Ashley J. Williams’ never-ending battle against the forces of darkness heads to Riverdale this February when Dynamite Entertainment and Archie Comics team up for Archie x The Army of Darkness.
Writer Erik Burnham returns to the Army of Darkness mythos, this time bringing along the Riverdale gang for a supernatural showdown, with art by Archie Comics veteran Bill Galvan.
“I’m excited that I get to inconvenience Ash once again by pitting him against the forces of evil, but to also get a crack at writing the genuine American icons that are Archie and the gang at the same time? Pinch me,” Burnham said.
Burnham previously tackled the Evil Dead universe with Army of Darkness vs. Reanimator: Necronomicon Rising and has worked on other franchises like Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers and Godzilla.
The story finds Ash trapped in his endless cycle of battling evil forces, but that pattern seems to break when he arrives in the peaceful town of Riverdale. But when an overly curious Archie Andrews discovers a copy of the Necronomicon Ex Mortis and accidentally summons the terrifying Deadites, all hell breaks loose.
“Having read the script for issue #1, I can assure you that Erik Burham’s story is going to take readers on a thrill ride that pays homage to the best of both worlds,” said Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante. “Plus, Bill Galvan’s been an Archie mainstay for years, who continuously impresses us both with his ability to perfectly capture the essence of the Archie characters, while also creating eye-catching, outside-the-box, and sometimes downright horrifying art on his array of specialty variant covers. This series will be a treat for fans of both franchises!”
The series will feature a cover by Robert Hack and variants by Galvan, Laura Braga, Craig Cermak and Stuart Sayger. The premiere issue will also include a premium mystery blind bag containing three randomly selected limited edition variants, including two exclusive covers by Galvan and Francesco Francavilla available only through the bag, plus multiple line art variants and colored blanks.
Archie x The Army of Darkness #1 arrives in February.