125-492: Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics ) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York . The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews , Jughead Jones , Betty Cooper , Veronica Lodge , Reggie Mantle , Sabrina Spellman , Josie and the Pussycats and Katy Keene . The company is also known for its long-running Sonic
250-487: A naturalistic style of superheroes with human failings, fears, and inner demons - heroes who squabbled and worried about the likes of paying the rent. In contrast to the super-heroic do-gooder archetypes of established superheroes at the time, this ushered in a revolution. With dynamic artwork by Kirby, Steve Ditko , Don Heck , and others, complementing Lee's colorful, catchy prose, the new style became very popular among teenagers and college students who could identify with
375-628: A GLAAD award for Outstanding Comic Book the following year. In March 2011, a copy of Archie Comics #1, first published in 1942, was sold at auction for $ 167,300, a record for a non-superhero comic book. In April 2011, Archie Comics became the first mainstream comic-book publisher to make its entire line available digitally on the same day as the print release. At the New York Comic Con in October 2011, Archie Comics announced that its superheroes would return as an all-digital line under
500-812: A PDF on the magazine's website. In the mid-1960s, during the period fans and historians call the Silver Age of Comic Books , Archie switched its superheroes to a new imprint, " Mighty Comics Group," with the MLJ heroes done in the campy humor of the Batman TV show . This imprint ended in 1967. In the early 1970s, Archie Enterprises Inc. went public . Just over 10 years later, Louis Silberkleit's son Michael and John Goldwater's son Richard returned Archie Comic Publications to private ownership. Michael Silberkleit served as chairman and co-publisher, while Richard Goldwater served as president and co-publisher. Coyne retired in
625-590: A kilt while ringing the bell of Riverdale . Archie Andrews debuted in Pep Comics #22 ( cover-dated Dec. 1941). He is the only child of Mary and Fred Andrews. His father works as a mid-level business executive. His mother, initially a homemaker, takes a job at a real estate agency in later years. His earlier life is revealed in the "Little Archie" stories when he had a dog named Spotty. Archie lives in Riverdale , where he attends Riverdale High School. Archie
750-498: A tabloid -sized, 10-by-15-inch (250 mm × 380 mm), 36-page magazine with a card-stock, non-glossy cover. An anthology , it mixed humor features such as the funny animal comic "Pelion and Ossa" and the college-set "Jigger and Ginger" with such dramatic fare as the Western strip "Jack Woods" and the " yellow-peril " adventure "Barry O'Neill", featuring a Fu Manchu -styled villain, Fang Gow. Issue #6 (Oct. 1935) brought
875-498: A Siegel/Shuster creation from the slush pile and used it as the cover feature (but only as a backup story) in Action Comics #1 (June 1938). The duo's alien hero, Superman , was dressed in a cape and colorful tights. The costume, influenced by Flash Gordon 's attire from 1934, evoked circus aerial performers and circus strongmen, and Superman became the archetype of the " superheroes " that would follow. In early 1939,
1000-504: A close friend and confidante. He likes that she is always available as a back-up when he does not have a date with Veronica. He dislikes it when Betty dates other boys, wanting her to stay available as his second choice. Now that Betty sporadically dates Jason Blossom and Adam Chisholm , Archie shows a tinge of jealousy. Archie is married to Betty in Archie Marries Betty: Life With Archie series and
1125-680: A collection of English-language newspaper inserts originally published in Europe as the 1837 book Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois by Rodolphe Töpffer . The G. W. Dillingham Company published the first known proto-comic-book magazine in the US, The Yellow Kid in McFadden's Flats , in 1897. A hardcover book, it reprinted material—primarily the October 18, 1896, to January 10, 1897, sequence titled "McFadden's Row of Flats"—from cartoonist Richard F. Outcault 's newspaper comic strip Hogan's Alley , starring
1250-428: A few days later as "Weird Comic Book Fantasy" with the character names changed. In 2014, Aguirre-Sacasa would become Archie's Chief Creative Officer. Bill Yoshida learned comic book lettering from Ben Oda and was hired in 1965 by Archie Comics, where he averaged 75 pages a week for 40 years for an approximate total of 156,000 pages. Archie Comics sued music duo The Veronicas for trademark infringement in 2005 over
1375-748: A former elementary-school art teacher, was given responsibility for scholastic and theater projects, and Jon Goldwater, a former rock/pop music manager, was responsible for running the company's day-to-day publishing and entertainment efforts. The company sued Silberkleit in July 2011, and Goldwater filed another lawsuit against her in January 2012, alleging she was making bad business decisions and alienating staff; she in turn sued him for defamation. As of February 2012, New York Supreme Court Judge Shirley Kornreich, in Manhattan , had fined Silberkleit $ 500 for violating
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#17327720567671500-491: A full series launch in 1993, which incorporated elements from the 1993 animated series by DiC Entertainment . The series ran for over 20 years, becoming the longest-running comic series based on a video game by 2008. On April 4, 2003, Dad's Garage Theatre Company in Atlanta was scheduled to debut a new play by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa , Archie's Weird Fantasy, which depicted Riverdale's most famous resident coming out of
1625-428: A game. Automobiles are one of Archie's hobbies, and he is passionate about his car. For decades, he was shown driving a 1916 Ford Model T jalopy called "Betsy". In Archie double digest No. 192, it is said to be a Model A . In a story during which Archie tried to have his jalopy insured, he described it as being a " Ford , Chevy , Plymouth , Pierce-Arrow , Packard , DeSoto , Hudson ..." explaining that his jalopy
1750-603: A million copies a month each; comics provided very popular cheap entertainment during World War II especially among soldiers, but with erratic quality in stories, art, and printing. In the early 1940s, over 90 percent of girls and boys from seven to seventeen read comic books. In 1941, H. G. Peter and William Moulton Marston , created the female superhero character Wonder Woman , who debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941) and Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman in 1942. MLJ 's Pep Comics debuted as
1875-640: A month. Archie is set in the fictional small town of Riverdale. The New York Times postulated that "the cartoonist Bob Montana inked the original likenesses of Archie and his pals and plopped them in an idyllic Midwestern community named Riverdale because Mr. Goldwater, a New Yorker, had fond memories of time spent in Hiawatha, Kansas ." However, others have noted resemblance between Riverdale and Haverhill, Massachusetts , where Bob Montana attended Haverhill High School . Initially, MLJ started out publishing humor and adventure strips in anthology comic books as
