IT’S WAR! As the United States makes its entrance into WWII, the teens and parents in Riverdale are faced with some difficult situations as they reflect on how this will dramatically change their lives as they know it.

Pearl Harbor has rocked the nation and the people of Riverdale are dealing with the ramifications. Writers Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn put together an eye-opening and honest story of the United States in the run up to the US’s entry into World War II.

What Waid and Augustyn do that’s really impressive is that they deliver a story that is a realistic take of what happened. This isn’t the over the top patriotism that we’re sold today. People had trepidation. They worried about children coming home in boxes. They thought the war would be over quickly. They also weren’t all too enthusiastic about it period.

There’s also an exploration of the parents who couldn’t serve in World War I dealt with their children in World War II. It’s an interesting exploration of guilt and the toxic masculinity of the time. It’s realistic. It also doesn’t go quite the way you’d expect.

The art by Peter Krause, with color by Kelly Fitzpatrick and lettering by Jack Morelli is fantastic capturing the aesthetics of the time. The designs are fantastic and it feels like Krause has used the fashion of the time and done a solid job of capturing the actual looks, buildings, cars, and more of the time.

The second issue continues the excellence of the debut and is a slow build up. There’s some emotional highs and lows and sincere feel to it all. It’s not an over the top patriotic spin. It’s a fantastic series so far that mixes real history with characters we love.

Story: Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn Art: Peter Krause
Color: Kelly Fitzpatrick Lettering: Jack Morelli
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Archie Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review