Suvudu Universe

KC’s latest Westfield column explains several things. First are the different ways to read Archie Comics’ “Death of Archie Andrews” story, appearing in July —

• Life With Archie magazine #36 will be the final issue of that title. The first part shows Archie’s death, billed as “the ultimate sacrifice to save a friend”; the second, how everyone is coping a year later.
• The same content will also be printed in two comic-sized issues. Those, confusingly, are also labeled Life With Archie #36 and #37.
• The comic issues will each have five variant covers (all visible at the link) from notable artists including Adam Hughes, Cliff Chiang, Jill Thompson, Alex Ross, and Walter Simonson.
• A trade paperback version called Life With Archie: Death of an Icon: A Life Celebrated will include the two comic issues and all the variant covers in August.

I’m trying to be optimistic and assume that they’re making the material available in a variety of formats so everyone can get their preferred type, not to sell the same story over and over. Now they’ve had Archie dating interracially, getting married, now dying, even a series where the characters eat each other. What I wonder is, what next?

KC also uses this occasion to talk about an earlier death of an alternate-universe version of Archie, the infamous Goodman Beaver story “Goodman Goes Playboy”. The publisher Archie Comics had the rights and kept the parody out of print for years, until they accidentally forgot to renew and it became public domain. You can learn more about how it satirized Archie and his gang, as well as how to read it, at the link.

Similar Posts: Archie Gets Unexpected Artists to Do Variant Covers § Female Archie, Male Betty and Veronica to Hit Stands in August § Archie’s New Focus on Boys, Not Girls § Variant Covers Are Propping Up the Comic Market § Where Are the New Archie Stories? Reprints and Reduced Publication Schedule