This October, just in time for Halloween, Archie Comics will be launching a new ongoing series based on the amazing one shot, Jughead: The Hunger. Writer Frank Tieri is back onboard to expand this new, dark take on the Riverdale gang and this time he’s joined by artists Pat and Tim Kennedy (Life with Archie). We’re excited for this, guys. Very, very excited.
Jughead: The Hunger #1 from Archie Comics
While the original one shot was a fairly complete, done-in-one story, it left plenty of reasons to revisit this world. There were hints to larger, darker mythology all throughout. There were a lot of threads ripe for exploration. “We purposely left the door open with the one shot, we told you if you made Jughead: The Hunger a hit we’d make more– and since you more than held up your end of the bargain– here we are,” said writer Frank Tieri.
Now, the obvious path for the series would be to follow Betty as she hunts down werewolf Jughead, who went on the run at the end of the one shot. Sure, Betty will probably drag Archie along with her so he can whine and cry and get in the way. That would make perfect sense and would be a damn good time, no doubt. We’d read the hell out of that just like everybody else. However, what we really want, and what we really hope Tieri and the Kennedys delve into, is the legacy of the Cooper family.
In Jughead: The Hunger, it was revealed that the Coopers have a long history of hunting down the cursed Jones family. Betty, apparently, comes from a long line of werewolf slayers. That is what we want to see. Show us Betty’s ancestors hunting down Jughead’s family tree during the Civil War. Give us the Coopers moving to Riverdale in the ’40s to stalk their prey. There’s so much to explore here and we want to see it all. Betty Cooper: Werewolf Hunter is a concept we are more stoked on than Jughead Jones: Werewolf (and we’re pretty stoked on that, so that’s saying something).
Plus, given that there are werewolves in this world, there’s no reason there couldn’t be other horrors lurking in the shadows. Maybe the Southside Serpents are a cult of snake demons? Maybe Reggie Mantle is a serial killer who bathes in the blood of his victims in order to gain eternal youth? There are so many great possibilities and Tieri and the Kennedys have laid the groundwork for all of them. That’s what makes Jughead: The Hunger so cool; it can go anywhere from here.
Jughead: The Hunger #1 from Archie Comics
Jughead: The Hunger is a real showcase for how versatile the Archie characters are. They work in just about any scenario and there’s a mythology to them that can be twisted and shaped. Using Betty Cooper’s unassuming, girl-next-door vibe as a front to hide a ruthless hunter is brilliant and exactly what we want to see more of. Jughead’s name may be on the cover, but we’re adding this series to our pull list because we want more kickass Betty Cooper.
Images: Archie comics
