Things are about to get really bad for Archie and friends, and Archie will rise to be the lone warrior in the upcoming Archie vs. the World by Aubrey Sitterson and Jed Dougherty.
“ARCHIE VS. THE WORLD is unlike anything we’ve ever done before, both visually and in terms of the story itself,” said Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante in a press release. “I have the utmost faith in Aubrey and Jed’s ability to tell a story that’s not only fantastical but can also feature major kickass moments–and yet the two still managed to blow me away page after page.”
“After the fantastic reception to ‘Jughead the Burgarian,’ the brilliant Jamie Rotante was eager to get Jed and I doing a full one-shot at Archie,” Sitterson said. “It was actually her suggestion to do something that riffs on Fury Road and, as an avowed fan of the Mad Max series, I was stoked for the challenge.”
ARCHIE VS. THE WORLD sees Archie face off against Reggie in a brutal (and hilarious!) fight for control of a secret water source, prized for its rarity in the devastated future setting. The gang uses souped-up vehicles and weapons to eke out their existence, including a radically customized version of Archie’s classic broken down jalopy which will be familiar to longtime fans of the 80-year-old publisher. Each page-turn heightens the spectacle as more iconic Archie characters and concepts are introduced, including reimagined versions of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Josie and the Pussycats.
“Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead . . . they aren’t merely characters; they’re archetypes,” Sitterson said, explaining his approach to the story. “It’s a credit to the many creators who have depicted them over the years that not only does each Archie character have well-defined, easy-to-grasp personalities but physical appearances that are just as iconic and distinct. As a result, not only is it a cinch to pick them up and plop them into diverse, unexpected genres but doing so is a huge part of the fun.”
Archie vs. The World arrives on January 18, 2023.
