Archie Comics Pubwatch: July 2022

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, even more Archie Horror titles have been announced for the fall, The CW announces a Jake Chang spin-off series, Sabrina gets a new rival, and more!

Archie Horror launches Month of Mayhem line-up with four new October one-shots

Blonde, white teenager Betty Cooper, brunette white teenager veronica lodge, and brunet white teenager jughead jones appear as greyscale caricatures from the neck up. Betty looks skeptical, Veronica thoughtful, Jughead brooding. Each teen is captured in a circle, and Betty's is blue, while Veronica's is red and Jughead's is black. Standing before them all is Archie andrews, a white teenager with red hair, a blue and yellow and tan varsity jacket, and grey pants, who seems to be running toward some sort of danger with a determined look on his face

An adolescent Archie Andrews - a white preteen with red hair- holds a flashlight up to his face and holds out his right hand in a menacing way. The beam of light refracts up from the flashight to cast a green glow on Archie's face and that of Jughead jones, who has shaggy brown hair and wears a grey fool's cap and a red shirt, and holds a bite of a burger in his mouth. Behind and to the right of him, white teenagers betty cooper and veronica lodge, the former a blonde girl with her hair in a ponytail and the latter a brunette, cower back in fear, their faces shaded in red. Red eyes gleam to Archie's left and right, and the background is thrown into a shade of purple

The face of Salem Saberhagan, a black cat, hovers with its mouth open and yellow eyes wide over a blood red sky. A variety of animals loom shadowed under his head, their eyes glowing yellow

Madame Satan, a white woman with grey streaked brown hair, smirks confidently at the viewer, black horns protruding from her head and sporting a black dress. Behind her, flames decorate her throne, spark up from her breasts and the throne behind her

Just when you thought the Archie Horror series was down for the count, it’s come back to life. Archie Comics has announced that the imprint will release four new titles during late September and early October, one fresh issue for every single week of the spookiest month of the year.

First up is Chilling Adventures Present…Weirder Mysteries #1, a one-shot anthology series featuring different horror stories set within the Archiverse. One story will be about Bingo Wilkin, one will be about Josie and the Pussycats’ Alexandra Cabot, and one will be set in the Jughead: the Hunger universe and focus on Betty Cooper. The book will feature stories by Frank Tieri, Joanne Starer and Ron Robbins, with art by Federico Sabbatini, Juan Bobillo and Ryan Jampole, respectively. Matt Herms will handle the colors, while Jack Morelli will handle inks. Aaron Lea and Adam Gorham handle the variant and main covers, respectively. The issue will street on September 21

Then, The Chilling Adventures of Salem #1 will take its first bow. The issue will center on Salem Saberhagan, familiar of Sabrina Spellman, who works nights as a vigilante protecting his fellow familiars from abuse. Dan Schoening will provide the art while Cullen Bunn writes the issue. Herms and Morelli return to provide colors and lettering. Francesco Francavilla and Schoening handle the covers. You can spy Francavilla’s cover for this issue and The Return of Chilling Adventures in Sorcery exclusively at Daily Dead. The issue will come out on October 12.

Next, a more kid-friendly volume of scary stories will be released. Fear the Funhouse #1 takes its inspiration from appropriate-for-teens-and-tweens hits like Goosebumps. In the issue, younger versions of Veronica, Betty, Archie, and Jughead take turns telling creepy stories around a campfire. Micol Ostow, Magdalene Visaggio, and Michael Northrop handle the trio of tales offered up here, while Lisette Carrera, Ryan Caskey, and Diana Camero provide the art. Herms and Morelli are once again manning their respective color and lettering duties. Lisette Carrera also drew the issue’s main cover, with the variant being created by Sweeney Boo. The issue will street on October 19.

