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Archie Leads The Way
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Published: March 6, 2009
Updated: 03/06/2009 12:16 pm
Which comic book character was the top selling comic book of 1969, with over a half-million copies sold?
Need more help?
This character's book was ranked in the top 10 for sales each year - except one - in the 1960s.
(And it's not Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four or any of those long-underwear-type, super-hero books).
Last hint: This character has red hair, is a teen-ager at Riverdale High and couldn't decide between the loves of his life, Betty and Veronica.
Right you are: It's the never-aging teen Archie Andrews.
Today, Archie and his friends don't get much publicity.
They don't appear on the big screen and the comics don't sell nearly as good as they did in the heyday of comics.
However, the publisher of Archie comic books has survived in a unique manner: It is basically marketed and sold at check-out counters at grocery stores.
They are frequently found right next to the latest issue of People or those gossip magazines and they are in digest size which makes it convenient for kids of all ages to grab and throw in their grocery cart.
And therein should lie a lesson to the publisher of mainstream comics. (Are you listening DC and Marvel?)
Archie publishers learned a basic lesson of economics: If you make your books accessible to the public, people may actually buy them.
Think about this: The only place you can really buy Superman or Captain America these days is at your local neighborhood comic store.
Of which, there are none in Hernando County.
The Birth Of Comic Stores
Long ago, comics were found just about anywhere magazines and newspapers were sold - in grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, drug stores.
Then along around the mid 70s, comic book publishers had a "brainstorm" - Why not sell these books on the direct market to specialty stores where comics fans could congregate, talk comic-ese and trade tales with fellow collectors?
Sounds like a great idea.
I still remember my first comic book shop. It was in a dingy, cramped windowless basement of an office complex in Farmington, Mich.
It was dark, gloomy and I loved it!
I never knew there were so many people like me who bought these things!
Gradually, comic books disappeared from other retail outlets faster than the proverbial speeding bullet.
Fans simply went to the "comic book store" for their weekly fix.
Funny thing happened, though. Nobody else went.
Non-geeks and would-be fans who might have taken up the hobby had there been easy access to the books were shut out.
Except for Archie and the gang.
Still The Same
In a brilliant stroke of marketing savvy, the publishers of Archie wisely decided to maintain a presence at supermarket check-outs - in addition to comic book stores.
They also opted for a more convenient, smaller-sized digest edition of the comics, which takes up less shelf space and has a tighter binding that makes it more attractive to retailers.
The comic stores still have the larger, comic book versions.
Best of all - the editors did not change the characters one iota. All the Archie characters - Jughead, Reggie, Veronica, Betty, et al - are the same now as they were in the 1950s and 60s.
They are still a wholesome alternative to the growing grit and adult-oriented super-hero comics.
So thumbs up to Archie and his pals at Riverdale High. You could teach those super-hero types a thing or two!
Question Of The Month:
In keeping with our Archie theme, name the principal of Riverdale High.
If you know, e-mail me at mbates@hernandotoday.com.
See you next month!
Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290.
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