The worlds of Riverdale and superheroes have crossed paths many times before—Black Hood, the Crusaders, Captain Flag—and neither Archie Andrews and his friends nor Archie as a publisher are entirely unfamiliar with the classic fundamentals of the genre. But Archie Comics’ latest attempt at the superhero whip bridges the gap between earlier pastiches and affectionate, all-ages riffs with something that soars in tone and seriousness.
io9 offers you a first exclusive look at Archie’s next miniseries, Archie is Mr Justicea new four-issue miniseries that combines a metatextual examination of Archie Comics’ history of superheroes during the Golden Age of Comic Books with a new story of Archie himself as he gains unknown powers and becomes Earth’s Mightiest Hero. Told by different creative teams, each issue of the series offers a different perspective from one of Archie’s friends and family members on the story of how the young teenager discovered he had superpowers, donned the mantle of Mr. Justice—a name itself cribbed from Archie Comics’ old publication history, even if the new book is not a reboot of that character—and saved the world, only to suddenly and mysteriously disappear.
“Mr Justice is the story that plays with the absolute sincerity of the Archie characters, through the filter of a much more cynical superhero world,” says Tim Seeley, the author of the first issue of Archie is Mr Justicetold from Jughead’s perspective, io9 said in an emailed statement. “I think understandably, for years we were disillusioned with the idea that someone with power would be GOOD, but that’s exactly what Archie Andrews is. His world, however, is filled with people who care far more about money and power than he does.”
“This is a much more modern take on the ‘Archie as superhero’ idea. It’s an examination of an incorruptible soul in a corrupt world,” added Mike Norton, the artist of the first issue. “Archie is the perfect character for this setting because he’s the original ‘good guy.’ It was fun to read, and even more fun to draw!”
Seeley and Norton will be the creative team for the first issue of the miniseries, joined by Glenn Whitmore on colors and Jack Morelli on lettering. But the remaining issues will also see a change in creative teams, as well as perspectives on Archie’s time as Mr. Justice – including Amanda Diebert, Blake Howard, Kenny Porter, Maria Laura Sanapo and Brent Schoonover.
“I’m honored to be working with this incredibly talented team of writers to create something completely unique for Archie Comics – a long story presented from multiple perspectives of different creative teams. And I’m doubly honored to have the amazing team of Tim Seeley and Mike Norton to launch this initiative,” added Jamie L. Rotante, Archie’s senior editorial director. “This isn’t just another superhero story. This is a story about hope in a world that feels increasingly hopeless. And in this timeline, Archie is our beacon of hope.”
The first issue of Archie is Mr Justice is expected to hit shelves on November 20th.
