Next Two 'Archie' Artists Revealed: Annie Wu and Veronica Fish

Getting Fiona Staples to be the artist on the new Archie series was quite a coup for the publisher, but there's a price that comes with hiring superstar artists: They don't hang around forever. Staples will be exiting the book after the third issue.

That's the bad news, according to Archie Comics president Mike Pellerito. Here's the good news: The publisher already has the next two artists lined up, and they're both very exciting in their own right: First, Annie Wu (Hawkeye, Black Canary) will step up for issue #4, and after that, Veronica Fish, who is the artist behind the promo image for the upcoming CW series Riverdale, will take over through the sixth issue.

Here's what Pellerito had to say about Wu in an interview with ComicBook.com:

Annie has the perfect handle on these characters and we’re lucky to have her come in for a special, one-issue story. Annie is busy with Black Canary, so we only have her for this one cameo, but it’s a memorable one. Fans will particularly like her take on Veronica. Annie’s a unique and versatile talent and really the perfect person to step in and showcase these characters in a new way, while still holding true to the foundation Fiona put in place. We’re lucky to have her.

And here's what he said about Fish:

Veronica (great name, too!) really captured the youthful, energetic vibe we were looking for, so it made perfect sense to have her step in and finish out the first six-issue arc. Veronica’s a real hidden gem. Mark my words – she’ll be a star before she’s done working on these two issues.

Pellerito says the first twelve issues of the series are mapped out, and the publisher will continue to tap rotating artists to keep the book going. So far, it's three-for-three in terms of bringing on women to do art for the series, though he didn't indicate if that'll be the trend after Fish finishes her issues.

It appears that Mark Waid will remain as writer throughout. Pellerito notes, "if we can chain him down to write Archie forever, I’m all in!" He doesn't say whether Andre Szymanowicz will continue as colorist. (An Archie spokesman confirms that he will.)

Archie #4, Wu's first issue on the series, is slated for release Nov. 25. You can check out a preview of this week's issue #2 right here.