Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
In 2010, Jon Goldwater joined Archie Comics, managing the day to day published and simmering entertainment wing of the storied publisher. At the time, it would have been easy to count the classic comic book company out, in the midst of the dawn of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the always massive Batman films from DC Comics. Cut to 2020, and Archie Comics is ascendant; with not one, not two, but three TV shows on the air, and a renewed sense of purpose.
The change didn’t happen overnight, of course. It was a slow march towards renewed relevancy that kicked off with 2010’s Life With Archie, a comic that imagined what would happen if Archie Andrews finally made a choice between Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge (true to form, the comic followed both possible futures to their logical conclusions). This was followed by the introduction of the publishers first gay character, Kevin Keller, the same year… But things truly kicked into high gear in 2013 with the introduction of the Afterlife With Archie, a zombie riff that killed a good portion of the cast in graphic fashion.
Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and drawn by Francesco Francavilla, Afterlife was a hit that led directly to a similarly horror themed follow-up, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (also written by Aguirre-Sacasa, and drawn by Robert Hack). What followed was nearly a decade of creative resurgence for the publisher… But the last three years have been on another level, mostly thanks to the enormous, buzzy hit that is The CW’s Riverdale.
That’s right: it’s only been three years since the dark, sexy take on Archie Comics’ characters debuted, and it’s been followed up in quick order by Netflix’s similarly dark take on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which just debuted a new half-season. And tonight, Archie Comics is going the opposite route, with the bright, cheery, musically infused Riverdale spinoff, Katy Keene.
It’s been an insanely busy couple of weeks for a publisher that looked down for the count a decade earlier. To find out more of the backstory, as well as what’s next for both Archie Comics, on TV and off, Decider talked to Goldwater over email about this hectic, historic period for Archie and friends.
Decider: Obviously this has been a big couple of weeks in the TV universe, with Part 3 of Sabrina, the return of Riverdale, the Riverdale/Katy Keene crossover, and the premiere of Katy Keene… On the comics end, how do you prep for something like this? What’s involved, including publishing plans and promotions?
Jon Goldwater: Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for fans of the show to engage with the comics. Some fans of the show are not as familiar with the source material. We try to make the content as available in as many formats and avenues as possible. We also promote the shows in the comics, to make sure it works the other way, too.
In terms of Archie Comics as a media company, which is what we are now – a media brand that has many platforms with which to showcase stories featuring our characters – it’s a major, historic moment. If, when I took over the company, I’d predicted that at one point Archie would have three series running concurrently, you might have laughed me out of the room. Archie was in many ways a nostalgia brand at the time – basking in some kind of past glory that was long gone. Now it’s a vibrant, modern brand that has loads of history but a bright future. That’s an important piece of context that I think sometimes gets lost in the 24-hour news cycle. Archie has been around for 80 years, but never felt so of the moment and vital. I’m really proud of that and it’s a testament to all the work we do at Archie Comics.
So, to answer your question – to properly capitalize on a media moment like this, we keep doing what we’ve always done. Tell engaging, entertaining stories with our characters, whether it’s television, movies, animation, comics, prose or anything else. People love these icons, they’ve welcomed alternate and flexible takes. They want more, as long as they’re true to the characters they know, and that’s the challenge we step up to face daily.
Clearly with the launch of something like Katy Keene, the TV side is continuing to mine the past of Archie Comics, and there’s a rich history there. How much, though, are you looking to the future, in terms of creating new ideas alongside the classics?
I think a lot of people took our first two shows for granted – because Archie/Riverdale and Sabrina are our top properties. But Katy Keene is different. I liken it to our Iron Man moment. When Marvel announced plans for an Iron Man movie, a lot of people scoffed. They felt like their best characters – Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four – were already spoken for. But then they changed the game, and they reinvigorated the brand at the same time. We see a lot of parallels there with Katy Keene, who, look, we love – she’s an icon. But she’s also a deeper cut than Archie, Sabrina or even Josie. We see this as a really pivotal moment for the company and for our media properties.
