When I started this review I thought the issue was good but after going through the pages and reexamining the scenes and the interactions between the characters I may have been a little too conservative. The thoughtful approach to writing these teens is nothing short of endearing and the updated look remains extraordinary. 'Archie' #5 is one of the best issues of the run so far and if Waid and Fish can remain a duo for a while it could very well be one of the best collaborations in comics. Read Full Review

I never thought I'd say it, but I'm glad to see Reggie Mantle. He hits this issue like a grenade and adds a sense of unpredictability and danger (within the confines of the Archie style, of course). We also learn more about Veronica in this issue, and overall it's tightly written and drawn. Once again, Archie kills it. Read Full Review

The art is maintaining a stylistic quality from the series' first artist, Fiona Staples. However, we have the third artist in five issues which I would normally find very troubling. To the credit of Archie Comics, the style is consistently similar and doesn't distract from the story Read Full Review

Archie is a classic series that Waid has taken to revamping for us. Thus far, he and the several artists he has worked with have done quite an amazing job of keeping things relative to the original while revving it up a bit. Nothing has been too safe or too “out there” for me, so I’m content with the speed Waid is moving the series here. For any and all Archie fans, this is a series you just can’t miss. Read Full Review

Waid (with artist Veronica Fish) continues to build a new series using the most reliable and enduring building blocks that have made the series so enduring - all while updating it for a modern audience. Read Full Review

"Archie" was already an unqualified success for its humor, characterization and art, but "Archie" #5 goes further, achieving a bittersweet profundity without losing its light touch. Read Full Review

Archie has never been this good"even when Riverdale is being attacked by zombies. This series is the must read comic series. Everyone and their dog needs to pick up this series and see what Mark Waid is doing. Read Full Review

The issue once again offers a deeper look at the love triangle between Archie, Bettey and Veronica. While Veronica still appears to be a spoiled rich girl, there's no doubt what she feels for Archie is real, even Bettey has to admit. At the same time, writer Mark Waid manages to make the two love rivals more in depth, as they're not just some one dimension character in love with an equally empty red head, but two girls whom are both complicated with thoughts and feelings. Read Full Review

Fish, Szymanowicz, and Vaughn invite us into a Riverdale we don't want to leave. Waid writes Betty with a maturity and gravity that makes us anxious to know what happens next between her, Veronica, and Archie. Waid crafts friendships with all the nuances of being a teen: jealousy, insecurity, wistfulness. Archieassembles one of the most entertaining and relatable casts of characters in comics today. Read Full Review

The one thing that has really changed with these characters is the way that they are drawn, but that change has been for the better. The way that artist, Veronica Fish has rendered these characters is really starting to feel natural. For years, Archie had a house style and Fish has really done a good job of breaking away from it without losing the characters in the process. If anything, the characterization has only grown stronger. Jughead, somehow, feels more like Jughead in Fish's style. Betty and Veronica have gone from identical twins with different color hair to two characters with very distinct character designs. Read Full Review

Things became awfully serious real quick. Fresh off the Lipstick Incident revelation, Betty, Jughead and Archie's mutual friendships are all at risk because of one rich brat. Be it gullibility or a blinding infatuation, Arch is going against his usual form and putting all responsibilities aside to appease the lofty expectations of the queen of high maintenance. Betty did ponder if Archie and Ronnie's love could be legit but really now" they're still in high school.For a 30-something male who tends to read some of the darkest, obscure, pitch black noir and crime comics one could get their hands on" Archie has been a damn enjoyable read! Read Full Review

Archie #5 is yet another great jumping-on point in a story that tells the reader it's ok if you missed earlier issue, Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead" and Reggie will catch you up. Read Full Review

I felt this was a very solid issue. No matter if you're pulling for Archie to be with Betty or Veronica, the romantic triangle is much more realistic than in classic stories. I'm eagerly awaiting for everyone to come together as friends but am enjoying the road these characters are taking to get there. As always, the issue comes with a bonus classic Archie story. This one is from 1948 showcasing how even then Reggie was a bit of a jerk. Also, Archie is a loveable goofball going to great lengths to impress a lady. In the case of this older story it's Veronica. A great comparison piece to the modern story being told. Archie #5 delivers another good read for fans and leaves you wanting more. Read Full Review

Now five issues in, it's tough to really call Archie's continued excellence a surprise. And yet, considering the series' early artistic carousel, it's amazing how each new issue manages to find new ways of further enhancing and enriching Riverdale's eclectic cast with nary a blip in quality. Read Full Review

While there are a few bumps with some of the twists - namely, how Sheila's art exhibit can be seen as anything other than super-creepy is a suspension of disbelief I'm not sure even Waid can pull off - but for the most part, Waid and Fish's infusion of characterization makes Archie a book that's well worth reading. Waid has reinvigorated this decades-old property, showing a veracity and deliberateness to these teenagers that I don't think I've seen since Brian Michael Bendis first took over Ultimate Spider-Man. If you haven't been reading this masterful series, you definitely owe it to yourself to start now. Read Full Review

The backup story “All Balled Up” is from Archie # 32, 1948. Archie has a way of things happening around him that would never happen with anyone else. It does make for fun and trouble. Nice retro style art from the time period. Read Full Review

Archie #5 lacks the visual panache of its first four issues and makes the interesting, if unfortunate story choice of focusing on its least likable character. Villain-centric stories can be supremely fascinating (See Hannibal, Breaking Bad, or even Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca's Darth Vader), but this is the equivalent of spending an entire issue on the douchebag lead of an Axe bodyspray commercial. And touching moment between Veronica and Archie and closure for Betty aside, the issue has really to add to the teen genre and falls behind both Jughead and books like Giant Days in the surreal humor department. Read Full Review

Very average, and as with the last issue I preferred the 1940's reprint. It was funnier and the art was far superior.

Archie stumbled a bit in this issue for me, focusing on the characterization of the bad guy, Reggie Mantle, rather than really trying to build more on the love quadrangle between Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica. I like that we see more of Betty and Jughead working together in this issue, and that is what most likely saved this book for me. I think I am still expecting this book to read more like an issue of Jughead (see yet another book that Chip Zdarsky has ruined for me because of his stupid, perfect humor). I hope that things bounce back for issue six, because I have really enjoyed this series, and I hope that more and more people will be checking out this pretty interesting book.