Welcome to the Archie Comics Pubwatch for the month of March! 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, Archie Comics announces it’s suspending direct-to-consumer sales to Russia, some exclusive covers, and more!!
Archie Comics Announces suspension of direct-to-consumer sales to Russia, declares support for Ukraine
Via an announcement on the official Archie Comics website, this will effect orders placed on Archie’s official website. In the post, Archie Comics adds that its team is “standing in solidarity with Ukraine.”
Archie artist Dan Parent Appears on The Weakest Link
Per an article on Games Radar, Parent was a guest on the US version of the gameshow two decades ago, and he’s returning to play on NBC’s revival version of the show. There was no stated airdate for the episode in which he appears.
New Exclusive Variant Covers Available from Stadium Comics and Great Wall of Comics
This month’s Stadium Comics pre-order parodies Peanuts, and features Betty, Veronica, Jughead, and Archie drawn in Charles M. Schulz’s inimitable style. The cover was created by Nuno Pereira and covers Fun with Little Archie and Friends #1. 250 copies of the variant exist, with 50 metal variants made, available exclusively in a 2-cover pack with the standard which have sold out. Each of the standard-issue variant covers costs $14.99 and can be pre-ordered here.
Great Wall of Comics will offer a Dan Parent virgin variant cover for April’s The Archies Anniversary Special #1 featuring a parody of the music video for Billy Joel’s 1983 single Uptown Girl. As of press time, no pre-order has been announced for the cover’s release, but you can follow Parent on Twitter to find out when it will drop if it drops between pubwatches.
St. Patrick’s Day Designs Up for Sale at Archie Comic’s Threadless website
This month’s installment of new shirts features new St. Patrick’s Day togs and some Bite-Sized Archie designs. Check them out here!
Archie Comics Tweets of the Month
Make sure you're up on the latest punk fashions! pic.twitter.com/7Rv3jVL9yw
— Archie Comics (@ArchieComics) March 5, 2022
Going punk, Archie style.
Sugar Sugar of the Month
Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #328
Bill Galvan (Art); David Gallaher (Writer); Bill Golliher (Cover); Rex Lindsey (Art); Jack Morelli (Letters); Dan Parent (Cover); Rosario “Tito” Peña (Cover); Ron Robbins (Writing); Bob Smith (Inks); Glenn Whitmore (Colors)
March 16, 2022
For once, I’m going with one of the Jumbio Comics Digests as my pick of the month. The two main stories in this month’s Archie Junbo Comics Digest pack in two totally different plots, and each is a ton of fun. In History Repeating, the gang’s plans for the Spring Fling dance turn into a mess as various conflicts get the better of them, forcing Archie to play peacemaker. It’s a lot of fun to watch all of the stories dovetail together. In the issue’s other new story, Steel Sterling finds himself mentoring Pureheart the Powerful. It’s another fun trip into Archie’s superhero universe, making the whole issue a must-buy.
Betty And Veronica: Friends Forever: Power-Ups #1
Tania Del Rio (Writing); Ben Galvan (Art); Bill Galvan (Art and Standard Cover); Jack Morelli (Letters); Rosario “Tito” Peña (Cover); Glenn Whitmore (Colors)
March 9, 2022
I continue to love a good Betty and Veronica team-up situation, and Power Ups offers this effortlessly. A series of video game-centric stories featuring Betty, Archie, Veronica, and their friends pushing themselves to the limit and trying to help their friends out. In the issue’s lead story, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead find themselves immersed in an MMORPG, and Betty and Veronica are called upon to rescue Jug. This means a lot of creatively-drawn panels in which the girls have to battle the virtual world to get to Jug, all while Veronica gets to stay in the comfort of Betty’s room and let her nails dry. The whole issue is a lot of great fun, and a necessary buy if you like to play video games or know someone who does.
Hotdogs and Hotshots
Betty and Veronica: Decades: the 1960s (TR)
Dan DeCarlo (Cover); Rosario “Tito” Peña (Cover); Various (Art and Writing)
March 23, 2022
Looking to collect a bunch of ’60s set Betty and Veronica tales in one fell swoop? This TR collects some of the best stories published about their friendship (and rivalry) during that decade. Artists and writers in the TR include Dan DeCarlo, Harry Lucey, and Rudy Lapick.
Picks From The Timecops
Bite-Sized Archie Vol. 1 (TR)
Ron Cacace (Writing); Vincent Lovallo (Art and Cover);
April 27, 2022
You’ve heard me rave about Bite-Sized Archie a billion times before. A fun webcomic that breaks down the Archieverse into quick, daily, comic-strip-sized bites, it breaks the fourth wall and effortlessly fills the reader with delight. This volume captures a big heaping sampling of those strips in a convenient paperback format.
Fun With Little Archie and Friends Special
Dan DeCarlo (Cover); Agnes Garbowska (Art); Matt Herms (Colors); Erin Hunting (Cover and Art); Jack Morelli (Letters); Jamie L. Rotante (Writing); Adrian Ropp (Art); J Torres (Writing); Shannon Watters (Writing); Brittney Williams (Cover)
April 13, 2022
This one takes Archie and the gang out of high school and lands them straight back into those days of paste-eating and milk money. It’s all of the Archie you love, only with braces, skinned knees, and first crushes.
Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #329
Jim Amash (Art); Francis Bonnet (Cover); Angelo DeCesare (Writing); Rosario “Tito” Peña (Cover); Jack Morelli (Letters); Jeff Shultz (Cover and Art); Glenn Whitmore (Colors)
April 20, 2022
Archie makes another grab for YouTube relevance by trying to start his own how-to channel. But the poor guy immediately realizes he’s more of a how-not-to channel. Will he figure out how to deliver his tips with aplomb or be forever reduced to a subscriber-less life?
Archie Milestones Digest #14: Best of the 1990s
Dan DeCarlo (Cover); Jack Morelli (Letters); Dan Parent (Writing and Art); Bob Smith (Inks); Glenn Whitmore (Colors)
April 6, 2022
This collection combines the best of Archie Comics’ ’90’s babies while adding a brand new Dan Parent-written and drawn story in which the gang goes to see a taping of their favorite sitcom (It’s called “Buddies” and the title of the story is “I Won’t Be There for You”, so guess what we’re parodying here!), only to find themselves mediating for the show’s bratty cast so the show will be guaranteed to go on.
The Archies Anniversary Special #1
Tom DeFalco (Writing); Jack Morelli (Letters); Rosario “Tito” Peña (Cover); Jeff Shultz (Art and Cover); Glenn Whitmore (Colors)
April 6, 2022
Would you believe The Archies are celebrating their 55th anniversary this year? And they don’t look a day over ’69! This issue compiles new and old stories and has a brand new tale from Tom DeFalco and Jeff Schulz in which the band must pursue a new place to rehearse after Archie’s pop kicks them out of his garage.
World of Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #14
Jim Amash (Art); Craig Boldman (Writing); Francis Bonnet (Cover); Bill Galvan (Art); Bill Golliher (Writing and Art); Jack Morelli (Letters); Rosario “Tito” Peña (Cover); Jeff Shultz (Art and Cover); Bob Smith (Inks); Glenn Whitmore (Colors)
April 13, 2022
Betty and Veronica want to bring a little love into Jughead’s life, but their friend loves only one thing: food. The girls promptly try to set him up on some dates, but will Jug find true love or just a great dinner at the end of his proverbial rainbow? In the issue’s second new story, Veronica becomes suspicious of Cricket O’Dell’s poor new boyfriend.
