MIKE PELLERITO, was recently named the new Managing Editor of Archie Comics. In addition to looking over the Archie universe he also editĂs 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
What Now? Plus, 10 Questions With… James McDonough and Adam Patyk
PLUS, 10 Questions with… James McDonough and Adam Patyk
WHAT NOW? 
Something has to give. Despite being heavily medicated with cold, and allergy medicines and barely breaking double digits in hours of sleep for the previous week, last Tuesday’s column made some sense and in spots glaringly reveled why there is more coffee in my system than any other fluid. This week, lets see where things went loopy and figure out how All Ages comics can continue to march forward.
It seems obvious that what we suspect for the future of comics and graphic novels is about to make a fundamental shift in how they are marketed, produced, packaged and read. The last three weeks we kicked around a few guesses on how comic shops could thrive in this new way of doing things.
Quite a few people pointed out that the whole comics and coffee house idea might not be a good mix. Might have been the possible coffee being consumed that missed the over sight of soggy comics. But the idea of the comics shop struggles with missed shipping deadlines by publishers and the ease and lower prices of online booksellers is really going to become a threat. The debate really could go on forever with every side making valid points. This seemed a good opportunity to talk to two of the best writers in comics about some of there thoughts on a few topics.
10 Questions with… James McDonough and Adam Patyk
Writers James McDonough and Adam Patyk have been vocal about making great cutting-edge material, from comics to video games, that can still be enjoyed by a wide audience. Not necessarily comics strictly for kids, but fun material that's accessible to both the young and the young-at-heart. They were a natural choice to do something with Archie's SONIC X comic series, and when an open issue appeared on the schedule, the timing was right. It also (sort of) helped get James, Adam and SONIC cover artist extraordinaire Pat Spaziante together again, for the first time. Find out more about that, their thoughts about all-ages material and more when we strap in for...
1. What are the 3 things going on right now with All Ages comics that you would like to see more of?
ADAM: Right now, successful all-ages material is staying that way by being available in places where regular kids can actually get to it. For example, like many Archie books, they're at grocery stores and not just comic shops. The better the distribution, the better the chances of developing casual readers. It also doesn't hurt that characters like Sonic are safe, well-known icons that kids are naturally attracted to.
JAMES: Not to mention that the quality all-ages stuff isn't afraid to use the kind of bright colors and images that kids have always been drawn to. For example, Archie's Sonic and Sonic X covers do a great job of snagging kids’ attention with bold, colorful imagery that makes sure to communicate a simple, yet dynamic message. It’s these types of covers that set a kid’s imagination into overdrive almost instantly.
2. What 3 things do we need to see more of in All Ages comics, what is missing right now?
JAMES: There’s definitely a need for a fresh concepts and original characters. You can’t keep rehashing the same stories and characters every five or so years and expect things to thrive. Eventually, you just run into a sort of generation loss…a series becomes a copy of a copy of itself until the original concept becomes completely burned-out and the magic begins to fade away. Most importantly--comics need to be fun!
ADAM: Like mass-market distribution, wider promotion overall is necessary to keep awareness alive. Cross-promotion with the larger properties, like mini-comics with video games, can help feed interest back into the comic product and vice versa. This can ultimately help generate a wider potential base for the original characters that have to be there to back up the licensed ones. And of course, quality is always paramount for maintaining readership after the initial push. There was a glut of licensed books in the '80s that drew in a lot of casual readers, but the ones where the interior story and/or art didn't live up to the cover's promises didn't last. This is just as true today...every book has to get the attention it needs to provide consistent, quality entertainment from cover to cover.
3. If you could work on any character(s) either already in comics or from movies, TV books or other media which would it be and why?
ADAM: Wow...there are a lot of really good existing characters that could help generate interest in all-ages comics, but many of them don't have a significant comic book presence any longer. Classic properties like Flash Gordon and Godzilla, or even Indiana Jones, could provide a lot of exciting adventures that would draw in kids as well as adults. There's a kind of misconception that “all ages” always has to mean strictly cartoony characters, but that doesn't have to be the case. Modern comic adaptations like Pirates of the Caribbean have shown that. Another forgotten gem that could easily be made into an exciting series is The Last Starfighter...that would be a great one to tackle. Still, there's always room for the kid-friendly cartoon characters…
JAMES: And I personally think a new Ducktales comic is long past due!
4. If you could work on any character(s) outside of the realm of All Ages which one(s) and why?
JAMES: There’s definitely a niche for video game-based comics, provided they’re done well. A lot of times, players pick the latest installment of the games to follow the ongoing saga and adventures of the digital characters that they’ve spent so much time with. Off the top of my head, games like Resident Evil, King of Fighters and Final Fantasy are prime candidates for Western comic material. Another personal favorite of mine from the Land of the Rising Sun would be Vampire Hunter D. Why there hasn’t been a “D” comic over here by now is beyond me.
ADAM: Right, Mortal Kombat is another one that could make a strong return to comics in the right situation. From other non-all-ages sources, James Bond would be a great character to work on, not to mention the classic, creepy universe of H.P. Lovecraft's writing.
