Jughead Vol. 3

Jughead (2015)

by Ryan North, Derek Charm (Illustrator)

It's magic, music, mayhem and ZOMBIES (oh yeah, and hamburgers -- plenty of hamburgers!) in this third volume of the Eisner-nominated Jughead series, collecting issues #12-16.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Young Adult, Queer, Humor

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 14, 2017

About the author

Hi, I'm Ryan! I was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1980 and since then have written several books. You can read my Wikipedia page for more, or check out my author site at RyanNorth.ca!

I'm the author of the webcomic Dinosaur Comics (that's the comic where the pictures don't change but the words do, it's better than it sounds and I've also done crazy things like turn Shakespeare into a choose-your-own-path adventure, write a comic for Marvel about a girl with all the powers of a squirrel, or mess up walking my dog so badly it made the news.

I'm working on more stuff as we speak, hopefully it's good

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best character of Riverdale - Jughead, and this volume is all about Jughead. There are several little mini stories that take 2 volumes to tell and then there is a special issues at the end of the book that is a story about Josie and the Pussycats.

We start off with Jughead in a video game bet. What could go wrong? Reggie can throw a wrench in anything. Late Sabrina shows up and enchants Josie and he cats so that they have a whole crowd screaming for Jughead.

There are plenty of burgers to eat. That boy can put some food away.

I have so much fun reading these Archie comics and I think Jughead is my favorite of the bunch, as I've said. I think this is the last of his story, but there is another Jughead hunger volume. (I'm bummed that my library doesn't have the Josie and the cats volumes. Why?)

Don't get me wrong, I love romance, but it's also sort of nice that Jughead isn't interested in dating in the least. It's just a break in the troupe and it's refreshing.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jughead Volume 3 collects Jughead #12-16.

Jughead Jones is by far my favorite character and I fell victim to a sale at the Archie website yet again so I snagged this one.

There are two stories spread across five issues in this one. The first one, written by Ryan North, is a hilarious tale of Reggie beating Jughead at something resembling Mario Kart and being king for a month. The second, by Mark Waid, something something Sabrina the Teenage Witch something something Josie and the Pussycats. Can you tell I was underwhelmed by the second tale?

Anyway, Derek Charm draws the shit out of this. I love his depiction of the Archie characters even though it's a departure from the classic Archie style. I'd like to see him get his hands on Plastic Man or the Marvel Family. His style is cartoony and expressive.

As I said before, Ryan North's Jughead tale is hilarious, complete with the funniest footnotes this side of Terry Pratchett. I'm not going to get into the Mark Waid story than I already did. I didn't find it particularly funny and the whole thing felt forced, which is a shame because I love both Sabrina and Josie and the Pussycats.

Based on the Derek Charm art throughout and the Ryan North story, I'm giving this a 4 out of 5 cheeseburgers.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Mark Waid's take on Archie, this pales in comparison. This is more of the one note jokey Archie Digests of the past with uninteresting storylines and Ryan North's trademark unfunny footnotes in the margins. Derek North's artistic chops are perfect for Jughead though. He draws a nice blend of classic and modern Archie Comics.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

After this volume, I can see why Jughead is currently on hiatus; it's become directionless, which is a shame. I get that the point of the classic Archie comics is to be timeless and never changing, but the New Riverdale stuff doesn't have to fall into that trap, which is what I feel this volume does.

The first three issues are by Ryan North, and have Jughead causing problems after losing a bet to Reggie and inadvertently posting a video online, while the second two issues by Ian Flynn and Mark Waid have Sabrina cast a spell on the women of Riverdale so that they all love Jughead, who wants nothing to do with them.

They're silly little stories, with the Ryan North one having an underlying moral to it, but it doesn't feel anything but safe. Compare this to the main Archie series, and you can see that Jughead's solo series isn't filling a void; it's just stories for the sake of stories, which I don't think is a good reason to publish a book.

The artwork's awesome though; Derek Charm's art is the perfect blend of classic and modern Archie, and I hope to see him pop up on another Archie book at some point soon.

