Commentary
Riverdale goes high-tech as Betty and Veronica blog away (with a new look too)
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Here's further proof that you're the last person without a blog:
Betty and Veronica are bloggers.
Extras
You know, as in Betty and Veronica of "Archie" fame.
Seriously. See for yourself at archiecomics.com.
The 21st century indeed has dawned in Riverdale.
What's next — Jughead on MySpace? Mr. Weatherbee showing up on "Dateline," on one of those "To Catch a Predator" episodes?
Who knows, but basically, if Archie Comics doesn't move with the times, it's done with. It can take Archie's inefficient, gas-guzzling jalopy right back to the 20th century.
The fact that yesterday's tweens aren't today's tweens isn't lost on co-publisher Michael Silberkleit.
"You'll see our characters using BlackBerrys or text messaging instead of passing notes like they would have done in the '40s," Silberkleit said.
I personally didn't read any of the "Archie" comics growing up, but as a 30-year-old comic book fan, I finally see their value — they're among the few kid-friendly comics left standing.
"There's nothing bad you can really say about Archie Comics," Silberkleit said. "Riverdale's a place you'd love to live in. Archie is a kid you'd like your kid to be like."
But the 20 or more "Archie" titles that come out every month are more inclined to be read by girls. And in comics, that's a downright rarity. (In a good way, of course.)
Silberkleit estimates that, of the 850,000 comics he sells a month, 60 percent are read by girls ages 7 to 14.
Still, even as Archie Comics celebrates its 65th anniversary, and even as Betty and Veronica chat up the Internet, Silberkleit admits that he's always been worried that one day kids would just stop reading "Archie."
"More and more people are using the computer and downloading things," he said, pausing. "Nothing will replace the printed page, though. There's something about holding a printed page."
Besides, Archie's just too deeply rooted in pop culture to simply go away.
Case in point — Betty and Veronica are about to momentarily lose their famous, bug-eyed look. In May, they'll be getting a more realistic-looking makeover for a four-part story in "Betty and Veronica Double Digest."
(You can see their new look at my own blog, SpringfieldNewsSun.com/livingblog. Sadly, my blog isn't nearly as popular as the ones written by completely fake comic book characters.)
Ever since the new look was announced last month, Silberkleit has been talking to the media about it.
"It's an American institution," he said.
So naturally, it's a good time for Archie and his pals to make their way to the Middle East. Right?
Well, Archie Comics now are available in Arabic from the Gulf to North Africa thanks to a man from Kuwait who approached Silberkleit about bringing them to the region.
"At first, I thought, 'Are you kidding?' Archie's not a typical Middle East teenager," he said. "I'm still waiting to hear how the first issue did."
If you're wondering, an Arabic "Archie" isn't much different — except that, according to Silberkleit, Betty and Veronica won't be able to wear bikinis come summertime.
Then again, they'll be too busy blogging to go to the beach, anyway.
