Ever since the initial reports of a new look for Betty and Veronica (right), Archie Comics has been at pains to emphasize that their radical makeover is strictly limited to a four-part story arc in one of their digest magazines, and then a similar story for another digest… unless the feedback is particularly positive, that is, in which case they might keep at it. Editor Victor Gorelick and artist Steven Butler answered some questions from Newsarama, explaining how the story came about (“a meeting of the editorial staff,” how dramatic) and whether they felt any pressure in tampering with a legend (not especially). Along the way, they promised that the rest of the gang will make an appearance in the story, which leads to the instantly amusing thought of Jughead drawn in a realistic style. Then, just before New Year’s, they released more preview art from the series, in which, as one commenter noted, “the facial closeups and emotional emphasis come straight out of classic romance comics.” And not in a good way, was the general consensus. (Of course, keep in mind that online discussions of comics are not generally regarded for their moderation and temperance.)
Meanwhile, comics artist Stuart Immonen was playing around with his sketchbook and came up with his own, strictly unauthorized, new look for Archie’s girlfriends, which was making the rounds on the Intarwebs over the holidays. Of course, it’d never happen this way—and Betty looks a little bit like a blonde version of Immonen’s rendering of Elsa Bloodstone in the soon-to-be-cancelled (sigh) Marvel comic Nextwave—but for the time being at least, it seems to be entertaining the fanboys a lot more than the real new versions. Then again, Archie never got rich marketing itself to fanboys…