2000-468: A new first issue in July 2015. The new series would be a modern take on the Archie characters by writer Mark Waid and artist Fiona Staples , featuring serialized storylines. After the first three issues, Annie Wu drew an issue, followed by new regular artist Veronica Fish . The new title received IGN's "Best New Comic Series of 2015" award. The first title in the company's "New Riverdale" universe, Archie
2125-502: A new story in which the one and only Mr. Lodge owned an antique car that had a strong resemblance to Archie's jalopy. The story featured Archie's grandfather who, as a teenager, looked and dressed like Archie from the 1940s. It turned out that he owned the same jalopy that Mr. Lodge now owned. The Archies is a garage band containing Archie (vocals and rhythm guitar), Reggie (bass), Veronica (vocals and keyboards), Betty (vocals, lead guitar and percussion), and Jughead (drums). Archie founded
2250-406: A note of apology in a subsequent issue of Help! The story was reprinted in the book collection Executive Comic Book in 1962, with the artwork modified by Elder to obscure the appearance of the Archie characters. Archie Comics found their appearance still too close to its copyrighted properties, and threatened another lawsuit. Kurtzman and Elder settled out of court by handing over the copyright to
2375-455: A number of high-profile talents, but it cancelled this attempt before publishing a single issue. Having licensed Archie's MLJ Superheroes in 1991, DC Comics launched its imprint Impact Comics with these heroes. In 1992, Archie partnered with Sega to create a four-part Sonic the Hedgehog comic book miniseries based on the video game series of the same name . This was continued with
2500-458: A number of high-profile talents, including Steve Englehart , Jim Valentino , Marv Wolfman , Michael Bair , Kelley Jones , and Rob Liefeld . Planned Spectrum titles included The Fly , The Fox , Hangman , Jaguar , Mister Justice , and The Shield . Ultimately, Archie cancelled Spectrum Comics before publishing a single issue. In 2012, Archie Comics relaunched its superhero imprint, Red Circle Comics , as an all-digital line under
2625-510: A profound impact upon the American comic-book industry. Their popularity, along with mainstream media attention and critical acclaim, combined with changing social tastes, led to a considerably darker tone in comic books during the 1990s nicknamed by fans as the "grim-and-gritty" era. The growing popularity of antiheroes such as Wolverine and the Punisher exemplified this change, as did
SECTION 20
#17327720567672750-442: A promotional item to consumers who mailed in coupons clipped from Procter & Gamble soap and toiletries products. The company printed 10,000 copies. The promotion proved a success, and Eastern Color that year produced similar periodicals for Canada Dry soft drinks , Kinney Shoes , Wheatena cereal and others, with print runs of from 100,000 to 250,000. Also in 1933, Gaines and Wildenberg collaborated with Dell to publish
2875-580: A radio show; and the Wizard, who shared a title with the Shield. Later revivals of the MLJ superheroes occurred under a number of imprints: Archie Adventure Series, Mighty Comics, Red Circle Comics and one aborted attempt, Spectrum Comics. Archies Publications then licensed them out to DC Comics in the 1990s for Impact Comics universe imprint then again in 2008 for a DC Universe integrated Red Circle line. Archie's Silver Age relaunch of its superheroes under
3000-504: A result of a shooting outside a school in Philadelphia. The launch continued with The Fox (April 2015), picking up where Red Circle's The Fox series had left. The series was co-written by Dean Haspiel and Mark Waid with art by Haspiel. The Shield #1 (Oct. 2015) from co-writers Chuck Wendig and Adam Christopher and artist Drew Johnson debuted a new, female Shield named Victoria Adams. The Hangman #1 (Nov. 2015) introduced
3125-613: A scallop-cut brim, and decorated with assorted pinbacks) and an inscrutable, closed-eyelid expression. Often Jughead has to help Archie out from a tricky situation. Jughead usually knows when Archie's ideas will not work, but is powerless to avoid getting involved. Reggie Mantle is Archie's constant romantic and athletic rival. Each often makes attempts to separate the other from Veronica, occasionally exhibiting physical violence, and both have won their fair share of scrapes with each other. Reggie takes every opportunity to play practical jokes on Archie and make cynical wisecracks. However, Reggie
3250-520: A set of five 44-cent commemorative postage stamps on the theme "Sunday Funnies", issued July 16, 2010. The Archie stamp featured Veronica, Archie, and Betty sharing a chocolate milkshake . The other stamps depicted characters from the comic strips Beetle Bailey , Calvin and Hobbes , Garfield , and Dennis the Menace . In 1968, CBS began airing episodes of The Archie Show , a cartoon series produced by Filmation . Although it only lasted for
3375-538: A single season, it aired in reruns for the next decade, and was followed by several spin-off programs, which used segments from this original Archie show and new material. In 1970, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch got her own animated series , also produced by Filmation. In 1970, another Archie property received the Saturday morning cartoon treatment: Josie and the Pussycats . Unlike Archie and Sabrina, Josie's show
3500-472: A story by writer Vic Bloom and artist Bob Montana . Archie soon became M.L.J. Magazines' headliner, which led to the company changing its name to Archie Comic Publications in 1946. Siberkleit and Coyne discontinued Columbia Publications. In the late 1950s, Archie Publishing launched its " Archie Adventure Series " line with a new version of the Shield and two new characters. The February 1962 issue of Harvey Kurtzman 's Help! magazine featured his parody of
3625-575: A subscription model with back issues archive access starting with New Crusader. In 2015, Archie Comics rebranded its superhero imprint under the new title Dark Circle Comics . It was launched in February with The Black Hood followed by the launch of The Fox in April, while The Shield and The Hangman followed in September and November. The United States Postal Service included Archie in
3750-520: A superhero, science-fiction and adventure anthology, but after the title introduced the teen-humor feature "Archie" in 1942, the feature's popularity would soon eclipse all other MLJ properties, leading the publisher to rename itself Archie Comics . Following the end of World War II, the popularity of superheroes greatly diminished, while the comic-book industry itself expanded. A few well-established characters such as Superman , Batman and Wonder Woman continued to sell, but DC canceled series starring
3875-630: A supernatural horror series from writer Frank Tieri and artist Felix Ruiz about mob hit-man Mike Minetta making a deal with the devil to become the new Hangman after the previous person to wear the mantle ascended to Heaven. Archie Comics launched a $ 350,000 Kickstarter in May 2015 campaign to help the publisher get three additional series out to the public sooner than otherwise: Life with Kevin , focusing on Kevin Keller, and new Jughead and Betty and Veronica series. Five days later, Archie Comics cancelled
