ARCHIE COMICS FIRST LOOKS -- DAN PARENT

Artist Dan Parent talks about Archie's Pals 'n' Gals #131 and Veronica #194, both are due in stores on May 6th.

Question: For readers who may not be familiar with the characters, who are Frankie and Maria?

Parent: Frankie and Maria are a couple who have been in the Archie universe since the 1970's. They date exclusively -- except for the occasional story where they break up -- but for the most part are a solid couple. Frankie is a professional guitar player and budding rock star, which takes some time away form Maria. Maria is supportive of Frankie, while she explores what she wants to do for a future career.

Question: We haven't seen a lot of solo stories with Frankie. What focused the spotlight on Frankie?

Parent: Frankie is an interesting character, and his desire for a musical career is something a lot of people can relate to.

Question: Why do Betty & Veronica go to the Pembroke Prom?

Parent: Betty and Veronica go to the Pembrooke prom since they figure it's payback time for Cheryl Blossom, who's always "crashing" the Riverdale proms.

Question: Do they miss their own prom to crash the Pembroke Prom?

Parent: They do miss their own prom to crash the Pembrooke prom, but the story works out to where there's not a total loss. You'll have to read the actual story to see how the situation resolves itself, since I don't want to give too much away.

Question: With Cheryl no longer chasing after Archie, why aren't Betty & Veronica content to have Archie to themselves?

Parent: Even though Cheryl has a new boyfriend, she'll always be shaking things up with Betty and Veronica. It's in her nature!

Question: Only the first part of the story is in Veronica #194, where can fans find part two?

Parent: The conclusion to the "Prom Crashers" story can be found in Betty #180.