The Riverdale incarnation of Archie Comics is so popular, it can be tough sometimes to remember that the original Archie rarely if ever dealt with serial killers, ritual sacrifice, and whatever the hell this was. This means there’s a good chance that you — like me — have been sleeping on the adventures of the even more kid-friendly Archie comics. That needs to stop now, and I’ve got proof.
First off, there’s the Bite-Sized Archie webcomic, whose first year of strips are being collected in a graphic novel coming this May. We have a sample set of six, and I absolutely adore them all. But Bite-Sized Archie is not to be confused with Little Archie, who’s getting a one-shot comic special in April. It’s titled Fun With Little Archie & Friends Special, and features the Riverdale rugrats getting thrown into a cavalcade of game parodies courtesy of Sabrina the Teenage Witch — and we’ve got a preview of that, too. Enjoy!
“The Wrong Message”
First up, the Bite-Sized Archie comics, in which we discover Archie has a bean dad.
“Hash It Out”
Jughead, hamburger enthusiast and social media manager.
“A True Juggernaut”
Everything about this is wonderful, but I particularly enjoy that Pop’s puts a picture with a hamburger crossed out on its door to indicate the diner is closed.
“Cabin Fever”
As far as I’m concerned, every Archie comic should end with a picture of Archie paralysed with terror and sweating profusely.
“Fanning the Flames”
This wouldn’t even crack the top 20 of bananas things Cheryl has done on Riverdale.
“The Boy Next Door”
Again, this is great, but imagine if it ended with the same panel of Cheryl smiling in front of a house on fire.
Fun With Little Archie & Friends Special
Here’s the cover to the one-shot special by Erin Hunting. Look how bored Sabrina’s cat is! Here’s the official synopsis:
“Get ready for high-octane fun and adventure with LITTLE ARCHIE and his friends from Riverdale! When Little Sabrina meets up with Little Archie, Little Jughead, and Little Betty and Veronica, all kinds of chaos breaks loose and the gang find themselves transported into new, fantastical game world inspired by their favourite hobbies! Watch as they brave the mystical and mysterious realm of Gryphons and Gargoyles, form a big-wheel gang, and attempt to relax in an unexpectedly exciting animal farming video game!”
Gryphons & Gargoyles
In this (momentarily uncolored) interior page, Little Archie and his equally little friends play the infamous role-playing game Gryphons & Gargoyles. While it’s clearly a parody of Dungeons & Dragons, it was also the centrepiece of a murderous cult in Riverdale, which won’t be the case here… presumably.
Archie Crossing
Here are a few of Erin Hunting’s character designs from the comic’s Animal Crossing parody, and I would absolutely play this game.
Little Archies by Adrian Ropp
And here are a few of the regular Little Archie characters from a couple of the various artists contributing stories to the comic, starting with Adrian Ropp.
Little Archie and Friends by Agnes Garbowska
The Fun With Little Archie & Friends one-shot special includes work from writers Shannon Watters, J. Torres, and Jamie L. Rotante, along with artists Adrian Ropp, Agnes Garbowska, Matt Herms, and Jack Morelli. It hits comic stands on April 13. The Bite-Sized Archie Vol. 1 collection, written by Ron Cacae and drawn by Vincent Lovallo, arrives on May 17.