Today’s Comic> World Of Archie FCBD 2026

It’s Archie’s world…and he’s barely in it.

World Of Archie FCBD Edition

Archie Comics Publications (May, 2026)

LETTERER: Jack Morelli

EDITORS: Jamie Lee Rotante, Vincent Lovallo, & Stephen Oswald

There was a time when setting a whole Free Comic Book Day anthology comic around the girls of Riverdale instead of the main character wouldn’t matter so much given that this is WORLD Of Archie and not Archie directly. It still seems odd that they’re focusing on minor characters while trying to promote the main book, but what’s really odd is that only three of the characters are main characters. Two are from the main cast and a third comes from a spinoff. No Josie and the Pussycats and yet music plays a role in more than one story. Let me get into the reviews and I’ll explain.

Betty & Veronica: “Rock Candi”

WRITER/PENCILER: Holly G! | INKER: Bob Smith | COLORIST: Glenn Whitmore

Maybe it’s because I don’t follow the Archie comics but I’ve never seen Archie treat the girls badly when it comes to The Archies, the fictional band formed by our main characters. Betty has a new song and Reggie, who I DO expect to treat people badly, refuses to give her a chance while Archie doesn’t want to get caught up in the drama. So Betty, Veronica, and some girl named Jola that I’ve never heard of (prepare to read that statement a lot) leave to form their own band, Rock Candi. Obviously we can’t hear the music but according to Archie and Reggie they’re better than the Archies. There’s also some dude named Trey who is Val’s brother (Valerie of the Pussycats?) who is now Betty’s boyfriend. Seriously, what happened? There’s no story here, just some nonsense about being wrong that Veronica was stuck on the tambourine like it’s some lesser instrument (tell that to Davy Jones of the Monkees), Betty NOT being with Archie, and the boys suck compared to the girls. How do you think we’re suppose to read this in 2026?

Okay, there’s a bio on Jola Kitt, who debuted in 2023, but I’m here for the regular Archie gang having adventures, not some 2020s Joan Jett wanna-be. Also, it tells us she’s vegan. Not really helping your case.

Cassie Cloud: “More Than Meets The Eye: Rise Of The Short Kings!”

WRITER: Jamie L. Rotante | PENCILER: Holly G! | INKER: Jim Amash | COLORIST: Glenn Whitmore

Okay, there are actual women in Riverdale or part of the larger Archie universe, so if this is going to be a girl power comic, why are we not using any of them? The series is supposed to be about Archie’s dating issues and other adventures with his friends, but here’s another character out of nowhere. Cassie and her sister Casey–wait, that’s a dude?–are also from 2023, and I think I remember them from a Betty & Veronica Free Comic Book Day story but I don’t care about them. Cassie likes to dance and the boys are really into her, but the usual girls of the comic get jealous until they also see her playing a tabletop RPG with the nerds, learn they might be cool after all, and see them in a new light. It’s more of a story than the first one, but Cassie is coming off a bit too perfect. I still don’t care about her.

Archie Daisy Thunder: “The Race To Save Face”

WRITER: Craig Boldman | PENCILER: Steven Butler | INKER: Jim Amash | COLORIST: Glenn Whitmore

This one showed up in 2024. Where did all these new characters come from? Apparently she holds a grudge against Archie because he damaged her picture in preschool and now wants to outrace him. Which she does embarrassingly easy because it’s that kind of comic. It says Archie is the main character but outside of a cameo by the Shield near a superhero museum and a few other places in Riverdale, which should have been the focus of a story about a race around Riverdale, everything is about Daisy being a better racer. Also, why does she look like Josie in the story and more like an original character in her bio?

Jinx: “Please, Please Please!”

WRITER: Timmy Heague | PENCILER: Dan Parent | INKER: Bob Smith | COLORIST: Glenn Whitmore

That’s what I’ve been saying this whole comic. Please focus on the decades long cast. Instead we get this character, who doesn’t even have a bio. Jinx Holiday is working with Betty and Veronica at a pop up store that’s all merchandise for performer Serena Carpenter. Really? Did she star on Female Meets World, the spinoff to Male Meets World? Explains the story title anyway, since it’s apparently one of Sabrina Carpenter’s song titles. What, you thought we’d confuse her with the other Sabrina in this comic? She is in the story as their two stores are competing to win a chance to meet what’s her name in person. I’m not sure what they did to win. It’s just a bunch of gag panels about the gang buying merch, which is still better than the first story at least.

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: “Retro Beach Bash A Go-Go!!”

WRITER/PENCILER: Dan Parent | INKER: Bob Smith | COLORIST: Gillian Swearingen, the reason I couldn’t just write Glenn Wittmore once and save time

Finally a character I care about in a story that isn’t about making the boys look bad. Sabrina goes to see a concert in the 1980s but thanks to the sliding timeline causes Betty to not be born by accidentally stopping her parents from meeting. So she goes back, fixes it, finishes the concert, and Della teaches her a lesson about misusing time travel a second time. This was actually a good story for once. It was fun, lesson learned, wasn’t about making the boys look bad, and featured characters I care about because she’s a long time member of the cast, even as a spinoff character.

overall

No Josie and her friends. No story of Ethel chasing Jughead or Midge doing something with Moose, or the girls of the longterm cast getting together. Just a bunch of new characters I don’t care about in stories that weren’t worth the effort, and Sabrina’s story standing out by actually being fun and with characters worth reading about. Between the Mary Sues, the boy hating (at least no girlbosses…the millennial additions were at least pleasant and given the treatment my people and our media usually get, seeing a pretty girl on our side was at least nice even if I didn’t care about her), and just showing off new characters I have no interest in, this was not a good issue.