Here is the cover to ARCHIE # 610 which was Part 1 of the four-part revival of The Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E.. The Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E. was one of the most fun projects I was ever involved with. A big part of the thrill was working with writer, the legendary editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, Tom DeFalco, who’s work I used to read and love as a kid and as a fan. Tom writes a perfect “artist’s script” where he gives me enough info to know what’s going on and plenty of room to play and have fun.
Covers are often needed very early on in the process so that they’re included in Previews and retailers can order the book. At the time, I was asked for the covers to all four parts of this story, the script still hadn’t been written. All I had to work with were a few two-sentence synopses of each issue. I wanted to take a James Bond movie poster approach to the cover of the first issue, but the subsequent covers (which I may post at a later date) feature scenes that never took place in the story. The R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E. uniforms which Betty and Veronica are sporting on this cover were designed by me but don’t make an appearance until I squeezed them in on the last page of the last issue.
Shari the Spy Girl, also featured on the cover, was created by Tom and designed by me. I always thought she had great potential but she would only return when I would slip her into my crowd scenes especially in Life With Archie. Maybe someday Shari will get more story time…
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