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Messages - Shuester

#1
Feedback/Support / Re: Posts way down.
November 29, 2019, 11:50:40 PM
So what new content is currently being printed? I consider the Digests to be new, since they include at least one new story per issue.

And what's ACP's longterm plan here? Riverdale and the other TV shows have been quite successful- has none of it translated back into comic book sales?
#2
While this may not be an accurate indication of the comic demographic, I can confirm that at least some young girls are reading new "Archie" comics, including "Betty and Veronica." I know many families and kids who go to summer camp, and girls around 9-15 are well known in camp as Digest readers. Whether they buy their own new comics or simply share them around I don't know. My guess is a mix of both.
Basically, when you're encouraged to use non-electronics [the camps I know of do not allow campers to use anything with Internet access while on the grounds], kids will pick up books again. For many of them, that includes comic books... and for many girls, that means Archies.
#3
All About Archie / Re: Riverdale Episode 8
April 19, 2017, 03:44:46 PM
That makes sense. But Jason's age still doesn't. Unless Cheryl and Jason are actually older than the kids they hung out with, Jason would've been football quarterback and captain, as a freshman. From the way everyone talks about him, he seemed more like a junior to me...but I guess not.
#4
All About Archie / Re: Riverdale Episode 8
April 19, 2017, 12:21:56 PM
I'm extremely confused about the ages. In the comics, Polly is several years older than Betty and already living out of the house with a job, so she's probably about 22 or 23 at least. In the show, I figured she was in college as a freshman (and of course in college in Riverdale; since no one ever leaves Riverdale- look at all of the adults). But Alice Cooper said that Polly never graduated high school? Was she a junior, only one or two years older than Betty? And was Jason the star of the football team as a freshman? He and Cheryl are twins, and Cheryl seems to be in the same grade as the gang, who are sophomores in the show... I'm very confused.
#5
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on April 19, 2017, 08:10:18 AM

But how do those observations relate to selling Archie Comics in comic book stores?  YOU don't like superhero comics, which is fine, but do you realistically think that someday the main consumer base in comic book stores will be anything else but? The entire existence of a retail store dedicated to selling comic books is built around three things: the monthly floppy comic book format, collecting, and superheroes. Those three things are intimately intertwined with the very existence of comic book stores. At least in the US and Canada. Most people just aren't going to be motivated to drive to a special store to buy something like a comic, unless they are already committed, in a very focused way, to it as a hobby. For some reason the superhero fans/readers/collector as a group just seem more motivated than readers of other genres. Or at least they are by far the most numerous of the motivated consumers.


My point was mostly that there may be a downward trend in comics as a whole- not just Archie comics, but comics in general- because of two of the things I discussed above. New readers (like myself in terms of superhero comics) get discouraged and don't make a habit of reading comics when they can't understand the story because they missed the first dozen issues. And comics are no longer popular with kids the way they once were. I'm not saying these are the only reasons comics aren't being sold at the high numbers of the past, but I do think these are two big reasons.


I realize that a multi-issue storyline, and mature comics, and superhero comics in general, are all part of what makes people enjoy comics in the first place. I'm not saying these aspects should go away, especially if they have committed fanbases. I was just stating my observations, as someone who wants comics as a whole to continue being successful (though I only read Archie comics.)
#6

To bring this back to the main topic...

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on April 03, 2017, 12:50:44 PM
Some further thoughts related to the comic book marketplace, the audience, or potential audience, for comics as a medium in general, and the diversity of that audience occur to me. These are very basic assumptions that readers of comics never seem to consider or question. Why is the audience of comic book consumers less diverse than the audience of consumers for movies, television, video games, or novels? The comic book industry is dependent on motivated readers. People who have decided for whatever reason that "I WANT to read comics." Reading comics is no longer a casual experience as it once was many decades ago when it could still be called a mass medium. It can't be strictly about the limits of content that the current comic market is offering. That doesn't explain why millions of people would spend their disposable entertainment budget money on seeing a Batman movie or playing a Batman video game, but less than 1% of those same people are willing to spend $3 or $4 for fifteen or twenty minutes worth of entertainment reading a Batman comic book. How does someone go from never having ever read a comic book to one day reading a comic book, and then reading more comic books, until it becomes a desire and then a habit? What makes someone decide that the money spent on a comic is a good return on their entertainment dollar, and therefore worthwhile? There are social factors as well those related to an individual's personal life history, and I would submit those factors are one of the biggest things limiting the diversity of the comics audience. A long time ago almost every kid in America was likely to have read some kind of comic at some time in his or her childhood, but that hasn't been the case for years. If they're not familiarized with the medium at a young age, a person is less likely to ever acquire the habit. Just a few of the things rambling through my mind here.


1. In the past few years, I tried a couple of times to read superhero comics. I picked up some DC and Marvel issues on Free Comic Book Day, just to try them out. But I couldn't get into the stories. Some of them were continuations of previous issues that I hadn't read, and some of them were just not that interesting. Either way, none of them compelled me to continue. Even without that experience, I probably wouldn't have been able to get into superhero comics, though. They all have overarching storylines, and readers need to be familiar with the characters and events of the previous comic in order to fully enjoy the current one. I think that this is a part of the reason that comic sales, in general, are on a downturn. New fans, who may want to get into comics after watching the latest Batman movie, won't be interested if they can't understand what is going on when they begin with Issue #49.


