fight bravely against cancer. We a character shot in cold blood during a robbery. We see one struggle with anger issues. We see couples wed, and have kids. We see them growing up and grown up, in a story that for the first time really shows us what life might be like in Riverdale if there really were consequences to one’s actions. (The Archie Wedding: Ten Years Later also tried this, with a look at life 10 years after Archie’s wedding, but it doesn’t come close to the storytelling we get in The Married Life, nor does it share any of The Married Life’s events.)
The Married Life is almost 2,000 pages, all told, and it is as deep a dive into Archie as one could hope for, slowly pulling you in and involving you in a ton of earned moments that slowly chisel away at your hardened heart, slowly eroding your cynicism so that by the final volume, you’re caring about these characters. You want to see how this all turns out. Notably, the parallel storylines that have run side by side for so long - and remain distinct even though the risk is so high for them to blur into each other - do converge at the end in a way that feels natural and right, offering a kind of resolution to both sides of this twin tale. Whether Archie married Veronica or Betty, the result is ultimately the same. And when this story comes to an end, you appreciate why farewells can be so hard.
There are a lot of folks out there who will never touch an Archie comic because they’re too simple, too square, too hokey. But you know, The Married Life is as earnest an attempt for a comic to reinvent itself not in some cheap ploy to gin up extra sales, but out of an honest effort to radically turn the clock forward on one of the oldest running comics out there so that readers new and old can read something new and relate to it. That’s pretty great. Not a lot of comic publishers have the will to do that, or the integrity to let it be driven by story. And even if The Married Life isn’t for you, it’s something every comic reader should take in, because it represents something that all comics should have, but so often lack: heart.
There are a ton of other Archie Comics to read after these. There is a modern reboot from which the TV show Riverdale was adapted. There are the non-canon riffs, like The Hunger (Jughead is a werewolf) and not one, but two go-rounds of Archie vs. The Predator. If Archie can be anywhere and in anything, well, then I’m here for it. The Married Life certainly disavowed me of the notion that I’m never going to enjoy Archie. And boy, am I glad that it did.
I am not an Archie fan. Like most comics readers, I’m familiar with Archie - a brand that has been around for so long that even fi you aren’t a fan, even if you don’t buy the books, somehow, somewhere, you have read enough Archie to be familiar with the basic gist of it all:
Archie Andrews is an all-American teenager from the heartland city of Riverdale, where he runs a gauntlet of harmless misadventures that involve juggling his romances between rivals Veronica Lodge and Betty Cooper (each whom own an equal share of Archie’s attentions), and goofing with his friends, rivals and colleagues - Jughead, Reggie, Moose, Ethel, Midge, Chuck, Nancy, Cheryl, Kevin, Sabrina the Witch, Josie the Pussycats, and more. Along the way, he tangles with the adults in his life - mainly Veronica’s father, Hiram Lodge; Principal Weatherbee and Miss Grundy, who run Riverdale High; and occasionally Pop, who runs the Chocklit Shoppe, the local diner where everyone hangs out.
For the most part, the stories are nothing too dramatic; dealing with asking each other out on dates, pranking each other, riffs on typical high school rites of passage, etc. And for decades, this was Archie; a comic that aside from superficial updates that reflected the times (such as fashion, technology and slang), the comic remained trapped in amber. There was no character progression or meta plot, just a Groundhog’s Day of eternally repeating, low-stakes, harmless hi-jinks that was meant to be mild, fun, and safe. There’s a reason why so many grandparents buy Archie for their grandkids, even if they disapprove of comics.
In this way, Archie has been an extremely conservative comic. Not politically - it goes out of its way to steer clear of divisive issues, but when it does address them, it reflects the rising tide of the audience it serves, and even then it tries to aim for a middle road that offends no one. This is part of the whole trapped-in-amber thing. Archie and his pals, and Riverdale by extension, are meant to be a safe place where “at least somethings never change,” and where such a place is seen as something wholesome and embracing, rather than stifling and restrictive.
But that all did change in 2009, when a new generation rose to run Archie Comics, and after a brutal office battle (chronicled by an excellent 2012 article in the New York Times) resulted in the brand taking bold new changes with its property. New characters would be introduced (like Kevin Keller) who would reflect a more liberal society. The brand would also take the approach that after 75 years or so of pretty much running the same Archie stories forever, it would declare Archie and Riverdale to be a state of mind, and began running stories that were the Archie equivalent of DC’s Elseworlds - non-canonical, but fun takes on established canon. (Though it is worth noting that perhaps the most infamous of these - and maybe the one that established the idea of taking Archie in weird new directions - was 1994’s Archie Meets The Punisher.)
