"Archie," the long-running flagship Archie Comics series, will re-launch in 2015, according to The New York Times. Along with a new issue #1, the book will gain a top-notch creative team in writer Mark Waid and artist Fiona Staples.
"We want to keep the lighthearted and family-friendly tone, but we have to do it in the present times, and that forces us to change," Archie Comics publisher and co-CEO Jon Goldwater said. The article states the re-launch is part of the company's 75th anniversary plan which includes a "new look and an edgier tone" for the eternal teenager.
The goal of the new "Archie" series is to "return Archie to a modern audience." "Over the years, some of the sharp edges have been sanded off," Waid told the Times. "They are kids, and they should act as kids."
An industry veteran with celebrated work at a variety of publishers, Waid has already been involved with Archie as of late as co-writer of superhero series "The Fox" with Dean Haspiel, which is also slated to re-launch in 2015 as part of the re-branded Dark Circle imprint. Staples is the artist and co-creator of Image Comics series "Saga," written by Brian K. Vaughan and one of the most celebrated series of the current era. She is also no stranger to Archie, as she has illustrated variant covers for the publisher in the past.
The reboot of "Archie" means the end of another one of the highest-numbered series in the North American comics industry, after Marvel and DC Comics have re-launched virtually all of their long-running series in recent years. "Archie" dates back to 1942, with the latest released issue clocking in at #662.
When asked why all this is happening now, after the publisher has made some bold editorial decisions with Archie over the past few years, Goldwater said: "I found Archie to be dusty, irrelevant and watered-down. It has taken me a while to really wrap my hands around where we are as a brand."
