ARCHIE & RIVERDALE GET A NEW LOOK

[roony]

Originally Posted by antillestk

Ummmmmm........ Okay!!!!!

I'm all for progress and all that jazz, but Archie with a new more realistic style? I may have a little bit of a hard time with this.

Because come on let's face it. We never read it for Archie Betty or Veronica. We read it for Jughead and that stupid hat.

It's the truth. Archie and Co. can suck it if Jughead and his hat isn't there.

[Kolimar]

Originally Posted by antillestk

Ummmmmm........ Okay!!!!!

I'm all for progress and all that jazz, but Archie with a new more realistic style? I may have a little bit of a hard time with this.

Because come on let's face it. We never read it for Archie Betty or Veronica. We read it for Jughead and that stupid hat.

We? Who's "we", kemosabe? That said, Jughead and his hat are important factors of the equation.

[GohanWinner]

I always rather liked Archie's cartoony look. I've never even read Archie, but personally, I don't think it can do much harm. If they lose sales, like someone else said, it'll be pretty easy to change back. It's a bit of a shock at first, but way to go Archie for trying something new.

But yeah, Jughead better have his hat.

[deadmerc]

Originally Posted by Mr Wesley

And is it just me, or does Betty look... familiar... on that cover? I feel like I should recognize her.

Nah, Betty rather looks like Wonder Woman.

Especially the "street" version when Artemis took over her title.

I actually only ever liked the Archie live action TV movie.
That was because Veronica was smoking in it.

[MCaputo]

I have two daughters, one who will be reading soon (she already has a dozen superheroes down cold - Dad's been working O.T.!)

They will NEVER see this atrocity.

Good God, what goes through people's heads?

You take the die-hardest hardcore fanboy who can rattle off Legion continuity like it's the ABCs and he would tell you, "Archie? No continuity necessary, no trendiness, no attempts at "timeliness". Just give me the round freckles, shineboxes, a jalopy and that goofy hat and we're cool."

Someone oughtta remember two words -


NEW COKE

[Gordon McAlpin]

Originally Posted by Amoebas

Here's hoping Jughead shares some hamburgers with B&V - they look anorexic.

No, they just look like teenage girls. I don't see sunken-in cheeks or bags under their eyes. Just because most Americans are fat bastards doesn't mean the thin ones have eating disorders.

That said, I'm not digging the style. I don't mind a style tweak to Archie (it's happened several times in Archie's 60-plus years), but I don't personally think "more realistic" was the best way to go.

[caats19]

i have sooo many archie digests. but i havent got one in awhile. i'll def be buying one of the new ones..not that betty and veronica one though. sooo all the artists are going to be doing this style now? aren't digests a bunch of new and old stories? so there'll still be old style. but that style HAS changed over the years and it's still a classic archie look. o wells. sounds like they're exploring and experimenting, nothing wrong with that. i'm guessing that's midge and betty. i'm 19 but pretty much grew up reading a LOT of archie comics. but i'm not totally against the switch, i'll have to read one first.

[Comic-Reader]

I actually like the new art style a lot. I don't think they're going to give up on their classic look, but consider the new look to be "Ultimate Archie."

I think a new line of Archies drawn in the more realistic style will help the company extend their readership age span by several years, which can only be good for them. Once a reader feels that he or she has outgrown the classic Archie comics, they can move up to the Ultimate line. If that's what they are testing the waters for, I think it's a great idea.

I much prefer this to the manga-makeover of Sabrina and Josie, actually, and wouldn't mind seeing those characters in the realistic style also.

I have no doubt that they won't abandon the classic DeCarlo look that has served them well since the 50s, but there's no reason they shouldn't try to keep their readership as they get older rather than just abandon them completely.

I'm actually curious enough about this to check it out when it's published. I don't see myself as buying stacks and stacks of Ultimate Archies, but I might get the first few issues of what could be an important new era for Archie Comics.

[Not From Around]

Originally Posted by Comic Mom

Direct quote from 8-year-old Sarah: "Why are they ruining Archie?!"

Well, one of the fans whose opinion really matters has spoken!

[caats19]

ahh dan decarlo and stan goldberg. first artist's name i ever recognized. since they were on every comic pretty much. and this switch does have me actually wanting to really go buy one. though i can agree that the cover sucks. the interior looks fine....OH NO. something i read over is that stories are gonna be spread over digests! THAT'S AWFUL. that's totally against the digest thing!!! now i'm closer to passing on all this.

[Peter David]

I never realized how much Buffy and Cordelia looked like Betty and Veronica until just this moment.

PAD

[chomorro]

I'm all for progress, but can they update the coloring, too? What's up with that cover, the coloring looks dated.

