Welcome to the Archie Comics Pubwatch for the month of July! I’m Lisa, reporting from a corner booth at Pop’s Chock ‘lit Shoppe, and here’s this month’s news! In this month’s Archie Comics Pubwatch, classic stories will be added to new comic digest releases, we have some Riverdale return dates, and much more!
Archie Comics to Add New Lead Stories to its Classic Reprint Series Starting in September; Announcement Covering Publishing Line’s Future Anticipated in August
Via a June 15 press release, each classic comic reprint series will now include a new five-page story in every issue. This will not affect the price of these comics (They will stay at $2.99), but it will add collectability value to the issues.
The press release adds that announcements regarding the future of the Archie Horror imprint and the line’s general future in light of Jamie L. Rotante’s promotion to Senior Director of Editorial, will be detailed in an announcement sometime this month.
Another Exclusive Cover Announced For Stadium Comics
Nuno Pereira adds another cover to his series of Pop Art variants. This time, Cheryl Blossom – done up like a roller derby queen against a yellow backdrop – covers Archie and Friends Summer Vacation #1.
The variant is limited to 250 copies each. As with their previous exclusive pre-order, Stadium guarantees that the comics will be in VF/NM condition upon arrival.
The exclusive will run you $14.99 each. You can also buy the comic in a set with the standard cover, drawn by Dan Parent.
The issue will ship by August 4. The variant can be pre-ordered here.
Riverdale Season 6 Return Date announced
#Riverdale Season 6 will premiere Tuesday, November 16 at 9/8c on The CW.
(Season 5 will return with new episodes August 11th at 8/7c on The CW.) https://t.co/CIcdhKxkhg
— Archie Comics (@ArchieComics) June 15, 2021
The CW sudser will return on November 16th at 9 PM EST. The show will have a late start date due to the back half of its fifth season returning on August 11th.
More Merch in the Archie Threadless Store
New designs have been added to the Archie Comics Threadless shop in celebration of the summer months.
Fred Van Lente and Paul Kupperberg Interviews
Click here to read an interview with Everything’s Archie author Fred Van Lente on the issue and writing Archie in Comics Beat.
Paul Kupperberg, meanwhile, listed his favorite kid-friendly stories which he’s written for 13th Dimension. Some of his Archie stories, naturally, made the list.
Archie Comics Twitter Tweet of the Month
.@Ubisoft Your operators will be no match for The Archies.#UbiForward #R6Extraction pic.twitter.com/lTPk2kJfua
— Archie Comics (@ArchieComics) June 12, 2021
Pour a little sugar on this Tweet.
Sugar Sugar of the Month
Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #295
Bill Golliher (Cover); Jack Morelli (Letters); Dan Parent (Art); Rosario “Tito” Peña; Jamie L. Rotante (Writing); Jeff Shultz (Cover); Bob Smith; (Art); Glenn Whitmore (colors)
July 14, 2021
Some Archie fans love it when Betty and Veronica fight; I like it when they’re forced to get along together. And so they do in the lead story for this issue. Betty and Veronica learn to talk like pirates when they take part in Riverdale’s Mermaid Day celebration. They’re such a success that they annoy Cheryl Blossom, who’d hoped to take center stage with her own talents. But all three of the girls are stunned when a mysterious voice begins to sing enchantingly and grab all the attention from all three of them. They find themselves teaming up to unmask the mysterious songstress. Who’s behind it? The answer is surprising, and you’ll have to read to find out!
Hotdogs and Hotshots
Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever: What If..? (GN)
Various (Art, Colors, Letter, Writing); Dan Parent (Cover)
July 21, 2021
I get a huge kick out of the “What If…?” stories in the Betty And Veronica: Friends Forever series, and every time I pick up the series I look forward to seeing what sort of alternate world Betty and Veronica are beaming in from. This GN attempts to collect the best of the series’ recent tales of this nature, from Betty and Veronica meeting at a different point in their lives to the notion of one of them being an alien.
Archie Showcase Digest #4: A Jughead in the Family
Craig Boldman (Writing); Digikore Studios (Art); Rex Lindsey (Art and Cover); Jack Morelli (Letters); Rosario “Tito” Peña (Cover)
July 28th, 2021
For the first time ever, Archie Comics reprints the “A Jughead in the Family” arc. Jughead finds himself bouncing all around Riverdale after a fight with his dad causes him to move out of his family home. Cue all the infighting as he crowd surfs at his friends’ houses!
Picks From The Timecops
Archie Jumbo Comic Digest #32
Jim Amash (Art); Bill Golliher (Writing and Cover); Pat and Tim Kennedy (Art); Jack Morelli (Letters and Cover); Rosario “Tito” Peña (Cover); Jeff Shultz (Cover); Glenn Whitmore (Colors)
August 11th, 2021
Archie, Veronica, and Betty end up trapped at sea on a giant inflatable air mattress, without a single luxury. Will the end result be a “Gilligan”-like catastrophe or will it be every part of the triangle for themselves?
The Best of Archie Comics: 80 Years, 80 Stories (TR)
Harry Lucey (Cover); Various (Art And Writing)
August 25th, 2021
The continuing celebration marking Archie’s 80th anniversary continues with this TR collecting landmark stories from the comic series.
The World of Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #7
Bill Golliher (Cover); Jack Morelli (Letters); Dan Parent (Art and Cover); Ron Robbins (Writing); Bob Smith (Art); Glenn Whitmore (Colors)
August 4, 2021
Oh comic, you had me at ‘what if Betty and Veronica were mad scientists?’
Second Looks
Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #296