Quote from: BettyReggie on April 24, 2016, 10:11:22 PM
I also like
1-Jelly Bean -but when in Life With Archie . She was a Hgh School student dating that bad boy who Jughead didn't like.
2-Max Marcus-Archie's student who taking advantage of Archie.
3-Trey -when he & Betty became prom king & queen in Archie #1, I hope he is more issues of Archie.
4-January McAndrews
5-Polly Cooper

Hmm, another vote for January McAndrews...

When I first read The Married Life, I didn't know who Jellybean Jones was (I mean, they tell you who she is, I wasn't confused about that, but I never even knew that Jughead had a sister before reading that). Then a little later when I read the New Look Archie story "Bad Boy Trouble", with Nick St. Clair, I said to myself, "Hey, this guy is just like that guy that Jellybean was dating in The Married Life".

Quote from: Fernando Ruiz on April 24, 2016, 06:31:01 PM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on April 24, 2016, 02:56:33 PM
I wonder whatever became of Fernando Ruiz' reboot of Cosmo (it was supposed to be its own graphic novel, and shown in the back of NIGHT AT THE COMIC SHOP TPB, along with the reboot of Sam Hill). I think the Sam Hill reboot got released as a digital exclusive. I wonder why they didn't do that with Cosmo, unless it was never completed.

I always wondered what became of my reboot too.

I was asked to submit a series of Cosmo sketches as part of a proposal to resurrect The Merry Martian. A huge fan of Cosmo, I eagerly jumped into this and I drew a stack of sketches of Cosmo and his supporting cast. These sketches were submitted and as with other situations, I never heard anything again. Later I learned, that proposals and sketches from other artists were being entertained. At that point, it was safe to assume that my pitch had been either rejected or at least was no longer under consideration. Ultimately, no new Cosmo ever came of any of these proposals.

Last year I was told directly, "Our next big thing is going to be Cosmo and that's going to be all you."

Again, nothing.

The people making publishing decisions up there sure do change their minds a lot from one week to the next.

I remember when I first got the Night At The Comic Shop TPB and read that in the back (and this was sometime early in 2015, when I would have first read it), I was flipping out that they were showing this new "coming soon" stuff like Cosmo and Sam Hill in the back of the book, until I looked at when the book was first published and noticed that it had been printed four years earlier, in 2011.

I've been starting a little collection of images from unpublished Archie collections, graphic novels, and comic book series, and it's grown to quite a few items.

Quote from: GingerGal on April 24, 2016, 02:57:00 PM
It might just be me, but I also think Principle Stanger is also all part of a dream or nightmare that Jughead is having about the takeover of Riverdale High. I maybe totally wrong about this thinking, but I have heard that issue #6 will wrap this story line up and I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't all a nightmare and Mr. Weatherbee will be back at Principle by issue #7 and Stanger will be gone.

In comics, anything is possible, even (and sometimes especially) the possibility that would seem most unlikely in the real world. It might be all Jughead's nightmare, or maybe Riverdale High DID really get taken over by an evil Principal in one possible timeline... but what if there were someone with the capability of traveling through time, whose mission was to prevent things that weren't supposed to happen (according to the history of the 29th Century) from actually happening, even it that meant that they had to make a few "adjustments" in the time stream to erase certain mistakes? Or it could be just a dream. But if someone actually did hit the reset button on reality, how would you ever know it?

Quote from: JonInIowaCity on April 24, 2016, 02:45:00 PM
Keep in mind that I enjoy reading old MLJ titles online when checking out my list of favorites:

1. Kevin Keller
2. Cosmo the Merry Martian
3. Dotty and Ditto
4. Jinx (the teen version much more than the 'Lil version)
5. Sam Hill

JINX was a reboot that I really liked. I wish they'd found a way for that character to continue somehow, either in the back of another comic, or online, or even by incorporating Jinx into Riverdale High as a freshman or something. I suppose they still could have her turn up in the New Riverdale, but probably too much time has passed at this point. I wouldn't be surprised to see Sam Hill turn up in New Riverdale at some time, though. I wonder whatever became of Fernando Ruiz' reboot of Cosmo (it was supposed to be its own graphic novel, and shown in the back of NIGHT AT THE COMIC SHOP TPB, along with the reboot of Sam Hill). I think the Sam Hill reboot got released as a digital exclusive. I wonder why they didn't do that with Cosmo, unless it was never completed.

Quote from: GingerGal on April 24, 2016, 01:58:56 PM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on April 24, 2016, 01:51:06 PM

Quote from: GingerGal on April 24, 2016, 01:22:13 PM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on April 24, 2016, 01:14:59 PM

Quote from: GingerGal on April 24, 2016, 11:39:48 AM
Um, first what is The Riverdale Podcast?