But supreme among these were a novel, and canonical, decision to finally have Archie propose to one of his girlfriends. As he did, there was a notion of him walking down Memory Lane and seeing how his life might play out if he settled down with Veronica or Betty. What resulted was an extended What If…? story in Life With Archie that became The Married Life, later collected in six massive volumes. The end of it all leads us to a plot point that was so surprising to readers that it made global headlines. The sixth volume tells you up front what it is, but I’ll spare you any spoilers so you can see them for yourself.
But in The Married Life, we get two parallel stories, one where Archie, married to Veronica, pursues a corporate life and one where Archie, married to Betty, returns to Riverdale High as a music teacher. Along the way, we get a lot of the same sort of low-stakes storytelling that makes Archie Archie—entire plot lines seem to magically appear out of thin air and are resolved fairly harmlessly not long after, with good results all around. But there are plot lines that have sticking power. We lose one character to terminal illness, and we see another fight bravely against cancer. We a character shot in cold blood during a robbery. We see one struggle with anger issues. We see couples wed, and have kids. We see them growing up and grown up, in a story that for the first time really shows us what life might be like in Riverdale if there really were consequences to one’s actions. (The Archie Wedding: Ten Years Later also tried this, with a look at life 10 years after Archie’s wedding, but it doesn’t come close to the storytelling we get in The Married Life, nor does it share any of The Married Life’s events.)
The Married Life is almost 2,000 pages, all told, and it is as deep a dive into Archie as one could hope for, slowly pulling you in and involving you in a ton of earned moments that slowly chisel away at your hardened heart, slowly eroding your cynicism so that by the final volume, you’re caring about these characters. You want to see how this all turns out. Notably, the parallel storylines that have run side by side for so long - and remain distinct even though the risk is so high for them to blur into each other - do converge at the end in a way that feels natural and right, offering a kind of resolution to both sides of this twin tale. Whether Archie married Veronica or Betty, the result is ultimately the same. And when this story comes to an end, you appreciate why farewells can be so hard.
There are a lot of folks out there who will never touch an Archie comic because they’re too simple, too square, too hokey. But you know, The Married Life is as earnest an attempt for a comic to reinvent itself not in some cheap ploy to gin up extra sales, but out of an honest effort to radically turn the clock forward on one of the oldest running comics out there so that readers new and old can read something new and relate to it. That’s pretty great. Not a lot of comic publishers have the will to do that, or the integrity to let it be driven by story. And even if The Married Life isn’t for you, it’s something every comic reader should take in, because it represents something that all comics should have, but so often lack: heart.
There are a ton of other Archie Comics to read after these. There is a modern reboot from which the TV show Riverdale was adapted. There are the non-canon riffs, like The Hunger (Jughead is a werewolf) and not one, but two go-rounds of Archie vs. The Predator. If Archie can be anywhere and in anything, well, then I’m here for it. The Married Life certainly disavowed me of the notion that I’m never going to enjoy Archie. And boy, am I glad that it did.
January 19, 2020
To me the best part of The Married Life is the relationships and the supernatural aspect was driving the plot this time so I didn't like it as much as the previous books, esp. since the multiverse thing was a bit confusing at times. Still satisfied though.
November 8, 2013
It all went down hill very quickly.
April 25, 2017
More of the same with added confusion of the two Archies meeting one another in Riverdale's answer to the Twilight Zone.
February 1, 2013
Crisis on Multiple Archie universes. Just as crazy as you think it is.
February 13, 2022
If I may quote Dr. Nick Riviera, "Okay...that was a little strange." I liked how volume 2 was heading in different directions. This book brought the two storylines closer together and far from what I expected. There were some interesting turns, but not what I was looking for or hoping for overall (not that it has to be--I'll give it a shot either way). I'm curious about where things are going from here. It seems to indicate that it is heading back toward something more like volume 1 or 2. I'm hoping so, but I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen. I don't know that there's a lot more to comment on, as there wasn't as much development in the relationships, and I don't want to get into spoilers. I guess the biggest relationship explored was Kevin. Unfortunately, it felt brief and unfinished--like a character who shows up for one episode of a television show and leaves town again at the end. Hopefully he will be back to play a bigger role in the Riverdale scene.
August 5, 2018
The best part of the book is that every conflict has time to develop. Changs never happen because of a snap decision, or a dramatic turn to spice things up, but a slow degradation of an emotional spectrum until it boils over, or a simple talk takes care of it.
