Iconic redhead Archie landed a successful comic reboot last year, and CW’s Riverdale pilot is trying to adapt the long-running comic characters for the small screen. Now, the women in Archie’s life are getting their own new comic as well. On Monday, Archie Comics announced a new Betty & Veronica series, due out this July from comics veteran Adam Hughes.
Betty and Veronica have long represented two iconic poles of feminine characters: blonde and brunette, nice and dangerous, cheerleader and cool girl. They are best friends and worst enemies. But freed from the constraints of having to compete for Archie’s affections, the girls’ solo comic will feature them facing a different challenge — namely, gentrification. Like Daredevil waging war against the Kingpin’s construction of Hell’s Kitchen high-rises, Betty and Veronica will confront the reality of a giant coffee shop taking over Riverdale’s beloved soda shop. The girls find themselves on opposite sides of the resulting debate, making this first story more like Betty v Veronica.
The 32-page first issue is out July 20. It is written and drawn by Hughes, but like Ta-Nehisi Coates’ recent Black Panther debut, Betty & Veronica #1 will also feature multiple variant covers, from the likes of Chip Zdarsky, Stephanie Buscema, and others.
