We’re thrilled to present this exclusive first look at Archie Horror’s upcoming release Betty: The Final Girl!
Nancy Thompson, Laurie Strode…Betty Cooper? Well, why not? After all, Betty’s tough, smart and resourceful. To properly test her mettle, Betty the Final Girl pits her against a possible intruder.
“I’m a diehard horror fan, and I’ve been obsessed with how seamlessly Archie’s been able to integrate different styles, levels, and aesthetics of spookiness into their Archie Horror library,” said Micol Ostow, who wrote the issue’s framing story, Rosemary’s Babysitter. “And while I don’t have one favorite scary movie or book, I’ve always been a sucker for the ‘final girl’ trope. It hit me that Betty would make a fantastic final girl: blonde, kick-ass, capable.”
Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante had this to say: “When Micol Ostow first pitched the idea of doing a ‘final girl’-style story with Betty as the eponymous final girl, I was immediately interested; the idea of a ‘final girl’ is so synonymous with horror that it would be silly NOT to do it. Every good teen/college horror flick utilizes that idea, so fitting it into the Archie universe was a lay-up. In keeping with our practice of horror anthologies, we also wanted to have there be more than one ‘final girl,’ so, the final girls of Betty, Brigitte, and Melody all came into play.”
While Betty—who ends up alone in a remote ski lodge during a trip with Veronica, unsure if what she sees is real or false—definitely has a hard row to hoe, the two girls who share the issue have equally terrible problems. In “Melody’s Next,” resourceful Melody Valentine is stalked by someone trying to put an end to the Pussycats for good. And in “Be Mine Or Die,” Brigitte Reilly copes with a secret admirer who might just be willing to do her in.
Below, you’ll find black and white art from all three stories contained in the issue, as well as the issue’s main cover. Betty: The Final Girl features writing from Micol Ostow, Casey Gilly and Sam Maggs, art by Laura Braga, Natalie Nardozza and Carola Borell, colors by Archie mainstay Matt Herms and letters by the equally prolific Jack Morelli, plus main and alternate covers by Braga and Megan Hutchison. Betty: The Final Girl streets on February 15, 2023.
