Archie

With all the hubbub surrounding the recent relaunch of Archie and Jughead, one of the things that's flown under the radar is that brand new "Classic" style Archie stories are still being produced in the pages of the Digests, which feature a new lead story along with the usual reprints. And in those stories, young Mr. Andrews is still up to the familiar hijinx, which, at this time of year, take on a festive wintry theme. Take, for instance, the story that we have in World of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #55, "Take Your Cake And Beat It Too," in which Archie's attempt to find a date for Riverdale High's Winter Dance is blocked by viral videos and, amazingly enough, robots. Check out a preview, along with a quick look at this issue's reprinted stories, below!

If you've missed out on this year's Archie reboot, which saw Riverdale's favorite teenagers updated for a modern world of hashtags and selfies, then I'm going to assume you have your reasons. Sure, you've seen me talk about how much I like it here at ComicsAlliance, but maybe you have an overwhelming fear of change, or maybe Jughead's signature "crown" reminds you of your embarrassing history dabbling in monarchism in college. Or maybe, just maybe, you've been waiting for someone to collect the first three issues for your reading convenience. I can't help you with the monarchist thing, but if it's that last one that's been holding you back, there's good news! Archie is collecting the first three smash-hit issues by Mark Waid and Fiona Staples in a "Collector's Edition" that will introduce new readers to the new versions of Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica, and the new status quo of Riverdale.

Since the first issue of the new Archie comic, one of the driving forces behind the plot was the recent breakup between Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper, paving the way for Veronica Lodge to wrap Archie around her finger like a freckled piece of string. The impetus behind the breakup was "the lipstick incident," which was describned specifically as Archie not cheating on Betty – leaving everyone to ask, "what exactly happened?" Archie #4, by Mark Waid and Annie Wu, answers the question.

If you're the kind of person who lives and breathes for Archie Comics news, which I am, then you probably remember an announcement from a while back about how the CW was interested in starting up an hour-long teen drama about Archie and the gang called Riverdale. Now, we finally have more information about how the TV show is going to approach the classic characters, and I don't want to get anyone's expectations too high or anything, but this is the single most amazing piece of news I have ever read in my entire life.

Ever since Archie was rebooted with the status quo-shaking Andrews/Cooper breakup, there has been one question burning in the minds of readers: What tragedy could be so great, what transgression could be so dire, that it could cause Archie and Betty to break when even a 75-year love triangle couldn't do the job? The answer, of course, was "The Lipstick Incident." The only problem is that we don't actually know what the Lipstick Incident was, as it has only ever been referred to in the vaguest possible terms... until now. When Archie #4 hits the stands on November 25, Mark Waid and Annie Wu are finally revealing all the heartbreaking details that we've been waiting for. But, if you can't wait, you can check out a preview of Wu's fantastic art --- along with covers that include a variant by Jaime Hernandez --- below!

In the early '40s, the comic book business was booming. Superheroes had lit the fuse on an explosion of a whole new popular medium, and while there were plenty of Superman and Batman knockoffs running around, publishers were finding their footing in other genres, too, from westerns to teen comedies. And on October 15, 1940, when Pep Comics #22 hit newsstands across the country (cover dated December 22), it was that last one that gave comics one of their most enduring, beloved, and important characters. That character was Archie Andrews, and over the ensuing years he'd rack up one of the most interesting legacies in comics, one that included not only enduring success, but becoming synonymous with an entire genre, taking weird diversions into over-the-top drama and religious proselytizing ---- and becoming one of the very few fictional characters to ever have a #1 single.

For a long time, the fact that Archie Comics didn't change a whole lot wasn't just a trademark of character, it was a major selling point. After all, stripping things down to those simple gags meant that there was a whole library of mostly timeless stories that could fill up those Double Digests at the grocery store, and when you're a kid who wants to read as many comics as you can for as little as you can, they end up being a pretty appealing purchase. But with Mark Waid and Fiona Staples' reboot of Archie this past summer, they were given a unique opportunity to rebuild everything about comics' favorite teenagers. This week, with the release of the third issue, all of the major players are finally in place, so it's time to take a trip up to Riverdale to see how much has changed --- and how much has remained the same.

Every time Archie announces a digital collection, I get more excited than I think anyone could reasonably expect, mainly because we've finally gotten to the point where they are unearthing some of the weirdest parts of the company's past and making them as easy to access as possible. Sure, those first few were just stories about Veronica's dad or whatever, but last time we got Jughead's Time Police and now? Now it's time for Archie's Mysteries, featuring the Teen Scene Investigators.

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 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.

If you've been reading ComicsAlliance for long enough, then you already know that Jughead Jones rounds out our (my) illustrious list of the five greatest characters in comic book history, a list that is etched in stone and will never be changed. So as you might expect, with the relaunch of Archie, we've been on the edge of our seats wondering what the new take would be on Archie's perpetually sleepy best pal. As it turns out, we didn't have to wait that long. In this week's second issue of Archie, from the team of Mark Waid and Fiona Staples, Jughead takes the spotlight for the origin story of his true name!