Riverdale is about to have the worst semester in its history. Archie vs. The Terminator #1, the first issue of a four-issue crossover from Dynamite Entertainment, arrives in comic shops on Wednesday, October 14.
The setup is as simple as it is ridiculous. “When a teenage John Connor enrolls at Riverdale High, Archie and the gang soon find themselves in the crosshairs of a Terminator!” reads Dynamite’s description. In other words, the future leader of the human resistance is hiding out in America’s most wholesome high school, and the machine sent to find him is not far behind.
The creative team
The series is written by Rory McConville, who has written Terminator, Red Sonja and Spawn, and drawn by Steven Butler and Lily Butler, a pair of longtime Archie artists. That pairing should keep the classic Riverdale look intact while the action turns deadly.
The first issue is 32 pages with cardstock covers, priced at $4.99 and rated Teen, according to ICv2’s preview. Cover A is by Francesco Francavilla, with additional covers from Bjorn Barends, Robert Hack and Bill Galvan. Francavilla and Hack both have history with Archie’s horror side, which suits a book about a killer robot stalking the hallways.
Archie’s crossover streak
Archie has made a habit of colliding with unlikely franchises, from zombies and the Predator to Dynamite’s own recent Archie x Army of Darkness. Pitting Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead against a time-traveling cyborg is a natural next step for a cast that has survived nearly everything else.
The Archie corner of the comics world has been busy this fall. RCG also covered the return of the Vixens in Josie and the Pussycats: Rock On! Archie vs. The Terminator #1 is on shelves now, with three more issues to follow as Riverdale tries to survive the rest of the school year.