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4000-494: A ten-cent pricetag [ sic ] on the comic books". When Delacorte declined to continue with Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , Eastern Color on its own published Famous Funnies #1 (cover-dated July 1934), a 68-page giant selling for 10¢. Distributed to newsstands by the mammoth American News Company , it proved a hit with readers during the cash-strapped Great Depression , selling 90 percent of its 200,000 print, although putting Eastern Color more than $ 4,000 in
4125-402: A third of all North American sales in the early 1950s. Its 90 titles averaged a circulation of 800,000 copies per title for every issue, with Walt Disney's Comics and Stories peaking at a circulation of three million a month in 1953. Eleven of the top 25 bestselling comic books at the time were Dell titles. Out of 40 publishers active in 1954, Dell, Atlas (i.e. Marvel), DC, and Archie were
4250-508: A true comic book. But it did offer all original material and was sold on newsstands ". The Funnies ran for 36 issues, published Saturdays through October 16, 1930. In 1933, salesperson Maxwell Gaines , sales manager Harry I. Wildenberg , and owner George Janosik of the Waterbury, Connecticut , company Eastern Color Printing —which printed, among other things, Sunday-paper comic-strip sections – produced Funnies on Parade as
4375-777: A way to keep their presses running. Like The Funnies , but only eight pages, this appeared as a newsprint magazine. Rather than using original material, however, it reprinted in color several comic strips licensed from the McNaught Syndicate , the Ledger Syndicate , and the Bell-McClure Syndicate . These included such popular strips as cartoonist Al Smith 's Mutt and Jeff , Ham Fisher 's Joe Palooka , and Percy Crosby 's Skippy . Eastern Color neither sold this periodical nor made it available on newsstands , but rather sent it out free as
4500-461: A year. In 1929, Dell Publishing (founded by George T. Delacorte, Jr. ) published The Funnies , described by the Library of Congress as "a short-lived newspaper tabloid insert" and not to be confused with Dell's 1936 comic-book series of the same name. Historian Ron Goulart describes the 16-page, four-color periodical as "more a Sunday comic section without the rest of the newspaper than
4625-411: Is a typical small-town teenager. He is extremely clumsy and can be very stupid. His main crush is Veronica Lodge , but he is also fond of Betty Cooper , forming the love triangle driving many of the comic's plot lines. He has the best intentions, but often comes into conflict with Veronica's rich father, Hiram Lodge , and Riverdale High's principal, Waldo Weatherbee . As one of the three vocalists and
4750-462: Is a wealthy red-headed girl named Cheryl Blossom . At first, she was deemed too sexual and a bit promiscuous and was taken out of the series, but due to her popularity, she was brought back in Love Showdown , a four-part mini-series in which Archie attempts to make a decision between Cheryl, Betty, and Veronica. On May 15, 2009, Archie Comics announced that Archie would finally pick one of
4875-598: Is married to Veronica in Archie Marries Veronica: Life with Archie series. Both scenarios produce different outcomes for Archie's overall life, as well as Betty's and Veronica's. Archie often competes for the attention of Betty and Veronica with his rival, Reggie Mantle , and occasionally other boys. Veronica keeps Archie guessing, never letting him take her for granted. Betty, on the other hand, clearly lets Archie know she adores him. Archie chooses to keep fighting for Veronica. A third love interest
5000-468: Is often shown as a companion to and of Archie despite his arrogance and competitive nature, and they are often seen together practicing athletics or pursuing dates. Archie's other friends include Dilton Doiley , the local genius who gets Archie into and out of trouble through his experiments and inventions; Moose Mason , the dim-witted but likable star athlete of Riverdale High who is often Archie's teammate; Chuck Clayton , another of Archie's teammates who
5125-414: Is set one year after Archie's death. All his friends memorialize him, and Riverdale High School is officially renamed Archie Andrews High School in his honor. The story ends with Jughead, owner of Juggie's (formerly Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe), serving a sundae to three children who resemble Little Archie, Betty, and Veronica. Montana's characters were heard on radio in the early 1940s. Archie Andrews began on
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5250-464: Is taken symbolically as the beginning of a new era, although his success was not immediate. It took two years for the Flash to receive his own title, and Showcase itself was only a bimonthly book, though one which was to introduce a large number of enduring characters. By 1959, the slowly building superhero revival had become clear to DC's competitors. Archie jumped on board that year, and Charlton joined
5375-539: Is the main character in the Archie Comics franchise, including the long-running Archie Andrews radio series, a syndicated comic strip, The Archie Show , Archie's Weird Mysteries , and Riverdale . With the creation of Archie Andrews, publisher John Goldwater hoped to appeal to fans of the Andy Hardy films starring Mickey Rooney . Archie Andrews is the rhythm guitarist and one of the three singers of
5500-737: The Andy Hardy films starring Mickey Rooney . Archie Comics was also the title of the company's longest-running publication, the first issue appearing with a cover date of Winter 1942. Starting with issue #70, the title was shortened to simply Archie. The flagship series was relaunched from issue #1 in July 2015 with a new look and design suited for a new generation of readers, although after #32 it reverted to its historic numbering with #699. Archie Comics characters and concepts have also appeared in numerous films, television programs, cartoons, and video games. Maurice Coyne , Louis Silberkleit , and John L. Goldwater formed M.L.J. Magazines, Inc., and started publishing in September 1939. The company name
5625-697: The Anti-Defamation League . M.L.J.'s first comic book, published in September 1939 (with a November cover date), was Blue Ribbon Comics with the first half full color and the last half in red and white tints. The first issue featured Rang-a-Tang the Wonder Dog . In November 1939 (with a January 1940 cover date), Pep Comics debuted with the Shield , the first US patriotic comic book hero, created by writer and managing editor Harry Shorten and designed by artist Irv Novick . Top Notch Comics
5750-496: The Comics Code Authority . The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a superhero revival and superheroes remained the dominant character archetype throughout the late 20th century into the 21st century. Some fans collect comic books, helping drive up their value. Some have sold for more than US$ 1 million. Comic shops cater to fans, selling comic books, plastic sleeves ("bags") and cardboard backing ("boards") to protect
