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
Ever Miss A Good Opportunity?
Ever miss a good opportunity?
Last week Ian Flynn, all around great guy and writer on two of the best All Ages comics around, Sonic The Hedgehog and Sonic X was kind enough to fill in for a column again. It was real late to ask but he came through with flying colors. Before Ian wrote the column we spoke briefly and kicked around a few topics to hit and he was off. It was another bit of brilliant writing as usual, but we missed a good opportunity. And it was entirely my fault.
The missed opportunity didn’t dawn on me at all until this past weekend. Sometimes life moves too fast, and even the most obvious things slip by. This past Saturday was St. Patrick’s Day. Being part Irish it has always been a part of the yearly holiday schedule and we managed to make it apart of Sonic X. It happens to be on sale now, oddly enough. 
Sonic X #17 really is bitter sweet. Not because of anything in the issue but because of something good that came out of it. Here’s the explanation: you see for years Steven Butler had been doing pencilling on the Sonic The Hedgehog title. When first starting as editor the plan for me was to stop the rotating artists and try to keep a much more manageable staff and consistent look to the book. To put things into perspective, Sonic alone had over sixty different freelancers, writers, pencillers, inkers, letterers and colorists. In comparison with two titles, Sonic and now Sonic X we have around a dozen different freelancers.
With Sonic and Sonic X, despite it being the same character, we try to base the style off the Sonic X comic on the style of the cartoon, while Sonic has a bit more room for personal interpretation. The concern was Steven, being veteran of doing Sonic his way, might not adjust to being forced to draw Sonic the Sonic X way. Steven showed that any worry was completely unmerited. The story looked great!
Ian had written a brilliant script, full of lots of adventure and some of the funniest jokes the series had seen. Steven really turned in a great story and we had planned to do a lot more. This is where things went a little off course.
We at Archie had been talking about doing something different with the Archie characters, something a bit more, dynamic and realistic. Perhaps you’ve heard about it.
Just like that my big mouth and me basically handed off Steven Butler to Archie land.
In all honestly he couldn’t be a more perfect choice. Steven is one of the nicest guys, true gentlemen, a great artist and above all a great professional.
While knowing it will be a long time until we can get him back on Sonic X, it is nice to know he’ll still be drawing some great material here at Archie.
So speaking of opportunities if would be foolish to not mention taking advantage of another that has greatly helped Sonic X. Originally when we were planning to launch the newest Sonic title, one inker seemed perfect for the job. Lots of people really seemed to think it was a pipe dream; “No way you could get him,” was uttered quite a bit. It was one of the few times something like was ever actually dissuading. To be honest with inkers like Jim Amash, Rich Koslowski, Andrew Pepoy, Bob Smith and Al Milgrom to name a few it was really hard to complain. 
Around the time Andrew Pepoy and I were getting things together for Katy Keene to make her return in the page of Archie & Friends we realized Andrew wouldn’t be able to do the lion’s share as originally planned. At the same time lot of these other mentioned inkers were too busy to commit to more than an issue or two of Sonic X. Jim Amash the regular inker on Sonic was pitching in and knew what I was looking for. Jim already inking Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Veronica, and just about everything else we could throw at him, suggested a good inker, Terry Austin.
Just so happens it was the name of the inker I always had in mind for Sonic X. A few phone calls and it finally happened. Terry had come in around issue #10 and shortly after has become the regular inker for the series, and has exceeded my already high expectations. Terry’s inks not only strengthen the beautiful pencils of Steven Butler, Tracy Yardley!, David Hutchison to name a few but he has brought a consistency to the overall look of the book. Terry has been playing with the panel layouts, nothing major, an open panel here an all black panel border when the bad guys show up, little things that when looked at in its entirety have a wonderful effect on the comic, the reading experience and the tone of the book. It’s nice to know when your instincts are correct as an editor, and even better to take advantage of a wonderful opportunity to act on those instincts.
There are all sorts of opportunities to take advantage of if we just look around. A missed opportunity is how often inkers are overlooked, in the industry and even more surprisingly with industry awards. The Comic Buyers Guide, a great magazine about comics by the way - especially for those brilliant enough to be reading columns like this one - just nominated Terry Austin for best inker. He is well deserving as is fellow Sonic and Sonic X contributor, letterer John Workman, also nominated. The CNG Awards are unique in that the readers vote, and if you are so inclined please vote for your favorites (did I mention Terry Austin and John Workman?) here at: CBGxtra.com
Granted yours truly isn’t nominated for best editor this year, but I’ll considerate an opportunity to improve for next year.
Please feel free to send your thoughts and any projects you’d like to see reviewed to: MikeP@SilverBulletComicbooks.com
Check out some new All Ages reads on sale this week:
JAN073386 ARCHIE & FRIENDS #108 $2.25
JAN073387 ARCHIE DIGEST #233 $2.49
JAN070330 SCOOBY DOO #118 $2.25
JAN072383 MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #11 $2.99
JAN072452 MARVEL ADVENTURES FLIP MAGAZINE #23 $4.99
JAN072358 SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #16 $2.99
SEP063013 GARGOYLES #3 $3.50
JAN073463 SIMPSONS COMICS #128 $2.99
JAN073391 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #173 $2.25
Entertainment for Every Age is © Mike Pellerito 2006-
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