Comments on: Is Jughead Cancelled?

By: Archie Sales Figures for 2012 » Comics Worth Reading

Archie Sales Figures for 2012 » Comics Worth Reading — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 21:25:33 +0000

[...] is down to three comic periodicals, with Jughead cancelled last year. Only Archie appears monthly; the other two publish six issues a year. Most Archie issues [...]

By: Archie Issues Reprinting Stories — Another Business Choice to Cut Costs? » Comics Worth Reading

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 00:39:35 +0000

[...] the lack of outside advertising, declining sales figures, and fewer titles published this year, I can’t help seeing this as another sign that Archie Comics is changing the way it [...]

By: James Schee

James Schee — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:45:27 +0000

Interesting to see he’ll be “refreshed.” I’ll be curious to see what they think a more updated take would be like.

By: Jughead to take a short nap, awaken refreshed | Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources – Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 15:00:09 +0000

[...] Johanna Draper Carlson noted the subscription for the Jughead comic seems to have disappeared from the Archie Comics website, [...]

By: jdh417

jdh417 — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 20:53:46 +0000

Actually I was referring to their editorial/promotional policies rather than their financial decisions.

I do think they will try some “interesting” stunt to try and save Jughead’s title, though the character may be damaged in the process.

By: RB Dash

RB Dash — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 01:02:58 +0000

[quote]Cancelling Jughead for low sales would seem to be right in line with Archie Comics bleakly cynical and unsentimental attitude towards it’s properties. It’d be a nice clean break with the past and the characters and setting that made them popular in the first place.[/quote]

I think most comic book companies have canceled things for low sales. In fact, that was probably the case for almost every title canceled ever. Believe me, I think Archie would rather have Jughead stay in print. It’s called being a business I think. Nostalgia can only get you SO far.

By: jdh417

jdh417 — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 21:27:55 +0000

http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/08/lesson-learned-from-archie-comics.html

This is an odd source for an article about Archie, but is still heartfelt. It may have inadvertently been an early eulogy for the traditional Archie Comics.

By: Chris Sobieniak

Chris Sobieniak — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 20:58:31 +0000

“Given that the comics are in the middle of the music section of the store, they wouldn’t get much foot traffic from parents/young children anyway.”

You’re lucky if you see anything at all, it’s hard for me to accept there was once a time a spinner rack of comics was sold at a supermarket less than a mile from my house 20 years ago (another 10 years before that, the drug store a couple blocks). I’m lucky if I have anywhere to get comics at all these days though it would’ve nice if the distribution wasn’t as dried up as it became.

By: Jim Kosmicki

Jim Kosmicki — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 13:58:02 +0000

I live in a community of 50,000 that used to have comic racks everywhere – today there are two locations in town to buy comics: The local used book store/gaming store/ comics as a sideline store and the Hastings Book Store. Hastings recently went hard into comics, but with Diamond Select publishers only. They used to have a spinner rack of comics for younger readers, but I haven’t noticed it the last few times I went in the store. Given that the comics are in the middle of the music section of the store, they wouldn’t get much foot traffic from parents/young children anyway.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 12:31:32 +0000

I see Archie titles at Barnes & Noble next to the DC and Marvel. And many of the comic shops I visit have Archie comics in their kids section.

By: Jim Kosmicki

Jim Kosmicki — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:03:11 +0000

why is this surprising people? Maybe you live in very different places than I do, but when was the last time you saw an Archie regular comic for sale (other than the magazine size Life with Archie?). The digests get better display and distribution, but even there, around here most stores have either stopped displaying the Archie digests or cut them down to only one or two cash register displays (instead of most of them). Archie held on to the traditional newsstand longer than any other publisher, but that distribution network has truly dried up. I hope their new digital distribution is working for them. I don’t want to live in a world without Archie comics.

By: jdh417

jdh417 — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 01:30:03 +0000

I’d be surprised if Archie didn’t attempt some sort of publicity stunt with Jughead first before they’d cancel him. The mind reels with possibilities, but anything too radical would ultimately destroy the uniqueness of the character, a fate far worse than cancellation. Really, is there any other character in literature like Jughead?

Cancelling Jughead for low sales would seem to be right in line with Archie Comics bleakly cynical and unsentimental attitude towards it’s properties. It’d be a nice clean break with the past and the characters and setting that made them popular in the first place.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 01:10:22 +0000

One problem with the reprint theory is some of the “headline-grabbing” storylines are too timely/easily dated to reprint in the digests in, say, five years’ time. (See: Obama/Palin :-p ). While the reprints often edit such references out in older stories, seems like reprinting “Occupy” will be a tall order. Granted, it’s also a problem with some of the “headline-grabbing” stories in the first place, much as it’s done to lessen some people’s accusations of Archie being “dated”…

Still, odd to think of Jughead being axed, given it (along with Betty & Veronica and Archie) is one of their longest-running “core” books.

You might also count the non-Archie universe books for Archie as a company (the Sonic titles, Mega Man, and now a new Red Circle heroes book), which I suppose now equal the number of Archie-universe-set floppies…