Dan DeCarlo is Spinning in his Grave
A darkness has befallen Riverdale, a plague known as the “redesign”. Among the first casualties are teenage friends/rivals Betty and Veronica. (via waxy)
Yes, this isn’t the first time Archie and his pals have gone through a drastic redesign, but at a certain point, doesn’t the style become the look? (if that makes any sense) When they’ve been spending the last few decades hiring ghost artists to follow the Archie style guide, then maybe Dan DeCarlo’s art is the definitive Archie look and any redesigns should try to be faithful to that. I agree that the art in Archie comics has become stale and lifeless, but there are better ways to reinvigorate their comics than starting over with a more-realistic (but equally-blank) slate.
What Archie comics should do, is take a page from Peter Kuper’s brilliant reimagining of Antonio Prohias’ classic Spy vs. Spy. Hand the reigns over to a great artist with respect for the material and give them some room to make it their own. Rather than throw out the baby with the bathwater, Archie comics ought to find a good middle ground between their current by-the-numbers fare and the more respectable comics that they aspire to be. In the hands of the right artist, comics that have been written off as disposable and irrelevant can become works of genius. Though the initial signs are hardly inspiring, here’s hoping Archie comics heads in that direction.
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I, for one, welcome our new bland teenage overlords.
But seriously, I literally made the “guhyeuuh” noise when I saw that cover. Double yuck. Then again, if we’re playing the crappy modern reimagining game, I suggest that Archie ought to be reminagined in the style of Image comics circa 1995.
Comment by ROss Lincoln — December 18, 2006 @ 12:56 pm
The mind reels.
Comment by Adam — December 18, 2006 @ 1:33 pm
Now BETTY is the hotter one. Whole story lines will have to be rewritten.
Why do these things happen?
[C]
Comment by Chazz — December 18, 2006 @ 1:39 pm
George Perez circa Crisis. I guess we should be thankful it isn’t another Art Adams clone or manga style.
Comment by Elaine J — December 18, 2006 @ 1:45 pm
The old B&V had so much more character. I think they’re going for a Barbie audience or some shiat. Yikes.
Comment by tim pedersen — December 18, 2006 @ 2:18 pm
It’s actually Bob Montana who came up with the Betty and Veronica characters and who resisted any change in them. But the Dan DeCarlo versions did infuse just enough nascent sexuality into the girls to help a generation or two of boys develop certain, uh, manual skills.
Comment by Rick Broussard — December 18, 2006 @ 2:23 pm
Who *are* those yucky-looking strangers on the cover? They have all the wholesome appeal of a brothel designed by a corptocratic committee!
Comment by G. Kidd — December 18, 2006 @ 2:45 pm
[C] hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Comment by yeled — December 18, 2006 @ 2:55 pm
I want to know what sort of mess they made of the title character, with his crosshatched abstract hair…
You know who I’d like to see get hold of Archie and the rest of the fictional Riverdale bunch? Hilary Barta.
Comment by damar varnish — December 18, 2006 @ 3:18 pm
Jumpin’ Jayzus on a pogo stick.
Betty looks like some Brittany Spears wannabe thing, and Veronica? Scary sized mouth in relation to the face.
Some things should be left alone..remember that horrible remake of Bugs Bunny & co?
Yecch.
Comment by Sandi — December 18, 2006 @ 3:21 pm
ghastly, isn’t it???
Comment by Naomi — December 18, 2006 @ 3:25 pm
Being so darn hip now, one wonders where the piercings are…
Comment by Paul — December 18, 2006 @ 3:35 pm
Thanks for reminding me what a cultural conservative I am, Greg.
After the initial shock wore off, though, I figured it’s not that big a deal. Just because I imprinted on Dan Decarlo art for Archie, Curt Swan doing Superman, and Jim Aparo doing Batman, doesn’t mean they’re the only ones who can do it.
I’m not as optimistic that anything as awesome as Carl Barks can happen here, but I’ll suspend judgment (as your conclusion suggests) and hope that this change means the publisher is open to allowing artists — both pencillers and writers — more creative license with the franchise overall.
Comment by Cris — December 18, 2006 @ 3:52 pm
It’s Archie meets Anime.
Bletch.
Comment by foo — December 18, 2006 @ 4:27 pm
They look like they are drawn by a Mexican soap-opera/adult comic artist. No kidding. Just pass by any decent newsstand near the subway or near a neighborhood with a Spanish speaking population and you’ll find small imported comics that are about the same size as the Archie digests and filled with characters drawn exactly that way.
My guess is that Archie is actually targetting the Spanish speaking market with this new design.
Comment by Jack — December 18, 2006 @ 4:44 pm
How are they going to release Archie Digests now? Kids will totally be confused when seeing the older Archie panels on some pages and the newer Archies on others. They don’t look to be the same characters at all.
