Betty Cooper goes from being the 'girl next door' to being the 'final girl' in a new horror-themed anthology one-shot set to launch from Archie Comics this coming February.
Archie has officially announced Chilling Adventures Presents... Betty: The Final Girl #1, which is slated to hit comic shops on Feb. 15, 2023 as part of the Archie Horror imprint. The one-shot comes from the writing team of Micol Ostow, Casey Gilly and Sam Maggs, the artistic team of Laura Braga, Natalie Nardozza and Carola Borelli, colorist Matt Herms and letterer Jack Morelli. It features a main cover by Braga, as well as a variant cover by Megan Hutchison.
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CHILLING ADVENTURES PRESENTS... BETTY: THE FINAL GIRL (ONE-SHOT)
Veronica has invited Betty to her luxurious mountaintop chalet for a cozy weekend of skiing. But their girls weekend is interrupted when Archie shows up and whisks Veronica off on their own snowy romantic adventure. What could go wrong at a fancy remote cabin in the mountains all by herself? Betty’s mind races and she can’t tell fact from fiction as she suddenly realizes she might not be so alone. Is Betty believing too much in the horror movies she’s watched, or is someone (or something) really out to get her? Find out in this BRAND NEW horror anthology one-shot that‘s equal parts Scream and When a Stranger Calls.
- Script: Micol Ostow, Casey Gilly, Sam Maggs
- Art: Laura Braga, Natalie Nardozza, Carola Borelli
- Colors: Matt Herms
- Letters: Jack Morelli
- Cover: Laura Braga
- Variant Cover: Megan Hutchison
- On Sale Date: 2/15
- 32-page, full color comic
- $3.99 U.S.
"The slasher sub-genre's most widely loved trope, the 'final girl' is the clever survivor who carries a relentless plot across the finish line, taking it to the bad guy in the last scene," Archie explained in its official release. "Writer Micol Ostow (Fear the Funhouse, Riverdale: The Ties That Bind) immediately turned to Betty when she thought of marrying the genre with Archie's core cast of characters."
Said Ostow, "I'm a diehard horror fan, and I've been obsessed with how seamlessly Archie's been able to integrate different styles, levels, and aesthetics of spookiness into their Archie Horror library. And while I don't have one favorite scary movie or book, I've always been a sucker for the 'final girl' trope. It hit me that Betty would make a fantastic final girl: blonde, kick-ass, capable!"
Betty Cooper Goes Full Laurie Strode
Ostow's framing story, which features art by Braga, is titled "Rosemary's Babysitter." In it, Betty and her BFF, Veronica Lodge, "secluded mountaintop chalet for a weekend of skiing. When Betty is left alone, her mind begins to race and dangers appear around every darkened hallway and every creaky door. Each new fright introduces a new story starring a different girl from the Archie Comics roster." These stories include "Be Mine or Die" by Gilly and Nardozza and "Melody's Next" by Maggs and Borelli.
"When Micol Ostow first pitched the idea of doing a 'final girl'-style story with Betty as the eponymous final girl, I was immediately interested; the idea of a 'final girl' is so synonymous with horror that it would be silly NOT to do it," said Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante. "Every good teen/college horror flick utilizes that idea, so fitting it into the Archie universe was a lay-up. In keeping with our practice of horror anthologies, we also wanted to have there be more than one 'final girl,' so, the final girls of Betty, Brigitte, and Melody all came into play!"
Archie Comics Art Director Vincent Lovallo discussed the two covers for Betty: The Final Girl, which is described as a love letter to the slasher genre and all things horror. "When considering the covers for Betty: The Final Girl, we kept in mind the survival themes of fear and dread. Laura hit the mark perfectly with the eerie atmosphere of the forest, the frightening figure in the distance, and a battle-bloodied Betty who's prepared to face the unknown. And from Betty's bewildered expression to the neon-like glow of the surrounding demons, Megan's variant creates an air of uncertainty; which horrors are real and which are fake?!"
Written by Micol Ostow, Casey Gilly and Sam Maggs, illustrated by Laura Braga, Natalie Nardozza and Carola Borelli, colored by Matt Herms and lettered by Jack Morelli, Chilling Adventures Presents... Betty: The Final Girl #1 goes on sale Feb. 15, 2023 from Archie Comics.
Source: Archie Comics