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Messages - Fernando Ruiz

#46
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on November 26, 2016, 12:41:56 AM

This kind of behind-the-curtain stuff is fascinating, Fernando. I thought Trev was part of the "New Kids" initiative, which included many new ethnically-diverse characters, or maybe he came about even earlier, as part of Dan Parent's "Archie Marries Valerie" storyline. Maybe Dan would know more about the genesis of those characters. I'll have to ask him sometime.


I'm not a hundred percent sure of the details behind Trev's creation. He was Dan's idea. I'm pretty sure he did stem from Pellerito's call for more interesting minorities.



#47
Quote from: SAGG on November 25, 2016, 08:12:00 PM

I've got two: What if ACP wanted to change the direction of Archie like they have now, but wanted to keep you Classic artists? Would you have any trouble doing what they wanted, or would you have felt uncomfortable with the change? What if they wanted you to change your artwork as well to match the change in the story retro-wise, something more "serious-looking"?  :coolsmiley:


   If Archie had opted to have the classic artists draw the reboot books, I would draw it just as I would any other job. I'd already modified my approach to the characters somewhat while I was drawing the Life With Archie magazine series. If ACP had wanted the looks of the characters modernized, I certainly, as a professional, would have no problem doing that. As a fan, of course, my preference would be for the characters to remain in their classic style! I have always worked very hard to remain a diverse artists capable of working in many styles, genres, and tones. Drawing a more serious or mature Archie simply would have been just another job for me.


At New York Comic con this year, I had my very first conversation with Archie president Mike Pellerito since my "departure" from Archie Comics. To his credit, the conversation came about at his suggestion and as an attempt to repair the relationship between Archie Comics and myself. (Rest assured nothing came of this.) In the course of this exchange, I'd suggestion that one of the reasons why my "dismissal" had been unnecessary was because I easily could've drawn any one of the reboot titles. He responded very quickly with, "It wouldn't have sold."


I have no illusions that a reboot title drawn by myself would've sold in the same numbers as the Fiona Staples drawn issues, but we would have seen a boost in sales simply from the reboot alone. We also would have seen that boost be far more sustainable since I would have stayed with the title far longer than Staples' three issues. (The book has been bleeding readers since she left!) Plus, with a more moderate modification, they would've had material that could more seamlessly be used in the digests further on down the line.


Unfortunately, Pellerito was fixated on using (however temporarily) "big names" and trying to use the "news" of a total stylistic overhaul both in terms of story and art to further bolster the "splash" they were looking to make. Admittedly, they did make a bit of a splash, but the ripples of that splash are very evidently waning now.


I may have to tell the wonderful, heart-warming story about how us "classic guys" first learned of the reboot. It's a beautiful story that is very pertinent to the Holiday season, but its a story for another time...


#48
Quote from: irishmoxie on November 25, 2016, 05:55:56 PM

More stories like this!! Fernando, you need to write an autobiography.



These days I post most of my Archie stories and commentaries over at my own blog. Please check over there for my behind the scenes accounts.


http://fernandoruizeverybody.com

I keep threatening to write a lengthy telling about my time on Life With Archie. One of these days when I get a little time, I'm going to sit down and do it.

I've scaled back my posts on this board simply because as Archie Comics retreats further and further into my past, I have less to offer on it. I certainly have made my feelings concerning Archie Comics' current direction known. What else is left to say? Still, I do check back from time to time so if anyone has questions for me specifically, I'll answer as best I can.






#49
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on November 24, 2016, 12:08:03 AM

She's a Tom DeFalco creation.


Well sort of...


I think I've told this story before... Archie Comics president Mike Pellerito was obsessed with bringing diversity to the Riverdale cast who he constantly described as being "too lily white." A noble enough sentiment, but he often urged us to shoe-horn Chuck and Nanci into stories and cover gags where they really served no purpose other than to be "the black friend." There were quite a few covers I'd drawn where Pellerito's only response would be, "Could you put Chuck in there?"


Eventually Pellerito decided that Chuck and Nanci were pretty boring and ordered a moratorium on his previous unspoken standing decree that they be included on every cover. He also determined that Riverdale needed new exciting minorities. From this sprang Trev and Toni Topaz.


I wasn't there for Trev, but I was in the office the day Toni Topaz was created by committee by the entire art department. You should've heard some of the other names being suggested for the character! I wish I could remember them, but I do recall they all sounded like we were naming the first stripper in Riverdale. Since I was right there in the office, I was asked to draw a few sketches of this new character. I had a magazine with me with a picture of the singer, Rihannain it. In the picture, she was wearing a hat. This became my inspiration for Toni. I forget if I decided to give her the pink hair or if someone else did.


Toni was put into that first Jughead story and almost immediately afterwards, Archie Comics went into one of its recent big money crunches. As a result, the digests saw a huge cutback in new material. Toni continued to appear on almost all of the digest covers but by that point, she'd appeared in only one or two stories. Most readers' responses to her were, "Who's THAT?"







#50
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on November 25, 2016, 12:37:50 AM

His original contract was for three issues.




I'd heard four.



#51
Quote from: Deb on November 20, 2016, 05:59:08 PM
  Jughead has been fun, but I get the sneaky fekeling that it isn't selling very well.


It depends on how you're setting the bar.