In terms of new ideas, we’re always reexamining our library and trying to find new ways to reactivate or rework what we have, which includes introducing new concepts and mash-ups – like Afterlife [with Archie], Jughead the Hunger, Vampironica…the possibilities are endless. We have to always remain flexible and open to change, but also honor and respect who these characters are. That’s my guiding light.
On that note, I feel like one of the folks who jump into the @ArchieComics mentions whenever there’s a Sabrina post, but any movement on Roberto and company finishing the first story in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina?
Roberto is understandably very busy! We talk about it and we know there’s a great desire for those books to be finished. But until then, we’ll just have to enjoy the massive bounty of Archie-centric entertainment Roberto is working on, which is truly amazing to witness.
Similarly, you’ve had the great Riverdale tie-ins from Micol Ostow… Will we be seeing a Season 4.5 for that? And any plans to do something similar for Katy Keene, and perhaps even Sabrina?
Micol’s a versatile and great writer – we really lucked out with her. She was doing the Riverdale prose novels with Scholastic and her voice just jumped out at us as we read it. It made sense to create some synergy there and, to be frank, carve out some space for the comics to do more than tell stories “between episodes.” We wanted to really add to that mythos and give comic readers something that not only existed in that world, but counted. We’ll see that really ramp up with RIVERDALE: THE TIES THAT BIND, our first-ever Riverdale original graphic novel, which pairs Micol with artist Thomas Pitilli to tell a story that, for all intents and purposes, is a “lost season” of the show. It fits in with everything, but also gives fans something more to chew on.
We have plans to do similar things with the other shows, certainly, but it’s too early to announce. But yes, it makes a lot of sense!
Beyond the comics, as you mentioned there are tie-in novels, as well… Archie has always been about different trains running, but particularly when it comes to balancing all these different universes, how important is it to keep them consistent and tied together, on all ends?
It’s very important. We have a dedicated, smart, and savvy fanbase. They not only want the content, they want it to fit in with the greater consistency. I hesitate to say continuity, because Archie’s never been about that – we’ve told stories and told the best versions of those stories. But I understand that readers want things to make sense, and we try our best to make sure they all sync up – more in terms of quality than in being completely consistent, but that’s also a concern, especially as our media reach grows and we see our characters in stories on the screen, in novels, podcasts, comics, and beyond.
Three shows is already quite a bit, but I have to imagine there’s a hunger for more… Are there more Archie-verse shows in the works? Or any you’d love to see adapted for screen? I know fans loved the idea Roberto pitched a while ago to have a standalone “Afterlife With Archie” movie, with all the casts.
We have a lot of plates spinning, let’s say that – not just live-action television, but animation, movies, and more. I think people truly underestimate how large our library is, and it’s not just limited to the Riverdale gang, though they are, of course, the centerpiece. We have horror, superheroes, YA, crime, all-ages – just tons of great, engaging characters that would be perfect for other mediums. I think you’ll see us continue to be mindful of the best way to get those characters out there – and I know, for sure, people will be pleasantly surprised.
Before I let you go, any other comics projects coming up you want to plug? Things fans of the shows might want to check out?
If fans want to know more about Katy Keene and how she might interact with the Archie cast, they should check out ARCHIE & KATY KEENE #1, which is available now everywhere comics are available. Our upcoming series of original graphic novels, starting with BETTY & VERONICA: THE BOND OF FRIENDSHIP by writer Jamie L. Rotante and artist Brittney Williams, is a heartwarming, timely look at the most iconic friendship in comics – and releases in April in comic shops and bookstores this May. The next SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH mini-series, SOMETHING WICKED, is also pitch-perfect for fans of the show, and arrives on April 1st.
Katy Keene premieres tonight on The CW at 8/7c. Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c, also on The CW. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is currently streaming Parts 1-3 on Netflix.
