Book Review for Comic Book Club for February: Betty & Veronica: Shopping Spree!

Book: Betty and Veronica: Shopping Spree! by various writers and artists

Edition: Paperback

Description:

What could Betty & Veronica possibly love more than Archie? That’s easy–shopping!

Get ready to hit the mall with Betty & Veronica! Begin your very own shopping spree with this graphic novel collecting some of the funniest stories featuring Riverdale’s resident super-shoppers! Shop till you drop in this hilarious new collection!

Book Club Picks for February: Ghana Must Go, Betty & Veronica: Shopping Spree! and Star Wars: Rebel Heist

Here at Book Girl, I love to celebrate books. It doesn't matter if it's the newest release or an old classic, I just love books. For February's book club picks, I wanted something different from last month. As a reminder, if there's a book you think we should read for book club, let me know.

For The Book Girl's Book Club I picked Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi, I thought it would be a good read. It seemed interesting and although it was published in 2013, I don't recall ever hearing about it which was one of the reasons why I selected it. I think it's good to read as many books and from different authors as possible.

For the Comic Book Club, I thought we could read Betty & Veronica: Shopping Spree! it has a collection of stories centering on Betty and Veronica's love of shopping. Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge are two of my favorite characters and I'm sure this will be a fun read. And for the Star Wars Book Club, I found the comic Star Wars: Rebel Heist by Matt Kindt and Marco Castiello. The funny thing is this book was originally published by Dark Horse Comics (which is the edition I have) but since Disney owns Stars Wars this book is now published by Marvel. It's also no longer considered canon but I figure it would still be a good read.


The Book Girl's Book Club Pick: 

Book: Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi

Description:

A renowned surgeon and failed husband, Kweku Sai dies suddenly at dawn outside his home in suburban Accra. The news of his death sends a ripple around the world, bringing together the family he abandoned years before. Moving with great elegance through time and place, Ghana Must Go charts their circuitous journey to one another and, along the way, teaches us that the truths we speak can heal the wounds we hide.

Electric, exhilarating and beautifully crafted, Ghana Must Go is at once a portrait of a modern family and a testament to the transformative power of unconditional love, from a debut novelist of extraordinary talent, Taiye Selasi.

Art of the Day: Veronica Lodge and Betty Cooper

Artwork: Betty & Veronica issue #1 variant cover by Cliff Chiang

Meet the "Official Cat" for The Book Girl's Book Blog and the Caturday "Book of the Day"

Happy Caturday!

Okay, my feisty yet adorable cat Griffith (or Griff as I usually call him) wanted to be the official cat of The Book Girl's Book Blog. So whenever he is feeling cooperative, his picture which will include one of my books will be featured for the Caturday "Book of the Day" post.

Today's book is Betty & Veronica Double Digest #213 (2013), it's filled with over 140 pages of stories that centers around Betty and Veronica and their family and friends as they enjoy the fun and experience the mishaps of the summer and being at the beach. I haven't read this yet but that's why I pulled it off the shelf because hopefully it'll motivate me to read it this summer.

Book of Interests: Betty & Veronica: Vixens vol #1

I'm becoming frustrated with the current direction DC Comics seems to be heading in and I'm really starting look for different comic books and publishers to read.

Did you know there is an ongoing Betty & Veronica series that has them in a gang, I didn't? According to the description it looks like they formed the gang as a way to protect the city. That's certainly a different take on Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge and I'm really interested in reading it.

Book: Betty & Veronica: Vixens volume #1 (issues #1-5) by Jamie L. Rotante with illustrations by Eva Cabrera, colors by Elaina Unger and letters by Rachel Deering

Description:

Betty and Veronica assemble the Vixens: a squad brought together to take out the dangerous Southside Serpents gang. These aren’t “Archie’s Girls”—they’re starting a revolution in Riverdale!

Fashion Meets Comics: Betty & Veronica Print Dress

Despite the warm weather, it's not officially summer yet (well according to the calendar) but I'm already obsessed with trying to find a few new summer dresses. I really like this Betty & Veronica dress, it truly is Fashion Meets Comics because it's covered with illustrations from the comics.

This is so cute, what would you pair with it? I can see wearing it just as it is with sandals or flip flops. But I would also pair it with a blazer, jacket, sweater or wrap especially for those days when the weather is a little chilly outside.

Betty & Veronica Line Art Print Ruffle Dress                      $60.00 (sale, regular price $79.00)           Betty & Veronica (bettyandveronica.com)

Fashion Meets Comics: Betty and Veronica Hoodie

Do you remember when I posted a Fashion Meets Comics last Friday for a Betty & Veronica hoodie. I thought it was so cute that after I posted it, I ordered it. It was delivered a couple of days ago, just haven't had time to post it.

