When I was a teenager, I first got hooked on comics due to the 2015 “New Riverdale” relaunch over at Archie Comics. Back then I wanted to be desirable and wealthy like Veronica Lodge and cool and capable like Betty Cooper. Ethel Muggs was a non-entity in these rebranded stories–a creative decision which now retroactively hammers home that, as Big Ethel Energy’s tagline proclaims, “not all of us peak in high school.” I sure didn’t–I was a weird kid back then. And once you’ve been a weird kid, it’s hard to ever be anything else. I don’t mean giving up your nerdy interests and learning to become one with Super Bowl parties and your sorority sisters. I mean learning not to look at yourself as a social reject whose lunch money and self-esteem are forfeit.
It took some growing pains and hard reflection, but I now realize it wasn’t so bad to be Ethel, the awkward teen who needed some time away to really spread her wings and figure out how to express herself in print. Big Ethel Energy is chicken soup for my younger self’s soul. It’s exactly the slice-of-life comfort read that I turned to Archie for years ago, and it’s not a bad reminder that none of us are the same person we were as kids, and it’s okay to let that trauma go and hook up with your friend’s ex.
I started reading writer Keryl Brown Ahmed and artist Siobhan Keenan’s Big Ethel Energy out of nostalgia for the comics I read as a teenager and a love of wordplay, never expecting to relate so acutely to the ways Ethel’s teenage insecurities manifest in her adult life. Her doomed crush on Jughead Jones, and his own social ineptitude and inability to let her down gently, have loomed large over her dating life ever since. My own romantic misfires at that tender time had a similar effect–a man could give either me or Ethel every sign in the world and neither would think mutual attraction possible. Is it a cruel prank? Is he in need of a rebound? Maybe he’s just lonely?
Of course, there’s nothing healthy about this mindset, which is really just a preemptive defense against any further damage, isolating yourself from anyone with the potential to break your heart–or heal it. That attitude can easily lead you to self sabotage–Ethel flees at any sign of flirtation from her college classmates and even advances from her former classmate (and current Riverdale High football coach) Moose Mason.
Moose, Riverdale’s resident himbo, is rendered by Keenan with all the tender masculinity and romance of the best shoujo love interests (my favorite design choice for Moose is his glasses–a non-threatening veneer on an otherwise stereotypically buff and boyish blonde). He adds needed perspective by reframing Ethel’s teenage memories. Moose did not find her annoying and nerdy; he admired her for her tenacity and intelligence. Ethel is often drawn as poor-postured and withdrawn in flashbacks to her high school days–a far cry from present-day Ethel, confidently striding into Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe in her trendy Maxi skirt and bold lipstick, firmly positioning her as a confident twenty-something of the 2020s. And it is Moose who nervously shrinks back in an important memory of Ethel’s: after Jughead rejected her at a school dance, it was Moose who shyly asked her to dance, and all these years later, it is Moose who is most excited for her return to Riverdale, and who jumps at the chance to finally take her on a date. And despite Ethel’s reservations, she is able to break from her pattern of self-sabotage (not for lack of trying) and accept that someone would be genuinely interested in her. One small step for Ethel, one giant leap for those who need the reminder: you see what you look for.
There’s this Ellen Willis essay I’ve returned to over and over as another mirror of my own experience, “Memoirs of a Non-Prom Queen.” In it Willis concedes that, despite the popular myth of the teenage-ugly-duckling-turned-successful-adult, her social shortcomings during high school were not what led to her later success in life.
“High school permanently damaged my self-esteem,” she writes. “I learned what it meant to be impotent; what it meant to be invisible. None of this improved my character, spurred my ambition, or gave me a deeper understanding of life.”
A painful truth I am so relieved to see in print: being a loser is not a virtue. Any long-lasting issues I have as a result of bullying or not being taught the social rules (which everyone else seemed to understand inherently) do not define me. I do not need to become successful in spite of them–I can become successful by being a healed adult who knows what she wants.
Big Ethel Energy affords growth to all the major Archie players, no matter how unlikely. Veronica is updated to a big-time social media influencer with a chic wardrobe of jewel-tone and pastel bodycon pieces to match. Her exaggerated pout and shiny raven hair–which both remain flawless as she bawls over the loss of a long-time brand deal–bring to mind the Kardashians and others similarly famous for tastemaking and infamous for “nepo baby” fame. The brand drops Veronica after older YouTube videos, including a fatphobic clip of her mocking another teenage girl, resurface. Though Ethel owes nothing to her former bully, she offers guidance when Veronica expresses an interest in apologizing to and using her privilege to educate her audience. She institutes a “total transparency” policy with her followers, starting an online series in which she rewatches and critiques her past videos, displaying her growth as a person.
I’ve particularly enjoyed Veronica’s arc because, despite the myriad Back to the Future-esque narratives showing the bully facing their karmic comeuppance in the form of a bleak post-high-school future, I find reconnecting with people I once knew and discovering they too have changed to be much more cathartic. An old school friend of mine once known for his constant defiance and abrasive sense of humor helped me move into my post-college apartment and sat in a restaurant with me for five hours, marveling at all the changes a few years of brain development and a worldwide pandemic can bring. There’s something heartwarming in realizing that none of us have to be defined by our younger years, despite how formative they are. Maybe it’s an overly optimistic sentiment in increasingly pessimistic times, but everyone is capable of changing themselves and their life. Self-improvement is an active choice that is hard to make, which makes it all the more satisfying to curl up and read.
The second season premiere of BIG ETHEL ENERGY from writer Keryl B. Ahmed and artist @siobhanchiffon is available now by @webtoonofficial!!!https://t.co/Intk4FYWV0#bigethelenergy #archiecomics #archie #comics pic.twitter.com/KZkxy2qBfx
— Archie Comics (@ArchieComics) February 22, 2023
Ethel has a tendency still to fall into the old patterns that have plagued her since her younger years–what good Webtoon protagonist doesn’t?–but her commitment to helping others fuels change in everyone around her, as she brings much-needed closure to Ms. Grundy, encourages Betty to construct a rooftop garden, inspires Archie to pick up the guitar again, and even helps Jughead articulate some long-avoided feelings.
This theme of constant growth is what elevates Big Ethel Energy to go-to comfort read for me. In the last year and a half since my college graduation, I’ve realized in a lot of ways that I am only just beginning, and I have a level of freedom that I barely recognized as possible in my teen years. And that possibility is terrifying, because, once again, it presents you with choice, an overwhelming amount of choices. No major, no one static friend-group, no unshakeable on-campus reputation to live up to or be defined by. Only a future that’s full of redefining choices to be made. So it’s wonderful to find the weekly, bite-size read that makes it all seem doable–you’re growing up. That’s a good thing. Everyone you’ve ever known is an entirely different person. That’s a good thing. Life is starting over, over and over again. That’s a good thing! That’s an opportunity to be taken. And that self-discovery and exploration is where I’m excited to put all my energy.
