Archie Comics to cross over with Minor Threats. IDW teaming up with WEBTOON. Mad Cave is launching a digital storefront.
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Episode Transcript:
Archie meets Minor Threats.
IDW teams up with WEBTOON.
Mad Cave launches digital storefront.
This is Comic Book Club News for April 16, 2025.
Archie Comics To Cross Over With Minor Threats:
Here’s the most unexpected crossover event of the month — and maybe the year: Archie Comics and Dark Horse Comics are teaming up for Archie Vs. Minor Threats, a four-issue series that will send the teens of Riverdale on a collision course with Twilight City.
Written by Patton Oswalt, Timmy Heague and Jordan Blum, the four-issue miniseries will also feature art by Scott Koblish. Said Oswalt, “Not since Alan Moore’s WATCHMEN crossed over with Bazooka Joe has there been a comics match-up as made in heaven as this one! Prepare to be TRANSPORTED.”
In the series, the Riverdale teens head to Twilight City on a field trip, when a spell by Sabrina sends them to the part of town controlled by the Minor Threats gang. Suddenly the teens find themselves stuck in a war between Frankie Follis, aka Playtime, and magic users on her turf.
Archie vs. Minor Threats #1 hits stores on August 6, 2025.
IDW Teams Up With WEBTOON:
IDW Publishing is teaming up with WEBTOON to make vertical scrolling versions of some of their books available on the popular platform. It’ll all start on April 25 with Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, They Called Us Enemy, and Godzilla: Unnatural Disasters.
The joint publishers promise this is the first of many comics coming to the platform — may I humbly suggest you do Locke & Key next? — and this also marks the continued embracing of the vertical scroll format from mainstream comic book publishers. Archie Comics and DC Comics have jumped to the WEBTOON platform, while DC and Marvel have both been releasing vertical scroll comics on their own.
Mad Cave Launches Digital Storefront:
Speaking of digital, Mad Cave is launching a digital storefront called, appropriately, Mad Cave Digital.
The news comes via ICv2, which notes that fans will be able to buy titles from all of Mad Cave’s imprints on a “pay-per-download basis,” as well as early access to some titles a week before the physical release. They’ll also make available Series Bundles, which, “lets readers subscribe to a series digitally, then receive a physical trade collection shipped direct once the series is wrapped.”
While both of these features seem very cool, Allison Pond, VP of Marketing for Mad Cave Studios addressed concerns retailers may have, noting, “Retailers have always been competing with web comics and the digital space… I don’t know if Early Access is going to be forever, but we’re doing it in celebration of the launch. We’re very open to feedback and are trying to be communicative. We want our customers happy and our retailers happy.”
Pond also notes that they’re working on a retailer portal so, “they can access their own digital preview PDFs. We’re also working on a direct ordering portal so they can get automatic discounts applied to their retail stores, earn points for their stores, and unlock incentives.”
Mad Cave Digital will launch on April 22.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And we’re looking into a vertical scroll option for this podcast, but it’s audio so I don’t know how that would work.
Got tips or stories you’d like us to cover? Email us at comicbookclublive@gmail.com.
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