By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 8/2/2015
Here’s where I finally release what’s left of our SDCC audio content…as a follow-up to last week’s set of DC and Marvel Television interviews, here are our chats on the animated side of things including discussions with Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland, Bruce Timm, Andrea Romano, Ike Barinholtz, Seth Meyers, and more! Additionally, here are the audio […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/18/2015
By Harper W. Harris
Archie fans certainly had a good time at SDCC this year: not only did the publisher talk about a new series in the Archie Horror line and tease us with the future of the Dark Circle line and the New Riverdale series of titles, but announced that the Riverdale TV series has been picked up by the CW. I had the chance to speak with Alex Segura, SVP of publicity and marketing and editor of the Dark Circle line, as well as Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, CCO and writer of Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina to talk about the slew of exciting news that came from Archie Comics over the course of the weekend.
Harper W. Harris: I wanted to talk with Alex first a bit about Dark Circle Comics. First of all, in general, how do you plan to tell new and exciting superhero stories under the Dark Circle imprint–how do you want them to stand out among all the other superhero books?
Alex Segura: I think the key for us is just to be different and good. I really strongly believe that quality rises to the top. You can put as much dressing on something as you want, but if the story or art isn’t good it doesn’t matter. I talked about this on the Dark Circle panel, but finding voices that maybe are familiar to the tropes of comics, but aren’t beholden to them. They can bring in a different perspective–people like Chuck Wendig, Adam Christopher, and Duane Swierczynski. They know comics but they know other media like TV, novels, and movies. So they come at it from a different perspective. We’re building Dark Circle more as a network. Each book is its own little show, and maybe down the line they’ll interact with each other, but fans don’t have that same kind of company pressure where you have checklists of 20 books you have to get to understand one event. We don’t do events, we do stories.
HH: What can you tell us about the pretty newly announced series, The Web?
The Web Promo, art by Szymon Kudranski
AS: The Web is Jane Raymond, she’s a 14 year old Korean American girl who is super into cosplay, and she’s a teenager. She’s one of these characters that once I read that first script, she feels like a teenager. She’s dealt with tragedy, her mother’s just passed away, and she’s stumbling upon being a superhero, which is insane. It really shows you what happens when a teenager gains enhanced abilities and has to face real problems like street gangs, violence, and teenage life. I mean, I can’t imagine being a teenager now–I remember how stressful it was being a teenager maybe 20 years ago. It’s really Dave White, who is the writer, who’s done a great job of trying to be true to the character and also a nod to the history but not weighing it down with continuity.
HH: The other thing that’s really cool about the Dark Circle line is how incredibly diverse it is. You’ve got action spy thriller to more wacky adventure to super dark crime, and horror–what do you think are the advantages of having such a diverse line while still being within the superhero genre overall?
AS: First of all, thank you for saying that. That’s really a testament to this gentleman [points to Aguirre-Sacasa] with the Archie Horror stuff. That really kicked the door down with Afterlife and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. All I have is my taste and my gut, and talking to Jon [Goldwater] and Roberto and Mike [Pellerito], and Jesse Goldwater. If it’s good, does it take up a new space in the line, and we really want to present fans with a variety and a seal of quality. To me, if you see the Dark Circle logo, it’s a company logo: it tells you that this is good. Whereas I think in other places, it just means you have a lot, or it means something else. I want people not to necessarily feel compelled to buy it because they’re completing a collection, but feel compelled to buy it because they want to read it.
HH: So shifting gears here a bit, I definitely have to talk about the Riverdale TV series that was announced as coming to CW yesterday. Roberto, what can you tell us about the tone or look of the show? I know earlier you’ve talked about it having a surreal tone–has that changed now that it’s on the CW?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: I think when we ended up pitching it, the very high concept pitch was that it was a teen version of Twin Peaks. And by that, it was sort of like how in Twin Peaks the whole story is kicked off by the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer. So imagine you’re telling that story, but instead of following the grown-ups of Twin Peaks, you’re following all of Laura Palmer’s classmates. That kind of story is kind of used to uncover all the secrets–that makes it sound like a really, really dark show, and though there are undercurrents of that and weirdness, it’s still Archie, there’s still a love triangle. Josie and the Pussycats are in it, there’s a lot of music in it. So it’s kind of a mix of light and dark, serious and funnier stuff–kind of like life. Coming of age is on some level is kind of a loss of innocence, so that’s a big theme. It’s kind of a hodge-podge of all that stuff.
