Archie and Riverdale Get a New Look (Betty, Veronica Now Look More Like Paris and Brittany)

Newsarama ^ | 12/16/2006 | Matt Brady

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

With more than 60 years of a certain... shall we say, style behind them, Archie, Betty, Veronica, and the whole Riverdale gang will be getting a new look in 2007, courtesy of artist Steven Butler.

Rather than moving to a manga style, which has worked on Sabrina by Tania del Rio, this change will move the art towards a more contemporary comic book style, more realistic, and less cartoony. The move, an Archie Comics representative told Newsarama, is a continuing experiment and exploration with the characters, showcasing not only their timlessness, but theur adaptability as well.

The first of the “new look” Archie and company will appear in May’s Betty and Veronica Double Digest #151, in “Bad Boy Trouble” written by Melanie J. Morgan. In addition to the look, the stories themselves will change format, switching from short tales to fuller-length stories. As such the digests will contain four stories, spanning issues #151-#154 which will run 25 pages each, when fully told.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Ping

[saganite]

This should be in breaking news!

[Cicero]

Heart breakers.

[proudofthesouth]

Yech! They look like skanks!

[Names Ash Housewares]

Read what Betty has to say in the upper right corner.

[marsh_of_mists]

Yech! They look like skanks!

Well, they always looked like skanks.

[Charlespg]

if it aint broke don't fix it

[prisoner6]

NO! NO!.....

NO!

Don't mess with MY Betty and Veronica! BTW Betty was WAY hotter.

prisoner6

[1rudeboy]

Man, can we learn some lessons from the Japanese in this regard.

[Socratic]

It reminds me of the new "G-String Barbie" with abortion accessory kit.

[prisoner6]

That is SO hot I'm gonna hafta go pester my Wife when I get off work tonight.

prisoner5

[operation clinton cleanup]

I had no idea Betty and Veronica were ho's.

[Graymatter]

Whoa! Check out the anatomically correct eyes!

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Every single time I've placed a story in Breaking News, I've had mods yelling at me. :) Let one of them put it there, if it belongs.

[Graymatter]

And the price!! $3.69??? What happened to 10 cents?

[Mr. Mojo]

Will Archie now be sporting trousers with the crotch down at the knees?

[prisoner6]

Was supposed to read...

That was so hot I hafta go pester my Wife when I get off work tonight. She looks like Veronica.

THANKS!

prionser6

[NinoFan]

They look horrible. Bring back the old Betty and Veronica.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Ping

[Mr. Blonde]

I don't think they look that bad, and certainly no where near Britney and Paris territory. I can't tell from the cover but it looks like they are both the underwear wearing type.

Not that it would matter. Everyone knows the reason Jughead wears the crown is because he is the king of queen Archie's world. (apologies to Kevin Smith)

[wideminded]

Not an improvement IMHO. I wonder if they sought the opinion of young people.

The ones who need the most updating are Mr. Weatherbee and Miss Grundy.

BTW I know that I am confessing to a juvenile sense of humor but I sometimes get a laugh from the covers of Archie comics while I'm waiting in grocery checkout lines.

[martin_fierro]

[RayChuang88]

Ah, er...

Why on Earth does Archie Comics want to alienate its readership with such a DRASTIC change in drawing style? The current "house style" doesn't need improvement and frankly, if I want to read more "realistic" looking comics I'd read something from Marvel or DC.

[grundle]

I own about 250 Archie comic books, and all of them are from the 60s, 70s, and early 80s. I love the series.

I say the series tanked when Archie stopped driving the jalopy in 1983. Wikipedia says it was issue 238 of "Life With Archie," although I've never read that particular issue.

That jalopy was a big part of his character. Losing the jalopy greatly reduced the charm of the series. Not just because of the jalopy, but also because of the mindset that it respresented.

Also, Big Ethel lost her ugliness. That ruined her character. I've seen her in some of the newer comics, and really, without her ugliness, there's no point in even having the character.

And Sabrina was changed to look like Melissa Joan Hart, and then later changed again to a Japanese magna style. I prefer the way she looked in the 70s. This is not a criticisms of Hart, whom I think is quite beautiful. But a cartoon character should look like a cartoon character.

I don't like this new look for Betty and Veronica at all. But since I don't buy new Archies, it doesn't really affect me at all.

[theFIRMbss]

>Why on Earth does Archie Comics want to alienate its readership with such a DRASTIC change in drawing style?

I'm guessing only manga fans actually BUY comics these days, so the publishers need to give the girls big eyes, sledge-hammer features, so people like this will think they're cool and pay for the Archie comics . . .