5875-667: The Flash and Green Lantern and converted All-American Comics and All Star Comics to Western titles, and Star Spangled Comics to a war title. The publisher also launched such science-fiction titles as Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space . Martin Goodman 's Timely Comics , also known as Atlas, canceled its three formerly high-selling superhero titles starring Captain America (created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ),
6000-613: The Human Torch , and the Sub-Mariner , briefly reviving the characters in 1954 only to cancel them again shortly thereafter to focus on horror, science fiction, teen humor, romance and Western genres. Romance comics became strongly established, with Prize Comics ' Young Romance and with Young Love , the latter written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; those two titles' popularity led to an explosion of romance comics from many publishers. Dell 's comic books accounted for
6125-519: The NBC Blue Network on May 31, 1943, switched to Mutual in 1944, and then continued on NBC radio from 1945 until September 5, 1953. The program's original announcer was Kenneth Banghart, later succeeded by Bob Shepard (during the 1947–48 season, when Swift and Company sponsored the program) and Dick Dudley. Archie was first played by Charles Mullen (1943–1944), Jack Grimes (1944) and Burt Boyar (1945), with Bob Hastings (1945–1953) as
6250-505: The Red Circle imprint , a subscription model with back-issue archive access. The imprint started in 2012 with a new New Crusaders series. In October 2013, Archie Comics launched its first horror title, Afterlife with Archie , depicting Archie and the gang dealing with a zombie apocalypse that begins in their hometown of Riverdale . Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and drawn by artist Francesco Francavilla, Afterlife with Archie
6375-685: The Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency held hearings on comic book indecency from April to June 1954. In the wake of these troubles, a group of comics publishers, led by National and Archie, founded the Comics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the Comics Code, intended as "the most stringent code in existence for any communications media". A Comic Code Seal of Approval soon appeared on virtually every comic book carried on newsstands. EC, after experimenting with less controversial comic books, dropped its comics line to focus on
SECTION 50
#17327720567676500-663: The Yellow Kid . The 196-page, square-bound, black-and-white publication, which also includes introductory text by E. W. Townsend , measured 5 by 7 inches (130 mm × 180 mm) and sold for 50 cents. The neologism "comic book" appears on the back cover. Despite the publication of a series of related Hearst comics soon afterward, the first monthly proto-comic book, Embee Distributing Company's Comic Monthly , did not appear until 1922. Produced in an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -by-9-inch (220 mm × 230 mm) format, it reprinted black-and-white newspaper comic strips and lasted
6625-399: The superhero Superman . This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II . After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the comic book industry rapidly expanded and genres such as horror, crime, science fiction and romance became popular. The 1950s saw a gradual decline, due to a shift away from print media in the wake of television and the impact of
6750-449: The 1960s in the neighboring town of Greendale, and follows a 16-year-old Sabrina Spellman as she struggles to balance her responsibilities as a witch-in-training, with her feeling for her boyfriend, Harvey Kinkle. On April 9, 2014, Archie Comics announced that the adult version of Archie Andrews featured in the Life with Archie series would die in issue #36 (July 2014), which would also be
6875-535: The 1960s, DC, and then Marvel, began to include writer and artist credits on the comics that they published. Other notable companies publishing comics during the Silver Age included the American Comics Group (ACG), Charlton , Dell , Gold Key , Harvey Comics , and Tower . Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll were featured, as the anti-authoritarian underground comix made waves in 1968, following
7000-462: The 1970s as CFO. In the 1970s and 1980s, Spire Christian Comics , a line of comic books by Fleming H. Revell, obtained license to feature the Archie characters in several of its titles, including Archie's Sonshine, Archie's Roller Coaster, Archie's Family Album, and Archie's Parables. These comics used Archie and his friends to tell stories with strong Christian themes and morals, sometimes incorporating Bible scripture. In at least one instance,
7125-457: The 1970s coincided with the appearance of comic-book specialty stores across North America. These specialty stores were a haven for more distinct voices and stories, but they also marginalized comics in the public eye. Serialized comic stories became longer and more complex, requiring readers to buy more issues to finish a story. In the mid-to-late 1980s, two series published by DC Comics , Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen , had
7250-542: The 1990s changing the format and distribution of their comic books to more closely resemble non-comics publishing. The " minicomics " form, an extremely informal version of self-publishing , arose in the 1980s and became increasingly popular among artists in the 1990s, despite reaching an even more limited audience than the small presses. The development of the modern American comic book happened in stages. Publishers had collected comic strips in hardcover book form as early as 1842, with The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck ,
7375-520: The 36-page Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , which historians consider the first true American comic book; Goulart, for example, calls it "the cornerstone for one of the most lucrative branches of magazine publishing". Distribution took place through the Woolworth's department-store chain, though it remains unclear whether it was sold or given away; the cover displays no price, but Goulart refers, either metaphorically or literally, to "sticking
7500-598: The American comic book has been adapted periodically outside the United States, especially in Canada and the United Kingdom . While comics can be the work of a single creator, the labor of creating them is frequently divided between a number of specialists. There may be a separate writer and artist , or there may be separate artists for the characters and backgrounds. Particularly in superhero comic books,
7625-661: The Archie Adventure Series imprint and then the Mighty Comics imprint began with a new version of the Shield and two new characters: the Jaguar and the Fly . In the mid-1960s with the Silver Age of Comics, Archie switched the heroes to a new imprint, " Mighty Comics Group", with the revival of all the MLJ heroes done as Marvel parodies with "the campy humor of the Batman TV show." This imprint shift soon brought
SECTION 60
#17327720567677750-478: The Archie characters in its Goodman Beaver story, "Goodman Goes Playboy", which was illustrated by frequent collaborator Will Elder . Help! publisher Jim Warren received a letter on December 6, 1961, accusing Help! of copyright infringement and demanding removal of the offending issue from newsstands. Warren was unable to recall the magazine, but he agreed to settle out of court rather than risk an expensive lawsuit. Warren paid Archie Comics $ 1,000, and ran
