CBO Chats With Bill Galvan

 

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Comic Bits Online:What is Freshman Year about?

Bill Galvan: Archie: Freshman Year is about Archie and the gang’s first year in high school, how he meets some of his teachers and friends for the first time and adjusts to high school life.

Comic Bits Online:How did you and Batton Lash get involved with Freshman Year?

Bill Galvan: I wanted to draw a story about Archie’s first year in high school, and I pitched it to Batton, who is really good at being able to blend humor and drama into a script. He also understands the characters really well, and had written one of my favorite books, “<b>Archie meets the Punisher</b>” back in the ‘90s. We then took our idea and pitched it to Archie Comics last year at the San Diego Comic Con, and they really liked the idea. I did some sketches of the characters with a “freshman year” look, and we were on our way.

Comic Bits Online How much of Freshman Year was your idea and how much was editorial?

Bill Galvan: I came up with the concept of chronicling their first year of high school, and Batton came up with the 5 issue outline and scripts for the story. The editors at Archie were really enthusiastic about our ideas, and conferred with Batton and I about the story format and the look and feel.

Comic Bits Online: Pureheart and The Man from R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E.  appear in the first issue, what other surprises do you have for the fans?

Bill Galvan: We’ve got some new characters coming in, that fans are really going to like. We’ve also got some more special cameos by other characters and old favorites as well.

Comic Bits Online: In real life aren't the girls taller then the boys in the freshman year of High School?

Bill Galvan: Sometimes- certainly in Big Ethel’s case!

Comic Bits Online: What was the reason for replacing Jughead with Pencilneck G?

Bill Galvan: Pencilneck G is one of the new characters that Batton has created but certainly is not meant as a replacement for Jug (as if anyone could replace him!). Jughead’s presence is very important to the “Archie-verse” and Pencilneck G is a great way of pointing that out, as readers will see!

Comic Bits Online: There is a bully at Riverdale High, Jared McGerk, how does that play into the story?

Bill Galvan:Archie runs afoul of Jared McGerk on his first day of school, among other mishaps of the day. The first day of high school for Archie is definitely full of surprises for poor ol’ carrot-top!

Comic Bits Online What supporting characters will we be seeing in Freshman Year?

Bill Galvan: We’ll see the usual gang, Betty, Jughead, Veronica and Reggie will all be looking ahead to starting the new school year. It’s a big step for them, they’ll be in high school forever! We’ll also be introducing the usual cast, but showing how they met and came to be Archie’s friend.

Comic Bits Online: Will the Freshman Year story impact the continuity of the ongoing series set in the Junior Year?

Bill Galvan:The Freshman Year stories complement the ongoing series of Archie books. All the stories fans love are still happening, we’re really just chronicling their first year in high school. Batton did a great job of keeping the characters true to their original incarnations. The biggest difference is that the storylines feature more drama mixed with the comedy, but the characters are still drawn in the same traditional style.

Comic Bits Online: What's next after Freshman Year?

Bill Galvan: Hopefully something just as fun! Freshman Year has been a blast!