Oh Archie… If Archie Comics had announced a comic project where America’s Favorite Teens cross over with the undead a few years ago, my groans of derision would have been audible from Hackensack to Walla Walla. Given the press release Archie released though, I’m thinking this may be something worthwhile. The press release is below, I’ll have my thoughts and shed some light on Archie’s previous dabblings in zombie-lore.
Archie Comics, the leading mass market comic book publisher in the world and home to some of the most recognizable pop culture characters, is proud to announce a brand new ongoing series being added to Archie’s line-up entitled: AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE.
What if the zombie apocalypse began in Riverdale? This horror-infused comic answers that question when it kicks off in late 2013, spearheaded by one of Hollywood’s hottest writers, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who will be fresh off the high profile crossover, ARCHIE MEETS GLEE.
AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE will provide readers with zombie-filled mayhem like only Archie can, taking the Riverdale gang where they’ve never been before – to the grave and back.
In addition to his Archie credits, Aguirre-Sacasa has made a name for himself in the world of television (writer/producer on GLEE), Broadway musicals (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark), and movies, penning the remake of Stephen King’s Carrie, which premieres this fall.
“Roberto’s a superstar writer,” said Archie Co-CEO Jon Goldwater. “Working with him on the upcoming AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE is the next step in the ever expanding Archie universe.”
“AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE combines two of my great passions: Archie comics and horror comics,” said Aguirre-Sacasa. “This series came out of conversations with Jon [Goldwater], asking questions like, ‘what if the Archie characters found themselves in a Stephen King novel like The Stand or a Sam Raimi movie like The Evil Dead?’ Could we pull that off, tonally? We’re really going for it. The first arc is called ‘Escape from Riverdale.’ The second arc is called, brace yourself, ‘Betty RIP.’ Of course, all the horror stuff will be balanced by elements that are quintessentially Archie.”
ABOUT ARCHIE COMICS:
Archie Comics is the leading mass market comic book publishers in the world and the home to a wide array of the most popular humor, action-adventure and superhero characters in entertainment, including Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica, Reggie, Kevin Keller, Josie and the Pussycats, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, the New Crusaders, Super Duck, Li’l Jinx and many more. Archie Comics have sold 2 billion comics worldwide and are published around the world in a number of languages. In addition to comics, Archie characters have been featured prominently in animation, television, film and music in various popular incarnations.
So yeah, I think this could actually be a compelling, and dare I say it, fresh take on the seriously over-saturated zombie market. Why do I say that? Three words. Life. With. Archie. The book that showcases the ongoing alternate-universe takes on the Archie-verse in which Archie is married to either Betty or Veronica. It illustrates that the folks at Archie Comics can write a compelling, slightly more adult-oriented story and still feel like an Archie book. I’m not too familiar with Aguirre-Sacasa’s writing, but I’m sure he’ll do fine. What I’m really concerned about is the art. The teaser image repurposes art from the amazing variant cover to Life With Archie #23 by Francesco Francavilla (shown below) I hope he gets tapped to draw the ongoing, as the style he uses mixes equal parts wholesome and grotesque. If the art leans too far in either of those directions, the book could be ruined, so my fingers are crossed. At any rate, I’m hoping for the best, and getting in on the ground floor. If nothing else, it’s going to be an interesting ride.
Now, I promised that I’d show some of the Archie gang’s previous dealing with the living dead, so here we go. Recently, the Riverdale crew were turned into a listless zombie-like state during the Archie Meets KISS storyline. They get better…
A little under two years before that, the Mad Dr. Doom (not the one you’re thinking of) turned most of the Riverdale population into zombie-like drones. They get better, again…
The last time Archie and the gang were on the airwaves, there was a zombie outbreak as well, even though this time it was only love zombies. And again, they get better…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W8WR9s2rfE
So yeah, I think I’m ready for a more serious take on how such down home, wholesome characters would react to a Romero-style zombie outbreak. Bring it on!