I haven't been reading that long, and have only really read the new stuff but I will try and give a top 5.

1. Kevin Keller
2. Sheila Wu
3. January McAndrews
4. Dilton Doliey
5. Pop Tate

The Riverdale Podcast is a podcast (okay, I'm just assuming you know what that is) where Jonathan Merrifield talks about Archie Comics (and occasionally related things). "Sometimes it's a new Archie comic book, sometimes it's an old Archie comic book", as he says, along with news and new releases from the world of Archie Comics.


I think your list is very interesting. I haven't read all those New Riverdale issues, so I mainly just know the old versions of those characters. I thought it was interesting to see January McAndrews as your 3rd favorite (apart from the main five, I guess) because she's a relatively minor character in the older comics (but I like her).

Yep, I know what a Podcast is. I looked at the link and it looks really cool. I will take a listen later today. I really like January McAndrews because she can time travel which I think is really neat. I also like her lots because she has a lot of faith in Jughead. Kevin Keller is very nice, but also speaks his mind and stands for something which I think is awesome. Sheila Wu is such a fashion plate and tries so hard in the one Archie issue to transform Betty into a girly girl. Dilton seems like a really loyal friend to Jughead next to Archie. He is also super smart which always can help when you are in a jam which Jughead seems to be in a lot. Pop Tate is just so nice to everybody. He just seems to looks at all these kids as his own kids.

I can see you spent some time thinking about why you like these characters, and I like your reasons. In the older comics, I think January was only in 8 stories (there might have been a couple of very minor appearances outside of those 8, where she was a main character, and the co-star of the story along with Jughead). I don't remember if they mentioned this in the new JUGHEAD, but January is the direct descendant of Archie Andrews from the 29th Century. In the old comics she's a Marshal in the Time Police, and that makes her technically Jughead's boss (he's a new recruit, so he's only a Deputy Marshal), but she falls in love with him (and he does with her, as well). It might not be exactly the same in the new comics, I just thought you'd be interested to know. Most people seem to think that in the new comics, Jughead just has a dream about her, and that she's not real. I might have a different opinion on that topic.

I don't remember if they do mention that she is a descedant to Archie. I do remember that the villain they are after is a descendant of Reggie though. In the new Jughead story January goes to kiss Jughead after he saves the day and he disappears at that very moment back to the present time. Convenient for Jughead, huh?

More importantly, it's convenient for Jughead fans who get upset if he seems to have a girlfriend. That was always a source of controversy over the old comics in which January appeared as well, because Jughead appeared in the regular Archie Comics, while January only really appeared in the stories in JUGHEAD'S TIME POLICE, and was never mentioned (by Jughead or anyone else) in stories outside of that. Is she real? Or just a figment of Jughead's overactive imagination? That seems to be what most people think. But if you could really travel through time, you could probably make people think a lot of things they really saw were "just imaginary". Time travel allows you to appear and disappear at will, or go back in time and change something that already happened (because you saw it happen) and prevent it from happening. Maybe even use 29th Century technology to 'magically' erase someone's memory.


Speaking of appearances and characters who appear in one series, while never being referred to in another, have you ever wondered why in JUGHEAD, Riverdale High is taken over by the evil Principal Stanger, while over in ARCHIE, everything at the school seems to be normal and Stanger isn't mentioned? It's almost as if one of those stories was taking place in a different alternate timeline or something...

Quote from: GingerGal on April 24, 2016, 01:44:17 PM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on April 24, 2016, 01:32:22 PM
I can't imagine how ACP managed to wind up with copies of Archie comics in South Africa in the first place, now that I think of it. Did you get ARCHIE at a comic store in South Africa, or what type of store was it?  This is interesting, as I haven't spent much time thinking about where those comics might show up outside of North America. Most American comics publishers don't have much in the way of distribution outside of North America, unless they make a deal with some foreign publisher to reprint (and translate if needed) their comics, and distribute them with their own comics (or whatever type of magazines they publish) in their respective countries.

I never got an Archie Comic from South Africa. It was not until last Summer when my family moved to America for my Dads job that I picked up Archie #1 at a local comic shop. In South Africa they are big on X-Men and Iron Man. Most of the Comic Books stuff is found in Cape Town which was over 8 hours away from where I lived in Port Elizabeth.

Sorry, I guess I misunderstood that you found it first in South Africa, and then continued to get it when your family moved to the U.S. It sounds like South Africa isn't all that different than the United States as far as the type of comics they prefer there. I bet they probably like The Avengers, Spider-Man, and Batman, too.