5. How old were you when you started reading comics? And which ones were the culprits?
ADAM: Honestly, I probably really started checking comics out before I could even read, just because I was fascinated by the images of cool characters. Seeing comics like Superman or Batman at the store really made me want to check them out, and, more importantly, provided motivation to read more in order to follow their adventures! A lot of people forget what a powerful tool comics were and still can be for getting kids to read and learn new words.
JAMES: Geez…I was probably 6 or 7, I guess. I remember checking out some of my uncle's old Marvel Comics. My first was an issue of Fantastic Four that I found in my grandfather’s attic. I loved Spider-Man at the time and thought the Silver Surfer was actually Iceman from Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (a popular Saturday morning cartoon from back in the day). I couldn’t wait to see when Spidey showed up, so I read it from cover to cover. Unfortunately, he didn’t, and Iceman ended up being an unwilling harbinger of the apocalypse. Oh, well...I did become a life-time fan of the ever-lovin’, blue-eyed Thing, though.
6. What can be done to help get the word out about comic books to the general public?
JAMES: You can blame video games, the Internet or global warming all you want--the bottom line is that you need to get quality comic books in kids’ hands early on. A large part of that means making the books consistently affordable and accessible to a younger audience. So much of consumer loyalty and acceptance starts in these early years. It’s pretty rare for someone to come up to you and say, “Wow! I just started reading comics on my 29th birthday and I’m hooked!” It just doesn’t work that way.
ADAM: Tie-in books are great to draw in a mainstream audience with characters they recognize, but you also need to focus on generating original concepts and material that are exclusive (at least initially) to the medium. Compared to other media, comics’ upfront costs are minimal and they’re fairly inexpensive to produce. So, not only are they a liberating medium that allows creators to do things that they could never accomplish artistically or financially in film, they’re also an ideal research and development tool.
7. What was your experience like working on Sonic X?
JAMES: I’ve been a diehard Sega fan for as long as I can remember, so when Mike (Pellerito) called about doing some Sonic stuff, I was like, “Tell me when and where!” Even better, the book gave us the chance to work with one of our favorite artists: Patrick Spaziante. Ironically, we were going to work with Spaz on our second year of Transformers: Generation One, while Don Figueroa was switching over to the Beast Wars: Paradise Lost mini-series that we were writing. Unfortunately, those plans ended up bouncing like a bad check. It’s a shame really, because Spaz was going to help us finalize our Megatron/Optimus origin as well as set the stage for the crossover between both franchises. You can get a slight taste of where we were going visually with his rendition of Sam’s robot-mode car on the cover.
ADAM: Couldn't agree more. Sonic X was also a blast because, although there's a very dedicated older audience, it's also still getting into the hands of kids everywhere. It's always nice to work on a fun character that still reaches such a diverse audience, across generational boundaries.
8. What are you working on right now, what is and isn’t All Ages friendly?
JAMES: We’ve recently wrapped up some development work on a major animated project. As a matter of fact, one of our primary goals was to try to incorporate contemporary and thematic elements to the material that would help reinvigorate its appeal to children.
ADAM: We're also following up a recent video game project with a few upcoming multi-media endeavors, which are going to run the range from all-ages to a being geared toward a slightly older audience.
9. You've been involved locally to promote All Ages comic books and help children. Can you tell us about some of these endeavors?
JAMES: One thing we've both tried to do, and it's pretty simple but helpful, is donating comics to local libraries or children's charities.
ADAM: It's a great way to hopefully spur some kids to read, and also keep awareness of comics out there. The only trouble is sifting through newer material to find enough that is legitimately all-ages friendly!
10. What upcoming or recently available material of yours should people be on the lookout for?
ADAM: Fans of our Transformers work should definitely check out our return to the property with Glu’s new Transformers movie video game, which is out now for most mobile devices.
JAMES: The guys at Glu were great to work with and allowed us the opportunity to generate an original story set in the realm of the Transfomers movie continuity. So far, the game is getting a great response, and it was fun to return to the TF universe (if a somewhat different one).
Next week with all this change where does that leave All Ages comics?
See ya’ next Tuesday!
If you have a great All Ages project, let us know!
Get in touch: MikeP@SilverBulletComicbooks.com
Thanks for the opportunity to talk about comics! Here are some more comics to talk about-
Check out some new All Ages comic reads on sale this week:
MAR073161 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #152 $3.69
APR070224 BATMAN STRIKES #34 $2.25
APR070228 CARTOON NETWORK ACTION PACK #14 $2.25
APR072287 AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #9 $2.99
APR072298 FRANKLIN RICHARDS WORLD BE WARNED #1 $2.99
APR072315 MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #25 $2.99
MAR073154 ARCHIE & FRIENDS #110 $2.25
MAR073155 ARCHIE DIGEST #235 $2.49
MAY062772 BUMPERBOY & LOUD LOUD MOUNTAIN GN $8.95
MAY073484 LIFE AND TIMES OF SCROOGE MCDUCK TP 2ND PTG $17.99
MAR073170 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES VOL 3 TP $7.49
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