In the 1990's there were a lot of epic comic book storylines that made major news such as the death of Superman and Superman and Lois Lane getting married. Archie Comics proved it, too, could generate national publicity with their own major storyline. Namely, after over 50 years of a love triangle battle, Archie was finally going to choose between Betty and Veronica! You can imagine how much interest this generated among long-time fans. Often overlooked is the fact that Archie and the gang had been among the longest running comic book series in history with legions of fans, young an old. Could it be that the love triangle that started before WWII would finally be resolved? The tale would play out over the course of four issues in 1994: Archie #429, Betty #19, Betty & Veronica #82, and Veronica #39, and they are all collected in this one historic volume. As noted in the introduction, fans were clamoring for months, begging for hints as to who would finally win Archie's affection.

The tale begins as Archie is seeing hearts over a love letter he received. Betty and Veronica demand to know who sent Archie the letter but Archie is having so much fun seeing them squabble he decides to make them wait. Betty and Veronica each think the other sent the note and so begins a no-holds-barred battle for Archie as we've never seen before. The under-handed tricks fly fast and furious! Veronica fools Betty with some tickets to a charity dance with the wrong date. Veronica ends up at the dance with Archie while Betty is fixing his car! Betty crashes the party in style wearing one of the skimpiest dresses ever seen in an Archie comic. Veronica fights back in her own "dress to kill" style, eventually leading two a duel of super soakers between the two long time rivals. But in the end, Archie has a big surprise for both of them.

This was just a fun story from beginning to end. Betty and Veronica are at their most "catty" with claws fully extended as they go after each other like never before. And one cannot but laugh as Archie sits back, watching the pair fight over him, knowing he has a huge ace up his sleeve. Absolutely hilarious! Reggie, of course, makes an appearance and stirs up as much trouble as he can and Jughead makes a brief cameo as well. Archie Comics proves that in 1994, and now in 2005, that they can still delight their fans, young and old. The great thing is that even if you have not picked up an Archie comic in decades, you can still read this story as it is truly a stand-alone classic for the ages. This is a 48 page Prestige format comic with the beautiful Archie-style art that you've come
to know and love.

I remember buying the comics that this epic story appeared in. There was a lot of excitement and promotion around the time of this story being released. Part 1 appeared in Archie #429, Part 2 in Betty #19, Part 3 in Betty & Veronica #82 and Part 4 in Veronica #39. The story revolves around the central conflict, and practically the basis of Archie Comics: Will Archie choose Betty or Veronica? Of course there was no resolution, he didn't choose, but there was Cheryl Blossom thrown into the mix. Overall it's a fun story and definately a collectors item!