Quote from: GingerGal on April 24, 2016, 01:22:13 PM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on April 24, 2016, 01:14:59 PM

Quote from: GingerGal on April 24, 2016, 11:39:48 AM
Um, first what is The Riverdale Podcast?

I haven't been reading that long, and have only really read the new stuff but I will try and give a top 5.

1. Kevin Keller
2. Sheila Wu
3. January McAndrews
4. Dilton Doliey
5. Pop Tate

The Riverdale Podcast is a podcast (okay, I'm just assuming you know what that is) where Jonathan Merrifield talks about Archie Comics (and occasionally related things). "Sometimes it's a new Archie comic book, sometimes it's an old Archie comic book", as he says, along with news and new releases from the world of Archie Comics.


I think your list is very interesting. I haven't read all those New Riverdale issues, so I mainly just know the old versions of those characters. I thought it was interesting to see January McAndrews as your 3rd favorite (apart from the main five, I guess) because she's a relatively minor character in the older comics (but I like her).

Yep, I know what a Podcast is. I looked at the link and it looks really cool. I will take a listen later today. I really like January McAndrews because she can time travel which I think is really neat. I also like her lots because she has a lot of faith in Jughead. Kevin Keller is very nice, but also speaks his mind and stands for something which I think is awesome. Sheila Wu is such a fashion plate and tries so hard in the one Archie issue to transform Betty into a girly girl. Dilton seems like a really loyal friend to Jughead next to Archie. He is also super smart which always can help when you are in a jam which Jughead seems to be in a lot. Pop Tate is just so nice to everybody. He just seems to looks at all these kids as his own kids.

I can see you spent some time thinking about why you like these characters, and I like your reasons. In the older comics, I think January was only in 8 stories (there might have been a couple of very minor appearances outside of those 8, where she was a main character, and the co-star of the story along with Jughead). I don't remember if they mentioned this in the new JUGHEAD, but January is the direct descendant of Archie Andrews from the 29th Century. In the old comics she's a Marshal in the Time Police, and that makes her technically Jughead's boss (he's a new recruit, so he's only a Deputy Marshal), but she falls in love with him (and he does with her, as well). It might not be exactly the same in the new comics, I just thought you'd be interested to know. Most people seem to think that in the new comics, Jughead just has a dream about her, and that she's not real. I might have a different opinion on that topic.

I can't imagine how ACP managed to wind up with copies of Archie comics in South Africa in the first place, now that I think of it. Did you get ARCHIE at a comic store in South Africa, or what type of store was it?  This is interesting, as I haven't spent much time thinking about where those comics might show up outside of North America. Most American comics publishers don't have much in the way of distribution outside of North America, unless they make a deal with some foreign publisher to reprint (and translate if needed) their comics, and distribute them with their own comics (or whatever type of magazines they publish) in their respective countries.

Quote from: GingerGal on April 24, 2016, 11:39:48 AM
Um, first what is The Riverdale Podcast?

I haven't been reading that long, and have only really read the new stuff but I will try and give a top 5.

1. Kevin Keller
2. Sheila Wu
3. January McAndrews
4. Dilton Doliey
5. Pop Tate

The Riverdale Podcast is a podcast (okay, I'm just assuming you know what that is) where Jonathan Merrifield talks about Archie Comics (and occasionally related things). "Sometimes it's a new Archie comic book, sometimes it's an old Archie comic book", as he says, along with news and new releases from the world of Archie Comics.


I think your list is very interesting. I haven't read all those New Riverdale issues, so I mainly just know the old versions of those characters. I thought it was interesting to see January McAndrews as your 3rd favorite (apart from the main five, I guess) because she's a relatively minor character in the older comics (but I like her).

There aren't enough readers of the old type of Archie Comics. They know that much, so they need new ones like you. I have criticized the new comics from the point-of-view of a someone who likes the old type of Archie Comics, but everyone who reads comics had to start somewhere. One of the biggest mistakes that a lot of the comic book publishers make today is that they forget that every comic book is potentially someone's first comic book. As long as Archie Comics doesn't make that kind of mistake with the New Riverdale comics, they have a better chance with readers like you.

Quote from: GingerGal on April 24, 2016, 11:43:55 AM

Quote from: irishmoxie on April 24, 2016, 11:29:32 AM

Quote from: GingerGal on April 24, 2016, 11:25:41 AM
I have purchased them at a local comic shop which will special order a variant if I want one of those. Now that people are talking up the digital comics on here I am going to look into that.

It's very interesting to hear your opinion because like DeCarlo Rules said in another thread you are pretty much the target demographic ACP is looking to sell the New Riverdale to: never read any other Archie comics before, teenager, and likely to watch the Riverdale TV show.