Riverdale TV Series, art by Veronica Fish
HH: What other kind of TV shows and movies did you take inspiration from when writing the pilot?
RA: We talked a lot about it feeling like a John Hughes movie. Also movies like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Spectacular Now, The Way Way Back; those are movies that are all touchstones in terms of tone. The core will always be the love triangle and the characters, so as long as their essences remain. We’ve also talked about Dawson’s Creek as being an inspiration, which Greg Berlanti, who’s the producer on this, worked on. We talked about Everwood, which is about a family in a small town. So all those different kind of influences just kind of all have been absorbed and trickled down into the show.
HH: I believe it was on the Reddit AMA that you mentioned that you hoped to do a Halloween special every year that is a little bit like Afterlife with Archie–is that still something you’re trying to do?
RA: Yes, absolutely! That’d be great. Every Halloween there’d be a Halloween episode. Kind of like on Roseanne how they did a Halloween episode every year, or Treehouse of Horror.
Afterlife with Archie #10
HH: So let’s talk about Afterlife with Archie a bit. Did you guys always plan on expanding that book to encompass more than just zombies? What other kind of monsters or horror ideas do you see coming up in the future for the book?
RA: You know, I think originally we did think it was just going to be a zombie book, but then as it went on it very quickly started encroaching on other horror genres, and now the sky’s the limit. The one thing we probably won’t do in Afterlife, because we have Sabrina, is witches. Even though Sabrina and her aunts have small parts in Afterlife, that’s the one thing we probably won’t dive into. Otherwise everything else is kind of on the table horror-wise. There’s still a lot characters in the Archie library that we haven’t yet met in Afterlife that we will be meeting.
HH: The storytelling in that book is really phenomenal. What’s the process like scripting and working with Francesco Francavilla?
RA: We talk about every issue in advance and kind of check in to make sure that this is an area that Francesco’s interested in drawing. Then I do full scripts–and they are full scripts. I usually give probably more art direction than Francesco wants, although obviously he’s a genius and if he changes around the layout of a page, then I’ll adjust based on that. It’s pretty traditional in terms of having a full script and Francesco doing his thing, and if something changes, it’s always better.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #5
HH: Let’s talk about Chilling Adventures of Sabrina for a minute. How did you decide to make that a separate world from Afterlife, and what kind of research went into making that new world that takes place much farther in the past?
RA: You know, I’m not sure exactly what led into that. I know we wanted to do a book that wasn’t super tied to Afterlife, because it felt like if we were doing that story, let’s just put it in Afterlife. And I had wanted to do a period book for a while. So many of the movies and books that are an inspiration for Sabrina like Rosemary’s Baby or The Exorcist or The Omen, they all are all obviously retro now. It felt like this would be a slower burn and be a bit more psychological, so I thought maybe if set it in the ‘60s, maybe people won’t think it’s in the same universe of Afterlife. It’s a little weird that there’s a Sabrina in Afterlife and a different Sabrina who’s in Chilling Adventures.
HH: We’re used to that, we’re in comics, right?
RA: Exactly. Robert Hack, who draws, colors, and inks the book, he loves all the retro stuff. He has a huge library of visual references, much more so than I. I’ll say stuff like, they go to the movies and there are movie posters for movies that would be playing then, and he always fills in that stuff himself. He’s got a really good sense of that.
HH: There was another book announced in the Archie Horror line at the panel yesterday, right?
RA: Who is Vampironica, yes.
HH: What can you tell us about that?
RA: Not much. I can tell you that maybe two years ago maybe Dan Parent did two issues of Betty and Veronica that introduced this concept of Betty the vampire slayer and Vampironica. I was talking to Francesco, and he’s like, “I love vampires, I love pretty girls, I love Veronica.” We just started talking about it, and he got an idea about it. That’s all I can say about it. More news to come!
Who is Vampironica? (art by Francesco Francavilla)
HH: So one of the grand traditions of Archie Comics are the wacky crossovers you’ve done in the past–Archie Meets Punisher, Archie Meets Kiss, Archie vs. Predator, and the recently announced Archie vs. Sharknado. Being that you two guys are running these two separate lines of horror and crime or more mature themes, are there any plans to cross those two universes, or cross books within those universes?
