Writer: Holly G! (Holly Golightly)
Pencils: Holly G!
Inking: John Lowe
Lettering: Bill Yoshida
Coloring: Barry Grossman
Original Publication: Cheryl Blossom, No. 27
Cover Date: November, 1999
Length: 10 pages
Although I have the original issue, I’m reviewing this story from the digital edition. However, the digital edition, as of this writing, is missing the second page of this story, so I had to dig out my physical copy for that.
No, that page count isn’t a typo.
Cheryl is at an outdoor charity function on someone’s estate. A banner on the gazebo reads “Children’s Hospital Fund”. Cheryl thinks some of these charity functions are just big eating fests – while eating a slice of cake. Strangely, there is a vase full of flowers sitting on top of the cake – right where Cheryl had taken her slice from. Anyway, Cheryl is happy to see a garden labyrinth on the estate and decides to walk off her dessert and do a little exploring at the same time.
There’s a bird singing and a butterfly fluttering its wings. Cheryl finds the maze pretty and peaceful. It’s bigger than she’d anticipated, but she’s “a girl who loves a challenge”. She’s shocked to run into Veronica.
Cheryl is upset to see Ronnie. Ronnie suggests they pick different paths. Cheryl agrees. But they keep running into each other.
By the way, Cheryl has aquamarine eyes in this story. Anyway, Ronnie starts to get scared and says they’re trapped, but Cheryl tells her not to give up. Cheryl picks a path, and they find a new path. Ronnie asks about a thing in a shrub. Cheryl looks and, to her horror, discovers it’s a beehive. Cheryl is allergic to bees. She screams and runs away. Ronnie follows. The bees follow them.
Ronnie pulls Cheryl down another path. The sprinklers start. Cheryl slips and falls. She warns Ronnie – but too late. Cheryl knocks Ronnie to the ground, somehow sliding her legs around Ronnie from behind. An angry and soaked Ronnie blames Cheryl for ruining her stockings, but Cheryl is happy that they ditched the bees.
They get to their feet. Ronnie yells that she’s wet and cold. Cheryl admits the maze is “kinda scary”. Ronnie cries for her daddy. Cheryl cries for help, because she’s “stuck with a wet crybaby”. They yell for help. They hear music, and Cheryl guesses the brass band has started to play. Ronnie says that means no one can hear them call for help. Cheryl is scared, because it’s starting to get dark. They hug each other in tears, believing they’re going to die.
Ronnie and Cheryl sit on the ground, hugging each other and crying. Cheryl wonders if anyone will find them. Cheryl notices Ronnie’s shoes and compliments her on them. Ronnie says they were a bargain. Cheryl admits Ronnie always gets a lot for her dollar. I’m pretty sure I’ve read stories that directly contradict that statement.
Ronnie’s mad, because she thinks Cheryl’s calling her cheap. Cheryl’s upset and says she was just saying she likes her shoes. Ronnie admits she admires Cheryl’s self-confidence. She says that stunt that she pulled with the Sugar Girls took guts. This cheers Cheryl up, and she admits it did take guts. Ronnie also, surprisingly, brings up the time that Cheryl turned the “Cherry Blossom Festival” into the Cheryl Blossom Bash (it was actually the Cheryl Blossom Festival). Cheryl giggles at the memory. Wow, I didn’t expect Holly to reference anything so old. That was from Dan Parent’s run, and it took place at the tail-end of the school year before last, when Cheryl was temporarily attending Riverdale High. Two summer vacations have passed since then. It’s possible for it to still be in continuity at this point, I guess. Anyway, Ronnie doesn’t know how Cheryl thinks up some of that stuff. Cheryl says, with Ronnie’s instincts and Cheryl’s brain power, they’re getting out of here.
Cheryl stands up. Ronnie’s confused and stands up. Cheryl puts her arm around her, gestures at the paths before them, and tells Ronnie to use her instincts for a shopping bargain to pick a path. Ronnie picks one. Unfortunately, it leads to a dead end. Fortunately, Cheryl finds a hedge clipper. Snipping it with a slightly crazed look on her face, Cheryl says Ronnie’s instincts found them a way out.
In a while, Cheryl manages to cut them out of the maze. Cheryl crawls out and then helps Ronnie out. Cheryl is amazed that they have such good teamwork. Suddenly fearful (for their reputations as rivals, I guess), they each swear to keep quiet about it. Penelope and Hiram are having drinks nearby. Penelope spots their “lovely daughters”. Hiram asks them if they’re enjoying the fundraiser. Ronnie says “It’s been an a-mazing party!” Cheryl adds “Yes, I’d hedge my bets on that!” Behind them, the groundkeeper notices the huge hole and thinks a beaver or something made it.
This story was pretty nice. We got some nice character development for both Cheryl and Ronnie. These two could be genuine friends, if they weren’t so concerned about their “reputations” or whatever.
Extras
In the middle of the story is a page of Cheryl fan art (with entries from Felisha Thomas of Carson, Georgia; Rasalind Tan of Singapore; and Clara Kang of Cartago, Costa Rica).
After the story is a 1-page Cheryl illustration (by Holly G!) titled “‘Boo’tiful Halloween fashions”. Cheryl is dressed as Elvira (I think), a devil (with Sugar as her devilish sidekick), and a witch. Cheryl’s witch costume is by April Engelberg of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Riverdale Reviewed 