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The Future of Archie -- what do you foresee?

Started by exitmusicblue,

41 posts in this topic

exitmusicblue

exitmusicblue

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Posted

Vintage Peps and Archies were among the biggest gainers on the Overstreet charts this past year. But, in contrast to superheroes, Archie doesn't seem to have branched out much (if at all) from the comic book medium.

 

Meaning mainstream exposure, especially to kids, is at a minimum. Another way to think about it -- when was the last time you ever saw an Archie or Jughead on Halloween?

 

Will future collectors care enough/be knowledgeable enough to sustain prices? I remember and miss the days when there were Archie sections in supermarkets, sigh.

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steveinthecity

steveinthecity

Posted
Posted
Vintage Peps and Archies were among the biggest gainers on the Overstreet charts this past year. But, in contrast to superheroes, Archie doesn't seem to have branched out much (if at all) from the comic book medium.

 

Will future collectors care enough/be knowledgeable enough to sustain prices? I remember and miss the days when there were Archie sections in supermarkets, sigh.

Regarding the "branching out", the do have a tv series in the works presently. I'm sure future collectors will care, it's more a matter of new collectors taking an interest in Archie, and for better or worse, Archie doesn't attract the speculator crowds that seem to help to draw attention to back issues.
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Monkeyman

Monkeyman

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I still see Archie Digests all over the place. I'd say they have more exposure to kids than superhero comics which are only sold in comic stores. My daughter has a collection Archie Digests she buys at the local second hand book store for $1 each.

 

Mike

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exitmusicblue

exitmusicblue

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I still see Archie Digests all over the place. I'd say they have more exposure to kids than superhero comics which are only sold in comic stores. My daughter has a collection Archie Digests she buys at the local second hand book store for $1 each.

 

Mike

Regarding the "branching out", the do have a tv series in the works presently. I'm sure future collectors will care, it's more a matter of new collectors taking an interest in Archie, and for better or worse, Archie doesn't attract the speculator crowds that seem to help to draw attention to back issues.

 

Mike, that's great to hear, wonder if it's the norm -- I haven't seen a single Archie outside of comics shops in ages.

 

That Archie TV show gives me hope as well, and it is indeed nice not having speculator flocks everywhere. I've been thinking of getting some lovely GA/SA Pep Comics graded but have been off-put by the super low pop numbers. Made me wonder if it was the equivalent of slabbing antiques... :o

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lou_fine

lou_fine

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Yes, the Archie digests are definitely out there in most of the supermarkets which I go to. Certainly cannot say the same thing about books from the Big 2.

 

I've got Archie digests around the house as my adult girls read them all the time. They won't bother to open up a super hero book however, even though they do watch their shows on TV's and the movies.

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lou_fine

lou_fine

Posted
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Vintage Peps and Archies were among the biggest gainers on the Overstreet charts this past year. But, in contrast to superheroes, Archie doesn't seem to have branched out much (if at all) from the comic book medium.

 

Will future collectors care enough/be knowledgeable enough to sustain prices? I remember and miss the days when there were Archie sections in supermarkets, sigh.

Regarding the "branching out", the do have a tv series in the works presently. I'm sure future collectors will care, it's more a matter of new collectors taking an interest in Archie, and for better or worse, Archie doesn't attract the speculator crowds that seem to help to draw attention to back issues.

 

Seems like they are branching out pretty well with their updated versions of Archie related books that have all started out from issue #1 again, with all of their variant covers to boot. Not sure if they are keeping the old ones going at the same time though.

 

As for the speculation crowd, have you not been keeping up-to-date with their Afterlife series of Archie books?

 

Archie is probably more prevalent now than at any other time in their history, especially in terms of their presence in the comic shops. (thumbs u

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exitmusicblue

exitmusicblue

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Vintage Peps and Archies were among the biggest gainers on the Overstreet charts this past year. But, in contrast to superheroes, Archie doesn't seem to have branched out much (if at all) from the comic book medium.

 

Will future collectors care enough/be knowledgeable enough to sustain prices? I remember and miss the days when there were Archie sections in supermarkets, sigh.

Regarding the "branching out", the do have a tv series in the works presently. I'm sure future collectors will care, it's more a matter of new collectors taking an interest in Archie, and for better or worse, Archie doesn't attract the speculator crowds that seem to help to draw attention to back issues.

 

Seems like they are branching out pretty well with their updated versions of Archie related books that have all started out from issue #1 again, with all of their variant covers to boot. Not sure if they are keeping the old ones going at the same time though.

 

As for the speculation crowd, have you not been keeping up-to-date with their Afterlife series of Archie books?

 

Archie is probably more prevalent now than at any other time in their history, especially in terms of their presence in the comic shops. (thumbs u

 

Yup yup, meant outside of comics, though. Mainstream cultural exposure (like through film, TV, internet etc.) is a key driver of new collectors. 50 years from now they'll still be making new Spidey movies and Star Wars and the like. Will the Archie fan base have shrunk considerably by then, or will the comics themselves be so kickass as to draw new collectors solely through their appeal?

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143ksk

143ksk

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Archie has been getting a lot of mainstream press interest over Kevin Keller, Afterlife with Archie and Life with Archie. They are also producing very good comics!

 

I hadn't read a new Archie issue in probably 30 years until Afterlife with Archie came out. I have now also read (and enjoyed!) Archie vs. Sharknado, Archie vs. Predator and Life with Archie--the Married Life. The reboot of the Archie title itself is too new for me to comment on other than to say so far so good.

 

It will be interesting to see how Archie fares in other media...

 

As to sustainability of prices, it doesn't take a whole lot of collectors given the paucity of the early issues in any grade and the later issues in high grade, to keep prices up. I also think there are more collectors getting into Archie than ever before. I am always pleasantly surprised when someone who I wouldn't have guessed would be interested in Archie buys an Archie book in one of my sales threads :)

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lou_fine

lou_fine

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I forsee the same apathy toward his titles that I've witnessed since I started collecting comics over 30 year ago.

 

For the most part, nobody cares.

 

^^

 

Definitely not what I am seeing as evident by the record breaking prices being paid for the early Archie books. Appears to be strong collector interest with big dollars also being paid for new keys and semi-keys as they are being identified. :takeit:

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Fan Boy

Fan Boy

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I had been an Archie reader and collector for as long I first started reading. After 40 years my interest hasn't faded yet ... I'm still enjoying reading classic Archie as well as new titles presently.

 

Funny thing ... Some time ago recently I've noticed one new Archie comic book ( yes, the new rebooted Archie) had popped up in Safeway stores here. It's the only true comic book in the magazine rack! Of course, there's also digests too.

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Shrevvy

Shrevvy

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Both my kids love Archie. My 10 year old son negotiated for 80+ copies last weekend at the local show. It is the first thing he goes for at every con. They are also at every grocery store check out counter here. I never read them as a kid, but I do enjoy the issues they pick up. So, count me as a new fan too.

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kav

kav

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30 years from now Archie will be the #1 collectible-because that's what the kids bought at the store-the only comic available-and now they have the nostalgia factor.

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