7875-678: The CCA) stopped publishing crime and horror titles, which was their entire business, and were forced out of the market altogether, turning to magazine publishing instead. By 1960, output had stabilized at about 1,500 releases per year (representing a greater than fifty percent decline since 1952). The dominant comic book genres of the post-CCA 1950s were funny animals, humor, romance , television properties, and Westerns . Detective, fantasy , teen, and war comics were also popular, but adventure, superheroes, and comic strip reprints were in decline, with Famous Funnies seeing its last issue in 1955. In
8000-472: The Hedgehog comic series, which it published from 1992 until 2016. The company began in 1939 as M.L.J. Magazines, Inc. , which primarily published superhero comics. The initial Archie characters were created in 1941 by publisher John L. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana , in collaboration with writer Vic Bloom. They first appeared in Pep Comics #22 ( cover-dated Dec. 1941). With the creation of Archie, publisher John Goldwater hoped to appeal to fans of
8125-474: The July 2014 issue (#36) of Life with Archie , while the teenage Archie would continue in the other Archie comic series titles. Archie dies when he is shot in the abdomen while saving his friend, Senator Kevin Keller . The story is written so as to terminate both storylines, without committing to which girl Archie married, and contains several flashbacks to the Little Archie days. The final issue (#37)
8250-609: The Modern Horror age. But as of 2009 historians and fans use " Bronze Age " to describe the period of American mainstream comics history that began with the period of concentrated changes to comic books in 1970. Unlike the Golden/Silver Age transition, the Silver/Bronze transition involves many continuing books, making the transition less sharp. The development of the " direct market " distribution system in
8375-570: The Riverdale High teams. Though often not as good an athlete as Moose Mason, Chuck Clayton or Reggie Mantle, he proves a valuable member of the school team. Coaches Kleats and Clayton value him for both his athletic abilities and his team spirit. However, Archie's athletic abilities vary from story to story, due to his frequent clumsiness. He also has a tendency to pay more attention to cheerleaders than to his playing. For this reason, Coach Kleats often tries to avoid resorting to use Archie in
8500-564: The Sanborn Map Building in Pelham, New York . It was in a facility of Mamaroneck, New York , with warehouse facilities and 7,000 square feet (650 m) of office space until May 2015, when it moved to its current location. Due to changes in the comics industry with digitization, the company needed more office space and less warehouse space. According to the publisher, the official Archie website receives 40 million hits
8625-407: The angsty and irreverent nature of characters like Spider-Man , Hulk , X-Men and Fantastic Four . This was a time of social upheaval, giving birth to a new generation of hip and more counter-cultural youngsters, who found a voice in these books. Because Marvel's books were distributed by its rival, National, from 1957 until 1968 Marvel were restricted to publishing only eight titles a month. This
8750-408: The art may be divided between: The process begins with the writer (often in collaboration with one or more others, who may include the editor and/or the penciller) coming up with a story idea or concept, then working it up into a plot and storyline , finalizing it with a script . After the art is prepared, the dialogue and captions are lettered onto the page from the script, and an editor may have
8875-423: The band's name, which Archie Comics alleges was taken from the comic book character. Archie Comics and Sire Records (The Veronicas's record label) reached a settlement involving co-promotion. In 2007, Archie Comics launched a "new look" series of stories, featuring Archie characters drawn in an updated, less cartoony style similar to the characters' first appearance. There are a total of seven storylines and each one
9000-478: The bandwagon in 1960. In 1961, at the demand of publisher Martin Goodman (who was reacting to a surge in sales of National's newest superhero title The Justice League of America ), writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four for Atlas, which now re-named itself Marvel Comics . With an innovation that changed the comic-book industry, Fantastic Four #1 initiated
9125-485: The business, printing, separating, distribution and financial ends of the company. John Goldwater served as editor-in-chief. Goldwater was one of the founders of the Comics Magazine Association of America , and he served as its president for 25 years. (The Comics Magazine Association of America is best known to comic fans for its Comics Code Authority .) Goldwater was also a national commissioner of
9250-452: The campaign after critical response. The company stated that the three titles would still be published at a later time. In March 2015, Archie Comics announced that its two delayed horror series would return under a new imprint, Archie Horror , with Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #2 and Afterlife with Archie #8 being released in April and May. In December 2014, Archie Comics announced that its flagship series Archie would relaunch with
9375-452: The closet and moving to New York. The day before the play was scheduled to open, Archie Comics issued a cease and desist order, threatening litigation if the play proceeded as written. Dad's Garage artistic director Sean Daniels said, "The play was to depict Archie and his pals from Riverdale growing up, coming out and facing censorship. Archie Comics thought if Archie was portrayed as being gay, that would dilute and tarnish his image." It opened
9500-501: The comic books. An American comic book is also known as a floppy comic . It is typically thin and stapled, unlike traditional books . American comic books are one of the three major comic book industries globally, along with Japanese manga and the Franco-Belgian comic books . The typical size and page count of comics have varied over the decades, generally tending toward smaller formats and fewer pages. Historically,
9625-534: The comic-book debut of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , the future creators of Superman . The two began their careers with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval", doing the first two installments before turning it over to others and, under the pseudonyms "Leger and Reuths", they created the supernatural -crimefighter adventure Doctor Occult . In 1938, after Wheeler-Nicholson's partner Harry Donenfeld had ousted him, National Allied editor Vin Sullivan pulled
9750-634: The company its first super hero team book similar to Marvel 's Avengers with the Mighty Crusaders . This imprint ended in 1967. With the conversion of Archie's Red Circle Comics from horror to superheroes in the 1980s, the Mighty Crusaders, Black Hood, the Comet, the Fly and two versions of the Shield had their own titles. Archie planned to publish superheroes again in the late 1980s with an imprint called Spectrum Comics , featuring
