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The executives at Archie Comics have cancelled their Kickstarter campaign. It was shut down five days after its launch due to widespread criticism from both fans and industry professionals.

If the crowdfunding venture had been successful, the funds would have gone towards accelerating the publication of three new series: Jughead, Betty & Veronica, and Life with Kevin. Despite this set back, the Archie Comics team still plans to move forward with these projects.

In an interview with Comic Book Resources, publisher Jon Goldwater gave this statement: “Very broadly, Jughead will come first, sooner than you’d think. Probably October. Then we’ll take a pause, figure out the rollout of the other two and how to best position them in the market. It’s going to take longer than we’d hoped, obviously, but these titles are top priority for us, and we want to make sure our fans get the best books possible.” (via The Hollywood Reporter)

I’d been hearing word on the street that the controversial Archie Kickstarter campaign would be cancelled, and now about $30 K in andCBR has the official word. The planned titles—Jughead by Chip Zdarsky, Betty & Veronica by Adam Hughes and Kevin Keller by Dan Parent—will be published, as promised, but the rollout will be slower with Jughead launching in the fall.

According to Archie publisher Jon Goldwater, the negative attention was detracting too much from the actual projects:

“Very broadly, Jughead will come first, sooner than you’d think,” Archie Comics Publisher and CEO Jon Goldwater told CBR News. “Probably October. Then we’ll take a pause, figure out the rollout of the other two and how to best position them in the market. It’s going to take longer than we’d hoped, obviously, but these titles are top priority for us, and we want to make sure our fans get the best books possible.”

The decision to pull the Kickstarter, Goldwater said, came after the conversation no longer became about the books themselves — “Jughead,” to be written by Chip Zdarsky and illustrated by an artist to be named; “Betty and Veronica,” written and drawn by Adam Hughes; and “Life with Kevin,” written and penciled by Kevin Keller creator and Archie veteran Dan Parent and inked by J. Bone — but about the Kickstarter itself.

The Beat’s retail columnist Brandon Schatz had a detailed post on what he saw as the problems with the crowd funding effort last night.

The big problem Archie Comics is running into involves warring ideas. As a self-sufficient publishing company, they have certain contracts and financial details that they need to keep confidential. However, they are taking a step out of the “self-sufficient” bounds by asking for money – which demands that the math be shown. It might be a popsicle stick solution to a unique problem, but they are doing a poor job in convincing me that it can support the weight.

Don’t get me wrong: Archie as a company isn’t saying anything wrong. They are building a compelling narrative around this Kickstarter that I can get behind. They aren’t Marvel and DC. They don’t have parent companies, and so while they might be big, they’re still relatively small. This affords them the opportunity to move and change with greater ease, but such freedom also comes with a lack of safety net, so to speak. Opportunities arose, and tied up some funds. It happens. What’s losing me are the actions that have surrounded this launch, as well as the product currently being offered with the Kickstarter.

Other publisher Kickstarters—from Fantagraphics and Last Gasp—have been successful, but the grassroots effort seemed more appropriately placed than this one. Although the projects being funded—contrary to what everyone seems to think—were NOT going to be sold in Wal-Mart and Target, just putting the names of those chains in the same paragraph as “crowdfunding” raised an incongruous picture. Although this was a bump in the road for Archie they’ve definitely done the right thing by pulling the plug.

Archie released a statement to CBR on the effort:

We will be ending the Archie Kickstarter today.

We launched the “New Riverdale” Kickstarter as a unique and innovative way to celebrate the company’s upcoming 75th anniversary and to bring attention to some new titles that we are extremely excited about — “Jughead” by Chip Zdarsky, “Betty and Veronica” by Adam Hughes and “Life with Kevin” by Dan Parent and J. Bone. We decided to dive into crowdfunding as an energetic, interactive and different method to raise money to help expedite the launch of these titles. The chance to engage with our fans directly was really appealing to us, and we’re extremely grateful and honored by the support and pledges we’ve received.


