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
The NY Comic Con
Anybody get to the NY Comic Con??
Wow, what a good show. Still exhausted but well worth the effort. It was great to meet so many great people at the Con. Comic Cons are a bit of an ego stroke, this one especially. Lots of people will come by the booth and tell you they love Archie Comics; some will specifically seek you out to talk about the comics. A lot of Sonic and Sonic X readers did just that. Others will mention that they are teachers or librarians and that Archie Comics is doing what nobody else can: get people reading. So here is a list of highlights from set up to packing up.
Wednesday-Set Up
Really Wednesday. We here in Archie land started weeks in advance. Getting set up Wednesday seemed only natural. Think about it: when was the last time you remembered an Archie Comic book shipping late? Last year we waited hours until they finally let us in. This year we were again one of the earliest to show up and the show started off with a dud. This guy from the local comic shop yells “Archie go home” as we pull up and start unloading. It’s his sense of humor. Of course standing next to Victor Gorelick managing editor at Archie, a man who has been at Archie for nearly fifty years, and my boss, was not the least bit awkward at all…
But we all had a nice conversation and were joined by Pee Wee. He is apparently 18 years old on the top half and 82 years old on the bottom half. He was cracking us up with his routine of jokes and gags. He also knew everything about the home of the NY Comic Con having worked there for 21 years. All this will come in to play later on Sunday afternoon.
We got everything moved off our plot of land once we were inside the Convention center. It was amazing how many people (who worked at the convention center, not comic fans) came up to us at the booth and had to tell us how much they loved Archie Comics as kids.
Once everything was put up, we were probably the first to have their booth up. We hit a spot to grab a bite and we returned back to Mamaroneck, NY to the Archie HQ.
Friday- Day One
The first half of Friday was pros only and the second half was opened to the general public. By this time if not earlier the show’s single-days tickets for Saturday were sold out. Friday the rumors were circulating that single-day tickets were sold out. Basically if you wanted to get in you had to buy a multi-day pass.
Friday might have been the most interesting day. Beside the chance to walk around and say hi to some friends in artist alley, and friends at other publishers and just get a chance to wander around. Although interestingly anytime I managed to get to far from the booth the cell phone would ring and call me back to meet someone looking to show their portfolio or even better compliant this column.
A high point was the NYCC '07: CAPTURING FEMALE READERS PANEL with Moderator Jennifer Feigelman (member American Librarian Association), Megan Bates (Dr. Editor, SHOJO BEAT magazine, VIZ Media), Karen Berger (Sr. VP & Executive Editor: DC’s Vertigo & Minx), Audry Taylor (Creative Director, Go Comi), Wendy Pini (creator – Elfquest), Julie Taylor (Senior Editor, Tokyopop) and of course our own Victor Gorelick (Managing Editor, Archie Comics). It seemed funny that the only company with a male on the panel, and probably the largest and certainly the only company that can boast three generations of female readers was Archie. Victor has a very dry wit, which apparently had won him a few laughs. During the panel the topic of language and especially violence in some of these other books had been turning away readers and parents from their product. Victor quipped that Archie was reducing its violent content, and Moose wouldn’t beat up Reggie so much.
Friday had tons of librarians and teachers who have been stacking the shelves with Archie titles. It was amazing to hear how many creative ways Archie Comics are used to help teach. One sign language instructor used the Archie Digests as reference to translate and practice sign language. Several teachers used Archie as English as a second language tools. The more surprising part was many of these teacher used Archie Comic for the kids and the adults. The best part was she couldn’t tell who loved the jokes more, kids or the adults.
If you are a teacher and looking for a good fundraiser for you Parent-Teacher organization or a librarian looking for some great reading material for your shelves, send an email to:
MikeP@SilverBulletComicbooks.com
Archie can send you a brochure and help you get set up. And if any of you will be at the PTO/PTA conference, PTO Today Live, this week, Wednesday, March 7, 2007- hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Marlborough, MA drop by and say “Hi.” Here is a handy link to the website: www.ptotoday.com
Well, to get back on track, Friday we had Tania Del Rio (Sabrina The Teenage Witch) signing and many people came by to get one of the 30,000 copies of Archie #572 given away at the door. Not to mention the thousands of posters we handed away free, featuring everybody’s favorite band - The Archies.
