This is the second part of the story "In Search of the Beat", which originally appeared in "Jughead #2".
It doesn't take long for Jughead to get the man to admit that he is Crazy Willie Jim. Apparently, Jim didn't want to tell Jughead who he was because he thought that he was a social worker. To be honest, I think if the writer had used bill collector instead, it might have sounded more realistic. Well, as realistic as a teenager being a bill collector or a social worker could be. Anyway, once Jughead tells Jim that he's a drummer with the Archies and how much of a fan he is of his music, Jim changes his tune and greets Jughead very warmly. In fact, Jughead manages to convince Jim to come down to the Kandy Klub. The Archies have a gig there coming up and Jughead would consider it an honour for Crazy Willie Jim to watch them perform and perhaps give Jughead some pointers on how to replicate his sound. Crazy Willie Jim accepts Jughead's invitation.
The night of the Archies concert at the Kandy Klub (where apparently they serve cherry Kool-Aid as a beverage for some bizarre reason), everyone is enjoying the Archies set list. But the person who seems to be enjoying the band the most is Crazy Willie Jim. Just based on his lingo, you can tell that he's gone back in time to 1957 again! But Jim is definitely impressed by the band. And after the band stops performing to take a brief break, Jughead decides to invite Crazy Willie Jim to sit in for him on a couple of songs, allowing him the use of his drum set. It's an offer that Jim doesn't refuse. His only condition is that he is allowed to use his own drumsticks. I can only assume that he's owned those drumsticks since the days when he was releasing albums.
Needless to say, once a person learns how to do something, they never really forget it. And even though there's a lot less hair on his head and his face has a few more wrinkles, Crazy Willie Jim still has it.
Archie, Reggie, Betty, and Veronica are blown away by the immense talent of Crazy Willie Jim, but Jughead didn't doubt him for a second. I can only imagine how much joy Jughead felt seeing his idol playing the drums in his band. It was such a positive moment for Jughead to play with his idol, but I imagine for Crazy Willie Jim, it was the highlight of the last twenty years of his life. It was like he was back in top form and the spotlight was deservedly shone on him.
Jughead is so happy about Crazy Willie Jim playing for the Archies that the band decided to give him some of the money that they made playing at the Kandy Klub. At first, Crazy Willie Jim refuses to take it, but once Jughead insists on giving it to him, he agrees...but tells Jughead that playing with them was all the reward he needed.
Weeks go by, and Jughead continues to listen to Crazy Willie Jim's albums and tries to play along with the rhythm. He spends so much time practicing that Archie wonders if he's dropped off the face of the earth, but Jughead tells Archie that all he wants to do is replicate Crazy Willie Jim's style so that he can impress him. I get the feeling that Crazy Willie Jim was happy to see that he was still connecting with young fans, but knowing that one of them liked him enough to try and emulate him would naturally give him some warm fuzzies.
But when Jughead gets to Crazy Willie Jim's street hangout, his bandmates have some very devastating news.
You know, it's not very often that a comic book like Archie kills off characters, but when they do, it certainly is like a sucker punch to the gut. It was very similar to when Lisa Simpson lost Bleeding Gums Murphy. Losing someone you consider a hero or an idol...that had to hurt. Just seeing Jughead's expression when they told him that Crazy Willie Jim passed away. It's heartbreaking.
And if you weren't crying before, you will when you see the part when Jughead is gifted Crazy Willie Jim's special drumsticks. For someone to give someone they just met their prized possessions before they died...well, you know that they had to make a huge impact. Jughead is very sad, but he knows one way to honour him. Play with his bandmates and show them what he learned from him. Sure enough, Crazy Willie Jim lives on through Jughead as his bandmates notice that Jughead is playing the song EXACTLY like Crazy Willie Jim.
You know, I've said that of all the Archie stories I've read, this one ranks within my Top 10. It is such a beautiful tale of friendship and honouring those you love. It's a story that shows Jughead in a light that most of us don't really see, and it's really great to watch Jughead grow in this story. I have to think that Jughead will be the legacy that Crazy Willie Jim hoped to leave behind, and I think Jughead will make sure that he is never forgotten.
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