July 15th, 2014
The news of the “‘death’ of Archie” (as they put it on the CGC slabs) shocked–shocked–America yesterday. And not just because Archie is now “dead”–the publisher, Archie Comics, announced that he was going to buy the farm back in April. No, the real shock was that it turns out Archie was assassinated. Gunned down while valiantly saving the life of his friend. Who’s gay. And also gay-married. And a politician. Who’s crusading against gun rights. While dealing with Iraq-war related PTSD.
Okay, I made up the last part but everything else is true. A few thoughts:
* Archie isn’t really dead, of course. Only the Archie of the Life with Archie series is dead. The regular Archie in the regular Archie series will keep plugging along.
* How relevant is Archie? I mean, from the hundreds and hundreds of items in the news yesterday, you’d think it’s a pretty big deal. Well in June the regular, flagship Archie title came out with issue #656. It was ranked #327 on the sales chart. Anyone want to guess how many copies it sold? Bueller? Bueller?
4,063
Not a typo.
* But Archie is a dynamo compared to Life with Archie. In May, the most recent issue of Life, #35, sold 2,064 copies.
* The stunt is perfectly in line with a company that’s experiencing massive internal turmoil. But it makes you wonder: Didn’t they get the memo at Archie Comics? Gay is yesterday. The future is trans! You have to wonder why the transphobic writers and artists at Archie are happy to include well adjusted homosexual characters, but have no room for trans-characters in their stories. It’s this sort of cis-gender bias which is holding back sales of comic books and keeping them in their ghetto subculture. It’s not like the character of Jughead hasn’t been silently signaling her true gender identity for years with her tiara. If only they’d be more inclusive.
The lesson we can all take from this, I think, is that the people who run Archie Comics are small-minded bigots and that Archie got what he deserved.
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While dealing with Iraq-war related PTSD
So far as I can tell, it’s only the PTSD part that’s made up. Senator Keller appears to be a military veteran.
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[…] issue #656. It was ranked #327 on the sales chart. Anyone want to guess how many copies it sold?” he wrote on his personal blog. “4,063. Not a typo. But Archie is a dynamo compared to Life with Archie. In May, the most recent […]
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[…] issue #656. It was ranked #327 on the sales chart. Anyone want to guess how many copies it sold?” he wrote on his personal blog. “4,063. Not a typo. But Archie is a dynamo compared to Life with Archie. In May, the most recent […]
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[…] issue #656. It was ranked #327 on the sales chart. Anyone want to guess how many copies it sold?” he wrote on his personal blog. “4,063. Not a typo. But Archie is a dynamo compared to Life with Archie. In May, the most recent […]
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[…] issue #656. It was ranked #327 on the sales chart. Anyone want to guess how many copies it sold?” he wrote on his personal blog. “4,063. Not a typo. But Archie is a dynamo compared to Life with Archie. In May, the most recent […]
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I think your sales figures for Archie and the Life probably leave out general newsstand sales. It doesn’t surprise me that comic book shops (who order from Diamond) wouldn’t stock huge numbers; but Archie books are still sold all over the place otherwise, eh? And that may be where their topical strategy is paying off. Although who can say? Do you have any other sources for sales figures for Archie?
For Archie Comics, a political focus is a strategy, not a stunt | Google News Today July 16, 2014 at 10:58 am
[…] #656. It was ranked #327 on a sales chart. Anyone wish to theory how many copies it sold?” he wrote on his personal blog. “4,063. Not a typo. But Archie is a hustler compared to Life with Archie. In May, a many new […]