I enjoyed reading Archie comics as a kid, so I was really looking forward to reading this new zombie Archie comic. The artwork is much more sophisticated (this is the understatement of the year) than the comics I read, and the characters are much more attractive and more realistic looking than the original. What is retained from the old comic: Betty still loves Archie; Reggie is still a jerk, Jughead still has a voracious appetite (for human flesh, now!) and loves his dog; Sabrina is a well-meaning witch; Midge & Moose are still a couple and Veronica is still a spoiled brat, though I found her slightly more sympathetic in this book, as the comics I remember kind of had her stringing Archie along and not genuinely being in love with him. But maybe that's just my faulty memory.
Archie is much more of a tough-guy kind of hero in this book, but I enjoyed it. I think the story would have worked even if it wasn't Archie, but the fact that it brings in these beloved characters makes it charming. There is an actual story here, as Sabrina the Teenage Witch brings Hot Dog back to life because her friend Jughead is so heartbroken by his death. But it's only a half-life, and Hot Dog becomes the first zombie. Sabrina is banished by her aunts, because she was told not to mess with this magic, and now look what's happened.
As the kids in Riverdale alternately turn into or escape from zombies, there are still the normal teen angst stories--Veronica can still be petty even though everyone is fighting for survival. But I have to say, I kind of teared up when Archie's dog sacrificed himself to save Archie's (archiemaster's) life and during the scene when Archie has to beat his zombie dad to death with a baseball bat, featuring zombie beating panels interspersed with panels of Archie and his dad in happier times. The book is cinematic and the artwork is gorgeous. I'm kind of tired of zombies, but I'd like to read the rest of this series because it's so well done and I have such fond memories of Archie comics from my childhood.