Right off the bat, I need to make it clear that this is NOT an actual cover for Afterlife With Archie #11. I did this strictly for fun. It is not anything that was intended to be published or most likely ever will be published.
As far as I know Afterlife With Archie series just… “stopped”… with #10. I believe there never was a #11 which is why I chose #11 as the number on this faux cover. This was a popular series with an extremely loyal and interested fan base. Unfortunately… for reasons I’m not going to get into here… the book just “stopped.” It’s important to note that… as far as I know and to be honest, I’ve stopped paying attention… the book was never officially cancelled by Archie Comics. They may have declared it “on hiatus” which has become a much ridiculed phrase over at the Fans of Archie Facebook page. The seasoned veterans of that page have become hardened over Archie Comics’ very liberal use of the term “on hiatus” to describe a book that is no longer being produced. I guess Archie feels that announcing that a book has been cancelled has too negative a connotation so instead they’ve famously declared many of their aborted series to be “on hiatus.” Now many observant fans have come to learn… usually the hard way… that “on hiatus” has become synonymous with “It’s never coming back.” I don’t know of any series declared to be “on hiatus” that ever did resume publishing. “On hiatus” has come to mean “It’s cancelled forever.”
The Fans Of Archie Facebook page has become so jaded to the “On Hiatus” line that they’ve turned it into an inside recurring joke. I think the page has made the “on hiatus” line so ridiculous that I think even Archie Comics can’t bring themselves to use it anymore. If you’re interested in the Fans Of Archie Facebook page, you can visit it here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Archiecomicfans
It really is one of the best Archie Comics fan pages out there. They’re honest and they will allow unbiased criticism of the company and its product.
Afterlife With Archie is probably the most notorious victim of “On Hiatus Syndrome.” I think to this day Archie Comics has not publicly admitted that this series is outright cancelled and will never come back. If they have any plans for it, I don’t know. Of course, these days, I’m very far removed from the pipeline of information.
The legendary John Byrne once said… and I’m paraphrasing… Since Marvel wasn’t doing The Fantastic Four, he may as well do it. When he said this, he was speaking satirically. Marvel Comics was still in fact publishing The Fantastic Four but the title had hit a not very well regarded period and Byrne was in the middle of his Danger Unlimited series for Dark Horse Comics which was very much an homage to the F.F. This is the philosophy I had with this piece. Since Archie Comics isn’t doing Afterlife With Archie anymore, I may as well do it.
This piece is currently in the talented hands of the great Anwar Hanano who is coloring. I may offer it as a print later. Keep checking back here for updates.
I may also just restart the Afterlife With Archie series myself… just for kicks. What do you think? Should I bother? Please let me know in the comments below.
Thanks, Everybody!
