kelly fitzpatrick

If you're not following the events of The Black Hood: Season 2, the flagship title of Archie's gritty Dark Circle imprint, you've been missing a pretty thrilling story. After leaving Philadelphia to escape the crimes he committed as a vigilante, Greg Hettinger is being lured back by a villain called Nobody, who has vowed to undo every good thing Hettinger has done, working backwards down the timeline of people he's saved and committing exponentially worse crimes. Like, say, poisoning an entire steak house full of people just to make his point. Check out the preview to see the action for yourself!

Shade The Changing Girl --- part of DC's Young Animal imprint --- tells the story of Loma, a rebellious alien who steals a magic coat of madness, runs away to Earth, and possesses the body of a comatose teenage Earth girl. Along with Cecil Castellucci's trippy script, the space-bending, psychedelic visuals from artists Marley Zarcone and Kelly Fitzpatrick are a core part of what makes Shade the Changing Girl so fantastic. When planning the playlist, I wanted to find weird, intense tech/pop songs, less focused on the lyrics and more on the mood of each song.

You know those superhero stories like "Must There Be a Superman" where the main character is abducted by aliens and put on trial for crimes --- intentional or otherwise --- against humanity? Well, before it hit shelves, I was really hoping that's what the rebooted Reggie And Me was going to be about. I mean, honestly, there is no other character in comics who represents cosmic evil as much as that guy, and if Archie and the Gang won't hold him responsible for his terrible, terrible ways, then perhaps some Elder of the Universe should? Alas, that's not what we got. But we are creeping a little closer in the pages of Reggie and Me #2, which not only features a superheroic fantasy sequence, but delves into the long and hateful history between Reggie Mantle and his eternal rival, Archie Andrews. Check out an exclusive preview below!

The Holidays are upon as, and the year is basically gone. And as you know by now, that mean that here at ComicsAlliance, we're looking back at the best that comics had to offer in 2016. So here, to give you warm feeling as you head into your holiday weekend, are the best Archie Comics covers of the year.

I'll admit that when Archie relaunched Josie and the Pussycats, I had my doubts as to whether Alexandra Cabot could really fit into the restructured and slightly more realistic take on the Archie Universe. See, while her primary role as Josie's power-hungry but tone-deaf antagonist was pretty standard teenage rival stuff, her more distinctive trait involved a witchy bloodline that allowed her to cast spells whenever she was holding her cat. It made for some weird stories, but I was worried that Alexandra's over-the-top abilities might not have survived the reboot. Now, though, I can see that I was wrong. When Josie and the Pussycats #3 hits shelves this week, she's back in full force, literally riding around on a giraffe and interrupting Josie's concert with an even more sinister force than dark magic: Capitalism! Check out a preview!

Hey, you kids are all about the Revolutionary War these days, right? Like, super into Federalist Papers and Hercules Mulligan and all that? Great, because I have some good news for you: Not only is Archie's rebooted version of the Shield back in action with one of the best costume redesigns of the past few years, but it's also taking you into the origins of comics' first patriotic superhero. And it is not the origin you might expect. Check out a preview.

The Black Hood was unquestionably the breakout star of Archie's grim and gritty Dark Circle imprint. Sure, the initial wave of interest may have come from the fact that it was the first comic published by Archie to ever drop the F-bomb on the page, but what kept readers coming back was the brutal crime story of Greg Hettinger, a cop turned vigilante turned criminal who just kept making things worse for himself. Now, Greg is back, having fled from Philadelphia and the pretty extensive crimes of his past, as Duane Swierczynski, Greg Scott, Kelly Fitzpatrick and Rachel Deering bring you The Black Hood: Season 2. And while the setting may have changed to California, the action is every bit as ruthless as it has been.

Reggie Mantle is the worst, but for some reason he has a following, so Archie Comics has added a new title to its beloved reboot line of comics; a new ongoing featuring Riverdale's resident creeper. Written by industry legend Tom DeFalco, with art by Sandy Jarrell, Reggie and Me launches this December and promises to give readers an inside look at the most "loved, revered, admired and adored" teen in Riverdale. Those are their words, not mine.

Shade the Changing Girl is a sight to behold. From the creative team of writer Cecil Castelluci, line artist Marley Zarcone, and color artist Kelly Fitzpatrick, the title is part of DC's Young Animal line, overseen by Gerard Way. Though it spins out of the classic Peter Milligan Vertigo series Shade the Changing Man, and protagonist Lorna is an admirer of the earlier Shade, this series looks set to stand on its own, judging from this first look.

Generally speaking, I'm not a huge fan of comics referring to their arcs with the television-friendly term "seasons," but for Black Hood, I'm willing to make an exception. With their story of a cop who turns vigilante after a devastating injury, Duane Swierczynski, Greg Scott, Kelly Fitzpatrick and Rachel Deering have captured the feeling of a brutal, gritty TV drama better than just about anything I've ever read.