9875-432: The countercultural era. Legal issues and paper shortages led to a decline in underground comix output from its 1972 peak. In 1974 the passage of anti-paraphernalia laws in the US led to the closing of most head shops, which throttled underground comix distribution. Its readership also dried up as the hippie movement itself petered out in the mid-1970s. Wizard originally used the phrase "Bronze Age", in 1995, to denote
10000-464: The country. Some cities passed laws banning comic books entirely. In 1954, psychiatrist Fredric Wertham published his book Seduction of the Innocent , where he discussed what he perceived as sadistic and homosexual undertones in horror comics and superhero comics respectively, and singled out EC Comics due to its success as a publisher of these genres. In response to growing public anxiety,
10125-680: The court's autumn order temporarily barring her from the company's headquarters, and said the court might appoint a temporary receiver to protect the company's assets. As of May 2016, these legal proceedings had been resolved. Beginning in 2010, the company partnered with Random House Publisher Services for its bookstore distribution which included trade paperbacks, original graphic novels and additional book formats. Archie Comics saw its graphic novel and collected edition output increase from 11 book titles that year to 33 in 2012, and 40 in 2013. The company's sales also increased by 410% for books and 1,000% for e-books since 2010. Beginning in July 2010,
10250-575: The darker tone of some independent publishers such as First Comics , Dark Horse Comics , and (founded in the 1990s) Image Comics . This tendency towards darkness and nihilism was manifested in DC's production of heavily promoted comic book stories such as " A Death in the Family " in the Batman series (in which The Joker brutally murdered Batman's sidekick Robin ), while at Marvel the continuing popularity of
10375-471: The early days of comic books, this practice had all but vanished during the 1940s and 1950s. Comic books were produced by comic book companies rather than by individual creators (EC being a notable exception, a company that not only credited its creative teams but also featured creators' biographies). Even comic books by revered and collectible artists like Carl Barks were not known by their creator's name— Disney comics by Barks were signed " Walt Disney ". In
10500-514: The end of the tour. Archie and Valerie were forced apart when the Pussycats were touring Europe without the Archies, but hoped to keep their relationship going. In the comic Archie Marries Valerie , Valerie is expecting a baby with Archie, whom they name Star. In Archie No. 700 (July 2019), which signifies the start of another soft reboot, it is revealed that Archie got into a relationship with Sabrina Spellman over his summer break while everyone
10625-537: The fictional band The Archies . He is portrayed by KJ Apa on Riverdale and Agastya Nanda in The Archies . For his physical appearance, he has red hair, freckles on his cheeks, and light-colored skin. In Archie's Weird Mysteries , he appears to be of Scottish - American descent, as shown in the episode "The Day the Earth Moved", when his father wanted to keep with their family tradition and wear
10750-444: The final say (but, once ready for printing, it is difficult and expensive to make any major changes), before the comic is sent to the printer. The creative team, the writer and artist(s), may work for a comic book publisher who handles the marketing, advertising, and other logistics. A wholesale distributor, such as Diamond Comic Distributors , the largest in the US, distributes the printed product to retailers. Another aspect of
10875-523: The first issue of Life with Archie was launched. The series featured two different storylines exploring two possible futures — a world where Archie marries Betty and a world where he marries Veronica. The series also incorporated more contemporary themes including death, marriage woes, same-sex marriage, cancer, financial problems and gun control. Kevin Keller , Archie Comics' first gay character, debuted in Veronica #202 in September 2010. The character
11000-461: The gang recreated several events from American history, which lasted 16 episodes. American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States , on average 32 pages, containing comics . While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of Action Comics , which included the debut of
11125-458: The girls to marry, in a story arc in Archie #600–606 (Aug. 2009 – Feb. 2010). However, Archie Comics publicly revealed this to be a dream sequence to show two possible futures: one where Archie marries Veronica (issues 600–602), and the other Betty (603–605). In both, he has twins: a boy also named Archie who looks like him, and a girl named after and resembling whichever girl he married. Issue 606
11250-466: The group himself. Although not as famous as Josie and the Pussycats , the band plays numerous gigs and has some notoriety. In the Little Archies series, the band just starts to form, although Archie, Betty, Jughead, Reggie, and Veronica start to play different kind of songs. In April 2014, 72 years after the character's first appearance, Archie Comics announced that the adult Archie would die in
11375-483: The introduction of the Comics Code Authority in the wake of Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency , which, ignoring the social problems caused by the wars of 1939–45 and 1950–52, sought to blame those problems solely on comics. While there was only a 9% drop in the number of releases between 1952 and 1953, circulation plummeted by an estimated 30–40%. The cause of the decrease is not entirely clear. Television had begun to provide competition with comic books, but there
11500-628: The late 1940s and early 1950s horror and true-crime comics flourished, many containing graphic violence and gore. Due to such content, moral crusaders became concerned with the impact of comics on the youth, and were blaming comic books for everything from poor grades to juvenile delinquency to drug abuse. This perceived indecency resulted in the collection and public burning of comic books in Spencer, West Virginia and Binghamton, New York in 1948, which received national attention and triggered other public burnings by schools and parent groups across
11625-433: The major players in volume of sales. By this point, former big-time players Fawcett and Fiction House had ceased publishing. Circulation peaked in 1952 when 3,161 issues of various comics were published with a total circulation of about one billion copies. After 1952, the number of individual releases dropped every year for the rest of the decade, with the biggest falls occurring in 1955–56. The rapid decline followed
11750-492: The newsstand market starting in November 2017. With three TV series at various stages, Archie Comics expanded its film and television operations in February 2019 to a division, Archie Comics Studios, with the hire of two executives, Siobhan Bachman, senior vice-president of film and television, and Matthew Lottman, head of development & production. The company's headquarters is in a 10,300-square-foot (960 m) property in