AS: You know, we haven’t had the formal discussion, but like Jon Goldwater always says, everything’s on the table if it’s a good idea. We’re getting Dark Circle off the ground, Archie Horror is rolling…so maybe someday.
RA: A lot of people have pitched a lot of crazy crossover ideas, but no one yet has pitched a Dark Circle/Archie Horror crossover.
AS: And we’re doing our first horror book at Dark Circle with The Hangman, so there’s definitely room to play there.
RA: And, not to tease anything, but don’t we have a big crossover…
Archie Meets the Ramones, art by Gisele Lagace
AS: Yeah, we’re announcing a big crossover tonight–we’re announcing Archie Meets Ramones. I’ll be cowriting that with Matt Rosenberg, with art by Giselle [Lagace], who’s done stuff like Occupy Riverdale and her own cool comics. She’s a huge Ramones fan.
HH: So is that kind of a follow up to Archie Meets KISS?
AS: You know, Jesse Goldwater said, you’re kind of captaining the Archie music sub-universe, so there will be little nods that the fans that have read both will get. But it’ll be a fun standalone Rock’n’Roll High School kind of thing.
HH: Awesome! Last thing: what do you guys love about working for Archie? There’s so much to love–it’s a comic publisher that’s grown massively in the last couple of years.
RA: I love that risk-taking and being creative is rewarded. I don’t just wear this [points to his Jughead sweater] at Comic Con, I wear this everyday. I love people’s passion for the characters. That’s my favorite thing: when I say, oh, I do this for Archie, their eyes immediately light up because they have so many associations with these characters. To be at a place where I can work with them and take risks with them is just great.
AS: For me, I’ve worked on a bunch of major brands, and Archie is right up there with the likes of them, because everyone knows Archie. You know, you tell someone you work at Archie and their eyes light up because everyone has an Archie story. And my first comic was an Betty and Veronica Double Digest with a great Dan DeCarlo cover of them dancing. I remember the first time I read a Cheryl Blossom story. I love the characters, I think Jon is a great boss in terms of taking risks, being creative, and not being afraid. We’ll always try the new thing if it makes sense, and we’ll just keep rolling, I think it’s great.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/12/2015
Archie Meets the Ramones (courtesy of Comics Alliance)
By Harper W. Harris
Today at the Comics and Pop Music: Making New Noise panel at Comic Con, there was one of the most interesting groups of people on stage: Patrick A. Reed of Comics Alliance moderated Matt Rosenberg, Alex Segura, Amy Chu, and Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys as they spoke about the fascinating ways that music and comic books cross paths.
In an SDCC exclusive announcement, Segura and Rosenberg talked about a new miniseries from Archie Comics that they are co-writing: Archie Meets the Ramones, with art by Gisele Lagace. The promo art, seen above from Comics Alliance’s post, looks fun as hell. Rosenberg said that Archie comics are what got him into comics, and Ramones are what got him into punk, so it was a “perfect combination.” Segura says the mini-series will be “fun and a little weird.”
Zoldar by Mix Master Mike and Tony Washington
Amy Chu, who will be writing Poison Ivy as was recently announced, spoke briefly about the Run DMC comic she is writing, and the legendary Mix Master Mike talked about his Zoldar project with Tony Washington, which is both a comic character and a multimedia experience. There is an Oculus Rift aspect in which you enter the virtual world of Zoldar and experience the music and story in 7.1 surround sound. The music has already been made, and soon we can expect to learn more about the scratch-wielding superhero.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/8/2015
And so we wrap up this year’s with the last round of replies, and if one thing is clear it’s that a lot of people are looking forward to a new Star Wars movie. Once again, thanks to everyone who took the time from their busy schedules to respond. Previous parts can be read here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four.
Greg Pak, writer
2015 Projects: ACTION COMICS, BATMAN/SUPERMAN, STORM, and my new online store,gregpakshop.com, where you can buy signed copies of my books!
