missing my ex

to some of you who don't know, i had a love affair with this guy ever since i was in first grade:

archibald "archie" andrews

*sigh* he's goofy, impulsive, sporty sweet, though not exactly good-looking (i always thought his best friend jughead is the cute one). though i had this "relationship" with him, i always had to compete with two other girls for his attention:

elizabeth "betty" cooper

she was the girl i always loved to hate, but couldn't coz she's the kindest, most intelligent girl ever. and she's pretty too, with her girl-next-door charm--blonde hair and blue eyes... i always wanted to be like betty. too bad she always played second fiddle to archie's other girl:

veronica "ronnie" lodge

the spoiled-little-rich-girl, who i hated when i was first introduced into the world of riverdale. but as i got to know her, i found out that she was just a lonely, misunderstood girl who craved for her dad's attention.

i always loved getting lost in archie's universe, especially with the whole archie, betty and veronica triangle. i always found it hilarious, and it was always my secret wish for archie to finally choose betty and for jughead to REALLY fall in love (though hopefully not to big ethel).

my archie mania came to a point where my comic book collection reached to the hundreds, when i used to buy 2-3 comic books every week (i so love booksale and their retro archie comics from the 70s for P30 each). sadly, i lost my collection when i was halfway through high school till college, when people who used to borrow my comics didn't return them. when my collection depleted to 5 pcs (from 148 pcs), i lost interest and broke up with my first love. it didn't help either when the original artist dan decarlo passed away and archie and the gang developed a new look:

archie's new look

these days, i would occasionally browse through them whenever i ran across a copy at the bookstore, but i just stopped buying and collecting them altogether. i always assumed that nothing would change in the world of riverdale: archie would still be confused between betty and veronica, jughead will forever hate girls, moose would always beat up reggie over midge... it was like a comfort to me to know that whatever happens, the riverdale gang would always stay the same as they did for the past 65 years.

that is why it was (still is) a shock to me when i opened my email and found this invitation from my old comic book club friends:


according to the press release, "this is the first of a 7-part series entitled archie gets married, and will be set after their college graduation, thus ending the eternal love triangle that has been the corner stone of the 65-year old comic."

i am still in shock with this piece of news and i'm not really sure if i'm actually happy about it. it's like the death of superman all over again--apocalyptic in comic book speak. because superman should never die, as archie and the riverdale gang should always be in high school and archie should always be confused between betty and veronica. somehow, this issue feels like it will be the last for archie and his friends...the ending.

i don't want archie's story to end, and i don't want him to get married. i will surely miss the epic triangle that has always amused me. but i know everyone must move on and settle down, even archie. i will surely miss him.

so who will it be, archie?
the clock is ticking...