Parting Shot: Josie and the Pussycats Rock Out with Fiona Staples [Art]

It doesn't go on sale until October, but Life With Archie #24 comes with a variant cover so cool that we had to show it to you at once. Illustrated by the great Fiona Staples (Saga), we see here the introduction of Archie Comics' iconic girl group Josie and the Pussycats into the ceaselessly surprising possible-future reality in which Life With Archie takes place, which has included events such as Archie marrying both Betty and Veronica in separate timelines (constituting an Archie Comics multiverse), the marriage of U.S. soldier Kevin Keller to a male partner, and Cheryl Blossom suffering from breast cancer. Staples' punkier Pussycats join Francesco Francavilla's Riverdale Zombies and KISS crossovers as some of Archie Comics' more memorable covers in recent years, which have helped make these artifacts of Americana comics relevant not just to today's younger readers, but really fun for an older generation who'd once enjoyed them as children.

Check out the full Fiona Staples cover below.

Staples provided some commentary for this image on her blog, writing, "This storyline take place about ten years into the future, so I did a grown-up version of the band! It was inspired in part by the 2001 Pussycats movie, and Alison Mosshart from The Kills, who wears a lot of animal print."

Incidentally, ComicsAlliance Senior Writer Chris Sims remarked during the preparation of this post that the film Staples referenced, 2001's Josie and the Pussycats, is the "best comic book film of all time."

[Via Robot 6]