SINGAPORE: Home-grown outfit Chiral Comics has teamed up with American comic book publisher Archie Comics to launch a Singapore-themed variant cover for the first issue of Betty & Veronica: Summer Fun In The Sun.
The exclusive book cover – where main character Archie dons an “I Love SG” shirt while his best friend Jughead munches on durian – features the characters from the popular franchise (1942 to present) exploring the country’s iconic Gardens by the Bay.
It is limited to 300 copies worldwide. Priced at $25.55 each, pre-orders started on July 19 at www.chiralcomics.com. Select Singapore comics retailers like Kalibak Komiks and 1to3 Comics will also carry it.
This SG60 book cover collaboration involves local comic artist Kang Jing (also known as KJ), who was the penciler and inker, and Italy-based freelance comic colourist Daniele Caramanico, who did the colouring.
KJ established Chiral Comics, a Singapore-based art studio which specialises in comic book publishing and visual storytelling, in 2021, and reportedly started working on the Archie project in April 2025.
The 31-year-old, who has been sketching anime characters since he was six, began his comics career in 2019. His debut series The World My Arena (2021 to 2022) has since been adapted into an animated video, and other notable works include bilingual webcomic series Save Me From Chloe (2021) and Zhao (2023), an original wuxia comic series.
KJ has also worked on seven Star Wars-themed projects with Topps, an American trading card manufacturer.
And in 2024, he illustrated a Singapore-themed variant cover featuring the Singapore skyline for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #122 comic. All 525 copies released at comic convention Singapore Comic Con 2024 were sold out. - The Straits Times/ANN
