Archie; $3.99

A trio of top notch stories await in what Archie advertises as The Best Archie Comic Ever Special #1. In the first story, Archie is faced with his superhero doppelgänger Pureheart and all the comical superhero tropes readers can handle! Then Jughead does his best impression of Conan the Barbarian in search of “sweet bliss.” The issue closes with Betty and Veronica as a pair of superspies trying to reel in a big fish for an intelligence agency.

The creative team of writers Fred Van Lente, Aubrey Sitterson, and Ruben Najera, artists Tim Seeley, Jed Dougherty, and Giorgia Sposito, and colorists Matt Herms and Glenn Whitmore turned in a great one-shot. All three stories are well done, which isn’t always the case with anthologies. Each one has its own style while staying true to the characters and maintaining the same humorous tone throughout.

It’s a great, fun comic to read while escaping the hot summer weather.

-Amanda Sheriff