Mark Waid

Good ol’ Archie Andrews can’t seem to catch a break, having recently been discharged from hospital with a concussion courtesy of his ex-girlfriend Betty Cooper’s errant homerun baseball while sneaky Reggie Mantle tries to worm his way into the life of his current girlfriend, Veronica Lodge. How could things get worse for Archie, you ask? How about if Veronica’s father, a man who has no shortage of contempt for our hero, ran for Mayor of Riverdale? We’ve got a preview of Archie #8 by Mark Waid, Veronica Fish, Andre Szymanowicz, Jen Vaughn & Jack Morelli, to give you a sneak peek at the Lodge campaign.

Doctor Doom first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott and Stan Goldberg, published on April 10 1961. One of the most iconic villains in comic book history, Victor Von Doom has always remained steadfast in his goals: Take over the world for its own benefit, and kill Reed Richards along the way, if there's time.

With so many great comics series to read, it can be difficult keeping track of everything that happened from issue to issue. With The Recap Page, we're here to help existing readers stay on track, and help new readers jump on board some of the best comics being published today. This week's Archie #7, by Mark Waid and Veronica Fish, sees a war brewing in Riverdale as a recently injured Archie faces the wrathful vengeance of Hiram Lodge. But don't expect a typical Archie reset when the dust settles!

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is in theaters worldwide right now, and whether you loved or hated it, it's certainly an interesting take on The Caped Crusader and The Man of Tomorrow. A great many independent comics have taken the core ideas of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and other iconic characters and given them a unique spin that could only be explored outside the confines of DC Comics mainstream continuity. If you're looking for superhero stories with a bit of an edge, we've got five of the best to recommend to you.

Superman is often defined by his powers or his quite literal alienation, but the Man of Steel is so much more than that. Superman represents the potential of humanity through his kindness, his empathy and his generosity. All of these qualities he learned directly from two people, Jonathan and Martha Kent, and when you change anything about that dynamic, you wind up with a very different Superman. In John Byrne’s classic reinvention, Man of Steel, there’s no mention made of ancient Kryptonian family crests; instead, Clark sits down with his dad and designs a logo based on the “Superman” name already coined for him by the Daily Planet, while Ma works on the costume. It isn’t all fun family crafts however, as it’s Pa Kent who takes Clark aside when he’s young and inspires him to be more than just a high school football star.

Born on this day in 1962, Mark Waid is one of the most prolific and consistently relevant comic book writers of the last three decades. His storied career has taken him through pretty much every major publisher at one time or another, and as well as being a phenomenal writer and editor, Waid also has a reputation as one of the best collaborators in comics.

We're less than a week away from the return of Netflix's Daredevil series, and this time, The Punisher and Elektra are coming along for the ride. To celebrate this, Comixology has a fortnight long sale on some of the best Daredevil, Punisher and Elektra stories in recent memory so you can catch up on the comics before the new series begins. The sale includes the first volumes of classic Daredevil runs, including Frank Miller and Klaus Janson's legendary character defining work with the character from the eighties. Also by Miller and David Mazzucchelli is the seminal Daredevil: Born Again which was a major influence on the first season of the television series.

Last year, Mark Waid, Chris Samnee and Matthew Wilson wrapped up their defining run on Daredevil, a run that stands proudly shoulder-to-shoulder with the runs of Frank Miller, Brian Michael Bendis/Alex Maleev and Ed Brubaker/Michael Lark. Now, they’ve teamed up again to deliver a brand new Black Widow ongoing that explodes at you right from the first page and keeps you hooked every step of the way until the end.

To say that last year's reboot was a success for Archie comics might be underselling things a little. Not only was it a surprising move that grabbed headlines right from the first announcement --- and ended Archie's reign as the longest-running American monthly comic that hadn't been rebooted, at 666 issues (an honor that has now passed to another Archie title, Sonic the Hedgehog) --- but the stories themselves were a breath of fresh air that showed exactly how to twist these familiar characters to get a whole new wave of drama out of them. With that first arc set to be released in paperback soon, ComicsAlliance talked to writer Mark Waid about the difficulties of rebooting characters whose major appeal was their timelessness, why Jughead had the biggest changes (and the most murderous impulses), and whether or not we'll ever see Jingles the Christmas Elf again. Spoiler warning, but it's not lookin' good for ol' Jingles.

Since its relaunch last year with a new direction and a rebooted continuity, Archie has boasted a pretty incredible roster of talented artists tasked with bringing Riverdale's favorite teenager to life. Now, after debuting on the title in its latest issue, Veronica Fish has been named the regular ongoing artist of Archie Comics' flagship title. Fish will be joining writer Mark Waid, following Fiona Staples, who drew the initial three-issue arc, and Annie Wu, who filled in with #4's "Lipstick Incident."