One of the signature elements of the Riverdale TV series has been the noir-soaked narration of actor Cole Sprouse‘s Jughead Jones. In Riverdale: The Ties That Bind, the first original graphic novel set in the world of the hit CW series, Jughead takes center stage for one of the book’s four interconnected stories. Today The Beat has an exclusive excerpt from “Nightcrawlers,” the Jughead-centric tale from writer Micol Ostow and artist Thomas Pitilli‘s new book, out in stores this week.
Along with the preview, Ostow and Pitilli both told The Beat about what went into the creation of the chapter that finds Jughead and Moose trapped in the library at Stonewall Prep:
Micol Ostow: “For Jughead’s chapter, we were still in the thick of the Stonewall Prep days of the TV show, and I was excited to see what other skeletons the school might have in its closet. I actually did a little research on the wildest boarding school scandals — there are a bunch. In the end I loved the idea of a secret society because it fit perfectly into the landscape of the Riverdale universe, and we could also set up connections to other comics or novel storylines further down the pike, if we wanted. It just felt very organic and open-ended. And it opened up possibilities for the other storylines in this collection, too.”
Thomas Pitilli: “With the backdrop of Jughead’s chapter set mainly in the Stonewall library, I really got into the setting and tried to let that environment create the proper mood and tone for that piece of the story. I think it was Todd McFarlane who once said, ‘When in doubt, black it out,’ and I definitely employed that advice to add to the mystery and moodiness of some of these pages. Also, not to give too much away, but there’s a flashback sequence in this chapter, as well, and drawing the aesthetic of that particular period of time was a lot of fun.”
Check out the exclusive twelve-page preview from Riverdale: The Ties That Bind below. The original graphic novel from Archie Comics goes on sale in comic shops this Wednesday, April 14th, and in bookstores on Tuesday, May 4th. You can also check out The Beat‘s review of the book by our resident Riverdale recapper, Billy Henehan, now.
ARCHIE’S SECOND ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL FEATURES THE WORLD OF CW’S RIVERDALE! FOUR INTERCONNECTED STORIES TRAP EACH OF OUR MAIN CHARACTERS IN A UNIQUE HIGH-STAKES CONFLICT OVER THE COURSE OF A FEW PRESSURE-COOKER HOURS!
JUGHEAD’S LOCKED IN AND LEFT BEHIND WITH MOOSE AT STONEWALL PREP, VERONICA IS TRAPPED WITH CHERYL AT A NEARBY SUBURBAN SHOPPING MALL, BETTY AND POLLY ARE STALKED BY A POSSIBLE MADMAN WHEN A GIRLS’ NIGHT GOES HORRIBLY AWRY AND ARCHIE IS HELD HOSTAGE BY A ‘LONG LOST RELATIVE’ OF FRED’S WHO’S COME TO TOWN SEEKING PAYBACK OF ANY AND EVERY KIND.
WILL ARCHIE AND COMPANY EVEN MAKE IT TO SUNRISE? IF THEY DO, WILL THEY EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN?