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Diversity. After the success of MS. MARVEL, there’s no going back. We’re going to continue seeing more and more diversity of casts and genres and art styles in mainstream and independent comics, and that’s a fantastic thing that’s healthy for the entire industry in every way.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? Diversity. Not just among casts, genre, and art style, but among actual creators. I think there was a time not too long ago when I was the only person of color writing for the big two. That’s going to change. And we’re going to see more and more women writing and drawing, and comics will continue to tap into new audiences as a result, which will be better for the entire industry.
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? I got one of those fancy blenders, and it’s gonna be fruit smoothies 24/7, y’all.
Richard Starkings, writer/lettering guru
2015 Projects: ELEPHANTMEN — 60 issues and still counting! THE BEEF with Tyler Shainline and Shaky Kane! This years comicbookfonts.com New Year’s Day sale… we’ve been posting Lettering Q&A videos everyday on the Comicraft YOUTUBE channel
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY becoming such a huge hit.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? Probably STAR WARS comics, toys and the movie!
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? THOUGHT BUBBLE 2015. Best comic festival IN THE GALAXY!
JIMMY PALMIOTTI
2015 Projects: Harley Quinn, The Con Job, Abbadon, G.I.Zombie.
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014?
I think getting more women in the business and hearing from different voices with many different ethnic backgrounds as well as mainstream comics becoming more global. With this, I hope we get to a place where we look at the work with a better eye and less about the person that created it. I am hoping traditional superheroes mature a bit in the process.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015?
Hopefully it will be the direction of certain creators getting behind their own creations and the audiences out there supporting them. I also think IMAGE comics will finally beat out one of the big two companies and cause them to rethink they way they share profits and creator owned ideas.
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? For me, the guilty pleasure I am now enjoying is moving a lot of what I do out of my house and into a studio surrounding and making our Paperfilms website the place to find my own future projects. That, and a couple of movies on my radar that are not franchises or part 30 of something that has already been beaten to death.
J.T. Yost, publisher/creator
2015 Projects: As a publisher (Birdcage Bottom Books):
As a distributor:
Birdcage Bottom Books continues to expand its roster of indie-comic artists and micro-press publishers with a focus on limited-edition hand-made mini comics. Our mission is to make comics without barcodes easier to find and own while allowing comic artists to focus more time on creating and less on marketing & promotion.
As an artist:
Finishing up several short comics for various anthologies (including “Not My Small Diary #18 (pets)”) and hopefully working on finishing the final issue of my “Losers Weepers” series.
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? I don’t know that it’s the biggest story, but I found it interesting that several of the larger indie-comics publishers (Fantagraphics, Last Gasp, Sparkplug, etc.) have turned to Kickstarter to help fund their publishing endeavors.
My own publishing company has used it for two anthologies (“Digestate: a food & eating themed anthology” and “Cringe: an anthology of embarrassment”) with great success. Kickstarter is a great way to reach a broader audience and offer additional incentives to “pre-order” a book.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? The success or failure of The Peanuts movie will probably make some headlines.
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? Visiting one of the “cat cafés” opening in NYC this year. My cats died a few years ago, and my wife is allergic (plus we have a chihuahua who hates cats). I actually don’t feel guilty about this at all, but there are some who would insist that I should be.
Josh Elder, writer and Comics Ambassador for the US State Department (Yes, that’s really a thing.)
2015 Projects: The trade paperback for Scribblenauts Unmasked by myself, Adam Archer, Ian Hering and Saida Temofonte (with edits by Alex Antone) drops in February from the fine folks at DC Comics. I’ve got a couple additional unannounced projects from DC on the docket in 2015, the relaunch of my Mail Oder Ninja series from Andrews McMeel Publishing and about a half-dozen personal projects that have been long in the works. I’m also continuing in my role as Executive Director of Reading With Pictures and Comics Ambassador for the US State Department to promote the use of comics in the classroom all around the world.
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Amazon’s acquisition of comiXology. The world’s biggest and most influential e-retailer just bet big on comics. ComiXology itself is obviously the big winner here, but the Amazon acquisition is a clear sign that the big boys of digital content distribution think that comics could well be the next big thing. And that is very exciting indeed.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? I know of a certain something that, should it come to pass, would be a major contender for the top spot (How’s that for a tease?), but since I cannot yet speak of such matters, I’ll instead go with all the ch-ch-changes at DC Comics due to the Great Western Migration. Jobs will live, jobs will die and nothing will ever be the same again!