According to October's sales charts, Jughead sold a little over 8,000 copies. That is about 1,000 copies less than the month before. The Archie title sold about 13K which is also down about a thousand copies from the previous month.* Both titles are still selling a bit better than their pre-reboot counterparts, but the following is worth noting...


1) The creative teams of both books are paid far more than us old "classic" artists ever were! That alone makes these books more expensive to publish than they used to be.


2) The numbers of these books are artificially inflated by the number of variant covers being sold. An issue with three different variants that sells 8,000 copies does not necessarily translate into 8,000 separate individual readers! Something to think about for the Long Haul!


I'm curious to see what happens to Jughead in a few issues if his decline continues.




[size=78%]* And down a whopping EIGHTY-THREE THOUSAND copies from Archie #1![/size]
#52
General Discussion / DIE KITTY DIE HOLLYWOOD OR BUST
October 17, 2016, 12:00:26 AM
Some of you guys already know about this but just in case, I thought I'd make an official post about it here.


The new DIE KITTY DIE Kickstarter campaign is going on NOW! The next DKD adventure, DIE KITTY DIE HOLLYWOOD OR BUST, has been funded but now we're out to make it better and better with cool and exciting stretch goals.


Some of you guys helped us out during our first Kickstarter campaign last year and we're very grateful for your support. Here's your chance to help us do it again. Make sure you get your copy of Die Kitty Die plus any of the other cool stuff we're going to make available throughout the campaign. Please check us out here:


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/14732987/die-kitty-die-hollywood-or-bust


Please help if you can and please help us spread the word!


Thanks, Everybody!



#53
All About Archie / Re: New York Comic Con 2016
October 01, 2016, 01:37:15 AM
Dan Parent, Gisele Lagace, and I will all be appearing at Artists Alley. Come on by. Pick up a copy of Die Kitty Die and get it signed by all three of us!
#54
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on August 29, 2016, 09:44:21 AM

That always seemed like a particularly weird fashion statement to me. Lederhosen and a little alpine hat. What possible explanation could you give for that? Did he have another job as part of the Disney "cast members" for the Disneyland Matterhorn ride?



I was always partial to lederhosen Superduck myself.


I always thought the lederhosen was part of the attempt to make Supes more along the lines of Donald Duck. When Supes gets his lederhosen, he also gets a cute nephew and a fiery self-destructive temper ala Donald. I figured the lederhosen was an arbitrary fashion choice much like Donald's sailor suit.



#55
Quote from: botolo on August 28, 2016, 05:07:49 PM
The Archie written by Mark Waid and drawn by many different artists is light years far from the classic Archie we all loved.




The Archie comic books being published now are an entirely different product from what the company has published for seventy-five years and it has an entirely different market as its target.

Regarding the podcast, I'm sorry to see it go although admittedly as my involvement with Archie came to an end and all things Archie become more "reboot-centric", I stopped listening as regularly. Jonathan was always a big supporter of mine and he even did a Die Kitty Die episode a few months book so I will always be appreciative of that and I will also remember our conversations fondly.


I hope to see him again.




#56
General Discussion / Re: RIP THE RIVERDALE PODCAST
August 05, 2016, 11:35:08 PM
Quote from: steveinthecity on August 05, 2016, 04:16:20 PM
Quote from: Fernando Ruiz on August 05, 2016, 03:53:25 PM
Quote from: steveinthecity on August 04, 2016, 03:52:37 PM
Somewhat off topic, but shouldn't Fernando and Dan and whomever they're collaborating with have their own podcast where they talk about current projects & stuff?


Its a nice idea but both Dan and I have our hands full.
Ain't full with Archie storyboards and scripts, but I understand...


You must be the Ambassador of Etiquette and Finesse on this board.









#57
General Discussion / Re: RIP THE RIVERDALE PODCAST
August 05, 2016, 03:53:25 PM
Quote from: steveinthecity on August 04, 2016, 03:52:37 PM
Somewhat off topic, but shouldn't Fernando and Dan and whomever they're collaborating with have their own podcast where they talk about current projects & stuff?


Its a nice idea but both Dan and I have our hands full.



#58
General Discussion / Re: RIP THE RIVERDALE PODCAST
August 05, 2016, 03:52:02 PM
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on August 04, 2016, 02:34:33 AM
I'm pretty excited about next Saturday's Riverdale Podcast with special guests Rik Offenberger and Paul Castiglia talking about their new book, THE MLJ COMPANION. Jonathan should have asked Fernando Ruiz on the show as well - I know he's a huge fan of the ACP superheroes. I hope it's an extra-long show!


I would've done it.



#59
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on July 27, 2016, 11:57:58 AM

Sorry, I was scanning through a lot of images and those 4 covers showed up in a group, I should have checked.


No problem, DR!



#60
Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on July 27, 2016, 11:13:23 AM

Wow, looks like Dan Parent is on a roll now. Not only does he have variant covers for all the Chapterhouse Comics in October (All-New Classic Captain Canuck #4, Captain Canuck #10, Northguard #4, and The Pitiful Human Lizard #10 -- all of which feature Kitty Ravenscroft on the covers)...


Dan's definitely busy these days but the variant covers for Captain Canuck#10 and Pitiful Human Lizard #10 are mine.


Here's Captain Canuck:


http://fernandoruizeverybody.com/captain-canuck-10-variant-cover/




Here's The Pitiful Human Lizard:


http://fernandoruizeverybody.com/the-pitiful-human-lizard-10-variant-cover/