Finally, we return to the underworld of Madame Satan with The Return of Chilling Adventures in Sorcery. An anthology tale as narrated by the titular character, this time she escapes hell and decides to haunt Baxter High. She poses as the new principal and tries to take over. But ultimately, someone must take her down. Eliot Rahal, as he did for last year’s Chilling Adventures in Sorcery, returns to write the container story here. Sina Grace and Casey Gilly provide the anthology’s other two stories. Vincenzo Federici, Corin Howell, and Liana Kangas provide the art, with further assistance from Herms and Morelli. Francesco Francavilla and Julius Ohta provide covers. The issue is on sale October 26.

Jake Chang Series Greenlit by The CW

The Archie TV dynasty will not conclude with Riverdale’s final season in 2023. Per Deadline, The CW has greenlit a brand new series based on the adventures of Jake Chang, the recently-introduced teenage detective from various Betty and Veronica-centered Archie comics. Oanh Ly and Viet Nguyen will co-produce the show for Daniel Dae Kim’s 3AD, Archie Studios, and Warner Bros Television.

The show will focus on Jake’s life in Chinatown and his life at a local prep school. It will be a soapy drama with noir elements that are set to eschew stereotypes about Asian people.

The show will presumably debut sometime in 2023.

New Rival Character Announced for Sabrina Spellman

Sabrina Spellman is about to turn 60 (though she doesn’t look a day over 16) in September, and that means Archie’s rolling out some special issues dealing with the teenage witch to celebrate. In the one -shot Sabrina’s Anniversary Spectacular #1, a brand new character will be introduced as a regular rival for everyone’s fave teenage witch.

Per CBR.com, the character’s name will be Amber Nightstone. Born the same day as Sabrina, both witches are bound by an ancient tradition that declares that only one witch born on that day can live in the mortal world. Thus, Amber seeks to remove Sabrina by any means necessary so she can live among the humans.

Amber’s first appearance will be drawn and written by Dan Parent, whose concept art for the character can be viewed above. Glenn Whitmore will provide colors, Jack Morelli will provide letters, and the issue will street on September 7.

New Variant Covers from Great Wall of Comics, Stadium Comics, Fan Expo Comics, Peg City Comics, and San Diego Comic-Con

Veronica lodge, a brunette white thin teenager, wears her hair in a classic bouffant topped with a red bow, her black hair touching her shoulders. She wears a bikini that is blue with white stars abndn a black bottom with a red and white striped waist. She knees on a beach with a surfboard stuck in the sand behind her that's painted with an American flag design. It is nighttime, the sky is purple with clouds and a burst of fireworks before a cerulian ocean and a tan beach. she glances coyly to the right toward blonde white thin teenager betty cooper, who sits on a similar beach background with fireworks going off over their heads. Betty's blonde hair is down and she has a pink flower in her hair, and she wears a red and white striped bikini top with a blue and white polka dot bottom. Red, white and orange bursts of fireworks pop up in the sky behind them both

white thin redheaded teenager archie andrews kisses white thin brunette teenager veronica lodge. Veronica's long hair shines in the light and she gently holds on to the sides of Archie's head. Archie's wearing a red and blue striped pair of swim trunks and veronica's wearing a violet swimsuit. Reacting in shock to their buss is white thin blonde teenager Betty Cooper, who wears a pink one-piece polka dotted swimsuit.

Redheaded thin white teenager archie andrews kisses thin white blond teenager betty cooper in front of a plain white backdrop. Betty olds Archie by the head and her long blond hair is held back by a pink hairtie. He's wearing a red-and-blue striped swimtrunk set, while betty wears a pink and white polka dot swimsuit. In the background, Thin white brunette teenager veronica lodge reacts with horror. She wears a violet bikini

In a visual parody of the opening credits of Bewitched, white-haired thin white teenager Sabrina spellman sits on a broom which trails white stars. She wears a low-cut black dress that comes down to her knees and is long-sleeved. Her red-lined black cape billows in the wind, and atop her head she wears a black pointed witch's hat with a red sash. Before her, her black and white cat familiar, salem, perches on the broom. They're flying high in the air against a star-spangled night sky with a full moon in the sky. Purple city buildings also loom in the distance