For now though, I'm happy to see Jughead shelved for a while until Archie Comics and work out something more relevant to do with him.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jughead Vol 3 very much feels like a traditional Archie story, just set in contemporary times. The characters are pretty one-note, and the set-ups are just one-off situations that don't really change any overall plot. On the other hand, it's a fun enough couple of stories that younger readers will enjoy. They will fit in the digest volumes well, just don't go looking for the reboot feel or Riverdale.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh.

Ryan North writes characters like these are the original Archie comics and Mark Waid writes a 'wacky' tale worthy of the original Archie digests, but stretched over 2 issues. At least Betty isn't his personal plotline punching bag this time around.

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was worried that this would end up being more a 'Ryan North' book than a 'Jughead' book - I love Ryan North, but he has his sensibilities and they don't always align with the characters he's writing. But I needn't have worried - yes the book has the footnotes that North always includes, but his story about Jughead perfectly captures the Archie vibe. The crew go from video games to slave labor to a viral laughingstock, and it's all Jughead's fault. North nails all of the characters (although Betty comes off a bit too Lisa Simpson), and the situation is perfectly absurd in multiple ways (Veronica's hunk budget is a running gag that pays off multiple times). The only real fault I found was with the art - it's a bit too anime for my tastes - the characters are all recognizable but their faces are very simply rendered.
The second half features a Mark Waid story, which is silly as well (Jughead + Sabrina + Josie and the Pussycats = Magical, Musical Mayhem), but veers off into some weird places (including an Undead with Archie homage for a couple pages that didn't quite work), while telling a pretty cliched story. The art for this story worked better for me, though.
There's also an issue of the Josie and the Pussycats which was better than I expected, even with a number of Frozen (and Golden Compass?!) jokes.
All told, it's an enjoyable collection with a lot of laughs in it.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typically humorous Jughead collection, although the Mark Waid-penned storyline is clearly sub-par compared to Ryan North's work. In North's portion, escalating video game bets lead to Reggie being king and everyone else having to faithfully, funnily serve him. In Waid's portion, there's an extended portion about zombies and...probably an actual plot, but it was forgettable. Sorry, Waid, but your stuff for the actual Archie series is much better.

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a mixed bag; I thought Ryan North's Mario Kart-themed story arc was very fun. I thought Mark Waid's story was a) not that funny and b) kind of a repeat in theme of the Jughead & Sabrina story Ryan North wrote in the last volume?

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryan North's writing is spectacular. The first few issues collected in this volume are easily my favorite to date from any of the main Archie reboots and subsequent spinoffs. I think this would be a great entry point for people who are curious about the laugh-out-loud funny yet wholesome shenanigans of Jughead and crew(unlike the far less wholesome shenanigans of the Riverdale TV show...).

[Jesse Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely not as good as the last volume, but still amazing story and art!

[Brigitte · Rating 4 out of 5]

These comics are great, I never expected to like them so much.

[Kayla Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love when Sabrina shows up.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completely entertaining. Best new Archie fare in decades.

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a new and avid fan of Jughead, it's no surprise that I would read Jughead Volume 3. Like the previous volume, it's separated into two stories. In the first story by Ryan North, Jughead loses big time to Reggie on a video game which allows the latter to be named "King for a Day. "

Due to Jughead not allowing defeat, he subsequently loses again to Reggie. This time the latter becomes "King for a month. " For his first order of business, he wants to start a band called "The Reggies." Because of technical hijinks, Jughead inadvertently makes everybody into viral stars when he accidentally uploads a video to the public.

His friends hate him, especially Betty, whose serious activist reputation takes a hit. I enjoyed this first story. Jughead is usually the sage and the wisdom behind whatever wacky hijinks his friends caused. This time, the shoe was on the other foot and it depressed and disoriented him.

Like North did in the previous volume, he wrote author's notes at the bottom of the panels again. They're still cute and don't get in the way of the story. The next story, written by Mark Waid and Ian Flynn, SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH IS BACK!

Of course, she messes things up with her magic. When Jughead loses his one chance to see Josie and the Pussycats in concert, not for them, of course, but for the food, Sabrina tries to help but makes the band obsessed with him. However, it doesn't end there. Once at the show, Josie, the Pussycats, and the Riverdale females become enamored with Jughead!

Oh, that Sabrina!

I absolutely loved this story. I'm biased because I love Sabrina and she didn't disappoint! Also, I like the nod to North's Zombie Archie series that Waid and Flynn included. It was cute. I also liked Derek Charm's art. It's absolutely beautiful and fits the Archie universe to a tee.

I am not sure if there is going to be a volume four out but there should be so I can read it!

[Melissa Snow · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art was great. The writing was fun sometimes, but it was also occasionally overdone, rendering a light and fun teen series something more tedious and disjointed. While it comes with the territory for the Archie gang to be heavily characterized based on only one or two specific traits, better stories would include some broadening to make the characters more like people than caricature, which would in turn make the humor and the stories more enjoyable. Like, I KNOW that Jughead likes food, and seeing him sitting at Pop's eating a bunch of food is familiar and true to the character. But dude. This series falls back on food for its plot beats constantly, and I'm not surprised if it had trouble finding an audience who wanted to read a character and a series that were consistently reduced to "Jughead loves cheeseburgers, amirite?" Veronica and Betty get one character note each, which is my least favorite version of both; Archie has, like, three specific character traits and manages to be fun; Reggie, of all people, was a highlight and it was nice to see him hanging out with the gang; and Sabrina was a fun and welcome addition once she arrived in the second collection. I really like spending time with all these characters; I just wish the series could have found a way to create light, fun stories that fit the world without trivializing it.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Until I reread my review of Jughead: Vol. 2 , I had completely forgotten than Ryan North wrote part of it. I'm sorry, Mr North, but your writing and me just don't jive. Don't get me wrong, I loved the first story in this collection, I thought King Reggie and the viral video were a great story, and I laughed a few times. This is classic, ridiculous Archie and I love it. Buuuuttt I don't love the stupid little one-liners at the bottom of the pages. I've never liked it, and I feel like it annoys me more than makes me laugh. So that kind of took away from my overall enjoyment.

But I did still rate this four stars (though it's probably more realistically a rounded-up 3.5) because it was so darn likable. I said I wanted more Juggie & Sabs, and I love what I got. As much as I love broody Jughead on the show Riverdale, I love goofy hamburger-obsessed Juggie more, and in that, this didn't disappoint.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been enjoying most of the New Riverdale Universe books so far. Jughead, in particular, and well... most of this book is really good. Ryan North's story is a very strong mix of quirky and weird but at the same time surprisingly hard hitting and the characters display real emotions.

I have been a fan of Mark Waid's for decades. He's done so many great comics that I love that it is hard to name them all. There are plenty of times when I've seen him do a 'fill in' issue. Most of those times were cases where I wish he had just been handed the reigns on a book. Almost every time I've made that wish, he or the publisher or answered it. His issues here- and I mean no disrespect- are good and make good Archieverse stories. But they feel more like they should be an 'Archie and Pals' story, not a Jughead story. Not only is Jughead almost crammed out of his own title by Archie, Reggies, Sabrina and Josie and the Pussycats, while it is entertaining I think it is a rare case of Mark Waid writing a fill-in story that actually feels like a fill in. It's not bad. He's just NOT Ryan North.

[Terry Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm almost tempted to term this as "Jughead Team-Up" since so much of the book has Jug sharing space with Sabrina, Josie, and the rest of the Riverdale gang. I do think this title has a better feel for Reggie than many of the other Archie titles at the moment, and the entire "King for a Day" story is good silly fun. Having written Jughead's adventures myself once upon a time (hell, I sent him to Oz for an issue), I know he can be a tricky character to handle. The more offbeat stories and plots fit him to a T, and I'm sorry the series is going on hiatus for the moment until a new approach is engineered. Hopefully they'll avoid all of the angst and continue to let Juggie be surreal, satirical and sublime fun.