11875-406: The other. He has orange hair , a face with a set of three freckles on each cheek, and light skin. Archie and Betty have been best friends and love interests all their lives. When Veronica Lodge moved to Riverdale, however, he switched his attention to her, making Betty both angry and jealous. She began competing with Veronica for his affection. In the comics, he sometimes thinks of Betty more as
12000-559: The process involved in successful comics is the interaction between the readers/fans and the creator(s). Fan art and letters to the editor were commonly printed in the back of the book, until, in the early 21st century, various Internet forums started to replace this tradition. The growth of comic specialty stores helped permit several waves of independently-produced comics, beginning in the mid-1970s. Some early examples of these – generally referred to as "independent" or "alternative" comics – such as Big Apple Comix , continued somewhat in
12125-505: The publication of Robert Crumb 's irregularly published Zap Comix . Frank Stack had published The Adventures of Jesus as far back as 1962, and there had been a trickle of such publications until Crumb's success. What had started as a self-publishing scene soon grew into a minor industry, with Print Mint , Kitchen Sink , Last Gasp and Apex Novelties among the more well-known publishers. These comix were often extremely graphic, and largely distributed in head shops that flourished in
12250-650: The red. That quickly changed, with the book turning a $ 30,000 profit each issue starting with #12. Famous Funnies would eventually run 218 issues, inspire imitators, and largely launch a new mass medium . When the supply of available existing comic strips began to dwindle, early comic books began to include a small amount of new, original material in comic-strip format. Inevitably, a comic book of all-original material, with no comic-strip reprints, debuted. Fledgling publisher Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications, which would evolve into DC Comics , to release New Fun #1 (Feb. 1935). This came out as
12375-470: The regular characters meet a Christ-like figure on the beach, and listen as he gently preaches Christian values. Archie launched a short-lived fantasy and horror imprint, Red Circle Comics , in the 1970s. The company revived that imprint in the 1980s for its brief line of superhero comics. Later in the 1980s, Archie planned to publish superheroes again with the Spectrum Comics imprint, featuring
12500-416: The rhythm guitarist of The Archies , Archie performs with Betty and Veronica, as well as his nemesis Reggie Mantle , who battles him for Veronica and Betty's heart, and his best friend Jughead Jones . Mary and Fred Andrews are of Scottish descent. Archie's paternal grandfather, Andy Andrews, immigrated to the United States from Scotland and befriended Moose Mason 's Russian ancestor, who had emigrated at
12625-489: The same time. Archie has been depicted wearing the traditional kilt of his ancestors and playing bagpipes (but not very well). The Little Archie series, published from 1956 through the mid-1990s, chronicles the adventures of pre-teen Archie and his friends while in elementary school. The 2010 revival of the Life with Archie series chronicles two alternate, parallel story lines, with Archie marrying Veronica in one and Betty
12750-629: The satirical Mad —a former comic book which was now converted to a magazine format in order to circumvent the Code. DC started a revival in superhero comics in 1956 with the October 1956 revival of its former golden age top-seller The Flash in Showcase #4. Many comics historians peg this as the beginning of the Silver Age of American comic books, although Marvel (at this point still known variously as both Timely and Atlas ) had started reviving some of its old superheroes as early as 1954. The new Flash
12875-432: The second-to-last issue. Goldwater said Archie's final fate would be the same in both of the possible parallel futures covered by the series. This version of Archie was killed saving Senator Kevin Keller from an assassination attempt. In July 2014, Archie Comics announced that its superhero imprint Red Circle Comics would be rebranded as Dark Circle Comics in 2015. The new imprint focuses on self-contained stories featuring
13000-408: The size was derived from folding one sheet of Quarter Imperial paper (15 in × 11 in or 380 mm × 280 mm), to print 4 pages which were each 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 by 11 inches (190 mm × 280 mm). This also meant that the page count had to be some multiple of 4. In recent decades, standard comics have been trimmed at about 6.625 x 10.25 inches. The format of
13125-528: The story. Archie Comics held onto the copyright and refused to allow the story to be republished. A request from Denis Kitchen in 1983 to include the story in his Goodman Beaver reprint collection was turned down. After The Comics Journal co-owner Gary Groth discovered that Archie Comics had allowed the copyright on "Goodman Goes Playboy" to expire, he had the story reprinted in The Comics Journal #262 (September 2004), and made it available as
13250-754: The success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at National Comics Publications (the future DC Comics) to request more superheroes for its titles. In response, Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman , who debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). The period from the late 1930s through roughly the end of the 1940s is referred to by comic book experts as the Golden Age of comic books . It featured extremely large print-runs, with Action Comics and Captain Marvel selling over half
13375-632: The superheroes from the Red Circle library while exploring the crime, horror, and adventure genres. The first wave included the superheroes the Black Hood, the Fox, and the Shield. Dark Circle Comics debuted with The Black Hood #1 (Feb. 2015) by writer Duane Swierczynski and artist Michael Gaydos in February 2015. The mature-readers title introduced policer officer Gregory Hettinger, the new Black Hood, who struggles with an addiction to painkillers as
13500-452: The title character during the NBC years. Jughead was portrayed by Hal Stone , Cameron Andrews and later by Arnold Stang . Stone later wrote about his radio career in his autobiography, Relax... Archie! Re-laxx! (Bygone Days Press, 2003). During the NBC run, Rosemary Rice portrayed Betty, Gloria Mann portrayed Veronica, Alice Yourman portrayed Archie's mother, Mary Andrews and Arthur "Art" Kohl
13625-417: The tradition of the earlier underground comics , while others, such as Star Reach , resembled the output of mainstream publishers in format and genre but were published by smaller artist-owned ventures or by a single artist. This so-called " small press " scene (a term derived from the limited quantity of comics printed in each press-run) continued to grow and diversify, with a number of small publishers in
13750-602: The various X-Men books led to storylines involving the genocide of superpowered "mutants" in allegorical stories about religious and ethnic persecution. In addition, published formats like the graphic novel and the related trade paperback enabled the comic book to gain some respectability as literature. As a result, these formats are now common in book retail and the collections of US public libraries . Archie Andrews (comics) Archibald " Archie " Andrews , created in 1941 by publisher John L. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana in collaboration with writer Vic Bloom,
