Archie Comics Announces New Holiday Anthology Special

We’re only in the early days of fall, but that isn’t stopping some parts of pop culture from looking ahead to the winter months — and apparently, Archie Comics is also getting into the holiday spirit. On Friday, the company announced Archie’s Holiday Magic Special, the latest in a string of themed anthology one-shots tied to Archie’s 80th anniversary. The anthology, which is spearheaded by Archie’s Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante, will explore the past, present, and future of Archie Comics, in a tone that is expected to draw on holiday classics and modern romances.

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The issue will feature three separate stories written by Micol Ostow (Riverdale: The Ties That Bind), Michael Northrop (Dear Justice League), and J. Torres (Jinx: Little Miss Steps), and will include stories from the Little Archie and Life with Archie imprints.

“We were definitely inspired by the Archie reboot series from Mark Waid and Fiona Staples, and feel-good Hallmark movies for this fun and heartwarming anthology,” Rotante said in a statement. “We think it’s a perfect way to celebrate 80 years of Archie by taking a trip through different eras of Archie’s life as he ultimately rediscovers the importance of friendship and community during the holiday season.”

“I’m so thrilled to be working with the creative team on this book!” Rotante added. “Micol has such a knack for the characters’ modern day voices, while J. Torres is a master of sentimental storytelling, especially involving the younger versions of the characters. It has also been a bucket list of mine to work with Michael Northrop, and his comedic voice works so well in this future scenario. We’ve also got three amazing artists contributing to this project. Gretel, Arielle and Dan all have beautiful, animated styles that fit perfectly to each era in Archie’s life and I’m so excited for Archie fans to see their art for the first time here.”

You can check out the official solicitation for Archie’s Holiday Magic Special below, and keep scrolling to check out a first look at the issue!

“ARCHIE’S HOLIDAY MAGIC SPECIAL ONE-SHOT 
It’s Christmas Eve in Riverdale, and it’s almost time for the annual Snow Ball, but Archie still can’t choose who should be his date: Betty or Veronica? Has he always been this indecisive? Will he always be? Will his flaws leave him all alone? Everything changes when a spirit guide appears to help him navigate these questions, and explore his past, present, and future in three distinct tales. This heartfelt and humorous holiday tale harkens back to classic holiday stories like It’s a Wonderful Life, mixed with the over-the-top sentimentality of a Hallmark Christmas film.

Script: Micol Ostow, Michael Northrop, J. Torres
 Art: Gretel Lusky, Arielle Jovellanos, Dan Schoening
Colors: Matt Herms
Letters: Jack Morelli 
Main Cover: Gretel Lusky 
Variant Cover: Gary Erskine 
Final Order Cut Off Date: 11/15
On Sale Date: 12/8 
32-page, full color comic 
$3.99 U.S.”

As mentioned above, Archie’s Holiday Magic Special will be released on December 8th wherever comics are sold.