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? Against all reason and better judgment, I am getting crazy excited for Star Wars. The movie, the comics, even that kooky, cross-guard lightsaber. I’ve been burned so many times before, yet I still think I’ll be waiting in line opening night to return to a galaxy far, far away…
2015 Projects: Revenger
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Conversation of gender around comics.
Guilty Pleasure: New Star Wars!
2015 Projects: The Late Child and Other Animals with Marguerite Van Cook, a graphic novel just out from Fantagraphics Books; plus I am currently working on the second issue of Post York for Uncivilized Books and also finishing my critical book about Jim Steranko.
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? The Jack Kirby estate’s settlement with Marvel Comics/Disney that ensures Kirby’s creative credit and gives the family substantial financial compensation.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? I’d like to think it would be an epiphany in America regarding the superior quality of Hugo Pratt’s work, due to IDW/EuroComics’ new Corto Maltese reprint series.
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? Now having the option to read a Marvel Comic or watch a Marvel movie without feeling like I am helping a corporation rip the Kirbys off.
Allison Baker & Chris Roberson
2015 Projects: Chris is busy scripting funny books like ALIENS and DOC SAVAGE (and a whole list of other projects he can’t talk about yet), while Allison is the Director of Operations for IDW.
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Our perspective is a little skewed because of personal involvement, perhaps, but one of the most interesting things about comics in 2014 was more about the influence of comics on another medium than about comics as a medium in itself: namely, television. Comics being adapted into successful movies is nothing new, as a quick glance at the box office results for any recent year will attest. But successful television adaptations of comics have been pretty thin on the ground in the past, with occasional standouts. But the success of THE WALKING DEAD may have signaled a changing landscape. Marvel’s AGENTS OF SHIELD will soon be joined by an AGENT CARTER spinoff. And it was announced that DC’s ARROW will be joined by FIVE new series that will air on various networks based on their comics, including one that is near and dear to our hearts, Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright’s adaptation of Chris and Mike Allred’s iZOMBIE. Recently, Sony’s Playstation Network announced plans to adapt Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming’s POWERS. And there were probably more that we’re forgetting. In the short term, we’re sure that many of us hope that the increased exposure these kinds of adaptations bring will mean for increased sales for the titles that are being adapted themselves (that’s what WE’RE very much hoping for, anyway). But on another level, it might suggest that there is a far larger potential audience for the kinds of stories these comics are telling than the comics themselves are reaching.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? There were some really interesting trends the last couple of years, with independent publishers taking increasingly large market shares and retail sales in direct market shops rebounding, in addition to more and more creator-owned titles ending up on mainstream bestseller lists. We’re still in a transitionary period, with the ground continuing to shift underneath our feet, and the biggest story in comics next year could be what the landscape ends up looking like when the dust has settled.
2015 Projects: GOTHAM ACADEMY (DC) SOUTHERN CROSS (IMAGE)
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Comics are for everyone! Diversity took the spotlight this year, diversity in creators, characters and fans. Yes there was a lot of ugly stuff, but I like to remember the positives and there was a lot of good discussions and progress made too. Publishers are paying more attention to how they are hiring and marketing, and who is reading. I love comics and looking back on this year it makes me really happy and proud to be a part of this community. Serious feels.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? Creator owned books are going to own 2015. Like how they owned 2014 except even more.
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? I am going to learn all the lyrics to Journey’s Separate Ways specifically to rock at karaoke.
Tom Hart, cartoonist, educator
2015 Projects: Rosalie Lightning, due hopefully in 2015, from St Martins Press
Continued running of The Sequential Artists Workshop with guest workshops in 2015 by Ed Piskor (Hip Hop Family Tree) and Aidan Koch (q, The Blonde Woman, etc.)
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Oversized archive books
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? The decline of ink as medium of choice
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? Reading Amanda Palmer’s book, the Art of Asking. That probably doesn’t count, does it?
Adam Koford, writer/cartoonist
2015 Projects: I just hit #2600 with the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats at HOBOTOPIA.com with no end in sight (though I am sending them underground for a while), and I wrote the Spider-Man Play Set for Disney Infinity 2.0.
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? The success of the Guardians of the Galaxy film and the subsequent ubiquitousness of Rocket and Groot.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? DC’s move west will be fun to watch.
