Archie tale twists as cartoon icon flips for Betty

Countless comics fans were outraged earlier this year by a new storyline that featured the long-dithering cartoon hero Archie Andrews proposing to the wealthy and spoiled Veronica, spurning girl-next-door Betty.

But as many predicted, the eternal love triangle that's spanned nearly seven decades is not necessarily over, with a report in the New York Times revealing the tables will be turned in an issue slated for release in November.

The six-part story began with Archie No. 600 in August, with the carrot-topped hero literally walking down Memory Lane and, upon reaching a fork in the road, pursuing the direction that eventually led to marrying Veronica Lodge, raising their twins and working for her father.

However, the end of Archie No. 602 finds Archie back in high school and returning to Memory Lane, where this time he pursues the opposite path — leading, of course, to a life with Betty Cooper as his wife.

Michael E. Uslan — the film and TV producer, comic-book historian and Archie fan who penned the headline-grabbing series — cited Robert Frost's poem Road Not Taken, the Joni Mitchell song Both Sides, Now and the movie Sliding Doors as his inspiration.

Reaction to the storyline has been overwhelming, with new interest in the frozen-in-time teen Riverdale gang leading to skyrocketing sales of the recent issues, as well as media coverage around the globe.

Uslan told the New York Times he has indeed penned the story that reveals Archie's answer to that ubiquitous question: Betty or Veronica?

"It's up to the three of them. Everything they say, don't say, every action they take and fail to take, is going to add up to determine which of these two roads are taken. And one of them will be."