Archie Comics are a hardy perennial in the states, the stories of the titular teen heartthrob constantly balancing the affections of his two prospective suitors - Betty and Veronica - whilst his idiot friend Jughead sat in the background wearing...whatever that hat's supposed to be, offering a comfortable, familiar feeling of a world that hasn't changed for 75 years. Now, Archie Comics are planning to change that with a complete reboot funded by a new Kickstarter campaign. Whilst the Archie titles don't have the same popularity in the UK - outside of the odd reference in an episode of Friends, for example - they really are woven into the fabric of American pop culture, the town of Riverdale looking much the same today as it did when it started being published. Which makes the recent changes at the company even more radical. A world still stuck in the fifties had appropriately conservative values, and yet over the past few years they've introduced a gay character (Kevin Keller), and a mature-readers title full of blood, guts and zombies (Afterlife With Archie). Plans to revitalise the line further were announced last year, with long-time comics writer Mark Waid and Saga artist Fiona Staples being brought on board to bring the main Archie title kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Apparently the publishers need a bit of help in achieving that goal, asking for fans to stump up some $350,000 in exchange for various "perks". That huge sum will also help them put out three new previously, announced books: Betty And Veronica by Adam Hughes, Life With Kevin from writer/artist Dan Parent and inker J. Bone, and a Jughead book written by Howard The Duck's Chip Zdarsky (yes, that is a terrifying prospect). Some comic shop owners have baulked at Archie looking for funding from fans, and critics have pondered how exactly a huge publisher needs help to...well, publish things. "Archie isn't owned by a corporate behemoth. We're more like David, fighting against Goliath," they wrote on the Kickstarter page. "The reality is that we're not Marvel or DC. We see this as a good thing. We move quickly. We take risks and we are not beholden to any paper-pushers with a profit margin to meet. The only people we answer to are you, our fans, which we love." Just so long as Jughead doesn't start brimping...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