Comment by dAnimal — December 18, 2006 @ 4:46 pm
Betty and Veronica, with Poochy!
Comment by David Gerard — December 18, 2006 @ 5:07 pm
It is just one series of stories that will sport the change.
Check out:
http://www.archiecomics.com/news/pr121706-bv-new-look.html
I don’t think there is anything to worry about.
Comment by Addisonx — December 18, 2006 @ 6:09 pm
Hey, at least there’s still Cherry Poptart…
Comment by Ashy — December 18, 2006 @ 6:42 pm
Chazz! You Fool! Betty Was Always The Hot One!
–Conn O. Soeur
Comment by Conn — December 18, 2006 @ 6:56 pm
I’d love to see what Daniel Clowes could do with those characters…
Comment by Matt — December 18, 2006 @ 7:06 pm
It’s not an Anime look - it’s the Mattel/Barbie’s Friends look!
Comment by Tim — December 18, 2006 @ 7:11 pm
Hey, for my money, the all-time greatest Archie artist was Harry Lucey (see some examples at
http://lambiek.net/artists/l/lucey_harry.htm
His angular figures and animated panels made for delightful reading. From what I have heard (from people who know), Lucey used to turn in his pencils with the girls nude, then put clothes on them when he inked :)
Comment by Mister Ron — December 18, 2006 @ 8:00 pm
Anime this isn’t - it’s a Barbie coloring book where someone crapped inside the lines.
Comment by chef — December 18, 2006 @ 10:07 pm
Yayaya … people might be pissed about it, but when’s the last time you bought an Archie comic? Fact is, nobody wants classic cartoons when they can buy comic books full of slutty chicks. Just be glad that they’re not virtually naked with guns and blood dripping out of their mouths.
Comment by sam — December 19, 2006 @ 12:25 am
Finally — a spank-to-able B & V!
Thank you Archie Comics!
Comment by XuYu — December 19, 2006 @ 12:28 am
waaah, i actually do spend money on archies. i’m heart broken why can’t they let ‘em be done by fernando ruiz or my favorite rex lindsey or hell even tania del rio! anything’s better than this.
you know who would be brilliant with archie, rumiko takahashi.
Comment by archiefan — December 19, 2006 @ 1:19 am
I think it would have been better to have hired funny writers to write the scripts instead of making the characters look so ugly. I’m not blaming the artist either; I’ll bet this thing was heavily directed by artists and market research pricks.
Comment by tom — December 19, 2006 @ 2:03 am
Now BETTY is the hotter one. Whole story lines will have to be rewritten.
posted by: Chazz at December 18, 2006 01:39 PM
–
Egad. Hot in the 90’s Britney Spears jailbait way.
Comment by Dave from the Lake Effect Zone — December 19, 2006 @ 5:44 am
Fer cryin’ out loud! These comics have been lame since….well since forever. The occasional sight of one of these girls in a bikini was the only reason ever to buy the comics in the first place. As to Betty now being hotter, well, with the exception of hair color, they used to look EXACTLY ALIKE!
It’s a poorly written book. It always has been. It doesn’t matter what the characters look like if they have nothing either funny or relevant to say. Bring back the classic look if you want, but fire the writers.
Comment by John — December 19, 2006 @ 5:49 am
archie meets anime? I guess you don’t know what anime really is. While it doesn’t fit with the general idea of Archie everyone has, the art itself is fine. It’s just out of place here…
Comment by Dagger XL — December 19, 2006 @ 6:39 am
This is exactly what John K. (of Ren’n'Stimpy fame) is always talking about when he blogs that we have lost a sense of style. The old B’n'V had style, even if their jokes were rehashed ones from the ’60s and ’70s. Why couldn’t they have just given the hack writing a rework instead of trashing the style they had for some blah photorealism garbage. I sadly won’t be tempted by Archie and the gang at checkouts anymore.
Comment by Nick — December 19, 2006 @ 7:58 am
omigod! i can’t take my eyes off veronica’s NOSE!! it looks like a ski slope! find that plastic surgeon and kill him!!!!
Comment by suzanne — December 19, 2006 @ 8:22 am
And in the movie, Betty will be played by Brittney Spears, Veronica by Janet Jackson (obviously suffering from her family’s “congenital” vitiligo and nasal cartilage degeneration). Eek.
No, not Hilary Barta, Jill Thompson. Better yet - Ellen Forney.
Comment by Jason — December 19, 2006 @ 9:00 am
What’s getting lost in this is that it’s now $3.95 for a double digest.
That’s craziness.
Comment by The Former Blogger Formerly Known as Josh Cohen — December 19, 2006 @ 10:23 am
DAMN!!! That looks so fug!