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? My kids have got me hooked on HeroClix, so I’m a little too excited for the upcoming Spider-Man Symbiotes figures.
Alex Segura, writer/editor
2015 Projects: Writer of crime novels and comics, Archie Comics PR guy and Editor of Dark Circle Comics
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Comics are everywhere. It isn’t just movies – but TV, video games and more. Selfishly, I also felt like the ARCHIE #1 news caught a lot of people by surprise. I also feel like Image continues to defy preconceptions about what a “big publisher” is in comics, dovetailing nicely with what cable TV seems to be doing.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? For me, it’s the launch of Archie’s superhero imprint, Dark Circle Comics with THE BLACK HOOD, THE FOX and THE SHIELD. Overall, I think it’ll be a continuation of what we’ve seen over the last few years – creators getting to tell their own, personal stories/creating their own characters as their livelihoods, as opposed to something done between work-for-hire gigs. I think you’ll also see that influencing how IP-owning companies approach their own characters and promote them. Los Bros Hernandez
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? I don’t believe in guilty pleasure – but I’m always happy when there’s more Achewood!
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/25/2014
Live from San Diego Comic Con, it’s More To Come! Publishers Weekly’s podcast of comics news, interviews and discussion with Calvin Reid, Kate Fitzsimons and The Beat’s own Heidi MacDonald.
In part two of More To Come’s San Diego Comic-Con special, Calvin Reid talks to Don Rosa about Scrooge McDuck, European fans and Carl Barks; Eleanor Davis on her new book How to Be Happy; and Lucy Knisley about her new book An Age of License. Meanwhile, Heidi MacDonald interviews Archie Comics President Mike Pellerito and sr. v-p Alex Segura about Life With Archie, dead Archie and zombie Archie. All this and more from Publishers Weekly’s More To Come!
Listen to this episode in streaming here, download it direct here and catch up with our previous podcasts on the PublishersWeekly website, or subscribe to More To Come on iTunes
By: Maryann Yin,
on 7/11/2014
Archie Comics plans to re-launch their superhero imprint under a new name, Dark Circle Comics. This division was previously known as Red Circle Comics.
The executives plan to announce some of the new work-in-progress titles on the Dark Circle list at this year’s Comic Con International: San Diego event. Alex Segura, who serves as senior vice president of publicity and marketing, has been named editor of this imprint.
Co-CEO and publisher Jon Goldwater had this statement in the press release: ”This is a fresh start and a new direction for these iconic characters. It all boils down to story – tales that feature compelling characters by some of the best talent in comics. Alex – with the help of myself, our President Mike Pellerito, CCO Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and Editor Paul Kaminski – has carefully curated a line of comics that will hopefully be seen as the definitive interpretations of these characters for a long time. We couldn’t be more excited.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/10/2010
A good publicist makes a lot of friends, but it’s safe to say that few comics publicists have as many friends as Alex Segura Jr. Last week Segura announced he was leaving DC Comics
THE BEAT: Alex, you have had a signature career for the media age — from copy editor at a print newspaper, the Miami Hearld, through blogger to publicity to now marketing for a company full of American idols. What’s the common element of all those jobs?
SEGURA: I appreciate how you’ve presented my career – and it feels weird to even call it that, but I guess it is one. I’d like to think my work has managed to ride along with the changing trends in how we get, gather and deliver information. I started as a reporting intern who’s main concern was writing for print, then became an editor who edited copy for print. After that, it was editing stories in a trade for a print magazine with little online component at the time. When I returned to The Miami Herald, it was managing content on the website. Then I was a publicist, and for the last two years I’ve been a publicist who spends a lot of time blogging and interacting with people via other means, and so on. So, I’d like to think I’ve been fairly flexible and maybe slightly intuitive about how people are getting or looking for information. That’s fairly common – I’m not patting myself on the back too much.
THE BE
I love what Archie has done with their line, ESPECIALLY Dark Circle and Archie Horror. I just wish the wait for new issues on Afterlife and Sabrina wasn’t so long…but it’s always worth it.
As much as I love Afterlife and Sabrina, the widening spaces between issues and the lack of an explanation for them has become a major turnoff for me. Either do one-shot specials or publish the titles at least quarterly…
I agree about the wait time between issues. It must be costing them sales.