Big Ethel Energy explores life after high school. Ethel was the butt of every joke, she was overlooked by her peers and had few quality friends. After her high school days, she became a successful New York journalist. However, she starts to hit a plateau in her career when her hard-hitting articles aren't getting as many clicks as shallow articles like, "10 Ways to Know He Likes You." This is when she gets a call from her hometown Riverdale. The Mayor asks her to write a book on the town's history. After getting an offer she cannot refuse, Ethel reluctantly returns to her hometown of Riverdale and finds that she has grown tremendously from her high school days. People she put on a pedestal don't seem as perfect as they once were. People who were mean and shallow have issues. Those who she only saw in passing to were nicer than she remembered. Ethel realizes that she made a larger impact on the school than she initially thought. She was seen and heard even then and recognized for her talents and personality. Ethel starts to appreciate the impermanence of life and learns to make good memories in place of the bad. Big Ethel Energy features characters from Riverdale, an Easter egg for fans. Even so, you don't need to watch the show to enjoy this graphic novel. This graphic novel modernizes the TV show and strives to make it more realistic and relatable for the reader. The author does this by bringing complexity to the once one-note character, Ethel, and exploring the possible future of the other characters. This is the first of many novels so be sure to check them all out.