13875-416: Was "a collection of replacement parts from several junkyards", some of which dated back to 1926. Archie's jalopy was destroyed permanently in issue No. 238 of Life With Archie , which was published in 1983. In the newer comics, he drives a mid-1960s' Ford Mustang , which is more contemporary in appearance, but still unreliable and prone to breakdowns. Archie Digest 239, published in October 2007, included
14000-408: Was a cloud with a silver lining, and proved the making of Marvel, allowing the company to concentrate its brightest and best talent on a small number of titles, at a time when its rivals were spreading their creative talents very thin across a huge number of monthly titles. The quality of Marvel's product soared in consequence, and sales soared with it. While the creators of comics were given credit in
14125-464: Was also a rise in conservative values with the election in 1952 of Dwight Eisenhower . The Comics Code Authority, a self-censoring body founded to curb the juvenile delinquency alleged to be due to the crime and horror comics, has often been targeted as the culprit, but sales had begun to drop the year before it was founded. The major publishers were not seriously harmed by the drop in sales, but smaller publishers were killed off: EC (the prime target of
14250-485: Was also the first Archie Comics title to be sold exclusively to comic shops and to carry a rating of "Teen+". The series adapted the Archie characters into a world with adult themes and horror tropes including zombies, the occult, demons, and Cthulhu . The success of Afterlife with Archie led to a second horror series, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina , which launched in October 2014 from Aguirre-Sacasa and artist Robert Hack. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina takes place in
14375-535: Was an epilogue to Archie Marries Veronica/Archie Marries Betty that returns to the comics' old format. In Archie No. 608 (May 2010), Archie began a relationship with Valerie Brown , making her Archie's first girlfriend of African descent. The Archies and Josie and the Pussycats were touring together and, while rehearsing, Archie and Valerie secretly fell in love as they co-wrote the song "More Than Words" that described their feelings. Issue No. 609 revealed that this relationship had seeped into common knowledge by
14500-556: Was appointed Archie Comics chief creative officer in March 2014. Archie characters landed a live-action TV series, Riverdale , at Fox with a script deal plus penalty in October 2014. Warner Bros Television and Berlanti Productions were producing. However, the show was not selected for broadcast until January 29, 2016, when it was picked up by the CW. In February 2017, Marvel had licensed Archie Comics to publish Marvel Digests collections for
14625-477: Was created out of a conversation between Goldwater and longtime Archie Comics writer-artist Dan Parent during the company's first creative summit, about bringing more diversity to Riverdale. The issue sold out at the distributor level, prompting Archie Comics for the first time to issue a second edition of a comic. In June 2011, Keller was featured in his own four-part miniseries. A bimonthly Kevin Keller series launched with writer-artist Parent in early 2012 received
14750-486: Was derived from the initials of the partners' first names. Coyne served as M.L.J.'s bookkeeper and CFO . Coyne and Silberkleit had been partners in Columbia Publications , a pulp company that published its last issue in 1960. Silberkleit had a college degree from St. John's University , was a licensed and registered pharmacist, and had a law degree from New York Law School . His efforts were focused on
14875-591: Was launched in December 1941. Until March 1944, the cover feature of Pep was the Shield when Archie took over the cover. The Shield was a forerunner for Joe Simon 's and Jack Kirby 's Captain America , being published 13 months earlier. The Andy Hardy movies were an inspiration for Goldwater to have a comic book about a relatable normal person. Teenaged Archibald "Chick" Andrews debuted with Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones in Pep Comics #22 (Dec. 1941), in
15000-454: Was on vacation after she had saved him from a pack of wolves. Jughead Jones has been Archie's best friend ever since childhood. When Jughead first came to Riverdale, he was in a bad mood and tended to dismiss Archie. However, Archie, of good heart, tried to cheer up Jughead and the two have been inseparable ever since. Jughead wears a trademark clubhouse beanie (a Depression-era style of makeshift hatwear, crafted from an inverted fedora with
15125-440: Was originally shy and reclusive but came out of his shell when Archie befriended him; Moose and Chuck's girlfriends Midge Klump and Nancy Woods , two of the very few attractive girls Archie does not fall for; and Ethel Muggs , a girl with an enormous crush on Jughead, who often wins his heart with the use of fresh-baked cookies. Outside of dating, Archie largely enjoys sports. He plays baseball , basketball , and football for
15250-607: Was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions , the company behind such animated hits as Yogi Bear , The Flintstones , The Jetsons , and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? . The show was followed by a spin-off, Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, in 1972. The Archie Show , Sabrina the Teenage Witch , Josie and the Pussycats , and several of the spin-off shows including Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space are currently available on DVD in complete-series boxed sets. In 1974, Filmation produced The U.S. of Archie , in which
15375-547: Was published as a four-part storyline in a digest series. Also each "new look" story was based on a Riverdale High novel, a series of twelve novels; seven that are published, five that are not. They were published in the 1990s. In 2008, Archie Publications once again licensed DC Comics its MLJ Super heroes for a DC Universe integrated line, Red Circle . Following Richard Goldwater's death in 2007 and Michael Silberkleit's in 2008, Silberkleit's widow Nancy and Goldwater's half-brother Jonathan became co-CEOs in 2009. Nancy Silberkleit,
15500-547: Was released with a July 2015 cover date and came in at #7 for comic book sales for the month. The next title, Jughead , was released in October. In April 2015, Archie Comics announced Betty and Veronica which debuted in July 2016. Also announced was Life with Kevin , a digital-first mini-series that debuted in June 2016. Josie and the Pussycats and Reggie and Me followed in September and December 2016. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, playwright, screenwriter and comic book writer,
15625-463: Was the standard, but quickly added superheroes in their first title's second issue, Blue Ribbon Comics #2, with Bob Phantom . In January 1940, Pep Comics debuted featuring the Shield , America's first patriotic comic book hero, by writer and managing editor Harry Shorten and artist Irv Novick . MLJ's Golden Age heroes also included the Black Hood , who also appeared in pulp magazines and
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