by Mike Sangiacomo, NewsARama.com
Allan Grafman, president of Archie Comics Entertainment, has an air of astonishment when he talks to newspaper reporters, as if he is as surprised as the figures as he suspects the reporter will be.
“Do you know how many comics Archie Comics Publications sells,” he asked earnestly. “Eight-hundred thousand, and that’s every single month. And 70 percent of that is sold in mass-market stores.”
If you want to, compare 800,000 comics a month with the Top 300 comics sold to retailers by Diamond. We all cheer when a comic breaks the 100,000 mark, remember?
Hey, we all laughed at Archie teaming with the Punisher a ways back, but putting a DC or Marvel character with Archie may be a way to get the characters in front of more eyes than they can via the direct market. Batman & Jughead, anyone? Jimmy Olsen & Archie…think of it, after an accident where they’re both knocked unconscious, they get mistaken for the other. Archie gets kidnapped by one of Superman’s enemies (while on a field trip to Metropolis), and meanwhile, the amnesiac Jimmy heads back to Riverdale and has to fight off Betty and Veronica’s affections.
Hey, there’ve been worse stories…
Get the rest of the story and the commentary thread at NewsARama.com.