In a parody of an infamous moment on the sitcom happy days, white, redheaded thin teenager archie andrews jumps over a shark's fin in a large pool while wearing a black leather jacket, blue swim trunks and a white teenager. He's on waterskis, wears a life vest, and is being pulled by a boat. In the stands behind him his friends cheer him along in delight

White thin teenagers Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones hold their female friends aloft over their heads on a purple and yellow-striped surfboard. Archie is bare-chested and red-headed and wears a pair of black swimtrunks. Brunet Jughead wears green board shorts and a magenta shirt as well as his signature grey fool's cap. On the board thin white teenagers Veronica Lodge and Betty cooper perch and pose, leaning on each other playfully. Brunette veronica's long hair blows in the breeze and she wears an orange bikini; blonde betty has her hair in a ponytail and she's wearing a pink-and-white-striped swimsuit. The sky is blue and clear and filled with clouds and there is an ocean and beach behind them

In a visual parody of the Summer Lovin' number from grease, Betty is dressed like modest 50s teenager sandy olsen as she regales all of her fellow lady riverdalians on a set of bleachers. The sky is blue with a single cloud in it and the grass is green

In a visual parody of the Summer Lovin' number from grease, redheaded white teenager Archie Andrews is dressed like leather-sporting Danny Zucko from the film. as he regales all of his fellow male riverdalians on a set of bleachers. The sky is blue with a single cloud in it and the grass is green

blonde white thin teenager betty cooper wears a one-piece orange swimsuit, poses before a striped blanket, and has long hair a'la farrah fawcett's famous pin-up

In a parody of the front of a lucky charms box, white-haired thin white teenager sabrina spellman stands before a cauldron in a white sweater. She holds up her palms and over her head pink, glittery arc over his head with little witchy symbols appearing in the appearance. Over her black-headbanded hair the words 'magic charms' appear in golden letters

In a parody of Hulk 121 white blonde teenager betty cooper high-fives Stacy Daniels, a black teenager with natural hair. They dance before a jughead sand sculpture and in the background jugjhead jones and Veronica lodge watch on

In a mock-up of a masters of the universe backcard and figure, a figure of jughead the burgarian sits, glowing silver

In a mock-up of a masters of the universe backcard and figure, a figure of lizard queen veronica standsts, glowing green

In a mock-up of a masters of the universe backcard and figure, a figure of veronica the beach queen sits, in a glowing silver and golden bikini

In a mock-up of a masters of the universe backcard and figure, a figure of jughead the burgarian stands glowering

If you want to know where to get a copy of those Betty and Veronica variants we showed you last month, Great Wall of Comics has them up for ordering here for $19.99 a piece and as a set for $34.99. But we have a whole plethora of new cover exclusives to dig into as well!

We start with Dan Parent’s San Diego Comic Con exclusive cover for Sabrina’s 60th Anniversary Spectacular #1. No word as to how limited the exclusive will be or where it will be sold as of press time, but you can expect to see it somewhere on the convention floor.

Next are some exclusives from Peg City Comics. The first issue is a John Gallagher variant for Jinx’s Grim Fairytales #1. It retails for $24.99 plus shipping and will ship on August 17. Buy it here. Peg City also has these two Dan Parent-drawn variant covers for Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever Summer Surf Party, in which Archie’s two girls are alarmed to see Archie kissing their rival. The covers are available as a set only for $44.99 and are shipping now from this link.

Parent has also drawn an homage to Bewitched for Sabrina’s 60th Anniversary Spectacular #1. They will be availible at FanExpo Canada during late August.

