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Terry Hooper-Scharf

Sunday 11 March 2012

Hmm. Maybe Taking It A Little Too Far Now?


I read this and thought that maybe Archie have taken a step too far…?

By Steven Scott
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS broke the news that long-running Archie supporting character Cheryl Blossom would be facing a bout with breast cancer in the pages of LIFE WITH ARCHIE, continuing the series’ forward-looking and topical stories.

This includes, most recently, the wedding of Kevin Keller, which is also a big part of the AP’s trend piece on comics and created a storm of publicity and discussion, including mentions in CNN, TIME, ABC News, The Huffington Post, and many more. Archie Comics has received much praise for the wedding issue which subsequently sold out, cementing Kevin’s staying power.

Cheryl will return to Riverdale in Life with Archie #21 to receive support from the Archie gang in her time of need. The AP piece has gone on to be reported by ABC News, CBS News, FOX News, The Seattle Times, The Boston Globe, Yahoo!, The Star Tribune, and Newsday.

Okay, Archie started getting cool but I think the company then started thinking it needed to do more. Initially, we all hoped that the much written about but has not happened Stan Lee series would see Archie get back into the super-powered guy business.  No explanation just silence.

Kevin Keller -”HE’S GAY!!”  Right. Not a major announcement for those of us outside the USA but good for kids to see a positive side of gay people rather than the bilge they might be hearing or seeing.
But comics is supposed to be escapism. It’s supposed to be fun and Archie were the last bastion of that.  Now we can all go through Cheryl’s cancer turmoil with her.

WTF???

A “positive” storyline maybe, but can’t kids just read and have fun without getting all the dark stuff waiting for them when they get older shoved down their throats?  Dollar signs are behind this (Archie is a business after all) and if you look at their web site they have certainly changed.But in my opinion they are clutching at those dollar bills while they can and maybe losing sight of what they were.

Sometimes I just want to shrug and give up.

Then I remember that this is a business and businesses want every red penny while they can get them….I’m just waiting for the Archie Date-Rape mini series -done “sensitively” of course.

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