On the heels of the surprise completion of the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series on Disney+, a new comic book series launches this week from IDW Publishing as part of its return to normal production of comic book titles delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars Battle Talescarries the kid-friendly Star Wars Adventures title into new–but not unfamiliar–territory for Star Wars readers and anyone who can’t get enough of the animated tales of Obi-Wan and Anakin, Captain Rex, Commander Cody, the Jedi, Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku, and more. In five issues the mini-series will add new, official canon content set early in The Clone Wars animated series. These are tales from the clone troopers themselves.
If you’ve been looking for your next retro fix, this may be it. Archie Comics and DC Comics is bringing nostalgia into a new crossover arriving in comic book stores today with Archie Meets Batman ’66. Two characters first seen in 1939–and never before have they appeared together! A battle in Gotham City extends its reach into Riverdale—with Mr. Lodge becoming Public Enemy #1 of the dynamic duo. And it’s up to Veronica to recruit some help and place a call… to the Batcave. Written by Jeff Parker and Michael Moreci with art by Dan Parent, J. Bone, Kelly Fitzpatrick, and Jack Morelli.
This new story is in the style of the opening title credits of the pop culture favorite 1960s live-action Batman series and the animated series Superfriends. And it’s an even bigger series than you might think, with its first issue full of not only the Archie gang and Batman and Robin. You’re going to find several of your favorite characters from the 1966 TV series make appearances. The artists have all emulated that over-the-top BAM! POW! variety of comic book goodness. Yes, we’re talking the return of the Batusi. Check out a preview to Issue #1 below courtesy of Archie Comics. Keep an eye out for a host of covers for this issue from Michael and Laura Allred, Derek Charm, Francesco Francavilla, Sandy Jarrell and Kelly Fitzpatrick, Dan Parent, J. Bone, and Rosario “Tito” Peña, and Ty Templeton.
Archie Comics plans to have a big presence at San Diego Comic-Con this week, focused on the hit CW television series Riverdale. Fourteen cast members from the series will be pictured on hotel keycards across town. With more than 40,000 keys created for the week, visitors will find these unique collectibles at nearly 40 San Diego hotels. Check your keycards for Archie Andrews (K.J. Apa), Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart), Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), Alice Cooper (Mädchen Amick), Fred Andrews (Luke Perry), Hermione Lodge (Marisol Nichols), Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos), Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch), Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray), Kevin Keller (Casey Cott), F.P. Jones (Skeet Ulrich), Reggie Mantle (Charles Melton), and Toni Topaz (Vanessa Morgan).
As promised, here’s your preview of Archie Meets Batman ’66, Issue #1:
Charlie Chan, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, Ellery Queen, Nero Wolfe, Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, Perry Mason, and Sherlock Holmes. All are classic fictional detectives that, except for Holmes, emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, pulling in countless readers across the world and together forming the roots of today’s mystery and crime genres. You can add another detective to that list, too, the straight-arrow justice seeker Dick Tracy, although his readers would get a new dose of him every day, thanks to creator Chester Gould’s daily newspaper strips. Over the decades Dick Tracy was featured in monthly comic book series in the 1930s to the 1960s, and again in the 1980s. After failed efforts to bring Dick Tracy to comic books, first in a series by Mike Oeming and Brian Michael Bendis, and most recently in a series from Archie Comics featuring creators Alex Segura, Michael Moreci, and Thomas Pitilli–both cancelled for licensing snafus–finally we’re about to see Dick Tracy back in the comic books. IDW Publishing, which just released the 24th volume of Gould’s original strips in anthology format, is launching a new four-issue limited series this Fall.
Since he first appeared in print October 14, 1931, newspaper readers have been following Tracy’s crimefighting adventures. Chester Gould created the character and continued writing and drawing him and his foes in comic strip form until his retirement in 1977. The strip was taken over by Max Allan Collins and Rick Fletcher and later Dick Locher and Jim Brozman, who wrote the strip until 2011, when comic book legend Joe Staton became artist with writer Mike Curtis–they would take the Harvey Award for the classic series for best syndicated comic strip three years running.
“I am thrilled to try my hand at drawing this legendary, pulpy, hardboiled crime classic,” said newly tapped Dick Tracy artist Rich Tommaso in an IDW press release. “Along with Roy Crane, Milton Caniff, Noel Sickles, Jack Cole, and Alex Toth, Chester Gould is a cartoonist that I am perpetually inspired by when I’m working on my own crime stories. So this is a project that I feel is well within my wheelhouse. The Dick Tracy cast of characters makes this comic so much fun to draw on a daily basis. I only hope we can all bring something great to the comic ourselves while, simultaneously keeping true to its origins. Not an easy feat to be sure, but I feel it’s damn worth a try.” Tommaso has previewed some of his penciled panels on his Twitter account (shown above and below), revealing a story set in the 1930s or 1940s. Michael Allred will write and ink the series, called “Dead or Alive,” co-written with brother Lee Allred, with coloring by Laura Allred, Mike’s wife and frequent creative partner.
