With reboot Archie, zombie Archie and CW Archie all going strong, longtime fans of the character might have been wondering if they’d ever see the classic Dan DeCarlo/Bob Montana version of the character in comic books again. Fear not; Archie Comics announced today a new series, My Pal Archie, by Dan Parent and Ty Templeton, that brings back the Archie you remember … mostly.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be drawing in the classic style for so long, that I eventually formed my own style based on the Dan DeCarlo/Bob Montana model,” Parent said in a press release. “In addition to drawing lots of classic Archie stories for the digests, I’ve been working on the digital first series Life with Kevin, starring Kevin Keller. I had a feeling a classic monthly title might come back into the fold. So here it is!”
Per the release, Parent and Templeton have tweaked the artwork a bit, noting it “will be influenced from the styles and fashion of The CW’s hit new Riverdale TV series, but will remain familiar for fans of the classic style.” Take a look:
“The influence from the show is more of a fashion makeover for me. I’ve changed the hairstyles a bit, and the clothes. And the faces are a little more detailed, but the line work is still the simple classic lines I’ve always used,” Parent said.
“This made me a hero to my children,” said Templeton. “I consider it an honor to write Archie’s latest adventures and a big responsibility that I take very seriously until I remember that it’s my job to dump Archie in a bucket of squid now and then or it won’t be fun.”
The new series debuts in July. Issues #1-5 will feature a connecting variant cover by artist Les McClaine that forms a giant image of Pop’s Chock’lit Shop featuring Archie Comics’ most beloved characters.
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