It’s always nice to see a story that doesn’t involve any of the usual Archie tropes. In Sticks and Stones, Archie and Jughead relive their youth slugging baseballs through neighbourhood windows. Being the responsible teens that they are, Archie and Jughead fight down the urge to avoid facing the music.

It may just be my appreciation of the art, or that most of the dialogue comes from the mouths pf no-name characters that wouldn’t have the same restrictions as Archie and his pals, but this one seems to be above average in the writing department. I especially like the asides from the two kids.

Lucey was one of the most stripped down of the Archie artists. When I was working in traditional animation I used to bring Lucey’s Archies into work and everyone would pass them around. Animating from Lucey panels would be a joy. The weight and motion he gave characters with so little detail is amazing. He’s a textbook example of clear staging without sacrificing character.

I don’t know if Lucey inked his own work or not, but those thick outlines really differentiated Lucey’s art from someone like Decarlo, who usually employed a thinner line with more interior detail. I could look at his stuff all day long.