TOM KING AND DAN PARENT UNITE FOR AN ARCHIE STORY DECADES IN THE MAKING!

Archie Comics’ flagship character, the eternal teenager Archie Andrews, has been struggling with a choice almost since his debut more than 80 years ago: Betty or Veronica? This August, he finally tackles the dilemma head-on in ARCHIE: THE DECISION, a sprawling, antic all-ages one-shot comic by bestselling author Tom King (MISTER MIRACLE, HUMAN TARGET) and legendary Archie artist Dan Parent!

“As a massive Archie fan, this is just a pure joy project for me,” King said. “I wanted to do something zany and cool and screwball and hysterical and gorgeous and harebrained and maybe a little tiny itty-bitty bit profound as a tribute to my Golden and Silver Age Archie heroes—people like Dan DeCarlo, Harry Lucey, Bob Bolling, Bob Montana, and Samm Schwartz. And who better to do that with than the modern Archie maestro, Dan Parent, who inherited and brilliantly carried on the legacy of those giants.”

“I had a chance to meet Tom King a few years ago at Comic Con,” Parent said. “I was already a super fan; he’s a writer whose work I love and had been raving about for years! The fact that he’s an Archie fan and was so complimentary to my work was such a pleasant surprise. We struck up a friendship and began to talk about a collaboration. And here we are, a fantastic story that encompasses everyone in the Archieverse!”

A frequent Archie Comics running gag is the mayhem caused by Archie’s inability to decide whom to date, whether it’s for one Friday night or forever. ARCHIE: THE DECISION opens on a historic moment: Archie has decided to put an end to all of that. Where King and Parent take him next is a joyfully tense escalating series of events that winds up engulfing the entire town, and reflects the expansiveness of today’s Riverdale.

Tackling such an elemental aspect of the Archie Comics mythos is emblematic of the thoughtful character work and grand scale King brings to all his writing, most notably his fan-favorite emotionally resonant revivals of classic superhero characters like The Omega Men, Adam Strange, and The Vision. ARCHIE: THE DECISION will be his first Archie Comics title.

Parent has been regularly illustrating stories featuring every Riverdale character since 1987, including historic moments like the introduction of Archie’s first openly gay character Kevin Keller and the “Love Showdown” crossover that brought wild card Cheryl Blossom into the spotlight.

“The story contains all the elements of classic Archie madcap comedy, with a modern twist,” Parent continued. “It’s an honor and a privilege to team up with the best writer in modern comics, and the fact that he’s a great guy and friend doesn’t hurt either!” King added, “This is an epic, riotous story featuring scores of Archie characters where Dan and I wrestle with the greatest dilemma in the near 85-year history of comics. I’m not sure we can solve it, but, like all of Riverdale, we’re going to have a ton of fun trying.”

ARCHIE: THE DECISION releases August 28 in comic shops nationwide, with inks by Bob Smith, colors by Rosario “Tito” Peña, letters by Jack Morelli, and an open-to-order variant cover by Stephen Byrne. It will be available for pre-order on May 24.

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Al Mega

I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!