Archie Comics #86

A lively hat-shop standoff takes center stage on Harry Lucey's cover for this 1957 installment of Archie Comics, as a flustered blonde — hands raised in exasperation over a small decorative hat perched on her head — faces off against a smirking Archie in his signature letterman sweater and plaid pants. The snappy back-and-forth in their speech bubbles ("I'm no chicken, either!… but I know when an egg is bad!") captures the cheerful, good-natured bickering that made this series a staple of mid-century comics. With Frank Doyle's writing and Harry Lucey's expressive linework throughout, issue #86 is a delightful slice of Riverdale charm at its ten-cent best.