Archie #700 Ushers In New Creative Team Of Spencer & Sauvage This November

Archie is poised to reach a milestone few titles have achieved. This November the series will reach issue #700. As seen in the New York Times, writer Nick Spencer and artist Marguerite Sauvage will be jumping on board as the new creative team with this issue.

If you’re a little confused about the re-numbering since the latest issue of Archie that came out was #31, don’t worry. Here’s a quick breakdown. See, back in 2015, the original Archie series came to a close with issue #666, then it was relaunched with an all-new #1 issue. That series will end with issue #32 this month. October’s #699 will be a catch-up issue retailing for $1. 700 total issues is nothing to sneeze at, but I can’t be the only one that’s tired of renumbering and relaunches across the board in comics.
This is bittersweet news as the Archie relaunch has been pretty solid. It made me fall in love with the residents of Riverdale. I’m curious as to what kind of take Spencer will have with these characters. From the sound of things, he’s got some good ideas kicking around his head:

Archie Comics has a long, proud history. I don’t want to blow things up or do anything that would upset the long-term audience. It’s more like finding some conflicts that have some stakes, upping the drama level a little bit.

In addition to Archie #700, Archie Comics has announced a new Betty & Veronica series beginning in December. Jamie L. Rotante will be writing the series, but no interior artist has been named at this time. This comic picks up with B&V starting their senior year of high school and dealing with the stress of college application, internships, and final exams.