Readers who miss DC Comics' Strange Sports Stories or who just want to get a jump on the baseball season need to pick up this issue of Tales from Riverdale Digest. Within its pages is reprinted the Archie’s Weird Mysteries’ tale "U.F.O. Uh-Oh!" in which Principal Weatherbee and the boys’ baseball team are kidnapped by aliens.

Unusual for a Weird Mystery, the focus is on Weatherbee and the diminutive green Smelltoids. Archie plays only a small role in the story. The concept of the team being kidnapped to teach clumsy aliens how to be play baseball is cute. The dialog is clever at times – I particularly enjoyed Jughead’s "Welcome to ‘The Field of Screams’" – and the moral about how jocks and brains should get along is handled in a light way.

It’s the art, however, that really makes this story shine. The uncredited artist, who might be Fernando Ruiz, does a spectacular job designing the various aliens races, including several shout-outs to Star Wars - and perhaps The Green Lantern Corps? His characters are expressive and fluid when in motion, while still having a sense of weight to them. The panel showing Weatherbee taking a hack at the ball is beautiful, as is the montage of the Smelltoids practicing. In the latter full-page panel, the caption leads the eye to the pitch of the baseball. Its flight intersects with a bat. The downward swing of the bat draws the eye to the next action, and so on. It’s a fine example of a clear, easy to follow layout. A great deal is going on, but the reader is never confused. The colors are darker than those used in the usual Archie story, and while each page is framed in white, very little white appears in the panels or between them, giving the story a more noir-ish look. The narrow gutters and layered panels contribute to the fast moving pace of the story by keeping the eye busy absorbing the denser format. Taken all together "U.F.O. Uh-Oh!" is a homerun.

For those who aren’t interested in aliens or baseball, there are several other enjoyable stories included this issue. Fernando Ruiz’s "Not Home Alone" has Mr. Andrews setting up a home office to avoid commuting, a noisy office, and a boss breathing down his neck. While I think this story will appeal more to the parents of the intended audience, Ruiz does some nice work with the characters’ expressions. Mrs. Andrews looks a bit off – what is with her mouth? – but the panels showing Mr. Andrews’ co-workers and boss are beautiful.

"Super-Hero Zero!" is a charmer that has Moose fantasizing about being a superhero. He gets some funny, unusually self-aware, lines and the punchline is genuinely funny.

In "Mind Games" Archie’s natural E.S.P. is enhanced by a gadget of Dilton’s. This eleven-pager has a sharp script, taking a couple of interesting twists before the comic finale. "He’s Just a Friend" features Nancy giving Ethel a quiz to see if the latter is too focused on Jughead. While it’s a cute story, it’s sad to think how wrapped-up Ethel is in a guy who’s just not interested. In general the art is attractive and Ethel even looks cute in a couple of panels. But there are a couple where her square face makes her look like Reggie in drag.

Mike Pellowski’s Money Matters" has the boys fantasizing about what they’d do with Mr. Lodge’s wealth. A twist at the end has them realizing the tycoon doesn’t get to do everything he wants to. Without being preachy, Pellowski gets his point across and provides some fun scenes. I rather enjoyed the Reggie, Ben Afterduck, and Duck sequence. The figures, as drawn by Tim Kennedy and inked by Ken Selig, pop out from the background, giving an almost 3-D look to some panels.

BuyTales from Riverdale Digest #31 for "U.F.O. Uh-Oh!", but make sure to read the entire entertaining package.

---

What did you think of this book?
Have your say at the Line of Fire Forum!

---