Not that I'm attracted to either, I'd want my head bashed in if so.Problem is, sometimes TG's are difficult to distinguish.
Posted on 07/28/2014 5:11:10 PM PDT by real saxophonist
Comic goes tragic: What jughead decided to make Archie a political tool?
By Joe Hotchkiss
Deputy Editorial Page Editor
Sunday, July 20, 2014
So, Death with Archie? Life Without Archie?
You’ve heard about this, right? In the latest edition of the comic book Life with Archie, an adult Archie Andrews is gunned down by an unknown assassin. Archie takes the fatal bullet intended for one of his friends, a gay senator working to strengthen gun-control laws in the fictional town of Riverdale.
I’m surprised the writers didn’t work in immigration or a spotted owl in there somewhere.
“I THINK RIVERDALE is a place where everyone should feel welcome and safe,” explained Archie Comics Publisher Jon Goldwater. “From my point of view, I’m proud of the stance we’ve taken here, and I don’t think it’s overtly political on any level.”
Not overtly political? Are we talking about the same comic?
It’s not even the liberal tone of the story that bugs me. It’s hijacking an innocuous American icon to shill a political viewpoint.
It’s been a long time since I’ve last read a comic book. But I still remember why I used to read comic books – escapism. If I want to explore other people’s political opinions, believe me, I know where to find them. But as someone who’s read an Archie comic or two over the years, I never found myself wondering what Jughead thought about climate change or a flat tax.
I’m not really against edgy or controversial cartoon content, either. Sometimes a shake-up can be interesting, like what Marvel Comics announced this past week. The Norse god Thor has been on Marvel pages since 1962. Now the company has announced that, from here on out, Thor would be a woman. My 10-year-old daughter saw early renderings of the new Thor and promptly proclaimed, “That is very cool!”
A day later Marvel disclosed that the next Captain America would be black. Could a transgender Incredible Hulk be too far behind?
DARK CARTOON CONTENT already has been around for decades. Did you know that Mickey Mouse’s newspaper comic strip in the 1930s included a story in which Mickey and his pals battled opium smugglers? And a 1930 storyline focused on Mickey’s many attempts to (gulp) commit suicide.
Archie has been around since 1941. I understand that longtime entertainment franchises periodically have to breathe new life into aging characters. Archie sharing a chocolate malt with Betty and Veronica can move a narrative only so far. It’s a fair move to thrust Archie into the 21st century. There’s even a zombie-themed imprint called Afterlife with Archie.
But this? Must we drag politics into everything? With the unlimited directions Archie’s story can go, does he really need a political agenda? And were Archie readers even crying out to give him one? If you want guidance on political thought, you should neither want nor need to crack open an Archie comic.
It’s been said that all art is political. Sure, if you’re determined to view it that way. One person might simply see a still-life painting of a bowl of fruit. Another person looking at the same painting might fume over capitalist oppression against migrant fruit-pickers.
I CAN IMAGINE what might come next. Can we expect a Richie Rich comic book featuring grubby protesters railing against wealth inequality while camped outside Richie’s mansion? Will Scrooge McDuck team up with the Koch brothers? Will we be treated to the Scooby-Doo gang’s viewpoint on Obamacare?
I’m not asking that Archie become forever dull. But he doesn’t deserve to be molded into some partisan political cartoon. >
You’ve heard about this, right? In the latest edition of the comic book Life with Archie, an adult Archie Andrews is gunned down by an unknown assassin. Archie takes the fatal bullet intended for one of his friends, a gay senator working to strengthen gun-control laws in the fictional town of Riverdale.
I’m surprised the writers didn’t work in immigration or a spotted owl in there somewhere.
“I THINK RIVERDALE is a place where everyone should feel welcome and safe,” explained Archie Comics Publisher Jon Goldwater. “From my point of view, I’m proud of the stance we’ve taken here, and I don’t think it’s overtly political on any level.”
Not overtly political? Are we talking about the same comic?
It’s not even the liberal tone of the story that bugs me. It’s hijacking an innocuous American icon to shill a political viewpoint.
It’s been a long time since I’ve last read a comic book. But I still remember why I used to read comic books – escapism. If I want to explore other people’s political opinions, believe me, I know where to find them. But as someone who’s read an Archie comic or two over the years, I never found myself wondering what Jughead thought about climate change or a flat tax.
I’m not really against edgy or controversial cartoon content, either. Sometimes a shake-up can be interesting, like what Marvel Comics announced this past week. The Norse god Thor has been on Marvel pages since 1962. Now the company has announced that, from here on out, Thor would be a woman. My 10-year-old daughter saw early renderings of the new Thor and promptly proclaimed, “That is very cool!”
