Archie gets more friends

Press Release

Super Duck.  Wilbur.  Cosmo the Merry Martian.  Suzie.  These names evoke more than just nostalgia for comic book readers who grew up in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s.  They are still highly regarded today, as new generations of collectors discover these cool and crazy characters from Archie’s past.

Now, on the company’s 70th anniversary and the eve of these characters’ return to the limelight in various media, Archie Comics is pleased to bring back these popular characters once more in a hysterical two-part story written and drawn by Fernando Ruiz that you just can’t miss!

It all starts in the pages of ARCHIE & FRIENDS #137 with the story entitled, “Cosmic Cosmosis Part One.”  While working at the comic shop, Chuck is visited by his friends.  Suddenly, glowing meteors from the MLJ Nebula rain down in Riverdale, including one that crashes into the shop and morphs into a door to other dimensions!  This cosmic portal leads to a world that Chuck, Archie and his friends have only ever seen in comics… a world of talking ducks and bears, super-powered heroes and oddball beings from other planets.  It doesn’t take them long to realize they are in the presence of a veritable “who’s who” of some of the greatest comic book characters ever published by Archie and its earlier incarnation, MLJ Comics: Captain Sprocket, Cosmo the Merry Martian, Squoimy the Woim, Gloomy Gus, Judge Owl, Ginger, Suzie and more!

The trouble is, now that the “fantasy world” has invaded the “real world,” the “fictional” characters seek as much a taste of reality as possible: Wilbur and Seymour want to meet “real” girls to date, Pat the Brat realizes there’s a whole new potential audience to pull pranks on, Cubby the Bear wants to see how earth bears live, and more.  On top of it all, Super Duck and Reggie get into a no-holds-barred shouting match!  Realizing the veritable “Pandora’s Box” situation they’re in, Archie decides it would best for the comic book characters to go back through the portal to return to their own worlds… but the characters have other plans, namely, they plan to stay indefinitely!

The action continues in ARCHIE & FRIENDS #138 with “Cosmic Cosmosis Part Two,” as the comic book characters unleashed through the inter-dimensional portal in the previous issue have moved out of the Pep Comics shop and into Archie’s world!  It’s up to Chuck, Archie and their friends to retrieve the characters before they cause too much havoc… but it’s not easy to contain a comic book character: Cubby the Bear finds that the bears of Riverdale are kept in a zoo and don’t talk.  Cosmo and Orbi discover that most people either don’t believe in life on Mars or fear the idea of extraterrestrials.  The various monsters of Mad House cause a panic. Captain Sprocket gets in trouble for interfering in police business.  And on and on it goes…

Will these classic characters from comics’ past ever go home, or will they lay down permanent roots in Riverdale?  Will Archie and his friends manage to control the four color frenzy, or find themselves trapped in another dimension as well?  Remember: anything can happen in a comic book… especially a comic book about comic books!

ARCHIE & FRIENDS #137
PART ONE OF A TWO-PART STORY THAT REINTRODUCES SOME OF THE MOST MEMORABLE CHARACTERS ARCHIE EVER PUBLISHED!
“Cosmic Cosmosis Part One”: Working at the Pep Comics shop to get a discount on comics and a place to store his collection, Chuck is visited by his friends as he bags and boards.  Suddenly, glowing meteors from the MLJ Nebula rain down in Riverdale, including one that crashes into the shop and morphs into a door to other dimensions!  This cosmic portal leads to a world that Chuck, Archie and his friends have only ever seen in comics… a world of talking ducks and bears, super-powered heroes and oddball beings from other planets.  It doesn’t take them long to realize they are in the presence of a veritable “who’s who” of some of the greatest comic book characters ever published by Archie and its earlier incarnation, MLJ Comics: Captain Sprocket, Cosmo the Merry Martian, Squoimy the Woim, Gloomy Gus, Judge Owl, Ginger, Suzie and more!  The trouble is, now that the “fantasy world” has invaded the “real world,” the “fictional” characters seek as much a taste of reality as possible: Wilbur and Seymour want to meet “real” girls to date, Pat the Brat realizes there’s a whole new potential audience to pull pranks on, Cubby the Bear wants to see how earth bears live, and more.  On top of it all, Super Duck and Reggie get into a no-holds-barred shouting match!  Realizing the veritable “Pandora’s Box” situation they’re in, Archie decides it would best for the comic book characters to go back through the portal to return to their own worlds… but the characters have other plans. Namely, they plan to stay indefinitely!
SCRIPT AND ART: Fernando Ruiz
Shipping Date: November 4th, 2009
On Sale at Comic Shops: November 11th, 2009
Newsstands: November 24th, 2009
32-page, full color comic
$2.50 US

ARCHIE & FRIENDS #138
THE THRILLING CONCLUSION TO A TWO-PART STORY REINTRODUCING SOME OF THE MOST MEMORABLE CHARACTERS ARCHIE EVER PUBLISHED!
“Cosmic Cosmosis Part Two”: The comic book characters unleashed through the inter-dimensional portal in the previous issue have moved out of the Pep Comics shop and into Archie’s world!  It’s up to Chuck, Archie and their friends to retrieve the characters before they cause too much havoc… but it’s not easy to contain a comic book character!  However, the comic characters soon realize they aren’t a perfect fit for the world of Riverdale. Cubby the Bear finds that the bears of Riverdale are kept in a zoo and don’t talk.  Cosmo and Orbi discover that most people either don’t believe in life on Mars or fear the idea of extraterrestrials.  The various monsters of Mad House cause a panic. Captain Sprocket gets in trouble for interfering in police business.  And on and on it goes… Will these classic characters from comics’ past ever go home, or will they lay down permanent roots in Riverdale?  Will Archie and his friends manage to control the four color frenzy, or find themselves trapped in another dimension as well?  The answers await you in this thrilling conclusion!  And remember: anything can happen in a comic book… especially a comic book about comic books!
SCRIPT AND ART: Fernando Ruiz
Shipping Date: December 2nd, 2009
On Sale at Comic Shops: December 9th, 2009
Newsstands: December 22nd, 2009
32-page, full color comic
$2.50 US

via Archie Comics