Art Baltazar And Franco Take On ‘Little Archie’ In A New One-Shot [Exclusive]

On Monday, Archie Comics announced that it will be publishing four all-new one-shots in March, including a new story about Sabrina the Teenage Witch that follows her introduction in the current arc of Jughead, a tale of the Archies dealing with the success of their band, and a story where Jughead's intense and all-consuming love of hamburgers drives him to possibly become a werewolf. March is going to be pretty weird, is what I'm saying here.

But for readers who like their Archie characters made for an all-ages audience, the most exciting title in the lineup has to be Little Archie, in which Art Baltazar and Franco revive the long-running adventures of an elementary school-aged Archie Andrews to tell the story of his weirdest day ever.

ComicsAlliance is pleased to present an exclusive first look at covers by Ryan Jampole and Asami Matsumura, and more details on the special from Baltazar and Franco themselves!

Little Archie is, of course, a title with a long history at Archie, dating back to 1956 and the launch of a long-running series that featured work by Bob Bolling --- to this day considered some of the best stories Archie Comics has ever published. That kind of reputation has set a pretty high bar for Baltazar and Franco, but they certainly seem like they're up for it:

“WE'RE BACK!!!!  It feels like home!  I get to visit Riverdale once again with my best buddy Art Baltazar and see all of our little friends once again for the first time! Archie, Jughead and the rest of the gang are all here and having to deal with a cute furry feline that sets in motion a chain of events that results in the most terrifying of scenarios...will Archie have his homework done for class? Both Art and I are having so much fun with this book, and you can tell because when we are having to stop during every writing session to laugh, you know it's going to be good!  Aw Yeah Little ARCHIE!” – Franco

 

“AW YEAH ARCHIE! Wow! We get to work on Little Archie! I love these characters! Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica were some of the first comics I read as a kid! Archie Comics have some of the most ICONIC characters in Comic Book History! It’s true! Everybody knows these kids! And we get to tell the tales of when they were LITTLE. We wrote some really funny stuff! I can't wait for the ARCHIE fans to read this comic! AW YEAH!” - Art Baltazar - famous cartoonist

Here's the full solicitation:

LITTLE ARCHIE ONE-SHOT

BRAND NEW ONE-SHOT SPECIAL! Archie's wildest day ever starts with a cat eating his homework—and things just get crazier from there! But this isn’t just an ordinary cat, and this certainly won’t be an ordinary day for Little Archie and his friends. Join in on the fun adventure from the superstar comics team Art Baltazar and Franco (Tiny Titans, Action Cat and Adventure Bug)!
Script: Art Baltazar and Franco
Art: Art Baltazar
Cover: Art Baltazar
Variant Covers: Ryan Jampole, Asami Matsumura
On Sale Date: 3/8
48-page, full color comic
$4.99 U.S.