Comic book and TV fans alike had reason to celebrate Wednesday, March 6, with the release of “Archie Meets Glee, Part 1,″ the first in a series of four issues that merge characters from Archie comics with characters from FOX's Glee.
The series, written by Glee writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and illustrated by Dan Parent, hopes to celebrate both the similarities and differences between the two worlds as the characters interact with each other. (Both Aguirre-Sacasa and Parent are openly gay.)
Glee and the Archie Comics book Kevin Keller by Dan Parent are nominated for GLAAD Media Awards in Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Comic Book respectively. Aguirre-Sacasa's play Dr. Cerberus received a nomination for Outstanding Los Angeles Theater production at the 22nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards.
Kevin Keller, the first openly gay character in the Archie universe, is "immediately intrigued" when he meets New Directions star Blaine Anderson when Blaine finds himself transported to Riverdale High. Veronica has her sights set on Finn Hudson, but manages to become best friends with Kurt Hummel.
Aguirre-Sacasa, an accomplished playwright and comic book writer, uses elements of wormholes and time warps to place the characters in the different universes. "The idea was that rather than just have them meet at a competition, to do something that was a little bit more comic bookish," he said.
Other characters set to appear in the four-issue arc include Glee's Santana, Brittany, Rachel, Sue Sylvester and Artie. "Archie Meets Glee" is available now, with the crossover storyline carried out across weekly releases for the next three weeks. Check out a preview at Speakeasy.