Archie

The question most often asked of the ComicsAlliance staff is a variation of, “Which comic books should I be reading?” or, “I’m new to comics, what’s a good place to start?” The Wednesday deluge of new comic books, graphic novels and collected editions can be daunting even for the longtime reader, much less for those totally unfamiliar with creators, characters and publishers, and the dark mysteries of comic book shopping like variants, pre-ordering, and formats. It’s with these challenges in mind that we’ve created Best Comic Books Ever (This Week), an ongoing guide curated by the ComicsAlliance staff. This is where new comics readers and seasoned Wednesday shoppers alike can find our picks of the best books the medium has to offer.

Writer Frank Tieri and artist Michael Walsh want to show you Archie's pal Jughead as you've never seen him before. He's always been hungry, but in Jughead: The Hunger, he completes his evolution into a voracious werewolf who feeds on human flesh. Considering the covers to this one-shot, it's not really a spoiler to let you in on that. What's more interesting is the identity of the werewolf hunter who shows up to stop him.

This week, I hope you're ready to have Some Opinions about Nicole the Holographic Lynx, because I was definitely not prepared for this development.

This week, we see inside the Blossom family residence, Riverdale buries Jason, Betty goes on a “reconnaissance mission” to Pop’s with a cute boy, and we learn how maple syrup ruins everything. “Heart of Darkness” was written by Ross Maxwell and directed by Jesse Warn.

With almost 300 issues in the core series, Archie's Sonic The Hedgehog stands as the longest-running uninterrupted American monthly comic book that's currently being published. In Hedging Your Bets, I attempt to get up to speed on Sonic the Hedgehog, challenging the odds to hopefully make it all the way to the finish line. This week, it's Sonic meets WrestleMania, and how do you screw that up?!

A hero is defined by their villains, and comic books are filled with some of the scariest and silliest bad guys around. Rogues’ Gallery aims to settle the score and determine who is the true arch-nemesis for some of our favorite heroes, and we need your help to do it! You voted to see who the ultimate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles villain was, and we’ve tabulated the results and assembled a video counting down the definitive top 10. Did your favorite make this list? There’s only one way to find out!

Folks, there is a lot going on in the first few pages of this week's issue of Jughead. Not only have Ryan North and Derek Charm introduced us to an increasingly bizarre roster of musical acts in Riverdale --- including the Josie and the Pussycats side project Melody and the Literal Cats Who Play Cat-Sized Instruments --- but their story about Reggie becoming King for a Month has done wonders for one Dilton Doiley. Yes, the book might be about Jughead being in conflict with Reggie, but the real action here comes from Dilton, who shatters the fourth wall to bring us one of the best recap pages I have ever seen. Check it out!

If you're not following the events of The Black Hood: Season 2, the flagship title of Archie's gritty Dark Circle imprint, you've been missing a pretty thrilling story. After leaving Philadelphia to escape the crimes he committed as a vigilante, Greg Hettinger is being lured back by a villain called Nobody, who has vowed to undo every good thing Hettinger has done, working backwards down the timeline of people he's saved and committing exponentially worse crimes. Like, say, poisoning an entire steak house full of people just to make his point. Check out the preview to see the action for yourself!

I’ve been thinking a lot about Betty and Veronica lately. With Archie ‘n’ pals riding high in pop culture again thanks to Riverdale, it’s hard not to. Even with a faux-lesbian kiss that went nowhere, Riverdale reaffirms my belief that Betty and Veronica are totally in love. Hear me out.

This week, Betty finds out the truth about Ms. Grundy, Jughead fights to keep the drive-in open, and Kevin Keller gets some smooches. "The Last Picture Show" was written by Michael Grassi and directed by Mark Piznarski.