The book goes full Grant Morisson as it wraps up the Dilton dimension hopping stuff, with a fun little twist, and a rushed finale.
The book goes full Grant Morisson as it wraps up the Dilton dimension hopping stuff, with a fun little twist, and a rushed finale.
October 30, 2018
The series is going downhill fast. This volume was like a bad acid trip.
November 24, 2021
Helpful hint. Read the stories in order as published. Don't do like I usually do and read all the Veronica parts, then all the Betty parts. You'll get confused if you do.
March 7, 2013
Archie Andrews' world is getting more and more complicated by the minute! Not only has he found himself in two alternate dimensions (one in which he has married Betty and one where he marries Veronica), both of his worlds seem to be collapsing around him. In the Archie marries Veronica storyline, Archie is struggling to hold onto the shreds of his marriage, which has been ripped apart by Veronica's father and his devious machinations behind the scenes of Lodge Enterprises. Unfortunately, Veronica has fallen for his lies and is now asking Archie for a divorce! As Archie learns to live alone again, he wonders what life would have been like if he had married Betty instead... But the Archie of the Archie marries Betty storyline knows that things aren't much better in his universe! His marriage is doing great, but he's having a tough time growing up. The responsibilities of his new job at Riverdale High School along with his business interest in "Little" Ambrose's new music venue and his promise to a group of students to be their academic mentor are all calling for his attention and he can't seem to satisfy any of them! Even Betty is beginning to feel the effects of his neglect and she isn't very happy because of it.
Archie isn't the only one that's finding being a grown-up difficult. Jughead, Reggie, Moose and the rest of the gang of both worlds are also realizing that life isn't as easy as they used to think it was in high school. All of them are facing major life upheavals involving business and love. What's even worse, though, is the fact that something very dark is threatening the very future of their world. The mysterious Dilton Doiley, Mr. Lodge and Fred Mirth are somehow involved in what may be the beginning of the end for Riverdale. This subplot, which has been gradually building throughout the series, is finally coming to the surface, bringing with it a looming sense of evil that does not bode well for our friends. Will the mystery be revealed before its too late to save the world? Or will both alternate universes come crashing down?
As a lifelong Archie fan, I was thrilled when this series began and I continue to enjoy it. Though it isn't lighthearted and cute like the original comics, the way that it has allowed Archie to grow up and face real-world struggles has been refreshing. The edgier graphics are also top-notch and much more in-line with today's comic reader. Though I do miss the silly humor of classic Archie, I enjoy this version as well. It deals wonderfully with a lot of "grown-up" topics like divorce and marriage and responsibility and even has some great advice couched in its pages ("Marriage doesn't prove you love someone! It proves that you've decided that you never need to love anyone else!" -Big Ethel) Though I don't agree with the spin taken by the authors in some areas and really felt like they were including some more controversial topics just for the sake of remaining politically correct, I have to say that I thought they were spot on in most others.
Unfortunately, I found that the over-riding science fiction heavy sub-plot detracts a lot from the book as a whole. It even gets confusing towards the end as the author struggles to explain exactly what has been going on in the previous two books. I was certainly glad to have it resolved and hope that the next book will focus on the characters' lives instead of on the strange reasons why their worlds have diverged. All in all, given that very large negative aspect of the book and my other sub-plot quibbles, I have to rate it a three and a half stars instead of the four or five I probably would have given otherwise. Kind of disappointing, but I'm hoping to return to a five for the next book!
Archie isn't the only one that's finding being a grown-up difficult. Jughead, Reggie, Moose and the rest of the gang of both worlds are also realizing that life isn't as easy as they used to think it was in high school. All of them are facing major life upheavals involving business and love. What's even worse, though, is the fact that something very dark is threatening the very future of their world. The mysterious Dilton Doiley, Mr. Lodge and Fred Mirth are somehow involved in what may be the beginning of the end for Riverdale. This subplot, which has been gradually building throughout the series, is finally coming to the surface, bringing with it a looming sense of evil that does not bode well for our friends. Will the mystery be revealed before its too late to save the world? Or will both alternate universes come crashing down?
