While Archie’s girlfriends Betty and Veronica go overseas in a new series, the famous comic will introduce two new girls into Archie’s life in the town of Riverdale. This time, it’s a French and an Indian girl. Whether they too become Archie’s love interests remains to be seen.
American comic book artist and writer for Archie Comics Dan Parent says it’s a six-part series where the two girls settle down in Riverdale, adding to Archie’s gang. Now that Betty and Veronica are not around to keep Archie’s mind occupied, the two new entrants may well be competition for the best friend duo, who knows!
Q: In the series ‘Life with Archie’ (Issue #36), Archie is killed. Why was this done?
A: Archie dies while trying to save his friend Kevin Keller, the first gay character in the comic book series. He takes a bullet for his friend, showing the strength of friendship. Many people who read the story said it was done thoughtfully. The intent was to do it with a bang that would be noticed.
How has the response been to the series where life continues without Archie?
Archie, being the central character, plays a very important role and without him, there is emptiness, even though the series continues without him. Some fans were mad about it, but there were other series where Archie is still alive and people do relate to him even now.
Has it been confusing for readers to relate to the different series, especially when he is killed in one of them?
The die-hard fans of Archie are well aware that he continues as the teenager in most of the other series, so it is not confusing for them.
Is there any new character being introduced in the series?
More than new characters, we are focussing on the character Harper, who has a disability and is inspired by a real person. She doesn’t take nonsense from people and has her own spirit. There will be more about her.
Apart from Archie, who is your favourite character?
Jughead. I feel he is a bit of an outsider even though he is in the gang. Most people feel like they are outsiders and don’t belong… so, he is relatable.