A day later Marvel disclosed that the next Captain America would be black. Could a transgender Incredible Hulk be too far behind?
DARK CARTOON CONTENT already has been around for decades. Did you know that Mickey Mouse’s newspaper comic strip in the 1930s included a story in which Mickey and his pals battled opium smugglers? And a 1930 storyline focused on Mickey’s many attempts to (gulp) commit suicide.
Archie has been around since 1941. I understand that longtime entertainment franchises periodically have to breathe new life into aging characters. Archie sharing a chocolate malt with Betty and Veronica can move a narrative only so far. It’s a fair move to thrust Archie into the 21st century. There’s even a zombie-themed imprint called Afterlife with Archie.
But this? Must we drag politics into everything? With the unlimited directions Archie’s story can go, does he really need a political agenda? And were Archie readers even crying out to give him one? If you want guidance on political thought, you should neither want nor need to crack open an Archie comic.
It’s been said that all art is political. Sure, if you’re determined to view it that way. One person might simply see a still-life painting of a bowl of fruit. Another person looking at the same painting might fume over capitalist oppression against migrant fruit-pickers.
I CAN IMAGINE what might come next. Can we expect a Richie Rich comic book featuring grubby protesters railing against wealth inequality while camped outside Richie’s mansion? Will Scrooge McDuck team up with the Koch brothers? Will we be treated to the Scooby-Doo gang’s viewpoint on Obamacare?
I’m not asking that Archie become forever dull. But he doesn’t deserve to be molded into some partisan political cartoon.
A little off topic, but… Did you ever notice that transgender people look way hotter than liberal leftist women? Not that I'm attracted to either, I'd want my head bashed in if so.
That’s an exceedingly low bar, isn’t it?
Not that I'm attracted to either, I'd want my head bashed in if so.Problem is, sometimes TG's are difficult to distinguish.
Perhaps a good reason to woo women in bikinis at the swimming pool.
Who doesn't?
Not if the LOWER part of the picture is shown!
Liberal Democrats RUIN EVERYTHING they touch!!
“Too bad, haters” — read the text. Their problem is not hate, but indifference. It’s not edgy, it’s boring.
Based on storylines, I have to assume there are no heterosexuals reading comics any more.
“Could a transgender Incredible Hulk be too far behind? “
More likely a homosexual Hulk, and the heterosexuals won’t like what he does when he gets mad.
Comics...now written and sold to the 2%, plus another 1% who live in their parents’ basement.
If I read the numbers correctly....there’s only 15,000 people in America reading Archie on a monthly basis. Figure $2.75 a copy. So the company brings in $41,250 a month. Take out production and shipping ($30,000), and they sustain the publication off $11,250 a month. You can figure the whole staff to be no more than four individuals max.
All this hype....over a publication that barely reaches 15,000 people a year?
You probably have just as many folks reading Chubby Girls Digest, Hot Wheels Collectors Journal, and monthly publication of Amish Cooking Recipes.
Free market has nothing to do with it. The Archie comic franchise has been sacraficed for “the cause.” Articles like this get a hundred times more exposure than the comic ever will. The author will be properly demonized and the soccer moms can return to watching Oaphrah.
And can anyone explain why Mr. Andrews didn't have freckles on the various TV series beginning around 1968 (who else remembers US of Archie from the runup to the bicen, where forebears of the characters meet people like Thomas Paine, F.S. Key, Harriet Tubman, Thomas Edison, Teddy Roosevelt when he was a Dakota rancher, and the Wright brothers)?
ff
I’m 30 and comics were popular when I’m growing up. You’re right, only comic book nerds read them now.
I have never observed anyone ever buying an Archie comic, much less anyone claiming it as their favourite title. If someone told me that all this gay garbage has ruined Archie for them, it would be the same thing to me if someone thought the home jewelry shopping network is unwatchable because too many rubies are featured or something.
Freegards, the editor of Chubby Girls Who Collect Hot Wheels and Love Amish Cooking Monthly
I think it shows in the subject matter too. When they appealed to kids, they avoided controversial subjects because that could turn off the parents. Now, they only have a limited audience of adult collectors. So, they go for more and more controversial stories that might become seen as collectible.
Why else would any adult, probably male, buy an Archie book, unless they thought the “gay wedding” issue would be worth lots of money 30 years from now?
But the problem is that if there are 10,000 copies of the “gay” Archie issue in mint condition 30 years from now, it’ll not be worth all that much.
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