As a lifelong Archie fan, I was thrilled when this series began and I continue to enjoy it. Though it isn't lighthearted and cute like the original comics, the way that it has allowed Archie to grow up and face real-world struggles has been refreshing. The edgier graphics are also top-notch and much more in-line with today's comic reader. Though I do miss the silly humor of classic Archie, I enjoy this version as well. It deals wonderfully with a lot of "grown-up" topics like divorce and marriage and responsibility and even has some great advice couched in its pages ("Marriage doesn't prove you love someone! It proves that you've decided that you never need to love anyone else!" -Big Ethel) Though I don't agree with the spin taken by the authors in some areas and really felt like they were including some more controversial topics just for the sake of remaining politically correct, I have to say that I thought they were spot on in most others.
Unfortunately, I found that the over-riding science fiction heavy sub-plot detracts a lot from the book as a whole. It even gets confusing towards the end as the author struggles to explain exactly what has been going on in the previous two books. I was certainly glad to have it resolved and hope that the next book will focus on the characters' lives instead of on the strange reasons why their worlds have diverged. All in all, given that very large negative aspect of the book and my other sub-plot quibbles, I have to rate it a three and a half stars instead of the four or five I probably would have given otherwise. Kind of disappointing, but I'm hoping to return to a five for the next book!
December 15, 2014
...and then there are times when injecting a comic plot makes a series go off the rails. Sigh.
Gone is the art of Breyfogle. Gone is much of the series logic. Nope, this arc is devoted to fixing the whole parallel universe aspects (and destruction of it?) from the first 12 issues. Oy.
Archie is a comic. Parallel universes and worlds exploding and nefarious ne'er-do-wells; all comic book-ish. Still, injecting all of these into a possible future storyline about marriage and starting businesses? Well, it was a bit of a low point. I was happy to have it all over with. Especially after I adjusted to the new art team (which sadly cannot hold a candle to the last.)
More of a necessary evil than anything else, one reads this arc so that they can move on to the other, more enjoyable installation of the series.
Gone is the art of Breyfogle. Gone is much of the series logic. Nope, this arc is devoted to fixing the whole parallel universe aspects (and destruction of it?) from the first 12 issues. Oy.
Archie is a comic. Parallel universes and worlds exploding and nefarious ne'er-do-wells; all comic book-ish. Still, injecting all of these into a possible future storyline about marriage and starting businesses? Well, it was a bit of a low point. I was happy to have it all over with. Especially after I adjusted to the new art team (which sadly cannot hold a candle to the last.)
More of a necessary evil than anything else, one reads this arc so that they can move on to the other, more enjoyable installation of the series.
March 1, 2013
Well, the sci-fi element threw me for a loop bringing this normally 4-5 star series down to 3 stars. I'm on board as long as writer Paul Kupperberg stays on. I preferred the artist drawing Archie Marries Betty over Archie Marries Veronica, the former was somewhat reminiscent of a John Romita jr art style. The other artist wasn't bad or anything, but nothing to write home about.
September 3, 2015
All the wibbley wobbly timey wimey sci-fi stuff got really confusing. I would have preferred they kept the two universes apart. Also felt like, as another reviewer put it, Kevin's marriage was just tacked on for PC effect. I don't have anything against same sex marriage, but it just seemed random to throw that whole subplot into both timelines just because.
Hoping the next volume is better!
Hoping the next volume is better!
January 18, 2014
Oh, HELLS TO THE YES! Eat your heart out, Archie's Weird Mysteries!
Reasons to love this:
1) Hot Dog
2) Multiverse amazingness
3) Because you are obsessed with Archie Comics and cannot help yourself.
Reasons to love this:
1) Hot Dog
2) Multiverse amazingness
3) Because you are obsessed with Archie Comics and cannot help yourself.
May 21, 2013
I might keep reading these book but the are dragging on a bit!
July 3, 2013
I really like this series. I like Dilton, but I don't like the side story they have about him and Fred. The rest is great story, including Betty's and Reggie's reality show.. :)
April 3, 2016
3 1/2 stars.
October 1, 2013
I loved this volume! Archie always was my favorite comic and these are just great. Can't wait until the next volume.
December 27, 2013
Boy this series is getting confusing. At least the characters are confused too!
April 23, 2015
I love how the made a simple comic in some ways discuss things that can be presented to an individual in real life... I love the 3rd book, book 4 here I come!!!
June 26, 2015
I relly lovd how they playd with the altrnte unvrse concpt...I'm hopng that Vol 4 will keep playng with simler ideas!
May 3, 2017
OMG this book blow your mind.
This multiverse was unexpected , but almost at the end of the book I got confused by the explanation of Ambrose, and both Archies .... Weird
This multiverse was unexpected , but almost at the end of the book I got confused by the explanation of Ambrose, and both Archies .... Weird
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews