The announcement of Archie vs. Minor Threats #1 was unexpected. Archie and his Riverdale pals have met other characters, including but not limited to: the Punisher, the Predator, and more recently Jay and Silent Bob. Minor Threats didn’t seem too far-fetched, but the question was: how would the worlds of Riverdale and Midnight City collide? The answer lies with another classic Archie character, Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Sabrina wants to take her longtime boyfriend Harvey Kinkle to a wizard’s ball, but the only way mortals are allowed is if the witch or wizard brings an ancient magical artifact. Not to be outdone, Sabrina seeks out the Five Fingers of Merlin, an extremely powerful source of magic.
The Five Fingers resides in Twilight City. Specifically, in the area where Playtime – who’s become the newest crime boss following the events of the first Minor Threats series – has outlawed magic users. So when Sabrina magically tricks a Riverdale bus driver into going to Twilight, Archie and his friends are swept along for the ride, and naturally wind up in danger. Minor Threats writers/co-creators Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum actually manage to blend the teenage hijinks of Archie’s world with the grim and gritty background of Minor Threats; part of that’s due to Sabrina’s presence, but the other part is due to their co-writer Timmy Heague.
Heague’s previously written for Archie comics before, so he has a full grasp on the Archie characters. Archie himself remains a straight arrow, and hopelessly torn between rich girl Veronica and girl next door Betty. Reggie Mantle is still a colossal jerk to Archie. His best friend Jughead, despite being in a city that’s chock-full of magic and supervillains, immediately gravitates toward the nearest burger joint. Scenes like this provide a great laugh, and a sharp contrast to the more violent moments involving Playtime and other super villains.
Archie/Dark Horse
It’s Scott Koblish who manages to blend the worlds of Archie and Minor Threats together, thanks to his unique art style. Koblish manages to draw the Archie characters in their standard style, which makes them stand out like a sore thumb in the perpetually shadow-drenched world of Midnight City. All of the Minor Threats characters, in comparison, look more realistic. The standout is Top Hat; at first, he looks old and decrepit but when he gets an infusion of magic he transforms into a sinister-looking version of a classic magician. That’s not even getting into his “magic tricks”, which has some gruesome results. Colorist Hi-Fi also highlights the difference between the Archie characters and the Minor Threats characters via color – the former are rendered in a brighter hue, while the latter have darker shades in their clothing and their expressions.
Archie vs. Minor Threats #1 works far better than expected, as the brighter world of Archie literally collides into the dark and dangerous domain of Minor Threats. With future issues teasing more run-ins between Archie’s friends and the residents of Midnight City, there’s plenty of things to keep readers around.
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