Over the years America's eternal teenager Archie Andrews has met everybody from Batman to the Punisher, by way of KISS, the cast of Glee, the Predator, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now he's about to embark on what sounds like one of his funniest adventures yet: hanging out with Jay and Silent Bob.
Yes, Archie Comics is teaming up with Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy director Kevin Smith for a new oversized one-shot crossover that will merge the worlds of Archie Comics with Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse.
The new issue is written by Smith himself with art from Fernando Ruiz, Rich Koslowski, Matt Herms, and Jack Morelli. According to the publisher the new issue finds Archie taking on a summer job at the Quick Stop convenience store only to find himself working alongside "none other than Randal Graves, who debuted in Smith's seminal 1994 film Clerks. But when Jay and Silent Bob hit the scene, Archie's life – and all of Riverdale – only get wilder from there."
"I believe it was Stoic philosopher Epictetus who first said, 'Everything's Archie.' And he was right," Smith said in a statement. "Whether it be Veronica in Clerks or the Mister Weatherbee conversation in Chasing Amy, the influence of Archie Andrews is mixed into the brick and mortar of my pop cultural foundation. So, there was no way I was passing up this incredible opportunity to collide the worlds of Riverdale and the Askewniverse, and introduce icons on the order of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Moose, Reggie, and Josie to reprobates like Jay and Silent Bob."
"Archie Meets Jay and Silent Bob is a crossover like we've never done before!" said Archie Comics' Jesse Goldwater in a statement about the new book. "Kevin has brilliantly brought two legendary, generation-defining worlds together to tell a story that's so funny, totally wild, and also heartfelt and moving."
He went on to add, "Kevin Smith – a true genius – tells a story that feels both quintessentially View Askewniverse and classically Archie, honoring the incredible legacies of these beloved iconic characters. I cannot wait for readers to check out what I believe is going to be the greatest crossover in the history of entertainment!"
Archie Meets Jay and Silent Bob #1 is published by Archie Comics on July 9.
Archie Andrews has starred in some of the most unlikely comics crossovers of all time.
