I never thought I’d willingly pay money for a comic book all about Big Moose, Riverdale’s resident roughneck, but there’s a first time for everything, I guess.
Big Moose
Written by Sean Ryan, Ryan Cady and Gorf
Art by Cory Smith, Thomas Pitilli, Ryan Jampole, Matt Herms, Glenn Witmore, Kelly Fitzpatrick and Jack Morelli
That right there is how most people think of Archie Comics’ Big Moose, boyfriend to Midge, archenemy of Reggie and football player extraordinaire. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever given much thought to Moose. He’s the most generic of supporting characters: the athletic jealous boyfriend, a hothead and, truly, not that bright.
With the release of this special one-shot comic, readers get three stories focusing on Moose, one of which at least gives a different side of the character than I think we’ve seen before. “Have It All,” the second story in the anthology, takes Moose through an atypically busy week: Helping his dad around the house, taking care of his sister, planning an anniversary date with Midge and prepping a term paper for English class that’s a good chunk of his grade.
Writer Ryan Cady makes a point of allowing Moose to dispel some stereotypes about him. Maybe he’s no Dilton Doiley, but he’s not a complete moron, either. He’s a a popular guy with a caring girlfriend, friends who are willing to help him out and a family that loves him. He generally doesn’t need to work hard to be happy, he already has it all. But when he needs to turn it on and work a little bit harder, he can get by with a little help from his friends.
Sorry, Moose, your secret’s out.
The other standout was the third story, “The Big Difference” written by Gorf, shows a more usual side of Moose as the big guy takes on a lackey – a freshman who uses crutches to get around. Jughead – who plays more of a role in the book than the rest of the main Archie cast – tells Moose to ease up on the kid. It leads to a confrontation, but in typical Archie fashion, it all works out in the end.
The Big Moose special is another fun addition to the updated Archie roster, and I hope that they continue to do more of these, focusing on more than just the main gang.