How Archie is Going to Make You Addicted to Their Brand in 2015
What will it take to get you to read an Archie Comic?
That’s the question that the good folks over at Archie have been asking for years, but now they seem to have come up with an answer. The announcement last night of the brand new Archie title seemed to bring a lot of internet fever, and for good reason. It was announced with two of the hottest creators of the comic book industry in Fiona Staples and Mark Waid. Archie comics is officially relaunching with a brand new Archie #1 via Staples and Waid. Archie and friends may be new to some readers, but their legacy extends beyond their recent reputation. Even though lapsed Archie fans are still approaching the title with some trepidation, they cannot help but ignore the big move that Archie is bringing to the character.
The big gun!
Since this cast was constructed with origins in 1939, a lot is going to have to be changed about this character to truly get fans interested in the world of Archie again. Another layer has to be added on top of these heroes to even catch the attention of the modern comics readership.
How far can the Archie cast be explored tonally?
That’s a question that was addressed head-on in Francesco Francavilla and Roberto Aguirre Sacasa’s Afterlife With Archie, which subsequently his magic. The success that the series took with stretching the liberties of the Archie-verse as far as it could go with horror roots has most certainly paid off.
Yet still, we have no idea what the hook is going to be with Mark Waid’s title. The image drawn by Fiona Staples features Archie with a guitar case looking suave, and a little older, but what else could this series possibly be about. Archie Comics CEO John L. Goldwater teased some tonal sketches with CBR:
I think you just hit the nail on the head. This is going to hearken back to the beginnings, when it was irreverent, it was funny, it was edgy, it was something that was on the humorous cutting edge. This book is going to be funny, don't get me wrong. This is going to be a humorous comic book. But it's really going to hearken back, hopefully, to some really fun visual gags.
This confirms, that yes, the team is going to be returning to some of the roots laid down with Archie originally. A character piece without any layers on top of it is going to be one of the most ambitious prospects in comics over the next couple of months. Waid and company likely have no idea what they are truly in for. However, the sheer audacity of someone trying to sell the more traditional Archie in this creative landscape really is remarkable to say the least. How the direct market is going to respond to this title is a whole new world for Archie and the rest of the team in general. With the artwork of Staples, there is no doubt that the title is going to look beautiful as long as this book is drawn by her.
What about Saga?
The artist says she is drawing the Archie crew for a total of three issues, which does, in fact, seem kind of small, and might even disappoint some longtime fans of the character looking for this to be more permanent. However, the artist does need to resume her work on Saga with Brian K. Vaughan at some point.
Let’s talk Riverdale!
This leads to the other huge announcement at the Archie world--Riverdale. The television property was just described as ‘Archie meets Twin Peaks.’ This, of course, is another bold addition to the Archie world. It also, might be something that is completely unnecessary and has the potential to be absolutely horrible. However, it goes to show that Archie is continuing to take even more chances with the intellectual properties. Whether or not the show will actually work is very much still in question. However, if this comic is successful, maintaining this brand along with the comic has the possibility to create some incredible synergy with the branding that could really get some readers drunk on everything that Archie has to offer.
Did Archie make a mistake?
Finally, there is one pretty major thing that Archie has done wrong over the past couple of months. With a lot of their bold moves hitting readers pretty hard, there is one that was just downright inexcusable--’The Death of Archie’ in Life With Archie #36 was a wonderful tale, and a surprisingly incredible storyline that really stuck with readers. The way in which the tale was constructed is incredibly genius, and only added layers to everything preceding the issue. However, it’s been a long time since then, and Archie still hasn’t followed up on what’s next for that storyline or title. This is not how a company should be building a brand. Archie had some incredible momentum in how they moved the character in that series, and maintaining the title without Archie would have been more than suitable at the moment. It’s long past time for the group to announce what could be next.
Possible futures?
Author Dan Parent really showed off how he could stretch Archie as a character to his fullest potential in that storyline and bend the mythos with incredible success, but it would be interesting to see him continuing to do that. Something like an Archie 'Twilight Zone', where Parent presents something new for Archie and friends in each issue would most definitely get readers interested in what Archie had to offer for the year.
In closing...
All in all, things are looking up for the brand of the character whose company is more than willing to try a horde of new ideas with the character. Archie as the brand has never been more popular or interesting in the direct market as it has been for decades. Comic Book News UK will be continuing to publish as much content about the fascinating brand as humanly possible.
