Archie comics to feature variant Manila cover

Archie comics to feature variant Manila cover

By Rick Olivares

World-famous Archie Comics, celebrating its 80^th year of publication this 2019, will give Filipino comic book fans an early Christmas gift when they release a variant cover of Archie and Friends Travel #1 featuring the timeless and fictional cast of teenagers at the Rizal Park in Manila.

The news was the big reveal during SuperManila Pop Culture Convention last Sunday, October 20 at the Podium in Pasig City.

Painted by rising Filipino digital artist Miguel Mercado, the cover will feature Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Jughead Jones, and Reggie Mantle hamming it up for selfies in front of our national hero’s monument in Luneta.

The comic book, a special project by local comic book specialty shops Filbar’s and Comic Odyssey, is slated for release this late November and is the first ever Philippine retailer exclusive cover by Archie Comics. 

Archie has enjoyed a revival in 2015 after its relaunch by chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and the relaunch of the flagship title, Archie, that featured a modern take by noted writer Mark Waid and artist Fiona Staples. That success has translated into a television series, Riverdale, developed by the CW that is currently in its fourth season.

Mercado has previously illustrated covers for Robotech, Sea of Stars, Sparrowhawk, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, and Lady Mechanika among many others. His work on Archie and Friends Travel #1, is a fulfillment of a childhood dream. 

“I grew up reading Archie and I was very happy for the opportunity to do this more so with the cover in a Philippine setting,” said Mercado during the SuperManila Pop Culture Convention opening last Friday, October the 18^th. “I chose the Rizal Park because it is iconic and what better place to set the Archie characters there. I am happy with the work I have done but this is something definitely enjoyable.”

Added Filbar’s President Jacob Cabochan, “Miguel’s aesthetic has a way of blurring time and space. Somehow, he makes old school charm feel both current and nostalgic. It’s uncanny.”

For his part, Comic Odyssey’s Sandy Sansolis said that this retailer exclusive “shows how important the Philippine market has become.”

The SuperManila Pop Culture Convention was organized by Filbar’s and Comic Odyssey.