Josie and the Pussycats Vol. 1 by Marguerite Bennett

Josie and the Pussycats Vol. 1 Reviews

• 
  Chad

  Fantastic art and coloring. More pop culture references than you can count. There's not much story here. Mainly consists of vague lessons Josie must learn or Veronica will leave the band (in every issue). More adult than I expected from an Archie comic. Josie has sex! Could definitely use some underlying through stories to maintain my interest. Seems somewhat vapid.
• 
  Marnie (Enchanted Bibliophile)

  Discover how the most famous comic book band was formed!
  OR NOT!
  
  
  
  Me and the Pussycats, we did not jam…
  It felt like the plot for each and every issue was the same. Josie acts juvenile and irritating; she learns a lesson and then repeats the exact same thing in the next issue.
  Just NO THANK YOU
• 
  Sesana

  I liked this way more than I thought I would. It's definitely the most mature of the New Riverdale titles, while still being fairly clean. There are tons of pop culture references thrown around (any book that quotes Hamilton and Into the Woods in one issue is alright by me) and the fourth wall is consistently leaned on somewhat heavily. The art is cute, and the personalities of the Pussycats are distinct enough. I don't think Bennett took a lot of cues from the movie (which is actually, oddly good) but I think there might be a few things here and there.
• 
  Becky

  Unfortunately this Archie trade was way below average for me. I really didn’t care for what was going on and the girl disagreements. The comic often tried to be funny using pop culture references about things like Archer, Bojack Horseman and Mean Girls just to name a few. They weren’t really that funny though. Also made sort of side handed comments a lot trying to break the ‘4th wall’ as it were.
  Probably my least favourite in the revamped Archie series.
• 
  Scott

  Absolutely ridiculous . . .
  
  . . . that as a grown man I read and enjoyed this amusing book. No pun, knowing aside, or oblique reference is left unspoken in this colorful tribute-slash-updating of the early 70's cartoon series. While the overall story was lightweight (and not always original - we've seen a young, struggling rock band depicted before) I have to admire the talent that conceived the dialogue / zany situations and gently tweaked the characteristics of the title trio. It was fun, and I'm looking forward to Vol. 2.
• 
  Jerry

  The Good: The artwork in this volume was outstanding! Archie comics usually have great art, but these issues are visually a step above the ones on which I grew up. Though the fictional titular band may be the main characters, my favorite person here was young singer Felicity Mountain. Also, the bonus Jughead comic at the back was really good, and true to longstanding tradition for this franchise.
  
  The Bad: If only I could say the same about the rest of this volume. While I expected to see people in immodest outfits--that's nothing new for Archie comics--I wasn't expecting the profanity, and especially not a scene of bloody violence and one of sexual relations between Josie and a guy she meets on the road. That is definitely not what I grew up reading.
  
  Conclusion: Archie comics are a longtime standby in the world of cartoons; for decades, you could rely on them to be squeaky clean, much like a Disney Channel series. Unfortunately, with the success of the oversexed television program Riverdale, which is loosely based on the comics, those once innocent cartoons have taken a new tack. Discerning readers should stick with the old-school issues; you can find them at garage sales, thrift stores, and such. It's sad to see yet another clean-cut brand turn inappropriate.
• 
  Alice

  Josie is the embodiment of quirky white girl bullshit that the goregous art and coloring can’t salvage the writing in this.
  
  Issue 5 is probably the best out of this, but only because one panel of Valerie’s backstory is worth 100x more than what Josie offered up in 5 entire chapters.
  
  Pop culture references do not make a sound script. Being self-aware and referencing your narrative problems does not actually solve them.
• 
  Jesse Nicholas

  The story was alright. I found myself skimming over quite a bit of it. There was a lot of dialogue at times. Also, I don't think there needed to be THAT many pop culture references. I get their were trying to be current and such, but it was getting to be a bit too much.
  
  Don't think I will continuing on with the next volume unfortunately.
• 
  Claire

  Ummmm. I love Marguerite Bennett, but in all honesty the best thing about this book was the issue of Jughead in the back. I don't know anything about the Archie universe so maybe I just don't get the style? Idk. Super not great.
• 
  Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈

  Urggggg, this was a rough one for me.
  
  There's a point in this book where Josie makes a comment about not being a female character that was audience tested or something to that effect. I get the point: to preface that not all female characters have to have certain traits to be good characters (at least I think that was the point). Unfortunately, Josie was my least favorite character in this book. And seeing as 95% of the book is about Josie, that made this a tough read for me.
  
