While it’s pretty safe to assume that Riverdale will never cross paths with The CW’s Arrowverse of shows, the worlds of Archie Comics and DC Comics will soon be coming together.
Archie Comics recently announced its upcoming Archie Meets Batman 66 series, which pairs the redheaded protagonist with Adam West’s version of the Caped Crusader.
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The series will be written by Michael Moreci and Batman ’66 veteran Jeff Parker, with pencils by Archie Comics fan-favorite Dan Parent, inks by J. Bone, and colors by Kelly FitzPatrick.
“Jeff Parker has a wonderful history with Batman ’66 and is a writer I’ve wanted to work with since I got to Archie, and pairing him with Michael Moreci, someone who has a great track record and the right sensibility for this book, made a lot of sense,” Archie Comics co-president Alex Segura explained to SYFY WIRE. “On the art side, there’s no one else we’d rather see drawing this than Dan Parent — who’s a superstar artist and an Archie legend. Watching his work with finisher J. Bone come in has been a highlight for everyone. This is going to be a memorable book.”
This will be the second Archie and DC crossover to come about in as many years, following the recent conclusion of Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica. And according to Hank Kanalz, DC’s senior VP of editorial strategy and administration, they “considered many different combinations” for this next DC/Archie crossover.
But fans are already expecting this series to be a unique entry, leaning into the nostalgia factor of both the Archie world and West’s Batman tenure — with some pretty interesting results.
“Look, we all want to know what Jughead and The Joker make of each other, and we want to see the romance dynamics of Riverdale High thrown completely out of gear by bringing in Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon.” Parker explained. “And will Pop Tate get ahead of this and start selling Bat Burgers?”
“It’s very cool to work with a heavy hitting team of top talent.” Parker continued. “Michael and I synched up immediately with plotting, and Dan and J. Bone are the exact right cartoonists to make a mash-up like this really work. We are all wearing matching R letterman jackets while working on this, by the way.”
Archie Meets Batman 66 #1 will go on sale on July 18th.
