Archie Announces Editorial Change and Worlds Unite Battle Books

An interesting pair of announcements have come from Archie Comics today. First, it appears that Lead Editor Paul Kaminski is handing off his duties to longtime Assistant Editor Vincent Lovallo, which places him in charge of what’s to come down the line for both the Sonic  and Mega Man lines.

And on that note, there’s new and curious info regarding Worlds Unite itself. Through Comicbook.com, they’ve announced a pair of “Worlds Unite Battle Books” which will feature “new talent putting their spin on the adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man through the lens of Worlds Unite” in June.

“There are so many heroes and villains duking it out in this crossover, the main books can hardly contain it!” explains Lovallo. “The Battle Books are the best solution to make sure that we can include the characters that fans want to see. Especially with the inclusion of the other SEGA and Capcom properties in the main books, like Street Fighter and Skies of Arcadia, this was the perfect time to try this out and expand on the stories.”

The solicitation for the first Battle Book is as follows:

MEGA MAN: WORLDS UNITE BATTLES #1

ALL-NEW DIRECT MARKET-EXCLUSIVE special! There are so many epic battles in the SONIC/MEGA MAN crossover event that the biggest brawls of the bunch have exploded into their very own book! This extra-special bonus issue features exciting duels spilling over from the pages of the much-talked about “Worlds Unite” event, and feature an all-star cast of creators! Watch Mega Man bring the ruckus to the Deadly Six, the Maverick Hunters ultimate showdown with Vile and Dr. Light’s Robot Masters tussle with the unstoppable power of hero-turned-uber-villain Sonic Man! LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE! Also featuring variant art from Patrick “SPAZ” Spaziante, and a special wrap-around cover and sketch variant by Sonic and Mega Man superstars Evan Stanley & Jamal Peppers!

SCRIPT: Ian Flynn, Howard Mackie, T. Rex
ART: Ben Bates, Jamal Peppers, Brent McCarthy, Rachel Deering and Elaina Unger
Cover: Evan Stanley, Jamal Peppers, Phyllis Novin and Ben Hunzeker
Sketch Variant Cover: Evan Stanley and Jamal Peppers
United Variant Cover: Patrick “SPAZ” Spaziante
On Sale Date: 6/17
32-page, full color comic
$3.99 U.S

For the full interview with Lovallo, as well as the line art version of the second cover seen above, head on over to Comicbook.com.

Thanks for the tip, ChaosJam!

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