Archie can survive this "experiment". After all, he did survive a team-up with the Punisher.

[johnnygo]

Um, this seems really backwards.

In an attempt to alter a style which has become timeless (because NO other comic has art like Archie! That style is synonymous with Archie!), this new work actually looks... dated!

Hopefully, this will get enough attention and controversy so Archie will have a bit of a boost in popularity before they change back to classic style. Kinda like "New Coke."

But sticking with this is just stupid. Archie's style is what makes Archie Archie.

[Birmy]

I'm inclined to agree that this is wrong, especially as a fan of Dan DeCarlo's "house" style.

Steven Butler? Is that Steven "Spider-Clone" Butler? (Yes, we only remember the infamous assignments).

And, back in the early seasons of Buffy, I was totally pushing an Archie movie with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Charisma Carpenter as Betty and Veronica; it must have been Season 3, because the whole thing stemmed from a stray thought that Seth Green would have made a decent Archie if he were a bit taller...

[caats19]

ISN'T ANYBODY ELSE P'OD THAT THE STORIES WILL SPAN ACROSS DIGESTS!!?? i'm sending emails to people over archie in protest. ha.

[Kolimar]

Originally Posted by Zadillo

Definitely weird stuff......... I guess it doesn't affect me personally since I don't buy Archie comics, but still.....

If it helps sell more Archie though, why not? I'd kind of hope they might keep doing some stuff in the "old" style though.....

Seconded.

[AdamYJ]

Originally Posted by Peter David

I never realized how much Buffy and Cordelia looked like Betty and Veronica until just this moment.

PAD

Really. I was just thinking that I never realized how much Archie Andrews and Jimmy Olsen looked alike until just now. I mean, hang a camera around the neck of the new style Archie and who do you get?

[DrsGold]

Archie and company are sadly in need of a Secret Civil Invasion of Infinite Identity Crises at Zero Hour in which they are all killed and replaced by clones.

[Dman]

it would be an interesting expirement, I'd like to see if the sales go up, as long as they don't look like "supergirl" teenager but regular teenager i don't see a problem

[OM]

Originally Posted by antillestk

Because come on let's face it. We never read it for Archie Betty or Veronica. We read it for Jughead and that stupid hat.

...No ____! Either that, or the old Little Archie reprints from when he faced "Dr. Doom".

Q: How do we know Big Moose is a virgin?

A: If he wasn't, Midge would have a pair of bowed legs the likes of which haven't been seen since the Fleisher Brothers and Ub Iwerks were doing cartoons!

Originally Posted by Amoebas

Here's hoping Jughead shares some hamburgers with B&V - they look anorexic.

....Hmmm. Is Turner involved in this?

[soulsonic]

guess we better change all the names too...has anyone ever met anyone named ARCHIE?

[Punchy]

All you people complaining, it's all pointless, you haven't thought about Archie since you saw Chasing Amy, you just need something to be outraged at.

[Semicyon]

Originally Posted by Peter David

I never realized how much Buffy and Cordelia looked like Betty and Veronica until just this moment.

PAD

That's really truee... now I've gotta read those spare Archie's around with those two in mind.... see if it works.

I am wondering how many folks who have posted have *actually* bought an Archie anytime after their tweenage years (the fabulously weird Archie/Punisher x-over doesn't count). Like with the Sabrina manga-makeover you had some people who never intended to purchase, one way or the other, but wanted the company to keep the same look that they remember from their childhoods.

While the DeCarlo look has longevity, that doesn't necessarily mean it's timeless. Animation styles are different these days. That said, as another poster noted, the more realistic style might be harder to maintain standards on. Also, if the tone of the stories is going to remain the same, the more realistic style might bring distracting gravity to what was intended as a light-hearted romp. Realistic styles also can feel more dated: since the artist attempts to more faithfully capture sensory reality rather than the gist of a gesture, the images are bound to a specific time/place. If they were looking to change their style, I think something like what Ron Frenz is doing in Spider-Girl might work, but a little more cartooony.

I'll have a looksee at this. There have been subtle tweaks to Archie... MAN the 1940's Archie was not a hottie.

[CCMD]

Good idea is my first impression, i guess we'll all see if this affects sales or not.

I think it will get some press in the least, and since Archie's are one of the few comics sold outside of the direct market with the digests in grocery stores and stuff so i think this is a bold but smart move.

[Slickpuppy]

I have to wonder just how well Archie comics are still selling if they think a change this big is warranted. If Sabrina's sales picked up, I have no doubt it was specifically because of the manga style. For good or ill, that is what the younger kids who are at all into comics like these days. They're not buying super-hero comics; why would they buy Archie comics drawn in a super-hero style?

That said, I do think the new look is kinda neat. It'll take some getting used to, though.