MIKE PELLERITO, was recently named the new Managing Editor of Archie Comics. In addition to looking over the Archie universe he also editÃs some of Archie Comics most popular titles,
This column came about after having very few avenues to promote and find out about All Ages and Younger Reader Comics and Graphic Novels. Most knowledge seems to be passed along by word of mouth, so this is in the sprit the column is written. Now, sit back and join in the conversation!
To learn more about any of the above-mentioned projects please visit Archie Comics.com
Thankfully...
SO WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?
Last Tuesday's column and the brilliant idea if an All Ages Award was something worth pursuing. This week we are happy to inform you that the email is now working. Sorry for the inconvenience. Send your vote if you're still interested: MikeP@SilverBulletComicbooks.com
We'll go over the results in the future and discuss this a little bit more. From the few dozen friends who had other email addresses, they all seemed in favor of doing something more for the All Ages readership. Also they were strongly in favor of having the email fixed. Thanks. Plus everybody seems to believe comics has a lot more room to grow with the All Ages readership. So to all who spoke out and those who tried and even those who didn’t but thought about it, thanks.
This week in the U.S. we celebrate Thanksgiving, a nice chance to get together with family, overeat, and watch sports. And if we're not too busy give a few minutes to give thanks for all the good things in our lives. Like family, overeating, and sports. And in our case let’s throw comics into the mix. 
Certainly a great deal of personal thanks goes to silverbulletcomicbooks.com and Jason, Brice who is the big reasons this column even exists and looks as good a it does. More thanks go out to Ian Flynn current Sonic writer and current proofreader of this column. After asking Ian for his opinion on the column he said he liked it, it came off as very conversational and that he would be happy to proofread it just to prevent people thinking that yours truly might be illiterate. Considering I process his Archie invoices, that’s a lot of moxy, but you have to like that. Speaking of Archie Comics, thanks to the bosses there. Considering this may be the only column where an editor not only talks about his or her own great products, but the competitors’ as well, this is a little ground breaking. And certainly thanks to you the brilliant, ever increasing and often better looking readers of this column. You could spend your time elsewhere, so that time is much appreciated.
This column has been a big help personally. Now spending the time to think about what actually makes things good read instead of just doing what comes naturally has really helped to work on the books under yours truly's editorial thumb, hopefully better. 
You see, a few years ago when first entering the wonderful world of editing, things were nowhere near what they are now. At one time or another the Sonic comic had several off-shoots. A quarterly Sonic Super Special series running at 48 pages a pop, and another ongoing series Knuckles which ran 32 issues. Throw in the occasional mini series and Sonic took up a nice chunk of the magazine rack. 
When handed the editorial reins of Sonic it was just the loan title: Sonic The Hedgehog. Sonic had run its course. (Pun, totally intended) With assurances that if all went poorly I would still have a job, and the freedom to do whatever was fit to increase sales, within reason, the course was set. Originally, wanting no part of editorial, the thought that this comic could potentially die (not really but you never know) under my watch was a lot to consider. The fan base - kids, adults, women, soldiers everything under the sun - really loves this comic, and have an incredible connection to the characters, every single one. As mentioned in this column the threat of physical violence has come up on an occasion or two and some of these readers really could beat me to a pulp. Yes, they do love their Sonic. The Archie proofreader, he himself a huge Sonic fan, notices how I delight in holding back information on what is coming up in future stories. I actually threaten him every week just in case any story tidbits leak out. 
At any rate, the sales started to climb, the fans hopefully knew that someone was behind the editorial desk that cared, read their email and was working hard to get them excited again. Currently Sonic - with newcomers Ian Flynn writing, Tracy Yardley! penciling along with Jim Amash inking, John Workman lettering and Jason Jensen coloring - the comic might be entering its best period to date. Just wait for Sonic #175. This could blow the socks of anyone, Sonic reader or not.
Eventually Sonic sales became so good Archie released a second title: Sonic X. Sonic is now one of only a handful of solo characters with multiple titles. And just recently we started collecting those hard to find early issues of the regular series with SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES VOLUME #1. And Sonic has never looked so healthy.
It's funny: when first coming on editorial and reading all these early to present comics a pattern started to emerge. The Sonic comic sort of ran along the history of comics thematically speaking. Starting out as these early issues did as fun simple stories aimed at the younger reader. The jokes were hip enough; hey, anything Michael Gallagher writes is funny, and even the most sour of sour pusses would crack a smile. And Dave Manak penciling is one of the best educations you can get in cartooning. Later as the series progressed maybe around issue #25 or so the stories really took on a more serious tone. The Sonic books have matured a lot over the last nearly hundred and seventy-five issues while still being readable for any age group. 
To read these early comics and to read the newest Sonic comic on the stands today it’s like two separate animals. (Again pun intended) Both are great reads and for fans of comics and fun comics in particular. A lot has changed in the Sonic universe, from his days on the Sega Genesis to today's 3-D PS3 and Nintendo Wii systems. And the comic has kept up with Sonic the whole way.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES VOLUME #1
DIAMOND ITEM CODE - SEP063083
ISBN - 1879794209
PAGES - 112
PRICE - $7.49
AGE GROUP - All
PUBLISHER- Archie Comics
LANGUAGE- English
WEBSITE - Archie Comics.com
As always THANKS for reading, and feel free to send your comments and recommendations (especially any thing I missed) to: MikeP@SilverBulletComicbooks.com
See you next Tuesday enjoy Thanksgiving where appropriate, and in the meantime here are some new All Ages reads on sale this week:
SEP063083 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES VOL 1 TP $7.49
SEP063072 ARCHIE & FRIENDS #105 $2.25
SEP063078 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #147 $3.69
SEP060019 USAGI YOJIMBO #98 $2.99
SEP060263 CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #27 $2.25
SEP062085 SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #12 $2.99
SEP063164 SIMPSONS WINTER WINGDING #1 $4.99
Entertainment for Every Age is © Mike Pellerito 2006-
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