This December, Archie Comics continues its 80th anniversary celebration with Archie's Holiday Magic Special, a one-shot anthology special that takes Archie Andrews and his friends on an It's a Wonderful Life-esque adventure.
Set to hit comic shops on Wednesday, Dec. 8, Archie's Holiday Magic Special consists of "three separate stories penned by top writers," namely Micol Ostow (Riverdale: The Ties that Bind), Michael Northrop (Dear Justice League) and J. Torres (Jinx: Little Miss Steps). Ostow, Northrop and Torres are joined on the anthology by artists Gretel Lusky, Arielle Jovellanos and Dan Schoening, as well as colorist Matt Herms and letterer Jack Morelli.
The comic features a main cover by the aforementioned Lusky, as well as a variant cover by Gary Erskine. What's more, Archie Comics explains that the anthology itself will "explore Archie and the Riverdale gang's past, present and future with a heartwarming release that pays homage to celebrated holiday classics and modern romance stories."
"It's Christmas Eve in Riverdale, and Archie still can't decide who should be his date for the annual Snow Ball -- Betty or Veronica? As the constant indecision leaves Archie in crisis, he is soon visited by a spirit guide that will help him rediscover the meaning of the season," a synopsis for the book reads. "Readers will be treated with delightfully fresh artistic takes on classic Archie Comics franchises including Little Archie and Life With Archie in this can't-miss anthology one-shot spearheaded by Archie's Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante."
"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," said Rotante. "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."
Rotante also spoke to the anthology's creative team, stating, "I'm so thrilled to be working with the creative team on this book! 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."
Written by Micol Ostow, Michael Northrop and J. Torres and illustrated by Gretel Lusky, Arielle Jovellanos and Dan Schoening with colors by Matt Herms and letters by Jack Morelli, Archie's Holiday Magic Special #1 goes on sale Dec. 8 from Archie Comics.
Source: Archie Comics