This really wasn't my bag. I don't know what I thought for a second that it would be-- I am almost totally unfamiliar with Archie comics, and what I do know I don't like-- but the allure of a Harley/Ivy book with Paul Dini involved was too much of a siren song for me to not pick it up. Well, the story was boring and juvenile, and the art made sections of the story confusing (like when Betty and Veronica dress up as Harley and Ivy for a party and then the real ones show up-- they were too similar-looking to tell who was really doing what).

I was very eager to pick up this graphic novel, based solely on my devout love for the Archie franchise and every single Archie spin-off. Growing up, I regularly read Sabrina comics and collected Betty & Veronica digestst. I can still sing verbatim every song off the early 2000's Josie and the Pussycats movie soundtrack. I've watched every Archies television adaptation and I'm a current Riverdale fanatic.

Harley & Ivy Meet Betty and Veronica had some of the appeal of the beloved Archies characters, each one making a valiant appearance (they kept Kevin an LGBTQ character, gave Sabrina a great side story, and the Pussycats even sing!) but there was more to yawn about than love.

I've never been a big fan of the overly eroticized comic book vixen. Harley & Ivy are deranged females for young women to look up to, but so are the overly bickering Betty & Veronica, constantly fighting over the attention of a clueless Archie. So there aren't any female tropes to be left out of this graphic novel.

The art style is also confusing. No doubt the artists are super talented, but I felt lost in the shuffle of characters. Most of the female faces looked identical, every curve precisely the same. Even the males had very little differentiation in their forms. The four title ladies attend a Heroes and Villains gala in which Betty & Veronica dress up as Harley & Ivy. Harley & Ivy appear at the gala, dressed in their vintage outfits. Chaos ensues! Not only is the plot muddy from the identity crises, the reader has literally no way of following along with who is who. All the women look the same, and wow is that dull.

Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.