Comment by Sara_P — December 19, 2006 @ 11:06 am
I agree with Tom, funnier stories would serve better than this new look. I am still mourning the passing of Sabrina into Manga-world.
But, even at its nadir, these comics are not lame. They are escapism, but with less gunfire than Alias.
Comment by Veronica's Mom, Angela — December 19, 2006 @ 1:00 pm
WHAT CAN WE DO TO STOP THAT?
Petition? Murder?
IM ANGRY!
rrhhhhhhaaaa!
Comment by Ed — December 19, 2006 @ 1:11 pm
Does this mean Archie Comics will finally allow “Goodman Goes Playboy” to be reprinted?
Of course not.
Comment by haydn60 — December 19, 2006 @ 2:38 pm
Reminds me of that scene in Simpsons when Homer imagined his kids as humans.
Comment by Raphy C — December 19, 2006 @ 10:00 pm
Ewwww, Betty and Veronica - they’re broken!
Comment by citykids — December 19, 2006 @ 10:12 pm
Hilary Barta, for sure.
Have you considered the other extreme? What about having different artists frequently, reinterpreting these iconic images and letting the best percolate to the top? Lea Hernandez, Jill Thompson, Sarah Dyer, J. Torres, Adrian Tomne(!), Chynna Clugston-Major…
… but maybe not Frank Miller.
Comment by Mozai — December 20, 2006 @ 5:45 am
Geez!
You know it has this feel and look of a bad ripoff comic out of south America, the kind they used to have where you could tell they just traced over an old comic and then re-inked it.
It’s God-awful.
I agree, they should let it reach into hands of other people, people who love the comic itself and give it a bit of a new look.
Heck I think if they even full-on sold out, and say, make it into a Manga, I would have at least picked it up and read through it.
It’s funny I was looking at Betty’s shirt and the inking and purple reminded me for some reason of Charles Burn….that would hilarious to See him on it.
Garth Ennis could write!
Comment by Juan Navarro — December 20, 2006 @ 7:45 am
At least they didn’t make them fat. Because teenage girls need to learn that they need to be skinny if they want to succeed in life.
Comment by Darkwater — December 20, 2006 @ 1:42 pm
>>>>< Oh god, this is horrendous. When I saw those… MONSTERS, I almost cried. Thank god Archiecomics.com still has the good stuff. And also, thank god I still have the retro seventies comics. <3 Goodbye, girls. We loved you.
Comment by Aingeal — December 20, 2006 @ 5:07 pm
This is just so wrong. Given the choice between being a Betty or a Veronica, looks like the smart money may be on Big Ethel. I LOVED Harry Lucey’s version of the gang. His renditions of B & V had a great pinup girl quality to them. So sad. I better start taking better care of my old Double Digests — will not be making future purchases if this is what’s in store.
Comment by Annie — December 20, 2006 @ 11:05 pm
Ruined…I agree with the person who said they looked about as wholesome as a brothel.
Comment by Sylvia — December 21, 2006 @ 6:10 am
Wierd. I just baught an Archie’s Double Digest yesterday. It has an awesome storyline about Riverdale falling under the boot of Big Brother. Archie keeps referencing 1984, and bloated military-industrial spending makes an appearance. It has a picture of Archie on a sled on the front cover, and is #175, if anyone is interested.
Comment by Joe — December 21, 2006 @ 8:25 am
I’ve illustrated a few different versions of Archie Covers here to show how other (better) artists might tackle the task:
http://digg.com/design/Celebrity_Archie_Redesign_Archie_set_in_Sin_City_others_images
I’ve got Frank Miller, Penny Arcade, Frank Cho & XKCD so far… give it a couple of diggs if you want to… try and get it front paged so we can send the message to RiverdaleCorp!
Comment by Bitcloud — December 21, 2006 @ 5:59 pm
Betty is nondescript and Veronica is downright ugly! It looks like they’re desexing Betty and Veronica, the way they did with Barbie. Change the look of these babes, and we might as well read comics about Betsy Wetsy feeding dolls. No one is a bigger Archie fan than me. Stop them!
Comment by Carol Spilman — February 22, 2007 @ 8:23 am
That is just horrible
I am a big FAN of Archies comic
I had a collection and i always love them
WHY GOD WHY they’re want change them
They’re was just fine like they’re were DX
I like betty so much she the sweetness of this comic, the more pretty
Look how she look now and i not want to speak about Veronica >:C
If they’re change them, i will never buy this comic again
I GROW UP WITH THE OLD STYLE (UNIQUE STYLE)
If they’re change it well i will miss the old style alot T_T
PS) Sorry for my bad english =C
Comment by Emmy — May 12, 2008 @ 9:06 am