Even more Parent magic is available at Great Wall of Comics, which has a bunch of Parent-drawn variant covers for Archie: Summer Lovin’. The first cover, available here for $19.99, parodies the infamous moment where The Fonz jumped a shark on the sitcom Happy Days. Two more variants parody the Summer Lovin’ scene from Grease. There’s one cover in which the guys are dressed like T-Birds, while the second features the girls of Riverdale dressed like Pink Ladies. You can buy the covers individually for $19.99 or in a two-cover pack for $29.99 here. The final cover, also available for $19.99, features Betty Cooper dressed up like Farrah Fawcett for her famous pin-up, complete with big hair and a red swimsuit. Get your copy here.

Great Wall of Comics has one last variant on offer – another Parent cover, this time for Betty and Veronica Friends Forever: Summer Surf Party #1. It features Jughead, Veronica, Betty, and Archie on the beach with a surfing motif. It, too, is available for $19.99 here.

The final stop on our variant cover Cook’s Tour takes us to Stadium Comics. Mariano Sanchez Lorente aka Mariano San’s variant for Sabrina’s 60th Anniversary Spectacular #1 has already sold out with only 76 copies printed, but many other covers are still available from the shop. First up is Marco D’Alfonso’s tribute to Incredible Hulk #181. It covers Betty and Veronica Friends Forever: Summer Surf Party #1. It’s limited to 250 copies, introduces new character Stacy Banks, and retails for $19.99 here. The metal variant of this cover, which was only available in a three-cover pack with the standard cover and a regular version of the variant, has already sold out. Next up is an exclusive Dan Parent-drawn Eliza Han cover for Archie: Summer Lovin’. It too is limited to 250 copies and is worth $19.99 here. Finally, there are four covers that pay homage to the Masters of the Universe action figure series, the first covering Best Archie Comic Ever #1, the second covering Betty and Veronica Friends Forever: Summer Surf Party #1. Mocked up to look like action figure packaging for Jughead: the Burgarian and Veronica: Beach Goddess figures, both covers are drawn by Nuno Pereira. Each regular cover was limited to 250 copies apiece, with 25 gold variants of each cover randomly given to those who pre-ordered the regular variant cover early. 50 copies a foil variant featuring Veronica as a snake goddess were also printed and offered as part of a 2-cover pack with the standard version. Those version are both sold out, but the standard variant remains available. The Jughead variant can be ordered here, while the Veronica variant is available here.

Archie Comics Tweets of the Month

WE JUST REALLY LIKE #StrangerThings, OKAY?! pic.twitter.com/yU59TiZekK

— Archie Comics (@ArchieComics) July 2, 2022

Sugar Sugar of the Month

Kevin Keller: Celebration! (TR)
Dan Parent (Art and Cover); Various (Art and Writing)
July 20, 2022

In this day and age, learning more about Kevin Keller – one of the Archieverse’s few queer characters — is both an important and fun way to spend your time when you’re an Archie fan. What better way to do it than with this giant volume of his best adventures in a series that shows off his best adventures? This is a 700 (!!) page tribute to Kevin, with every Kevin-centered story ever printed by Archie Comics. There’s also a new story from Dan Parent. If you’ve ever been curious about Kevin or are looking for a way to jump into his story, this volume is definitely the perfect place.

Hotdogs and Hotshots

Betty And Veronica Friends Forever: Summer Surf Party #1
Bill Golliher (Cover Art); Jack Morelli (Letters + Cover Lettering); Dan Parent (Art); Rosario “Tito” Peña (Cover Colors); Jamie L. Rotante (Writing); Jeff Shultz (Cover Inks); Bob Smith (Inks); Glenn Whitmore (Colors)
July 13, 2022

This is a must-pick-up so you can meet Stacy Banks, who makes her debut in this one-shot. The central story sees Veronica battle a new Wordle-like spelling game for her friend’s attention as she prepares to throw a beach bash.

