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Once just a teenager who had short, comedic adventures and dating shot school escapades in his hometown of Riverdale, over the last couple of decades Archie Comics has placed its titular hero Archie Andrews in a variety of genres.
Its latest twist is Mad Archie ... or Mad Max meets Archie, that is, in Archie Vs. the World, a post-apocalyptic take on the iconic character.
The one-shot special is written by Aubrey Sitterson and drawn by Jed Dougherty, who paired for the genre-busting 'Jughead the Burgarian' story in the Best Archie Comic Ever one-shot anthology special.
The special is colored by Matt Herms, lettered by Jack Morelli, and features a cover by Dougherty and a variant cover by Aaron Lopresti.
What Archie Comics calls a "blockbuster sci-fi special" places Archie and the Riverdale gang in a "post-apocalyptic wasteland where only the strong survive, in a pedal-to-the-metal brawl."
"Archie Vs. the World is unlike anything we've ever done before, both visually and in terms of the story itself," says Archie Comics senior director of editorial Jamie L. Rotante. "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."
Archie's the hero and Reggie's the villain (of course) in a "brutal (and hilarious!) fight for control of a secret water source," which as the genre requires, is a rare and valuable commodity in the post-apocalyptic future.
Using modified vehicles, including a rugged, "radically customized" version of Archie's classic jalopy, the gang ekes out an existence in a world that includes reimagined versions of Archie's spin-off characters like Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Josie and the Pussycats.
"Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead . . . they aren't merely characters; they're archetypes," says Sitterson, who credits Rotante for the Fury Road meets Archie concept.
"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 goes on sale January 18.
In the spirit of this Archie-Max Max mash-up, Archie has been involved with two of the most unlikely comic book crossovers ever.