  This isn't the first time I've read a female led comic where I cared way more for the side characters. See Batgirl of Burnside, for example. It was just baffling to me how little I cared for Josie as a character. She was just blandly unlikable in that I didn't care for her story, I didn't care for her "plight", I didn't care to follow her romance and I didn't care for the way she treated her friends. It was also a bit odd that she seemingly has to relearn a lesson she learned in issue 1 at the end of this book.
  
  Anyway, I liked Melody. I liked that the book was sex positive - or as much as you could be in a series meant for teens. There was never any derogatory comment made towards the fact that she dated a lot of people. I thought she was adorable, I liked her Sailor Moon reference and I loved her style.
  
  I liked what little we saw of Val. Her story was a bit all over the place. She worked at an animal clinic, she has the best voice of all of them but she doesn't show it a lot because she had bad experiences in the limelight? Because showing off went poorly one time? (and that might not be an accurate read since it looked like it was just the choir teacher that didn't like her performance). Or she doesn't show it because she can't? I wasn't sure. Either way, she spends most of this book trying to give Josie advice on how to be a better person. She only stands up for herself like once?
  
  Anyway, I'm bummed because there's a point where Val decides to leave the group, Melody goes after her and it's a really sweet moment. I just want those two to date, I want a lot more of them and that was all I got out of this book unfortunately.
  
  Well, that and the art was great.
  
  Also, I understood most of the references which made me question what age group this was for? There were a few references I'm sure would go completely over Gen Z's head which left some of the dialogue feeling a bit dated.
  
  So, this isn't a recommend from me. I'm surprised a bit because I enjoyed the first 3 volumes of Waid's Archie series.
  
  
• 
  Morgan

  This reminded me more of the movie than the cartoon show, which I think is a good thing. I liked the cartoon for what it was, but it's a little dated. Even the movie can be a little dated now too. I still liked both, so I decided to get this comic book and was't disappointed. I would say this book is more for teenagers than kids though. Just be warned, there are a lot of puns and pop cultural references. You don't get too much character development, some, but not enough.
  
  NOTE: This has a preview for Jughead's comic which, to me, looks like something I'd like to read too.
• 
  Trevor

  This is the kind of comic that runs at you screaming, "Look at me! I'm cute and quirky and random and I break the fourth wall constantly and make tons of pop culture references and puns! Don't you love me? Love me! Love me! LOVE ME!"
  
  And you sadly turn away and say, "I never knew you. Depart from me, you worker of lawlessness."
• 
  Sarah

  I can see why some people would like this, but I found the characters uninteresting and the story boring. The dialogue was witty as hell but it doesn't make up for the fact that nothing of consequence is really happening.
• 
  Kelly K

  As far as girlband comics go, Jem and the Holograms are definitely my favorite. This first volume of Josie was scattered and sloppy as well as dull. How did they go from nothing to something in just one issue? The rest of the issues have them parading around like celebrities. This just wasn't my style.
• 
  Ruz El

  Collects the first 5 issues. It's not bad, the thing that left me flat is the usual problem with comics about bands. The "songs" seem dumb when written out, and the weird thing with this one is that Josie is pretty unlikable compared to other two.
  
  It seems to set up things for something better at the end, and it is positive writing for the older teen set. I don't think I need to go on the ride though.
• 
  Whitney

  Josie and the Pussycats as 20-somethings and the contrived freedom of "maturity" that it brings to the comic. Waaayy too reference-y. Like, every other line was a reference to something. The plots were over-the-top silly, which you would expect from the original comics, but now is perceived as trying too hard to be ironic. One extra star for Melody's encounter with "meth."
• 
  Ashley

  DNF. I started this before I left for winter break, but I already know I do not plan to finish it. I love the Josie & the Pussycats TV series, but these are stylized after the revived Riverdale-universe and I don't really enjoy the portrayals.
• 
  Anna

  Wanted to love this, but the meta/breaking of the fourth wall aspect was too heavy handed for me. Would have been fun as an occasional joke, but didn't really enjoy it being part of the entire story.
• 
  Christy

  There’s a Supernatural reference and that’s all you need to know.
• 
  Nathan Koffler

  Out of all rebooted Archie series, Josie and the Pussycats may be my favorite. The series is self-aware and hilarious and makes for a super fun read.
  
  Josie and the Pussycats have always been cheesy, and the writer of this series knows that and really plays with the cheesiness by having the characters mention how strange and kind of cheesy the events happening in the book are! It's done so well that I chuckled out loud several times.
  
