We’ve made no secret of our deep, rich love for The CW’s Riverdale. The dark, sexy series is easily our favorite new show. So, when Archie Comics announced they were doing a one-shot prequel comic, we added it to our pull lists faster than TV’s Archie Andrews takes his shirt off. The oversized issue hits stands this Wednesday and we’re super excited to show off a gigantic preview.
The comic features four short stories, each one focusing on a different character from Riverdale. Series showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa oversaw the whole thing, so the tone fits right in with the TV show; the comic’s Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead feel exactly like their screen counterparts. Riverdale writers Brian E. Paterson, Britta Lundin, James Dewille, and Will Ewing are all onboard to handle the scripts, with each writer handling one specific character.
As you can tell from the preview pages below, the book looks great, too. Artists Alitha Martinez, Elliot Fernandez, Jim Towe, and Thomas Pitilli bring their A game to the interior pages. We’re especially fond of Pitilli’s Veronica pages, which also feature some gorgeous coloring from Andre Szymanowicz. The moment when Veronica’s old life fell apart is haunting and engaging, something fans of the show will love.
We also have a preview of the issue’s many variant covers, all of which offer something special and unique. Archie Comics didn’t hold back with this bad boy, unleashing the talents of Derek Charm, Adam Gorham, Robert Hack with Kelly Fitzpatrick, Sandra Lanz, Moritat, Matthew Dow Smith, Cory Smith and more. The Derek Charm cover is a real stunner and you better believe we already set it as the wallpaper for our phone.
Take a look at the preview below and let us know which cover is your favorite in the comments! You can pick up the the whole issue this Wednesday and fine comic shops everywhere.
Images: Archie Comics