Talking ‘Archie Vs. Minor Threats’ With Co-Writer Timmy Heague

Archie Andrews has a pretty strong moral compass, but will it be able to withstand contact with the villains of Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum‘s Minor Threats universe? In Archie vs. Minor Threats, writers Oswalt, Blum, and Timmy Heague are joining forces with artist Scott Koblish to see what happens when Sabrina the Teenage Witch commandeers a high school field trip to Twilight City. With colors by Hi-Fi and letters by Nate Piekos, here’s what Heague had to share about the experience:

Rachel Bellwoar: Writing as someone who’s been reading Archie comics for a while but is new to the Minor Threats universe, what was your familiarity with both worlds going into this series?

Timmy Heague: Honestly, I’d like to think I was the man (of two worlds) destined for the job. I’ve been a lifelong Archie fan ever since at the age of six I discovered the Archie animated series Archie’s Weird Mysteries and then a couple years later in the beginning of my comic book obsessed journey, I picked up Archie Meets The Punisher (My first Archie comic, yes, really).  My comic book writing career started off writing for Archie a couple years back which was an absolute dream come true with the YA horror release Fear The Funhouse: Toybox of Terror and I’m proud to say I’ve been visiting Riverdale consistently since with being a writer in their classic digest stories. In terms of the Minor Threats side of things, I’ve been pals with Patton and Jordan for a couple years and been helping out on the marketing side of things for Minor Threats. I’ve been a huge fan of their series since it debuted. One day we got talking about wanting to do a potential crossover with another publisher and Archie Comics got mentioned immediately, story ideas and all it’s potential got cooking, and when the discussion of who to write it came up, I’m very thankful for Patton and Jordan pointing at me and knighting me with the honor of spearheading the first Minor Threats crossover!

Bellwoar: The moment you know you’re not in Riverdale anymore is when Frankie Follis pulls out that ouija board planchette. Let’s just say Riverdale fans might not see the violence coming. What’s been the biggest challenge in trying to merge these two worlds, and have you enjoyed the chance to play up the relative innocence of Riverdale’s highschoolers?

Heague: That right there is all part of the fun! We wanted to create an introduction for Minor Threats that not just felt authentic to established fans of the series but also immediately set the tone for Archie fans who weren’t familiar with our universe, letting them know right there and then what you’re in for. For us it’s not so much a challenge as all part of the driving force of this series, combining two opposite casts of characters and environments that should never mix, and clashing them together while making it authentic yet new daring eras for all involved. Seeing the violent harsh world of Redport/Twilight City contrast with the innocents of Riverdale is just so much fun and we use it to tell a story that expresses what if Archie and the gang get thrown in a situation that forces them to“break bad” and what if Frankie Follis and her fellow criminals get forced to experience a day in the life of a Riverdale High teenager. The clashing and the swapping is just the best. Dare I say, a “bloody good time.”

Bellwoar: The instigator of this crossover is actually Sabrina the Teenage Witch, emphasis on the “teenage” part. How was it getting to write for her and is it fun getting to take these classic characters and come up with new outfits for them (including a crop top for Sabrina)?

Heague: Sabrina The Teenage Witch is my all-time favorite mystical character in all of comicdom. We wanted to make this crossover matter in terms of Minor Threats continuity and character development, so with the lingering storyline from the main Minor Threats series where Frankie’s hatred for magic is mentioned but never explained. When the cast of Archie characters to use for the story was discussed, I had to throw in Sabrina and then from there, using her as part of Frankie’s magic connection was something we had to write! For new outfits, that’s another fun part of this. We wanted the characters to be drawn as traditional Archie “house-style” which makes the clashing of the two worlds all the fun when the characters are drawn so distinctively different, something that series artist Scott Koblish does so incredibly well. For the outfits, getting to have our own spin here and there on the characters is just another added bonus. Every good Archie release of the last decade had the creative team leave some form of new design on the characters that gets added to the characters where it’s seen past the creative team’s run on the characters and we can only hope we do just a fragment of that here in this crossover. And again, all of this could not happen or be possible without the amazing Scott Koblish! Working with Scott is a dream come true.

Bellwoar: Meanwhile the antagonist appears to be a washed up (but possibly dangerous) magician named Top Hat. Is he a new character and what was your inspiration for him?

Heague: Top Hat is an original villain created for this story that ties into Frankie’s hatred for magic and origin (won’t go too much into it, spoilers and all that) but having him also be an antagonist for Sabrina was a must, creating a great catalyst for the crossover that brings both worlds together. Top Hat is a magic junkie, a washed up evil magician who is always hungry and need for magic, a drug that bestows youth and power to him, and in our story he is hungry for the ultimate fix in the form of a mystical artifact called the five fingers of Merlin, an artifact that Sabrina also needs (for reasons much more innocent, I assure you.). When Top Hat gets a dose of magic, he becomes a version of himself that draws inspiration from classic Silver Age that works perfectly in the Minor Threats Universe with its already established “Silver Age” era of continuity. We’re all mega comic book fanatics (obviously) on this creative team and we love pulling from all eras of comic book history.

Bellwoar: How has it been collaborating with Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum on this project and what are you most excited for readers to see?

Heague: Working with Patton and Jordan is the best. When I write Archie and The Gang, I feel like I’m hanging out with my best friends, and so now I’m writing Archie and The Gang, with my best friends, and incorporating their creations. I couldn’t ask for anything better. They have made me a better writer in every way, and the knowledge I take from this experience will definitely be used in my future projects. Forever grateful.

There is so much I am excited for readers to see, things that will hopefully bring smiles and shock to both fanbases but I think for me the ultimate moment that I can mention without giving away too much and not spoiling anything is Archie’s trials and tribulations of being thrown into a world of crime, seeing how he handles all the blood and carnage, and of course, the moment where Archie has to welcome it and become one with it. Oh my god, I’ve said too much, I’ve said too mu–… *end transmission*

Bellwoar: If you could spend time in Riverdale or Twilight City, which town would you choose?

Heague: *transmission resumes* Wow, tough question! In the words of Principal Weatherbee– “Egads!” I’ve technically spent more time in Riverdale than I have Twilight due to my previous work for Archie, but there’s just things I love about both of them, yes even with all the chaos, crime, and destruction, I’d still probably buy a summer home in Twilight City (okay, maybe not it’s rougher part of town, Redport) but it’s still just so hard to say. I think I’d need to spend more time in Twilight City to get you a fair answer. How about this! *lightbulb*! If the series does well and gets a great response, hopefully fans want a sequel, and then I get to spend more time in Twilight City to figure this answer out! Yeah! And hey, of course I already got an idea for it… In the meantime, do us a favor and preorder Archie Vs Minor Threats #1, yeah! It’s coming for you on August 6th! Drink Milkshakes. Do crime. Period.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Timmy!

Archie vs. Minor Threats #1 goes on sale August 6th from Dark Horse Comics. The FOC date is Monday, June 30th.