  Josie's character can be a little annoying and I think that is what they were going for. She is selfish but is learning, so it is nice to see her mature a little bit. Melody is smart and badass and maybe almost a little too tough sometimes. She is also learning to work together as a team in the band. Valerie is the greatest character in the series. She is not your typical stereotype of a ditsy blond. She is absolutely hilarious and also badass and so damn lovable.
  
  Marguerite Bennett and Cameron DeOrdio took a fun and mature approach to this Josie and the Pussycats reboot and I think that it makes for a very fun comic reading experience.
• 
  Leelo

  I'd give this a 3.75. I didn't quite love it. I loved the girls as a team and I loved that none of them are perfect--all recognizing that they have some emotional growth to do. I think the two major things I didn't love (which I guess you could say is 1 overall thing) is there got to be too many references and maybe too many fourth wall breaks. Now I love a good reference and a fourth wall break as much as the next person but I think it needs to be used a bit more sparingly. It got to a point where the references and 4th wall breaks weren't meaningful because they were being used so much. Kinda started to feel like a deadpool/gwenpool comic.
  
  I didn't super care for Alan and Josie's storyline and I think it could have been a stronger volume if it had just been about the girls and their relationship. I loved the issue with Alexandra and I loved the part in the last issue that had the little girl and josie facing each other on a black background when josie has her emotional growth moment.
  
  The art was gorgeous and each cover was a delight for my eyes. I seriously wanted to use them as background for all of my devices they were so beautiful. The girls absolutely have style and each panel is so well drawn. The colors are fun, too.
• 
  Renata

  This book is pretty cute and funny; it's got a ton of fun pop culture references and also a ton of adorable cats (Lord Cute-ington, Duke of Kittenshire), and the art is adorbs. There's not a ton of overarching plot--which is fine, I get that that's kind of how Archie comics are supposed to be--but there is a sort of back-and-forth character arc where Josie is trying to learn how to not be so bossy? I kind of appreciate that they're trying to show a difference between ambition and bitchiness, but the episodic nature makes it hard to have an ongoing arc and it basically makes it hard to root for Josie??
  
  Melody and Val rule tho
• 
  Lydia

  Fantastic. Honestly, I'm sad this is a limited run.
  
  Josie isn't perfect, but tries to be a better version of herself. Val is the voice of reason, and wants to remain true to herself while also helping Josie. Melody comes from left field with the genius ideas and powerful insight, and she breaks the 4th wall so masterfully. Alexandra perfect. Alexander villain with good intentions with too much time and money. And I'm super into Alan M being a fuckboi.
  
  This is everything you have ever loved about Josie and the Pussycats and more. I highly recommend it.
• 
  Emma Lindhagen

  I wanted to like this but... just, no. The stories were just so ridiculous, in a way I didn't enjoy. I liked the main plot well enough, but throwing some kind of villain or wacky twist into every issue kinda ruined it for me. I like the characters overall so it's probably more of a 1 1/2 for me on that basis but if the rest of the volumes are like this one in terms of narrative then it's just not my thing at all...
• 
  Stephanie

  I really like Marguerite Bennett, but the writing isn't always stellar here. The overload of pop-culture references will make this seem dated pretty quickly...but maybe this isn't a comic that is meant to stand the test of time. I thought that the character development was good, but sometimes marred by the aforementioned cultural references and (A LOT of) breaking of the fourth wall. This was a fun read for a hot summer day, but probably pretty forgettable.
• 
  Steven

  Such a surprise that this is a highly enjoyable and smart read. Making Melody less of a ditz and the mouthpiece for the best non sequiturs is brilliant. All three central characters well done & strong. I'm looking forward to sharing this with my daughter a few years from now & my niece for her birthday.
• 
  Tracy

  This was a lot of fun - I have to admit I was hesitant to grab another volume of Archie & gang reboots but the clever writing, pop culture references, and 4th wall breaking made it worth it. I'm looking forward to volume 2
• 
  Mackie Welch

  I thought this was pretty funny (obviously Melody being the funniest). I guess the pop culture references didn't bother me as much as they did most people. It's what I expect from a satire, and that's what this is. And that's what makes it funny.
• 
  Harley

  The art style for this was super cute, I loved it. The storyline was a little wonky with tons of pop culture references and weird crime fighting battles that seemed to come out of nowhere. But there was a Sailor Moon référence and that’s what really mattered.
• 
  morgan ᱬ

  Josie being self absorbed and not considering anyone else for 144 pages. The constant pop culture references and trying to break the fourth wall didn't do anything besides sidetrack from what was going on in the story.
  
  At least the artwork is pretty.