Dude, Where's My Update? #15

Boy, have I had a week. I had plans. Plans! To get my Year in Review all wrapped up and ready before the new year (though not published until after) and lay the groundwork for my next couple projects. It was not meant to be.

I got absolutely slapped by some virus or another. Just hit with a giant cartoon mallet. Knocked me out for days and just when I thought I was getting better...well, I think this gif sums it up pretty well.

Because I was actually on top of things for once, you may not have noticed at all! I got out both a new podcast episode and the Mangaversity for January.

Comics News

Even though I don't really discourse, I try to stay up to date with all the goings on in the comics world. Chris' rundown over at The Beat helps a lot with that but so do the various press releases I get in my inbox. One recent one caught my eye.

Oni Press has been making a lot of moves since rising from the ashes a couple years back, from getting the "Adventure Time" license from BOOM! to whatever the Nacelle-verse is to acquiring my favorite publisher of fine European comics, Magnetic Press (again? Kinda? long story there.) Now, they're joining IDW in becoming the distributor for another company's properties. In this case, it's Archie.

My history with Archie is piecemeal. I was never an avid reader of the digests at home. To be fair, I wasn't doing much comic reading at that time in general. My first real exposure to the boy-next-door came in during sleepaway camp. One of my camp-mates had a ton of the digests and we were ravenous for them. There was something about their simplicity that appealed to our camp-filled noggins.

Fast forward a few years and Archie Comics has decided that they need to relaunch their comics series. Bring in fresh perspectives, fresh looks, and a modern format. Spurred on, I would say, by the success of "Afterlife with Archie" and "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina," two titles I desperately want to see reach a conclusion, they put out two new titles: "Archie" and "Jughead." These were followed by a few others over the years, but only those two would last past ten issues.

Thus the New Riverdale era began and with it, my real first foray into these character's lives and the creative teams behind them. Mark Waid ("Kingdom Come" and Erica Henderson ("Unbeatable Squirrel Girl") were both known quantities for me. However, this was my introduction to the incomparable Fiona Staples, the phenomenal Veronica Fish, and the musical stylings of Zdarsky and Charm.

I dug this relaunch. It was great, even with some weird publishing issues; no idea why things kept getting delayed. Jughead was codified as ace, Archie got a make-over, and wave two saw my favorite title launch: "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," by Kelly Thompson, Veronica and Andy Fish, and Jack Morelli. I'm still sore we never got a third mini-series. Hell, I'm still store "Blackwood" hasn't gotten a third mini series, Dark Horse! The Fish's can't catch a break...

Well, nothing good can last for ever and that's what happened to New Riverdale. It eventually all petered out, being replaced with the ill-fated (and truly bad) Archie Forever run and all that remained were the traditional stuff, some Archie Horror minis and one-shots that sadly paled in comparison to the OG two, and a plethora of "Riverdale" tie-ins.

For a brief shining moment, however, "Archie" was cool again and you know what? I think Oni just might pull it off a second time. I mean, fucking W. Maxwell Prince is writing an "Archie" book drawn by Fábio Moon and Nick Cagnetti. Moon on interiors again!!! And "Pink Lemonade's" Cagnetti?! What a match made in heaven. Both are such idiosyncratic and identifiable artists in completely different movements.

Sabrina's written by Corinna Bechko, who I'll admit I'm more tepid on but am ready to give her a shot, and art by Kano, who did those gorgeous promo images. Do I still wish they'd give Thompson and co. another crack at the title? Uh? Duh! That said, I think Kano will beautifully continue the legacy of the original aesthetic and the Fish's relaunch.

Then, I mean, come on. "Archie in Hell" by rising horror wunderkind Patrick Horvath and the best damn spookster out there, Tyler Crook? Even my crotchity, "just give me AwA and CAoS dammit!" self has to get excited for this book.

Obviously, we're still a ways away from the titles officially launching. Things could always change. For now, I'm holding out hope and getting my FOC ready. Between this and the Vertigo relaunch, 2026 is looking like a year of miracles. Now we just need Valiant to get its head out of its ass and stop hiring transphobes to complete the trifecta.