But I was most interested in the upcoming "Farewell Betty and Veronica" storyline that will be starting in this month's BETTY & VERONICA #272. In this story, Betty and Veronica will be leaving Riverdale as part of a foreign exchange student project.
Here is the description for BETTY & VERONICA #272:
Farewell … Betty & Veronica?! The time has come for Riverdale to say goodbye to two of America’s most beloved teens! How will their friends, family, and especially Archie cope? How will Betty & Veronica handle life when they’re separated from everyone and everything they’ve ever known? Find out what happens in the groundbreaking and tear-jerking “The Beginning of the End…” part 1!And here is the description for BETTY & VERONICA #273:
Get ready for the adventure of Betty and Veronica’s lives in FAREWELL BETTY & VERONICA PART 2! Betty and Veronica are getting tired of their lives in Riverdale! Day in, day out, it seems that nothing ever changes! But there is a light at the end of the tunnel: an escape, an adventure! The Riverdale School Board has approved the chance to send a student overseas in a rotating student exchange program for one school year. The catch is that only ONE student can go! Betty and Veronica are in for the fight of their lives, as they campaign against each other for the one chance get into the exchange program!
But here is the "Farewell Betty and Veronica" portion of the SDCC 2014 Archie Panel:
The final piece of news is set to answer the question: “What would happen if Betty and Veronica bailed?” The incoming “Farewell Betty and Veronica” story launches next month and runs into next year. “Betty and Veronica have been the heart and soul of Archie comics, respectively, for 73 and 72 years. I love shaking up the dynamics in Riverdale, and finding a way to jar everybody’s sensibilities,” (writer Michael) Uslan said. This story offers the chance to do that by sending the pair on a foreign exchange trip to Europe, Asia, and different parts of the world. On the home front, “all the energy is going to be sucked out of Riverdale. What is going to happen, for the first time in all these years, with them not being there? It gives everyone a chance to reevaluate themselves and who they are. Everything seems just lifeless… until the two other foreign exchange students replacing them show up in Riverdale,” he teased. The multicultural duo -- one girl is from India and one is from France -- will change Riverdale and Archie forever.The parts involving Betty and Veronica sound like a lot of fun, but I am wondering about these two new queen bees who show up in Riverdale. Who are they? I have no clue about the French girl, but...
“Meanwhile we are going to follow Betty and Veronica overseas... (Uslan) went on to reveal that at one point in the story, the two will actually trade identities for the first time in 73 years and “learn exactly what it means to be a Betty and exactly what it means to be a Veronica.”
We recently met a new Indian pop star over back in ARCHIE #650. Not only that, but she started attending classes at Riverdale High School at the end of that storyline. She's rich and famous, she has the potential to be a big diva, and she knows how to pull a string of two. Can we please see more of Amisha Mehta???
Who knows? If this plays out well, this might turn into an ongoing series featuring the misadventures of Amisha and Valerie! Well... One can hope...
Anyway, don't forget to preorder your copy of BETTY & VERONICA #272. It's currently scheduled for release on August 20th. This promises to be a fun story!