Riverdale Finally Meets Archie Comics in Utterly Bizarre New Crossover
The crossover to end all crossovers is coming as Archie Comics has announced a brand-new one-shot that will have the comic Archie gang collide with their Riverdale doppelgängers. Archie has met all sorts of interesting characters in his 80-year history, but what exactly awaits him and his friends when they run into the more dramatic versions of themselves?
Spinning out of its parent series, Pep Comics, in 1942, Archie is one of the most classic comic book series around. The comic has largely featured slice-of-life stories about high school student Archie Andrews and his gang of pals. But the last several years have been an experimental time for the Archie Comics publisher, taking the beloved property and telling more mature stories with the all-American youths, such as Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The company later found tremendous success with mainstream audiences translating the comic into the CW show Riverdale, a more dark and subversive take on the Archie series.
Now old-school is meeting new-school with the one-shot Archie Meets Riverdale. Announced on the official Archie Comics site, the comic comes from the creative team of Daniel Kibblesmith, Pat and Tim Kennedy, Bob Smith, Matt Herms, and Jack Morelli. Though few details were released, preview art appears to show the Riverdale version of Archie coming to the comics world by way of Dilton Doiley’s experiments. Another humorous page shows the two Jugheads swapping places, with the Archie Comics’ Jughead winding up in Riverdale to the displeasure of that world’s Betty. It seems like Sabrina is also getting in on the action, and is possibly the only one who can fix this multiversal muck-up.
Any fan familiar with the Archie brand knows that the famous redhead and his friends are no stranger to crossovers. From meeting the Punisher, the Predator, and even Sharknados, the teens of Riverdale have had their fair share of adventure with other franchises. But as one of the oldest comic series around, Archie keeps the grand tradition of comic book mashups alive. No matter the property, the series isn't afraid to embrace the weird aspects of putting its characters in wildly different situations and just has fun with the premise. Whether Archie is meeting Batman, KISS or other other versions of himself, the publisher's "just go with it" attitude can make for some pretty fun experiences for audiences. The right creative team can even make it a bit more fun for readers with a well-placed dose of snark.
With the classic gang meeting their more edgy and serious doppelgängers, this one-shot provides an opportunity to use the vast differences between Archie and Riverdale to make some well-meaning ribs at both properties. Fans of either Riverdale or Archie can pick up a copy of Archie Meets Riverdale in stores on May 11, 2022.
Source: Archie Comics