But it was the visual aesthetic first established by artist Dan DeCarlo in the late 1950s that ultimately defined the look of Archie Comics for the next half a century. Inspired by MGM’s Andy Hardy films of the 1930s, Riverdale - the home of Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, and the rest of the Archie gang - is a place where soda shops are still the preferred teen hangout spots and adolescent love triangles never end because the characters never age.Īrchie himself debuted in December 1941, in Pep Comics No. “No matter what genre, what time span, it just works because the characters are so well defined.”ĭirector of Publicity and Social Media Ron Cacace (whose work with artist Vincent Lovallo on the viral Bite Size Archie comics on Twitter became a sensation) credits Archie stories not getting bogged down in their own mythology as a key reason to their ongoing success.The reputation of Archie Comics is built on an idealized American city frozen in time. “The character archetypes are so flexible and work in so many different settings that you can throw them into anything and they would stand,” explains Archie Senior Director of Editorial and Betty and Veronica: Vixens (in which the pair awesomely led a biker gang) creator/writer Jamie Lee Rotante.
Then came the horror titles Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which paved the way for the television Archieverse.Īll of which is to say that Archie is experiencing a creative renaissance despite having recently turned 80.
Archie cartoon characters series#
The 2010s saw Archie begin a series of daring moves that would establish the brand as an industry innovator, from the magazine Life with Archie: The Married Life to the introduction of Kevin Keller, Riverdale’s first openly gay resident, created by Parent (and recently the focus of a successful Kickstarter that will see the publishing of an omnibus packed with over 700 pages of Kev’s adventures). Indeed, the eternal Archie/Betty/Veronica love triangle is such a strong narrative framework that thousands of stories have been built upon it – and everyone who is familiar with these characters has a strong opinion about who Archie should wind up with and why. Since 1987 Dan Parent has been writing and illustrating for Archie and he views the “common sustaining thread through the entire history of Archie Comics has been that love triangle.” The peak of Archiemania was 1969, when the cartoon group The Archies, created by rock impresario Don Kirshner and featured on Filmation’s hit The Archie Show, had the number one song of the year with their eternal earworm “Sugar Sugar.”
Indeed “America’s typical teenager” (as the tagline for Archie’s solo book claimed) became so beloved that MLJ renamed itself in his honor. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana, Archie drew influence from the era’s youth-based Andy Hardy films and successfully predicted how teenage life would become the fulcrum for popular culture in the following decades. It was an instant success due to the humor and charm of its cast, which included lovely girl-next-door Betty Cooper and oddball pal Jughead Jones (Veronica Lodge was not yet part of the picture).Ĭreated by MLJ publisher John L. Some history: In December of 1941, MLJ Comics – a publisher then best known for its stable of superheroes like The Shield, a patriotic figure who predates Captain America – released Pep #22, featuring a backup story focusing on lovable klutz Archie Andrews.
Archie cartoon characters tv#
Despite the TV success, comics are still Archie’s bread and butter, from the digest reprints that beg for impulse buys at the supermarket to a series of innovative titles that have seen Archie and his “pals and gals” become critical darlings. The declaration is more than accurate, as the independently owned publisher is celebrating its 80 th anniversary with the massive CW hit Riverdaleentering its sixth season (one that will bring on board Kiernan Shipka’s teenage witch from the late, lamented Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina as a guest star).
“It’s a golden age to be an Archie Comics fan right now,” says company president Mike Pellerito with infectious enthusiasm, adding “I just can’t imagine a better time.”
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