Jughead has always been a character known for chowing down, usually on a meaty burg or two. In the latest comic from the Archie Horror imprint, Jughead does some serious feasting… although it’s on human flesh as opposed to hamburgers from Pop’s. That’s right, Archie Comics has turned Jughead into a freaking werewolf and it’s just as insane as you are imagining. Maybe more so. To get the full scoop on this madness, we chatted with the book’s writer, Frank Tieri, about all the blood and death in Riverdale.
“Oh, I’m a HUGE werewolf fan,” Tieri said when asked about his affinity for human/wolf hybrids. “F**k vampires and zombies… for me it’s always been werewolves. The Wolfman, An American Werewolf in London… hell, even Frute Brute cereal. Jughead’s my fave Archie character and the Wolfman’s my fave monster—I put ‘em together and we think we’ve got some horror gold here.”
Of course, turning Jughead into a frenzied wolf monster leads to some serious brutality in the small town of Riverdale, including a vicious mauling of dear ol’ Miss Grundy in the book’s opening pages. “Ya know, it’s funny how some people are reacting to that opening Grundy scene,” Tieri said. “It’s like we actually went to their houses and whacked their grandmothers. But honestly, that’s why we did it. We kill Grundy in the first few pages on purpose, to elicit that reaction. It’s a way of letting the reader know ‘Hey, this isn’t the Archie Comics of friendly visits to the ice cream shoppe and sock hops. This is where a beloved character gets her head sliced off in the first few pages. Get ready because Jughead’s a werewolf and dark shit is happening here and no one is safe.'” Tieri promised that Grundy wouldn’t be the only Riverdale resident to suffer an untimely end at the hands of Jugwolf.
Tieri also praised issue artist Michael Walsh, who murdered the task at hand. “Michael Walsh def killed it this issue, both literally and figuratively. He was a total beast. Whatever I asked him to do, he did it, only he did it even bigger and better than what I asked for. It’s the kind of collaboration you can only hope for in this industry and I would work with the guy again in a split second.”
Jughead: The Hunger from Archie Comics
One of the coolest aspects of this one-shot is the history Tieri and Walsh build into the characters, especially Betty. “I’ll just come right and say it: I’ve always been a Betty guy over a Veronica guy,” Tieri admitted. “Sure, Ronnie’s got the money, but meanwhile everyone underestimates Betty, even though she’s obviously the smarter play, even though you know she’s the one Archie ends up with and has 2.5 kids in a house with a picket fence and living happily ever after. So, yeah, we play into that fact that she’s underestimated.”
We won’t spoil it here, but trust us when we say that Betty’s role is supremely awesome and sets up future stories in this werewolf populated version of the Archie Universe. Tieri even teased that there may be more to come, “We’ve gone to the trouble of creating this whole new universe with it’s own mythology so it would seem like a waste not to go back to it at some point, ya know?”
Jughead: The Hunger hits stands this Wednesday, 3/29 and you absolutely have to check it out. We’ve got an extended preview below, so take a peek and then head over to your local comic shop and grab a copy. It’s bloody good time.
Images: DC Comics/Archie Comics