Saturday/Sunday-The Blur
It would be safe to say that Saturday was the day things started to blur together. We started our raffles to win different sets of trade paperbacks, like the Sonic Archives, and the Archie Americana Series. Signings were fairly non-stop, Spaz (cover artist supreme for Sonic and Sonic X and those new Sonic Archives) did some sketches and signings as did Fernando Ruiz (Tales From Riverdale, Jughead and friends), Dan Parent (B&V Spectacular, Veronica) Andrew Pepoy (Katy Keene), Tania Del Rio (Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Sonic The Hedgehog), Bob Smith inker extraordinaire (various Archie)
Readers from some of Sonic-readers forums had come by to introduce themselves. It was weird to know one reader and I were watching the same show the other night despite the fact that I might have twenty years on him and am married with a family. Guess there is something to be said for knowing your audience.
Lots of people came by to voice their opinion on the new look of Betty and Veronica making their appearance in Betty and Veronica Double Digest #151 on sale this may. We had a “top secret” (not top secret so much a freely being passed around) book of the black and white artwork, which seemed to really win people over.
Sunday was “Kids Day,” which consisted of free admission to kids, and we finally polished off the last of our freebies. The folks at Kids love Comics, who we learned about last week, were at the show and we got a few minutes to talk and a volunteer to write a column. Look for something by John Gallagher of Sky Dog Press’s Buzz Boy in the not too distant future. During the course of the weekend we meet with Alex Simmons, a great writer, who is now putting together the first all ages type event in the Bronx later this year. April 28th, a Saturday will have a Kids Comic Con on the grounds of Bronx Community College. Expect to see good ol’ Archie Comics there.
Of course the Archie 65th Anniversary panel was on Sunday. We only need a few people from the office to work the con this year. Everyone else who wanted to go Archie bought the 2-day pass to wander around and have a good time. We managed to trick a few into watching the booth while the rest of us answered questions.
We met some great collectors who had some great questions, of course a lot of comments and questions on the new look for Betty and Veronica and a lot of people were digging the new story by Fernando Ruiz in Tales From Riverdale, “Civil Chore” where Archie and Jughead are at odds which causes all of Riverdale to chose sides. A few tidbits were released too; much looks to be in store for Katy Keens the feature in Archie & Friends. More to be released later of course. And for Sonic-readers the big news was Sonic 175, which has longtime readers going nuts for what could happen. Of course the new graphic Novels Archie Camp Tales and several more volumes of Sonic the Hedgehog Archive for later this year and next are schedule. Even more plans will be releases in the coming months.
We had plenty of podcasters and traditional media come by with cameras doing interviews. Usually that was the cue to go get a pretzel or something and find a nice corner to recoup in.
And before you knew it the show was over, they turned down the light and it was time to pack up. The forecast called for snow any minute and the street was packed with vans. Our buddy from Wednesday, Pee Wee helped us out with the cops and getting our stuff across the street safely. After that we had to unload everything at the office and get ready for work Monday morning, and the boss had scheduled me to give a tour to one incredibly Archie collector, Jack Copley. Of course nobody told me.
Feel free to send your thoughts and projects you’d like to see reviewed to: MikeP@SilverBulletComicbooks.com
Check out some new All Ages reads on sale this week:
DEC063311 BETTY #163 $2.25
DEC063315 JUGHEAD AND FRIENDS DIGEST #18 $2.49
DEC063317 PALS N GALS DOUBLE DIGEST #110 $3.69
DEC063320 SONIC X #17 $2.25
JAN070325 JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #31 $2.25
JAN070327 LOONEY TUNES #148 $2.25
JAN072382 MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #25 $2.99
DEC063792 BONEYARD #24 $2.95
DEC063562 CASTLE WAITING VOL II #5 $3.95
JAN070316 SHAZAM THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL #2 (OF 4) $5.99
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