I’ll admit I was one of the ones who was not on board with Archie Comics’ new look and didn’t want to read any of their new material. However, a few years ago I caved and was pleasantly surprised. It surpassed my expectations in how they combined the traditional Josie antics with a more “realistic” feel.

I enjoyed how they combined the usual comic Josie antics of solving crime and touring while combining some realism and depths into the plot. Somehow it seemed totally plausible that they would solve a exotic animal smuggling ring while stopping to rock out on the beach. But this is more than one shot adventures. The real thread tying the stories was Josie’s fight with her rival anf former bff, Alexandra Cabot whilst the Pussycats dealing with the dynamics of being friends and a band. Plus the choice of forming together to play at a pet fundraiser is a creative way of explaining why they chose pussycats for their name. 

The art by Audrey Mok was wonderfully stylish and expressive, and made really fit with the tone of the book.

Now to the interesting part…characters!!!

Josie: I love her so much here! The comic Josie was nice but here, I feel Bennet really got the balance in emotion between her ambition and her sweetness. She made mistakes, she let her emotions control her sometimes, she wanted to do things her own way, she tends to shut herself off etc. But that’s what made me sympathesize with her. Plus the character development in which she really grows in leaning on her friends for support was great as well as realizing her flaws. 

Valerie: She has always been my favorite Pussycat, now given with some more depth. She’s still the smart one as she should be, but she is also a bit more sassy, a bit bolder and it’s been acknowledged that she is the most talented. The fact that she chooses to stay in the background is very a nice segway to her insecurities and how she is afraid of making mistakes so she chooses to analyze and help others. 

Melody: Ah yes, the ditzy sweetheart. She was bubbly, fun and not portrayed as much of the dumb blonde as she was before. Yes, she’s bit of an airhead but she loves words, wordplay and bibliography. Also she’s like a energetic puppy how can you not love her? She’s also the sexiest in the older comics, but I like how in this version, she is just portrayed as the most flirty and that’s why she gets all the guys (and some girls) because let’s face it, all the Pussycats have their own beauty. 

Alan M: Alan gets a personality!!! Okay, he had a personality before (a bit dumb, nice, muscular) but now it’s a better one. He took over Alexander’s role as manager but I’m okay with that (I’m okay with it now. It took awhile.) He’s nice, but a bit of a player. He’s consumed with the band image and career rather than focus on love (much to Josie’s complicated feelings for him). Well emotionally involved love. He’s okay with other forms. 

Alexandra Cabot: The villain we love to hate. But here, she actually has a reason for her actions. Well extremely petty reasons but they are still reasons. I appreciate when villains have some complexity, She’s mean, she’s rich and willfully shoves it in her former friend, Josie’s face. I liked the twist where it was turned out it was. . . well I’m not going to spoil it for you.

Alexander III Cabot: He made a nice surprise appearance in support of his twin (who doesn’t love twins who help each other?) and makes a thrilling cliffhanger for Vol 2. 

One nitpick I do have is that I could do without the leaning on the fourth wall where they point out their own character development or end of the story arc. Same with the shout outs to real life references like Hamilton and Anna Karenia. I mean I enjoyed them in small doses since yes, teens do reference pop culture, but doing it in every other bit of dialogue felt forced. 

5 stars.