This was my first time ordering anything from the Betty and Veronica store but I'm glad I did because I really like this hoodie. It looks and feels great, very good quality. I think I may have found myself a new geek store.

Fashion Meets Comics: Betty & Veronica Hoodie + B&V Comic Book News

I'm a huge Betty and Veronica fan, I've been reading the comics for years. I spotted this Betty and Veronica Hoodie and was thinking of getting it. From the red stripe on the cuffs and hem to the simplistic look. I especially like that there is nothing on the back because sometimes less is more. 

This is so cute, I could really see pairing this with a lot of stuff.

B&V Logo Hoodie by Christian Frances Roth                   $45.00 (sale, regular price $69.00)             Betty and Veronica (bettyandveronica.com)




I have some good news for us classic Betty & Veronica comic book fans, there is going to be a new comic book series, Betty & Veronica Friends Forever. It will be written by Bill Golliher, illustrations by Dan Parent, inks by Rich Koslowski, colors by Glenn Whitmore and letters by Jack Morelli. The series priced at $2.99 per issue will feature a different theme each month with the first centering around being "At the Movies". The first issue will be available sometime in May.

As a side note, I do wish more female writers got the chance to write for Archie Comics.

Betty and Veronica Friends Forever #1 cover by Dan Parent

Art of the Day: Betty and Veronica

Artwork: variant cover art for Betty & Veronica issue #1 by Bilquis Evely

Summer's not over yet and I couldn't resist posting this.

Betty and Veronica are complete opposites and this cover definitely emphasizes it. Betty's all sporty in her surfing wetsuit while Veronica looks as if all she will be doing is laying on the beach relaxing. 

Book Review: Betty and Veronica issue #55

Book: Betty and Veronica issue #55

Edition: Single Print Issue

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Review:

When you go to your local comic book store, do you ever visit the discount section? I found this and few other Archie Comics in the dollar bin. This issue was published in 1992 and contains four stories.


Story #1: "Lunch Break" by Frank Doyle with illustrations by Dan DeCarlo, ink by Alison Flood and color by Barry Grossman

In this story, Betty and Veronica were planning on enjoying a day at the beach. But first they had to deal with windy weather making it nearly impossible for them to roll out their beach towels. With that taken care of it was time to enjoy a swim but did Jughead eat the food from their picnic basket? It also looks like he may not be the only threat to their lunch. 


Story #2: "The Victory" by George Gladir with illustrations by Dan DeCarlo, ink by Alison Flood and color by Barry Grossman

In The Victory, Betty's known for being a calm and happy-go-lucky person which is usually a good thing but not in this case. With the school's swim meet approaching, Coach Clayton was trying to figure out how to get Betty to swim the way she did during practice. Veronica told him that the only reason Betty was able to swim so well was because she was angry. Coach came up with the idea to ask Archie, Jughead and Veronica to see if they could help make Betty mad so she can swim her best. At first nothing seemed to work that is until Jughead and Archie came up with the ultimate test to Betty's good mood.



Story #3: "The Hitter" by Frank Doyle with illustrations by Dan DeCarlo, ink by Alison Flood and color by Barry Grossman

In this story, Archie and Jughead were practicing for the next day's baseball game when they meet Sal, a kid who is probably one of the best baseball players they've ever seen. They ask Sal if he wanted to play on their baseball team for tomorrow's game. However, it wasn't until Betty and Veronica showed up that they uncovered the truth about Sal, who in a surprising twist turned out to be a girl whose full name is Sally. She thought that as a girl, they wouldn't let her be on the team. But the girls were able to convince her that Archie and Jughead wouldn't mind that she's a girl all that matters is how great a baseball player she is.



Story #4: "Nature Calls" by Mike Pellowski with illustrations by Dan DeCarlo, ink by Alison Flood and color by Barry Grossman

In this last story, Betty and some of the other girls were fed up with Veronica stealing all the guys' attention at the party. But Betty had a plan to give Veronica a dose of her own medicine. Betty had invited Veronica to spend the day with her at the Environmental Awareness Camp, where Betty worked at. She figured that it would be one of the few places where Veronica wouldn't be able to attract a lot of attention especially since the guys there are all about the environment. Everything was going according to plan if not for Betty making a mistake which drew all the guys' attention towards Veronica.


Sometimes, it's hard to imagine that these two are friends let alone best friends especially with how competitive they can be. But I guess that's what makes these stories so much fun to read. This was a very enjoyable and entertaining read and I love the artwork.

Illustration of the Day: Betty and Veronica

Illustration: Betty and Veronica issue #109

What I'm Casually Reading: Betty and Veronica Double Digest #212

I had bought this from the grocery store a few weekends ago and I finally started reading it last night. Since there are a lot of stories, I'm going to take my time reading this as I continue to read "Merry Christmas, Alex Cross".

I love the Archie Comics because they're really funny and who doesn't need a good laugh.