Check Out Dean Haspiel’s Cover Ideas For ‘Archie’ #1

July 8th marks the first time in 74 years that we'll see a comic called Archie #1 on the stands, when Mark Waid and Fiona Staples relaunch Riverdale's favorite teenager in a new series. As we reported previously, Archie Comics is releasing several variant covers of the issue to mark the occasion --- including the covers we exclusively debuted from Ron Salas, Greg Scott, Brittney Wiilliams, and Genevieve F.T., and the cover above from The Fox artist Dean Haspiel.

Haspiel's cover sees young Mr. Andrews engaging in a bit of parkour, inspired by Bob Montana's cover for the original Archie #1. However, Haspiel also posted four layouts that didn't make the cut, and they suggest some intriguing possibilities. Check 'em out below!

Both the tribute to Archie #1 and the fifth option's setup of a newer-style Archie contrasted against his Golden Age counterpart seem like pretty obvious choices, but those top two are pretty interesting. Archie hanging out shirtless in the Riverdale High locker room with a towel on seems like it might indicate an entirely different new direction than the one that they're going with, while Archie rocking a Hawkeye-esque bandage across his nose seems like it might lean towards a version of Archie that's more action-oriented than the comedy we're used to --- and it's something I'd be pretty into.

Did Jughead finally default on one hamburger-based loan too many? Is it finally time for that scumbag Reggie Mantle to get what's coming to him? Are we seeing Archie from Moose's perspective as he finally stands up to the threats that come with trying to beat Moose's time with Midge? We can't say, but I assume we'll find out in June.