Archie Comics Is Getting Back Into Superheroes, and Taking It Seriously

The worlds of Riverdale and superheroes have crossed over plenty of times before—the Black Hood, the Crusaders, Captain Flag—and neither Archie Andrews and his friends nor Archie as a publisher are entirely unfamiliar with the classic underpinnings of the genre. But Archie Comics’ latest crack at the superheroic whip is bridging the gap between previous pastiches and loving, all-ages riffs with something that levels up in tone and seriousness.

io9 has your first exclusive look at Archie’s next miniseries, Archie Is Mr. Justice, a new four-part miniseries that blends a metatexual examination of Archie Comics’ history with superheroes in the Golden Age of comics, with a new story of Archie himself coming into powers unknown and becoming the world’s mightiest hero. Each issue in the series will be told by different creative teams and offer a different perspective from one of Archie’s friends and family on the story of how the young teenager discovered that he had superpowers, donned the mantle of Mr. Justice—a name itself cribbed from Archie Comics’ old publication history, even if the new book is not a reboot of that character—and saved the world, only to suddenly, mysteriously vanish.

“Mr. Justice is the story that plays with the absolute sincerity of the Archie cast of characters, through the filter of a much more cynical superhero world,” Tim Seeley, the writer of the first issue of Archie Is Mr. Justice, told from the perspective of Jughead, told io9 in a statement provided over email. “I think, understandably, we’ve spent years being jaded by the idea that someone with power would be GOOD, but that’s totally who Archie Andrews is. However, his world is full of people who care a lot more about money and power than he does.”

Archieismrjustice 01 Covera Murakami — © Reiko Murakami/Archie Comics

Archieismrjustice 01 Coverb Francavilla — © Francesco Francavilla/Archie Comics

Archieismrjustice 01 Coverc Talbot — © Matt Talbot/Archie Comics

“This is a much more modern take on the ‘Archie as a superhero’ idea. It’s an examination of an incorruptible soul in a corrupt world,” Mike Norton, the artist on the first issue, added. “Archie is the perfect character to put in that environment because he’s the original ‘good guy’. It’s been fun to read and even more fun to draw!”

Seeley and Norton will be the creative team for the first issue of the miniseries, joined by Glenn Whitmore on colors and Jack Morelli on lettering. But the remaining issues will change creative teams too, just as the perspectives on Archie’s time as Mr. Justice will—including the likes of Amanda Diebert, Blake Howard, Kenny Porter, Maria Laura Sanapo, and Brent Schoonover.

“I’m honored to work with this incredibly talented team of creators to craft something totally unique for Archie Comics—a longform story presented from multiple points of view from different creative teams. And I’m doubly honored to have the amazing team of Tim Seeley and Mike Norton to kick off this initiative,” Archie’s senior editorial director, Jamie L. Rotante, added. “This isn’t just another superhero story. This is a story that’s about hope in a world that feels increasingly hopeless. And in this timeline, Archie is our beacon of hope.”

The first issue of Archie Is Mr. Justice is set to hit shelves November 20.

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