THE YEAR OF ARCHIE EVENT STORIES CONTINUES THIS OCTOBER!

2008 will surely go down as the year Archie Comics pulled out all the stops with one intriguing storyline after another.  From Alex Simmon’s thrilling mysteries in the pages of ARCHIE & FRIENDS, to Jughead’s and Moose & Midge’s forays into the “Dynamic New Look” in JUGHEAD’S DOUBLE DIGEST and PALS-N-GALS DOUBLE DIGEST respectively, to the readers voting for Cheryl’s new boyfriend in BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST, we’ve been keeping our readers busy with stories that play up the classic personalities and relationships of everyone’s favorite comic book teens!

This October, the excitement continues as fan-favorite writer Batton Lash delivers another installment of the popular “Freshman Year” saga in ARCHIE #590, and popular “WJHC” writer Jane Smith Fisher comes on board ARCHIE & FRIENDS for a two-part storyline that may well be the ultimate Archies band story!  And speaking of the Archies, they’re about to trade the garage for the drama club over in the pages of ARCHIE’S DOUBLE DIGEST.  Don’t miss these awesome issues!


ARCHIE #590
THE THRILLING "FRESHMAN YEAR SAGA" CONTINUES! 
The first year of high school has been an eventful one for Archie and his friends, and it's all leading towards a whirlwind finale!  But the teens still have some time to go yet.  In this latest installment, they are evaluated by their teachers who report their progress to their folks on "parent-teacher" night.  How will they fare once their parents learn how they're doing?  Meanwhile, in social life, love triangles abound, and so do pranks – some playful, some nasty.  But none nastier than the bikers who have been bedeviling the town.  All this, plus a surprise or two!  It's the greatest "first year" of high school ever, courtesy of fan-favorite writer Batton Lash of "Wolff & Byrd" and "Archie Meets the Punisher" fame, along with "Scrapyard Detectives" creator and popular Archie artist/writer Bill Galvan. 
SCRIPT: Batton Lash. 
ART: Bill Galvan.         
Shipping Date: October 22nd, 2008
On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: October 29th, 2008
On Sale on Newsstands: November 11th, 2008
32-recycled page, full color comic
$2.25 US.


ARCHIE & FRIENDS #124
THE FIRST PART OF A TWO-PART TALE BY POPULAR “WJHC” WRITER JANE SMITH FISHER! 
“Battle of the Bands, Part One”: The greatest comic book band in the world is out to prove its supremacy in the most decisive fashion possible: by winning a “Battle of the Bands” competition.  This isn’t just any contest – at stake is a first prize Tropical Island vacation!  But two sour notes threaten their presumed victory: Veronica’s selfishness and Reggie’s mysterious disappearances.  Can the band recover and end on a high note?  A longtime advocate for kid’s comics, writer Jane Smith Fisher has devoted her career to telling age-appropriate stories in series such as “Cybernauts” and the highly popular “WJHC,” about a group of teens who start their own high school radio station.  Jane has been embraced by librarians and schools across the nation.  Now she brings her special voice for both young and female characters to Archie Comics in this rock ‘n’ rollin’ storyline. 
SCRIPT: Jane Smith Fisher. 
ART: Stan Goldberg.     
Shipping Date: October 1st, 2008
On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: October 8th, 2008
On Sale on Newsstands: October 21st, 2008
32-page, full color comic
$2.25 US.


ARCHIE’S DOUBLE DIGEST #193
“To Play or Not to Play”: Feeling the stress of studies, extracurricular activities and college applications, the gang decides to put the Archies on hiatus – until Jughead convinces his band mates to appear in a high school musical he’s written about a teen rock band stressed out by their studies, extracurricular activities and college applications! 
SCRIPT AND ART: Bill Galvan. 
“Toy Story”: A short time ago, in a town called Riverdale not too far away… Jughead has dragged Archie to a toy store at midnight so he can be among the first to purchase the new “Star Lores” action figures! 
SCRIPT: George Gladir. 
ART: Bill Galvan. 
“Pre-Exam Insurance”: Archie’s convinced that petting Betty’s cat Carmel is good luck before an exam… but the only thing between Archie and a passing grade is the tree Carmel’s stuck in! 
SCRIPT: George Gladir. 
ART: Henry Scarpelli. 
PLUS: Other new and classic tales! 
SCRIPT AND ART: Various talents. 
BONUS: Puzzles, games and pin-ups!   
Shipping Date: October 22nd, 2008
On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: October 29th, 2008
On Sale on Newsstands: November 11th, 2008
176-page, full color digest
$3.69 US.

Wow, one funny thing about this is one cover says they're competing in a Battle of the Bands and the other one says the Archies are no more.....one logical explanation is they lose the Battle of the Bands leading them to go on a hiatus

I'm always up for a good parody... or is HSM a parody of Archie? HMMMMMM.....

Gregg

I really like the layout of the Archie & Friends comic, and it's nice to see the band on a cover, ... and, I agree w/ acf, that it's kinda funny to see the covers following one another like that. ... Betty really ought to switch it up and learn to play the cowbell for a bit of variety... perhaps a triangle. /sigh. Give the girl a guitar!!! ^_^

Brunette - It's sad, but, people can't be made into something they're not... they get to shoulder a bit of the blame themselves, y'know?

I really liked how the Jughead/Indiana Jones comic was handled, and I think it'd be nice to see The Archies spoof a few more popular movies, even if it's HSM, which, to be honest, has quite a few parallels with Archie comics already...

Aya said: "Betty really ought to switch it up and learn to play the cowbell for a bit of variety... perhaps a triangle. /sigh. Give the girl a guitar!!! ^_^"

I GOT A FEVAH... AND THERE'S ONLY ONE CURE!!! I NEED MORE COWBELL!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_AUAGCv7SI

Here is a hilarious SNL skit with Christopher Walken and Will Farrell on youtube. Everytime I hear about a cowbell in song I think of it! ENJOY!!!!

More Archie trivia:  Who is the only other Archie cast member besides the core 5 to join the Archies on stage? Extra credit if you know where he or she appeared and what instrument he or she was playing....

Gregg

Gregg - You win! At a Halloween party a friend of a friend dressed up as Will Ferrell's character, complete with cowbell (granted, it was a cheese grater that he'd covered up with duct tape, 'cause apparently, cow bells are quite expensive)

My guess is Dilton. I'm pretty sure he's written songs for the group before, even going so far as to start his own band when they laughed off his musical venture, only to later realize that Dilton was quite popular, and skilled, musically. He's my guess for the "other" musician.

Althought I've never read a story with Ethel playing (I just guessed). When you said Al Hartley I immediately thought of that Big Ethel Spire...

Gregg - well, I have no clue, so just to guess, I'll go with a glockenspiel, if for no other reason than it's fun to say.