2. I wouldn't say that comics are unknown to kids nowadays, but it is probably true that they are no longer the primary consumers of comic books. Even newspaper cartoons aren't read by kids- there are less of them appearing, the quality seems to be lower than it used to be, and they aren't really targeted at kids. Archie seems to have realized this, and is trying to adapt by aiming for a teen/young adult demographic with "Riverdale" and New Archie, while also trying to keep the kids and older fans with Classic Archie. So far, the TV show (which I started to watch, and surprisingly am enjoying) has been attracting attention from the right demographics. If the comics continue being published regularly, hopefully they will too.
#7
I'm excited for this! Dan Parent is not my favorite Archie artist, but he is someone who's work I'm familiar with, and I know that he always does a solid job. I trust him with this new series. I wonder who's idea it was, his or the corporation's?


I agree with many others that this would be more exciting if it was purely in the old style. But it isn't. At least it is close enough to the old style, though, and it seems to match classic Archie more in terms of tone as well, which I will appreciate.

#8
All About Archie / Re: Character Ethics
March 29, 2017, 03:17:23 PM
I'd say that Betty and Veronica are technically equally ethical in this story, but Veronica's actions overall count for more. Betty does everything that we've come to expect from Betty- she defends Veronica, and she makes dolls for the girls in the hospital. But because we don't expect that to come from Veronica, it makes all of her actions even better. She didn't just make the dolls. She also decided- without telling Betty or asking for any attention- to have an anonymous donation sent to the hospital. She turned down the chance to receive credit for her efforts by not delivering the dolls in person. And she didn't complain out loud to anyone when the nurses immediately bashed her work. The beginning of this story gives us classic "rich girl Ronnie" vibes, but most of the story shows that she really does have a heart of gold. It is very rare for Veronica to act so selflessly, but she pulls it off rather well.


I do wish the story ended on a happier note.
#9
All About Archie / Re: Character Ethics
March 27, 2017, 03:36:09 AM

I agree that Reggie is the worst, followed by Veronica, followed by Archie, followed by Betty. Whoever this Ross guy is, he is obviously the best- saving Ronnie just because she needs help, and asking nothing of return. Nice.

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on March 25, 2017, 07:36:11 AM
If Archie hadn't been so quick to go running back to Veronica (he did, after all, refer to her as a rat), Betty would have told him that the repair was only temporary. (What did he think, that she carried an inflatables patch-kit in her swimsuit?)


Knowing Betty, I wouldn't be surprised if she did have an inflatables patch-kit with her on the beach. It's Betty. Usually when she fixes something, it ends up better than before.
#10

Honestly, I can go with most of the ships that Archie comics throw at me. But some of the ones I don't like are:


- Archie and Cheryl. It makes sense why Archie would want her, but she won't tolerate him for long. And it is purely physical on Archie's part, so it's pointless.
- Chuck and Nancy with other people. They go well together.
- Little Archie shipping. No ten year olds "date" the way the Little Archie gang does.

#11
I was wondering, do the original New Look characters tend to appear in any of the traditional Archie Comics after their appearances? I'm pretty sure I remember someone referring to Nick St. Clair of "Bad Boy Trouble" in a regular Digest issue. And I think I may have seen Sandy Sanchez of the Jughead "Matchmakers" story somewhere as well.


On a slightly different note, did any of these characters exist before the New Look stories, or were they created specifically for them?
#12


I don't know what year this comes from, but Archie's Funhouse only got started a couple of years ago, so this is a pretty modern Digest cover. This is a pretty funny joke. It isn't a crazy original concept, and the art isn't anything that hasn't been seen before. But the joke is funny, the characters are recognizable, and the cover does a job of getting the vibe of the comics across. Compare that to three of the Digest covers from the upcoming May...
















They're basically all the same thing; only one has speech and I'm not even sure what the joke is. I know which comic I'd rather buy.


#13
May seems to have a really good selection of comics.

Something I've been noticing over the past few years is that the Digest covers never really seem to have jokes anymore. Usually it's just images of the main cast looking extremely cartoony and Barbie-like, frolicking in the snow or the leaves or the water or the flowers. Everyone always has a massive, slightly unsettling smile on their face. The covers used to attract me because of the jokes, and the ones that do still have jokes are always my first pick over these extremely happy ones. Has anyone else noticed this?
#14
Is Veronica a new student in all of them? I haven't been able to read the newest comics in quite a while, so I don't really know what's happening. But she was definitely new to Riverdale in the "Archie" timeline... is that the case for all?
#15
Story Help / Re: HYPNOSIS STORIES?
March 01, 2017, 09:48:02 AM

Maybe about a year or two ago in digests, there was a story about Reggie hypnotizing Archie to be his servant and do his chores. Whenever a pretty girl walked by, Archie would be in a "trance," and whatever Reggie told him to do at the time would get done. Really well written story.

Quote from: Asdfghjkl on January 07, 2017, 12:22:53 PM
Does anyone know of any classic Archie, B&V, or Jughead hypnosis stories?  I've always loved this trope, whether it was on Giligan's Island, Mister Ed, The Flintstones, or The Suite Life on Deck.  You know me, I prefer B&V stories, but I'm also a fan of Jughead.  So almost any type of hypnosis stories are welcome.  I'm just looking for something funny (and free) to read.  Thanks in advance


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I know which episode you're talking about, and it is a good one.