I first became aware of this series when Brian Hibbs did an interview with Mark Waid for the Comix Experience "Masterpiece Selection" of Kingdom Come. I thought Waid gave a really good interview. I was familiar with most of Waid's commercially successful runs at the time but asked what was a lesser known body of work he had done that he felt particularly proud of and enjoyed:

"Archie...I so dug writing those characters. And I so enjoyed being in that rare place in comics where you can write comedy and drama...I wish more people knew about the Archie stuff because it was some of the best stuff that I have ever written." - Mark Waid (2020)

At the time it came out in 2016, Waid was just coming off his celebrated run on Daredevil. He would go on to do 32 issues between 2015-2018. The first six issues paired him with superstar artist, Fiona Staples (4x Eisner Winner, 6x Harvey Winner, and 3x Ringo Winner). Issues 7-10 were drawn by Veronica Fish and 11-12 were drawn by Thomas Pitilli. Fish was a good clean transition from Staples but I don't Pitilli's style incorporates rough linework that seemed a little off for Archie. However, it doesn't really take away from the story but is a huge contrast to the backup Betty & Veronica issue drawn by the amazing Adam Hughes.

I was only somewhat familiar with the Archie characters. I quickly came to understand what Waid had hinted at (albeit from a reader's perspective). This series was a welcome light-hearted deviation from my normal reading material. Rather than burn through the series, I actually rationed it out an issue each night and really looked forward to it. I don't quite know how to describe it in the sense that while humorous, I think it is more defined by being light-hearted and surprisingly entertaining. I highly recommend taking a stroll with the kids of Riverdale (the TV series didn't come out until 2017). I picked up the first few volumes of this run and even grabbed some of the Afterlife with Archie.