by 
Updated on December 10, 2021
Here’s what’s of interest from Archie for August 2012. Full solicitations may be found here. Newsstand availability is usually several weeks after the comic shop date listed.
Comics I’ll be buying
- Archie #636, on sale Aug. 22, $3
- Life With Archie #22, on sale Aug. 15, $4
- Crusaders: Rise of the Heroes #1, on sale Aug. 22, $3
Comics I might buy
- Betty and Veronica #261, on sale Aug. 15, $3
Comments
Quite a bit to discuss this month, so…
“Archie” this month features the gang gender-swapped thanks to a spell by Salem (of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” fame). Would’ve gone for a better name than “Archina” (“Arlene?”), but the cover looks nice. The gender-swapping got a brief bit of attention by some online.
Also attracting attention is this month’s “Life With Archie” story. I suppose it’s not spoiling things (since the cover/publicity has done that) to state it’s the adult Kevin Keller’s new hubby (Clay Walker) who gets shot. Was hoping we’d get to see more of Clay in stories before something like this, but I’m hoping he doesn’t die. This issue also delves more into Cheryl’s cancer subplot.
“Crusaders: Rise of the Heroes” is the new series using the “Red Circle” heroes, aka the classic Golden and Silver Age superheroes Archie has sporadically produced comics about in the past. Their most well known hero’s the Shield, their own patriotic-themed hero who pre-dates Captain America. While it’s being digitally released, I’m glad to see a paper version’s coming out, so that’s what I’ll be buying.
“Betty and Veronica” looks like it might be amusing (just for Jughead’s crack on the cover alone). This one was also originally a digital-only release (it came out in 2010).
