Archie and friends will do battle with a Sharknado this summer.
© Archie Comics

In recent years, Archie Comics has branched out considerably from the well-worn territory of teen love triangles for which the Riverdale gang is so well known. The classic comic book series has embraced pop culture crossovers with titles like Archie vs. Predator and Archie Meets Glee, and now, Lisa de Moraes reports for Deadline, it’s embracing the cultural zeitgeist with Archie vs. Sharknado. (ed. note: It has also branded itself as penis! penis! penis!)

The campy made-for-TV disaster movie Sharknado premiered on Syfy in July 2013 and was an immediate hit on social media. The ridiculousness of the movie made it an ideal live-tweeting phenomenon; it became a trending topic on Twitter, with celebrities like Damon Lindelof, Mia Farrow, Olivia Wilde, and Patton Oswalt adding to the frenzy of online buzz. Syfy quickly green-lit a sequel and embraced the support from social media, running a contest on Twitter to choose the follow-up’s title (they eventually went with the delightfully obvious Sharknado 2: The Second One).

The Archie crossover is scheduled to coincide with a third Syfy movie, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, which premieres this July. While the first two were set in Los Angeles and New York, respectively, the latest tornado made of sharks (that’s what it is, right?) will strike Washington, DC, Orlando, and—while it won’t be shown in the movie—Riverdale. The 48-page book is written by Sharknado director Anthony C. Ferrante, and illustrated by Archie’s Dan Parent, who’s done the art for previous crossovers, including the one with Glee and Archie Meets Kiss.

Jeff Li, a VP at Syfy, says of the project, “The Sharknado franchise has soared in popularity due partly to the variety of great celebrities, who bravely encounter this unnatural menace. Sharknado survivors come in all forms. It’s only natural that Archie and the gang will get a chance to save their town from flying sharks.”

Touché. With the third Sharknado installment doubling down on the camp factor—returnees Tara Reid and Ian Ziering will be joined by the likes of David Hasselhoff, Bo Derek, and Jerry Springer—joining forces with Archie and friends actually seems just about right. The comic book will be released on July 22, 2015, the same day that Sharknado 3 airs on Syfy.