Thank You, that is very nice. Sometimes it feels I don't really have anything important to say or add because I haven't read much of the stories except the new stuff and the "Classic" stories in the back of those comics so it is nice to hear a comment like that.

I bet if Archie Comics could be granted a wish from its fairy godmother, it would wish for thousands of readers like you. New Riverdale, new generation of comics reader.

I'm not sure if you were thinking of this in terms of characters that would be considered 'secondary' or 'supporting' characters (like Pop Tate, Mr. Lodge, or Cheryl Blossom) ONLY in those titles that are Archie-centric...


Because my favorites are really the characters from the other series within the Archieverse.


1. Sabrina
2&3. (tie) Melody & Pepper
4&5. (tie) Alex & Alexandra


But if you were really thinking of the ARCHIE secondary/supporting players, I guess I could make a different list.

I'm curious where people are purchasing their rebooted ARCHIE, JUGHEAD, and BETTY AND VERONICA comic books.  Add further comments if you'd like. If you get them from more than one source, just choose the MAIN source where you would spend the most money on any of those rebooted titles (but only the rebooted titles).

Quote from: irishmoxie on April 23, 2016, 06:52:54 PM
Henchgirl #5 and 6 - Don't really get this comic. She's superglueing this guy back together and I have no idea where he came from and in the next issue she's kidnapped??

He was in previous issues. This is where it probably helps not to have such big gaps between reading issues. I really think those first six read much better if you read them back-to-back (or eventually, as a graphic novel, print or digital version).


1. He has a really dumb superpower, able to leave his body but his body then becomes immobile and brittle, and when the bad guys figure this out they smash him like a glass statue.


2. She's "kidnapped" by the same gang of which she's supposed to be a lowly henchgirl, when they finally figure out that it was SHE that really betrayed the gang. In fact, they ascertain this for sure by tricking her into holding a magical gem which requires the holder to only speak the truth, and then they just ask her point blank. She's unable to lie about it until after she isn't holding the gem, so they are now treating her as a prisoner and an enemy superhero.

Quote from: irishmoxie on April 23, 2016, 06:07:56 PM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on April 23, 2016, 02:04:29 PM

Quote from: irishmoxie on April 23, 2016, 01:31:02 PM
Why do people buy tons of blank sketch covers (with the same internal material usually unrelated to the commission) when the artist could draw on any old piece of paper?

Let me venture a guess on this one. It's not that any of the people buying those sketch variants particularly care what the interior pages of that (NOT COMPLETELY*) blank sketch variant cover contain, the pages themselves could be blank as well, if it were more feasible (meaning cheaper) to print them that way (but it's not).

*WHY is a blank sketch cover "not completely" blank? Because it has a character's title logo on it, just like regular comic books do. The importance of the logo is this. A BETTY & VERONICA blank sketch cover variant is absolutely worthless to someone who only wants an artist to sketch a picture of SPIDER-MAN on it (unless that pic of Spidey ALSO has B&V in it, as well). That means when the cover gets sketched on by a pro, what the owner now has in his collection is in effect a "custom comic", a one-of-a-kind (as opposed to the unsketched blank) variant THAT NO ONE ELSE OWNS A COPY OF. That's true of the original sketch on an ordinary blank piece of paper as well, but here is the crucial difference (in the minds of those that care about such things, and the popularity of the blank sketch variant attests to this) -- no matter how nice the original art sketch on a blank sheet of paper, IT IS NOT A COMIC BOOK. That's about as simple as it is.

Thanks for explaining this. Your insights to comic culture are invaluable.

You're welcome. I should add that I've seen some that were highly elaborate productions, as well. Clearly, the owner of the blank variant had approached the artist with a cover concept (probably a small layout sketch done by the owner on a separate sheet of paper) or had described a particular idea which he had in mind in detail to the artist. Other examples would be just a simplified but unique concept (you might say 'high concept' in Hollywood lingo), and let the artist run with the idea in his own imagination. Some even then take the trouble to have the cover inked and colored (penciller, inker, and colorist could be the same person, or even three different people, depending on how well-heeled and dedicated to his idea the owner was), with detailed background details, even word balloons or other text blurbs simulating typical covers.


Here's a book you should check out if you get the chance. The Hero Initiative (which benefits the relief of financially distressed comics creators) created this book by getting 50 artists to donate cover sketches on blank variants of ARCHIE #600. Those original cover creations were then auctioned off to benefit The Hero Initiative, which scanned all the covers before auctioning them off, and then created this book, sales of which provided additional funding for The Hero Initiative.