World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #121
Jim Amash (Inks); Francis Bonnet (Cover Art); Bill Golliher (Art and Writing); Rex Lindsey (inks); Jack Morelli (Letters and Cover); Dan Parent (Writing and Art); Rosario “Tito” Peña (Cover Colors); Bob Smith (Inks); Glenn Whitmore (Colors)
July 13, 2022

In two fresh stories, Jughead and his baby sister Jellybean become involved in a rivalrous sand castle building competition. Archie calls in the big guns in the form of Veronica, leading to the ultimate showdown of sandcastle-building destiny. In the second story, caring tv doc Young Dr. Masters comes home to Riverdale, and Betty and Veronica compete for a spot in his heart and his roster of talent.

Picks From The Timecops

Jinx’s Grim Fairytales #1 (One-Shot)
Craig Cermak (Art); Eva Cabrera (Art); Francesco Francavilla (Cover); Matt Herms (Colors); James III (Writing), Joe Corallo (Writing); Vic Malhotra (Cover); Jack Morelli (Letters); Evan Stanley (Art); Magdalene Visaggio (Writing)
August 17, 2022

If you’ve been missing the Archie Horror imprint, look no further; this horror one-shot focuses on Jinx Holliday, tough babysitter, story weaver, and close friend of Sabrina Spellman.

Big Ethel Energy Vol 1 (TR)
Kheryl Brown-Ahmed (Writing); Siobhan Keenan (Art and Cover)
August 24, 2022

I’ve had some mixed opinions about this WebToons series about Ethel Muggs’ return to the social whirl of Riverdale while trying to make ends meet by writing an article about her high school. It’s picked up a lot of steam as time has gone on, but I’m sure others will be excited to read the issue in a fresh format – a trade collection.

Archie and Friends: Thrills and Chills #1
Rex Lindsey (inks and art); Dan Parent (Cover); J. Torres (Art);
August 10, 2022

Archie and his friends get lost in a mirror universe where everyone is a terrible jerk thanks to a folly-filled trip into a funhouse. But will any of them sport cool vests?

Sabrina the Teenage Witch: 60 Magical Stories
Dan DeCarlo (Cover); Various (Writing/Art/Inks/Colors/Letters)
August 31, 2022

Gearing up for Sabrina’s big 6-0, this collection is set to do an excellent job capturing Sabrina’s long history in 60 magical installments.

Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #306
Jim Amash (Inks); Tania Del Rio (Writing); Tom DeFalco (Writing); Bill Galvan (Art); Bill Golliher (Cover); Jack Morelli (Letters); Rosario “Tito” Peña (Cover); Jeff Shultz (Art); Bob Smith (Inks); Glenn Whitmore (Colors)
August 10, 2022

Veronica and Betty try to get in good with some hunky lifeguards, while Melody causes a teenager-related pile-up while trying on swimsuits in this fresh dispatch of Betty and Veronica-centered tales.

World of Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #18
Jim Amash (Inks); Tom DeFalco (Writing); Bill Golliher (Cover); Jack Morelli (Letters);Dan Parent (Cover); Ron Robbins (Writing); Jeff Shultz (Art); Glenn Whitmore (Colors)
August 31, 2022

Betty finds herself turned into a puppet, y’all. Can she figure out how a loud noise (?) turned her into a girl made of wood (!!). Also, Melody tries on self-sufficiency and goes camping with Pepper.

Archie Milestones: Best of the 2000s
Dan Parent (Art, Writing, Colors, Cover); Various (Art, Writing, Inks, Colors, Letters)
August 31, 2022

The Archie Milestones series finally reaches the new millennia. As always, the issue packs in the very best Archie stories published in the ’00s, and adds on a new story called “Movie Melee,” in which Archie finds himself stalked by a mail-order DVD service.

Archie 1,000 Page Comics Acclaim
Pat and Tim Kennedy (Cover), Bob Smith (Cover), Rosario “Tito” Peña (Cover); various (Art/Writing/Inks/Colors/Lettering)
August 31, 2022

Want more bang for your Archie buck? Look no further than this delightfully plump collection.