While the response to these new titles has been amazing, the reaction to an established brand like Archie crowdfunding has not been. Though we saw this as an innovative, progressive and “outside-the-box” way to fund the accelerated schedule we wanted to produce these books, it became another conversation, leading us further away from the purpose of this whole campaign: to get these amazing books in the hands of fans faster than we could on our own. While we fully expected our goal to be funded, it was no longer about the books and how amazing they will be. We don’t want that. This is why we’re shutting the Kickstarter down today.

We don’t regret trying something new. It’s what Archie’s been about for the last six years. We will continue to be a fearless, risk-taking and vibrant brand that will do its best to embrace new platforms, technology and ways to interact with fans. As a company, we have always prided ourselves on pushing boundaries and challenging expectations and perceptions.


The wonderful New Riverdale titles we wanted to launch will still come out — albeit not as quickly as we would have hoped had we attained the funding via Kickstarter. We believe in these books and know they’ll find an audience in comic shops, fueled by great stories and amazing creators.

We’d like to thank the great team at Kickstarter for their guidance and feedback and the entire staff at Archie Comics for their endless hours of hard work and dedication to this very special initiative.

And, most importantly, to our fans that pledged money to this Kickstarter — we thank you. Your dedication, love of Archie and his friends and endless positivity are examples to all. We will be in contact shortly via Kickstarter to get a special thank-you gift in your hands as soon as possible. Your support means the world to us.

The executives behind Archie Comics have launched a campaign on Kickstarter. The team has set a fundraising goal of $350,000.

The money will go towards the development of three new series: Jughead, Betty & Veronica, and Life With Kevin. We’ve embedded a video about the project above.

Co-CEO Jon Goldwater gave this statement in the press release: “We’re not flush with corporate cash like Marvel or DC. But we’re also not afraid to take calculated risks. With this Kickstarter, fans have the chance to get in on the ground floor of an exciting and forward-thinking initiative. Fans can help build a New Riverdale, brick-by-brick. We’ve put together a stellar lineup of titles — featuring the best and the brightest creators working on our top characters.”

Archie Comics has released Life With Archie #36. This highly anticipated title, which features the death of protagonist Archie Andrews, has sold out at the comic shop distributor level.

The company has already ordered a second printing and plans to release it with a new cover. As we previously reported, Archie meets his demise after heroically taking a bullet for his friend Senator Kevin Keller. The following issue will celebrate Archie and the impact this character has had on pop culture.

Co-CEO/Publisher Jon Goldwater had this statement in the press release: “This day will never come again. This is not a gimmick. This is not a stopgap for a year until we bring him back in LIFE WITH ARCHIE. While he will live on forever as a teenager in the digests and classic stories, his adventures in LIFE WITH ARCHIE end today, and we will remember his bravery, loyalty, friendship and pure heart. I’ve said this before – Archie represents the best in all of us, and this issue and next week’s LIFE WITH ARCHIE #37 amplify and celebrate one of the greatest characters in pop culture history. “

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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.”

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Archie Comics will introduce a new female character named Harper. The newest member of the Riverdale gang, cousin to Veronica Lodge, has a disability. Writer and artist Dan Parent became inspired to create Harper after having a conversation with author Jewel Kats, who is also disabled. The character's debut will take place in Archie issue #656; this comic is slated for release on June 18th. Co-CEO and publisher Jon Goldwater had this statement in the press release: "Harper is, first and foremost, a funny, fashionable and witty teenager. The fact that she's disabled is only one part of her story, and we’re excited to welcome her to Riverdale and Archie Comics."

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Archie Comics has announced that protagonist Archie Andrews will die in the final installment of the Life with Archie series.

A release date for this double commemorative issue has been scheduled for July 2014. In issue #36, readers will learn how Archie sacrifices himself to save a friend’s life. In issue #37, the story will detail how the Riverdale gang reacts to this tragic turn of events.

Publisher Jon Goldwater had this statement in the press release: “We’ve been building up to this moment since we launched Life with Archie five years ago, and knew that any book that was telling the story of Archie’s life as an adult had to also show his final moment. Archie has and always will represent the best in all of us—he’s a hero, good-hearted, humble and inherently honorable. This story is going to inspire a wide range of reactions because we all feel so close to Archie.”

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