What happened to Archie Comics? The third greatest legacy comic house hasn’t been heard much in recent months aside from Kevin Smith’s visit to Riverdale. Archie was distributed to comic stores by Diamond, but announced his move to Lunar shortly after Diamond’s bankruptcy was filed, but has not been featured in other bankruptcy-related news.
As Archie is still the only comic publisher that relies on newsstand sales, you may not have heard much about their reaction to the Diamond situation. After all these years, Archie has expensive rack space in the supermarket for the popular digest. These are the last traces of the sale of the giant newsstands that once roamed the land. And the Archie Digest, which is probably $9.99, was a last resort for harried parents, and bought as a treat for the kids to keep quiet for a while.
But does it sound like the digest plan has changed a little now? At least, that’s my takeaway from this story in the 13th dimension of last week’s title: Archie Comics’ publication line is evolving this fall
Archie Comics This fall is revamping its classic style publishing line with a new Digest series that will become longer based on seasons/holidays.
The new slate, which is being adjusted for the month, actually starts on August 20th with the release of Archie Comics Digest #1.
The size of the book is not mentioned, but does this approach the “compact edition” size that swept the sale of casual graphic novels? The larger the size, the higher the price. Instead of $9.99 on 192 pages, $9.99 on 86 pages
What else does the first of the “New Digest” do at that time? In October, a Christmas-focused collection will be released. Other lineup changes: The Teen Witch #1 facsimile version of Sabrina will be released in November instead of August (but there is a cute Andy priced variant cover seen below), and a one-shot of Josie and Pussy Cat will also be appearing in November. The 13th dimension continues to list official solicitations, along with a note that “there is a possibility of further shifts as the year progresses.”
A copy of the Halloween special provides details.
Archie Comics Digest #1: Halloween Special
After over 50 years of Archie Digests, our beloved archive collection has gained a new look. Based on the success of the extremely popular puzzle book and word search series, Archie Comics Digest is loaded with classic stories, puzzles, fashion pages and pinups of the pinups you know and love, all loaded with Halloween fun!
Scripts: Sy Reit, Tom Defalco, Frank Doyle
Art: Bob White, Stephen Butler, Dan DeCarlo
Cover: Dan’s Parent, Rosario “Titto” Pena
Sales date: 8/20
96 pages, full color digest
$9.99
This story actually raises more questions than answers. Will the old digest line continue? Where do these get caught up in? What about the rest of the lines? Is Archie mainly a publisher of puzzles and word search magazines? My understanding is that digests have been Archie’s bedrock for decades and decades, so fiddle with the format is very important.
Perhaps some regular beat commenters can provide a more thorough report on the condition of your grocery/drugstore. When I travel, I check out the magazine section for the old days, but I’ve mostly noticed a number of pop culture one-shots about Marvel movies, Pokemon, or other topic brands. However, the world of people and women still exists. And yes, there are plenty of crossword puzzle magazines.
These seasonal digests seem to be an attempt to bring out products with longer shelf life along those talk of one-shot lines, but add puzzles that people still love.
Anyway, Archie has quietly closed Digests Comics and some digital reprints of their historic archives for a while. They are available digitally via Comixology and GlobalComix, and in comic shops nationwide via Lunar and bookstores via PRH. And as the end of a newsstand comic through a magazine distributor.
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