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite Jughead volume so far, and I hope Archie Comics decides to continue the series. Ryan North, who wrote issues 12 through 14, does an amazing job at capturing the essence of Jughead and the rest of the gang. Both of the main plots in the volume are super fun to read, and I love how they incorporated two of my favorite Archie characters: Reggie and Sabrina!

The volume also includes issue 6 of the Josie and the Pussycats reboot, and I have to say, even though I was not a huge fan of Josie and the Pussycats Vol. 1, this issue makes me want to pick up volume 2.

For any Jughead fans, this is a fantastic volume and definitely worth reading (just make sure you have a burger nearby!).

[Jill Jemmett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another funny volume in the Jughead series.

The volume is split into two storylines by two different authors. I love Ryan North’s writing style because he puts little notes at the bottom of the page which comment on the comics. They’re so funny. In the second story, written by Mark Waid and Ian Flynn, they also comment on the bottom of a couple of pages to copy Ryan’s style.

I didn’t really like the first part of the story as much as the rest of it, because it was centered around Reggie. All of the gang had a video game competition, which ended in Reggie winning the title of king. However, the results of that story led to the problems in the rest of the comics, which were all about Jughead.

I enjoyed the comics and I can’t wait for the next one to come out.

[Dubzor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normally Ryan North's humor is spot on, but something about these issues reeks of "trying way too hard." I dunno, maybe it's just me.

Also, apparently the title loses yet another writer and brings in Mark Waid. At first that worried me, but I actually liked his two issues far more than North's four in this volume. That's not to say it's still terribly good, it was kind of awkward at places, but I did enjoy it more than I thought I would.

I skipped the Josie and the Pussycats issue because the first issue didn't thrill me and for some reason it was issue #6? Why on earth would you do that?

[Julio Bonilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come on, what are we waiting for? LET’S MAKE MUSIC HISTORY!!

This final volume of Jughead has Reggie Mantle playing a video game against the others. Mantle wins, therefore making him King for a month. The gang film a music video, but then Jughead asks his nerdy friend, Dilton, to make some changes to the video. What could go wrong?

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume was just mediocre. It was not the Jughead I’ve known and loved. The storyline of the videogame/viral video was just horrid (to the point I almost stopped reading) but the storyline with Sabrina/Josie and the Pussycats was better. It just seemed that both were focused more on other characters rather than Jughead. A directionless edition to the new Jughead line.

[Ma'Belle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as the first two volumes, but still fun and worth following. Sad to see Ryan North fizzling and Mark Waid picking up the writing duties and not doing anything very interesting. But I did love seeing the gang compete in their version of Mario Kart and have to riff on the current trends and dangers of Internet viral videos.

[Jasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it seems every writer on Jughead has to do the "jughead isn't into romance but now he's being menaced by people who want to kiss him" arc, so I'm glad the writer got it out of their system right away instead of waiting.

But the Ryan North viral video series was super great! I ended up kinda liking Reggie? Which was not something I ever thought would happen? Wonders may never cease.

[Stef · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this, Vol 1, and Vol 2 around the same time. I liked the art and stories in Vol 2 and Vol 3 better than that in Vol 1. Overall I support the reboot of the Jughead character. When Sabrina starts to use her magic, the story starts to make less sense, not because of the magic factor but because of weak execution. The video game sequence was a bit long.

[Bryen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was by far the best Jughead volume I've read. I loved his competition with Reggie and his mishaps in posting pics on the internet. Loved that it brought Sabrina and the Pussycats into the mix! Well written and. Wonderful artwork! I really liked this one, ro my surprise. It's too bad they ended the series.

[spacehawk.pdf · Rating 5 out of 5]

gotta love the Josie and the Pussycats bonus issues! especially after this Volume was about them.
also, very excited for the story to continue! good thing there's more than Jughead and Archie comics although I won't read the Riverdale version! #AroAceJugheadOrBust
but I very much enjoyed this one.

[Quinton Baran · Rating 3 out of 5]

More hijinks from Jughead, with a couple of stories that are pretty interesting in their polarity. The artwork continues to be pretty good as well.