Bite Sized Archie by Ron Cacace and Vincent Lovallo is an adorable and meme-worthy incarnation of America’s favorite teenager (and if you’ve spent a lot of time here at Stately Beat Manor, you’ve probably seen one or two strips already).
The deceptively straightforward four-panel format hides layer after layer of jokes and references, which will be revealed by Cacace and Lovallo in the behind-the-scenes commentary and process pictures included in the upcoming TPB collection of the title… but you can get your first glimpse at a few of these pages (and the secrets contained therein) right here, today at The Beat!
Bite Sized Archie
If you didn’t realize it already, Cacace and Lovallo aren’t just collaborators, they’re also real life friends! Here’s what they had to say about working together:
CACACE: “I’m incredibly lucky to be able to work with my friend Vincent Lovallo on BITE SIZED ARCHIE. Vin is an amazingly talented artist and it’s completely ridiculous that I get to work with him all the time. He should be designing theme park mascots and designing cartoons for animation studios, he’s really that good. Wait, I think he’s actually done one of those things already! In any case, it’s a true pleasure to collaborate with Vin and see all the extra touches and easter eggs that he adds to the comics. It’s the highlight of my week, every week!”
LOVALLO: “If you couldn’t already tell from his writing, Ron is a genuinely funny, witty, and friendly guy. Over the years we’ve become great friends, sharing stories about life, what games we’re playing or anime we’ve been watching. Professionally, we’ve even produced a few short comic strips together prior to BITE SIZED ARCHIE, so going into this series we already had a great rapport. We’re always open to each other’s ideas and share the desire to make every strip the best it can be! I’m truly grateful for everything Ron has done to help make this series happen!”
The pair also explained the concept behind the strip:
CACACE: “The goal of this comic was quite simple: We want you to laugh. Failing that, we’ll settle for a brief sudden exhale from your nose, the kind you make when something is sorta funny but not laugh-out-loud funny.”
LOVALLO: “We’re always trying to push these characters to their most extreme, both in writing and art. It’s still your favorite characters from the town of Riverdale but dialed up to 11! We also love throwing in references to classic fan favorite elements from Archie’s 80+ year history, so be on the lookout for easter eggs throughout the series!”
CACACE: “Our collection takes a year’s worth of comic strips that originally ran on social media and adds extra details and behind the scenes explanations. So, while you’re not reading the Halloween comic on Halloween, you’re getting a fuller glimpse of our creative process and what went into the script and artwork. You also don’t really need to know much about Archie to enjoy these comics; that’s by design, but if you’re a dedicated fan there are references and jokes that will hit differently!”
As you’ll see in the preview pages below, Cacace and Lovallo turned to a plethora of memes, pop culture references, and pop culture referencing-memes for the irresistible strip… and the BTS commentary will help you identify all of them!
Bad News, Jughead: The Cake is a Lie
The direct market on-sale date for the Bite Sized Archie TPB is April 27th, 2022, and the collection will feature 112 full color pages and a cover by series artist Lovallo.
Will you be picking up the collection when it arrives at your LCS? What do you think of the preview pages included below this article? Have you had a chance to check out this additional preview for the TPB?
The Beat wants to hear from you! Let us know, either here in the comment section or over on social media @comicsbeat!
