Continuing its efforts to revitalize a classic brand, Archie Comics has announced a new round of measures to keep its characters and storylines contemporary. Eisner Award winners Mark Waid, a DC comics writer, and artist Fiona Staples, who illustrates Brian K. Vaughan's Saga series, will relaunch the flagship Archie series in 2015 with updated character designs and a new story focused on the triangle of Archie, Betty, and Veronica.
Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater told PW that the relaunch is in anticipation of Archie’s 75th anniversary in 2016. He said Waid and Staples will “create a surprising and definitive take on Archie’s origin – a story that has never been. The book will bring back some of the bite of Archie’s original tales in a modern, forward-looking manner, while still retaining the character’s all-ages appeal.”
Goldwater said he expected the relaunch to drive Archie’s book publishing program. The house has been aggressively adding trade paperbacks and hardcover art books to its publishing program in recent years, releasing more than 50 new books of varying formats from 2010–2014.
“All our comics lead to books; the two feed off each other,” Goldwater said, noting that bookstore sales of Archie titles have increased 736% since 2008. Archie publishes trade paperback collections of its comics series, including The Married Life, which shows in alternate sequences what might happen if Archie married Betty or Veronica. Archie’s book program has also had success with the Best of Archie – squat, 1,000-page print digests that sell hundreds of thousands of copies. The house also publishes superhero comics under its Dark Circle imprint.
The revamped series by Waid and Staples will be collected into trade paperbacks, and Goldwater also expects new book projects to come from an Archie-related TV special that will debut in 2015. The one-hour drama, which will air on Fox, will be produced by Warner Bros. Studios and Berlanti Productions, and written by Archie Comics chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Aguirre-Sacasa joined Archie in 2014 and has been responsible for creating Archie Afterlife and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, two popular series aimed at adults that reimagine the characters in serious horror comics scenarios. Archie has also announced an agreement with designer Marc Ecko, who will design a line of Archie apparel for teens and adults.
“We have an eye on the TV special and there are more book events to come as we get closer to the 75th anniversary," Goldwater said. "We’re looking to expand our program with special projects that have not yet been announced, which will be available early next year.”
