There's a lot of shock value with this book, but most of all it's taking the Archie gang from being pleasanly rivalrous to downright nast with each other. Veronica is particularly nasty when it comes to both Betty and Jughead (she's a little nicer about Big Ethel though...poor Ethel), and when Cherry Blossom and her brother Jason come to crash the Riverdale high Halloween dance, an incestuous relationshi between them is heavily inferred. The level of loathing as well that the Blossoms have for Riverdale steps outside of the usual comedic town rivalries (like Springfield and Shelbyville or Pawnee and Eagleton), and into something far sinister.
Despite the book's title, Archie remains almost a background character, with many discussions happening about him and many events happening around him, but he's not yet been the focus. Even still, through Reggie, Ronnie, Dilton and the like, we get more than sense enough about how this Archie world differs from the rest, it's high school attitude more Degrassi melodrama than the usual lighthearted Riverdale fare.
Jarring and fascinating...
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