I don't know exactly what I would have done, but here are some ideas (whether plausible or not):
Instead of canceling the floppies, I'd cancel the digest line and, instead of just reprinting the same stories over and over, print full-sized chronological collections of every story (reissue the collections as demand warrants).
I'd also digitize every previous floppy issue and sell them cheaply on Amazon and other platforms.
I'd also collect the new stories from the digests and sell those digitally as well.
As for the floppies:
Instead of doing New Riverdale, I'd do more of a soft reboot. Older stories, published before the characters' lifetimes, wouldn't hold any weight. The stories would be more modern and relevant. But it wouldn't be a fresh start. The characters wouldn't be meeting each other for the first time.
Story lengths and art styles would vary, from 5-6 pages to 20, from Classic style to various New Look styles. The older and newer writers and artists would contribute.
I'd set up a "continuity of situations", meaning if a character is in one place or predicament in one title, it would carry through to the other titles, so we could avoid situations like Betty and Veronica globetrotting in their own title but being in Riverdale in "Archie", all during seemingly the same school year. Or Riverdale High having different principals in "Archie" and "Jughead".
The floppy titles would be:
Archie
Jughead
Betty
Veronica
Cheryl
Reggie
Sabrina
Josie and the Pussycats
Katy Keene
I'd work in Sabrina's supporting casts from the original live-action film and the various TV series (Seth, Katy Lemore, Fran, Freddie, Marnie/Jenny, Libby, Gem, Cassandra, etc.).
I'd have everyone live in Riverdale to make for easier interaction.
I'd still do the "Riverdale" TV series but without the murder plot, and each season would be only 13 episodes long. I'd introduce all of the characters right away. Between all of them, there should be enough artificial drama to fill 40+ minutes per week.
Instead of canceling the floppies, I'd cancel the digest line and, instead of just reprinting the same stories over and over, print full-sized chronological collections of every story (reissue the collections as demand warrants).
I'd also digitize every previous floppy issue and sell them cheaply on Amazon and other platforms.
I'd also collect the new stories from the digests and sell those digitally as well.
As for the floppies:
Instead of doing New Riverdale, I'd do more of a soft reboot. Older stories, published before the characters' lifetimes, wouldn't hold any weight. The stories would be more modern and relevant. But it wouldn't be a fresh start. The characters wouldn't be meeting each other for the first time.
Story lengths and art styles would vary, from 5-6 pages to 20, from Classic style to various New Look styles. The older and newer writers and artists would contribute.
I'd set up a "continuity of situations", meaning if a character is in one place or predicament in one title, it would carry through to the other titles, so we could avoid situations like Betty and Veronica globetrotting in their own title but being in Riverdale in "Archie", all during seemingly the same school year. Or Riverdale High having different principals in "Archie" and "Jughead".
The floppy titles would be:
Archie
Jughead
Betty
Veronica
Cheryl
Reggie
Sabrina
Josie and the Pussycats
Katy Keene
I'd work in Sabrina's supporting casts from the original live-action film and the various TV series (Seth, Katy Lemore, Fran, Freddie, Marnie/Jenny, Libby, Gem, Cassandra, etc.).
I'd have everyone live in Riverdale to make for easier interaction.
I'd still do the "Riverdale" TV series but without the murder plot, and each season would be only 13 episodes long. I'd introduce all of the characters right away. Between all of them, there should be enough artificial drama to fill 40+ minutes per week.