Betty & Veronica: Vixens #1

History

The concept originated with Jamie L. Rotante, who at the time worked in Archie's New York office as a proofreader and editor; Archie CEO and publisher Jon Goldwater immediately championed the pitch, describing Rotante as 'a huge talent' whose take on the characters 'had to be out there.' Rotante has cited tonal inspiration from Russ Meyer's exploitation film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, aiming for a rockabilly-inflected action energy that had never been attempted with these characters. Eva Cabrera, whose profile had risen through work at Black Mask Studios, joined as interior artist, completing what Den of Geek identified as the first all-female creative staff on a significant Archie title. The book launched on November 22, 2017, ran for ten issues, and was collected in two trade paperback volumes — Volume 1 (issues #1–5, ISBN 978-1-68255-899-7) and Volume 2 (issues #6–10, ISBN 978-1-68255-879-9) — both published in 2018.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of the Vixens as a named all-female biker gang concept within Archie continuity, led by Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge.
• First issue went on sale November 22, 2017; published by Archie Comic Publications as a new ongoing series under the Betty & Veronica banner.
• Identified by Den of Geek as the first Archie Comics title to carry an all-female creative team on a major ongoing series: writer Jamie L. Rotante, artist Eva Cabrera, colorist Elaina Unger, and letterer Rachel Deering.
• Issue #1 was published with three cover variants: Cover A by interior artist Eva Cabrera, Cover B by Robert Hack, and Cover C by Fiona Staples (Saga).
• The story establishes that Archie Andrews and Reggie Mantle form a rival male biker gang called the Battlin' Boys, whose failure against the South Side Serpents prompts Betty to restore her grandfather's old motorbike and co-found the Vixens with Veronica.
• Rotante drew on Bob Bolling's classic Little Archie stories for the Serpents gang concept, merging that source material with the version popularized by the CW's Riverdale television series.
• The series ran ten issues total; the first five were collected in Betty & Veronica: Vixens Vol. 1 (ISBN 978-1-68255-899-7) and issues #6–10 in Vol. 2 (ISBN 978-1-68255-879-9), both released in 2018.
• Waldo Weatherbee (Principal Weatherbee), Cheryl Blossom, Toni Topaz, Midge Klump, Ethel Muggs, and Moose Mason all appear across the series, with the issue's character roster confirmed by Grand Comics Database indexing.

Cast · 5 characters

Full credits

Variants (2)