Archie #18
Archie Comics
Written by: Mark Waid
Illustrated and Colored by: Pete Woods
Lettered by: Jack Morelli
With Riverdale now one of the CW’s hottest new shows, Archie #18’s brand new arc is a fantastic jumping on point for potential new readers. The issue serves as a brief update on the main characters; Veronica is back in town and reunited with Archie, Betty hangs out with Dilton and Jughead gets involved in a Blossom-themed mystery.
So Archie and Veronica go on their first date since she’s returned from boarding school, but things don’t quite go according to plan! In one of Waid’s funnier scenes, Veronica bores Archie about school and Archie bores Veronica about sports, while the waiters try to apprehend Archie for crimes against waitering! However, we all know Archie really belongs with Betty anyway.
Elsewhere we get a weird side-plot of a possible Betty/Dilton pairing. Dilton likes Betty. Betty is trying to get over Archie. Betty and Dilton bond over their 
mutual love of cars. Dilton tries to ask Betty out on a date which she turns down pretty quickly, but then changes her mind. I mean it’s sweet and all, but it feels pretty forced and I can’t see things ending well for Dilton.
However my favorite chapter definitely had to be Detective Jughead Jones investigating the mystery of the Blossom’s hidden money. Jughead agrees to look into the case in exchange for two months worth of burgers, but in a hilarious scene very quickly screws the twins over!
We have a brand new artist this issue with Pete Woods joining the creative team. His style is very angular and sketchy though, and so far he’s not one of my favorites of the reboot artists. However he does bring a lot of action to the issue
Final Verdict: This was definitely a mixed bag of an issue. There was a lot of humor and heart in the writing and Dilton is super sweet, however the pencils did lack detail and I definitely wanted more Jughead! The new look, Archie has been fantastic so far, so I’m intrigued to see where this new arc takes us. Bring back the reprints in the back of each issue though please!