The Impact of [Comic Company] on the Entertainment Industry

Archie Comics is the leading mass market comic book publisher in the world and the home to a wide array of popular characters across several genres, including Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica, Reggie, Kevin Keller, Josie and the Pussycats, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Afterlife With Archie, and the Dark Circle. The company has a long history of producing quality comics that are both entertaining and reflective of current trends and issues, making them a timeless staple in the world of graphic novels.

Archie Comics is a company that produces and sells comics worldwide. Its comic book characters, such as The Black Hood, The Fox, and The Shield, among others, have been featured in animation, television, film, and music over the company’s + year history. I was able to sit down with Mike Pellerito, Editor in Chief, and Jamie L. Rotante, Senior Director of Editorial at Archie Comics, to discuss the company’s impact on the entertainment industry.

Goldie Chan: How many years has Archie Comics been in existence? What was the original inspiration for the brand?
Jamie L. Rotante: Archie Comics has been around for over years (we actually just celebrated Archie’s landmark th year with a number of retrospective collections that fans loved—especially Years, Stories and Archie: Years of Christmas.However, the publishing side of things goes back even further. It began as MLJ Magazines in , focused primarily on superhero comics. The first appearance of Archie was in Pep Comics # in .

The Andy Hardy movies of the time made it popular for younger, relatable heroes to take center stage. Archie was such a hit that he went from being a feature to having his own title the following year. His popularity continued to grow so much that, in , the company changed its name to Archie Comic Publications, Inc.

The company has a long history, dating back to the days of pulp novels. These were cheap, often sensational stories, covering genres such as crime, westerns, romance, and some sci-fi. They featured many great writers who would go on to be household names, and the covers were very eye-catching. Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit, and John L Goldwater then formed MLJ Comics (MLJ from the first initials of their first names). The early MLJ comics were similar to the pulps in many ways: they featured genres such as crime, western, adventure, and eventually superhero material, as Superman exploded onto the scene.

Believe it or not, that is where old (actually, forever youngArchie comes in, as sort of the antithesis of the “super man” and a champion of the everyman. Soon the company would focus on Archie and other teen characters, even renaming the once-MLJ Comics to Archie Comics.

Chan: Let’s go behind-the-scenes. How does each major department help tell the story of Archie comics?

Rotante: The folks behind Archie Comics really run the entire publishing business like a well-oiled machine. It’s a small, but immensely dedicated team, so there’s a ton of synergy across all titles.

What we can learn

In conclusion, it is clear that pulp novels and comics have had a long and fruitful history. They have provided entertainment for many people and have featured some great writers. They have also been very influential in the development of the superhero genre.