Upcoming Archie Gender Swap Issue

One of my guilty pleasures is Archie comic books, and I was pleased to find out some interesting details about the upcoming Issue 636 that will hit newsstands around August 22.

It will contain a story called 'The Great Switcheroo' that involves Sabrina the Teenage Witch and her cat Salem.  It will focus on gender and the perceptions of gender roles by having gender swapped versions of Archie, Betty and Veronica as they become Archina, Billy and Ronnie.

It happens after Salem hears the denizens of Riverdale articulating the age old grumbling about how the other gender has it easier, then casts a magic spell that flips the gender script.

Hmm.  Looking forward to reading this one if I can get my hands on it when it hits the newsstand of my fave local comic book store.   

This also isn't the first time Archie has been reimagined in the other gender.    In Issue 516 there was a story called 'The Other Side Of The Fence' in which Archie's mother, frustrated about being the lone estrogen based lifeform in the house and raising a teenage son imagines what life would be like if Archie had been born a girl.   

She changes her mind after having lunch with Mrs. Lodge and Mrs. Cooper and they talk about the drama their daughters Veronica and Betty put them through..

At any rate, really looking forward to adding this one to my collection.