Comic Review: Archie (2015-) #707

Archie (2015-) #707

Archie Comics

Writer: Nick Spencer, Mariko Tamaki

Artist: Jenn St-Onge

Archie has a girlfriend. It’s not Betty, it’s not Veronica. Since Nick Spencer began writing Archie last year, Archie’s been with Sabrina Spellman. We, as readers, know this. But in the story, Archie and Sabrina are keeping their relationship a secret from everybody in Riverdale. Even us readers are in the dark on how this came to be, but we do find out in this issue.

Archie #707 finally fills us in on how Archie and Sabrina meet for the first time. Continuing from where we last saw him, Archie is alone in the woods, with wolves chasing him. The only person around that hears him is Sabrina. She saves Archie (with magic) and the two head into town. From there they spend more time together and eventually find themselves kissing.

Firstly, I really like the art in this issue. It’s a sweet story of teenage romance blooming, and I can’t think of an artist that matches that tone better than Jenn St-Onge. Her art style is very cute and stylized. There’s a lot of emotion and expression to the characters, even though it’s mostly Archie and Sabrina looking happy together. And then with the colors by Matt Herms, the art in this comic just matches its tone perfectly.

I think I can freely talk about what happens in this issue without worrying about spoilers. We all know what happens pretty much, with Archie and Sabrina being a couple in the present time. This issue just shows them meeting for the first time. It’s a simple, cute story. They have their “bump in the road” moment where it looks like they won’t get together, but by the end of the issue, it’s not a problem. Sabrina uses the “I’m not like other girls” line, which I don’t like in almost any other context. But in this one, it’s got some truth behind it, with that whole “teenage witch” thing. 

I like this issue, but I do have one problem with it. It’s something that’s not exclusive to this issue alone, it’s more the pacing of the story, I guess. There’s this whole mystery going on with Reggie Mantle’s dad disappearing, and we haven’t made any progress on it. It would feel out of place to mention it in this issue, I admit. And I appreciate the background on this relationship, and this issue is one of my favorites since Nick Spencer took over Archie. But it’s just something that’s been left hanging there for a while now, that I hope to see explored more soon. But that’s just my own personal gripe with this otherwise fun story so far. If you’ve been reading Archie there’s no reason to stop now, especially with this issue. 

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