Archie #707: I Put a Spell On You

What makes this story radiate is just how grounded it happens to be. Despite featuring a powerful witch falling in love with the All-American boy, there is a tangible sense of realness in this story. This story is the quintessential summer love story and hits all the right notes. The trepidation on Sabrina’s part to share her life while Archie continually overshares has a certain relatability to it.

Perhaps the most important touch throughout this issue from a writing standpoint is the repetitive ways that Archie cannot keep himself from talking about his friends. Betty, Veronica, and Jughead are as much a part of who Archie is as his red hair, and for a character who has spent decades embroiled in a love triangle, his inability to stop bringing it up feels incredible natural.

The combination of St-Onge’s artwork with Herms’ color work really shines in this issue. The sequences where Sabrina’s magic is shown are all remarkably vivid, particularly noticeable because of the ways the writing works to mute her magical nature. Through this process, the magic becomes something more than sum of its parts– a glowing mystery just on the periphery of imagination.