Archie Comics are published in over 17 languages in more than 55 countries including India where their merchandise is licensed by Animation International India.
Do the addition of characters like Kevin Keller (a gay character) Valerie (African-American) Raj Patel (Indian-American) and Harper (a disabled teen) make the comics more relevant today?
"Definitely. One of my first moves as CEO of the company was to pull the brand out of its retro vibe. I didn t want the comics to read like something that happened in the 50s " Goldwater told IANS in an email interview.
"Riverdale as far as I was concerned is a city that exists today in the present. That means the people populating the town have to feel like today s world. That means diversity. That means a bit more conflict and real-world drama.
"To answer to your question -- yes all these characters are relevant as the new ones that come next will be relevant. Archie has to continue to expand diversify and engage with the modern world to stay relevant and that s something I m very mindful of."
This probably explains why Archie Comics will have a Bollywood-style movie.
"There s an audience there (India). There s a hunger for new takes on these characters and different versions. Honestly it s a no-brainer. It s a perfect match! The idea of Archie in Bollywood is the kind of thing you hear and just say Yes we have to do that ."
Asked about the film s progress Goldwater said: "We re in the early days but it s a hugely exciting idea and we re so lucky to be partnering with such a wonderful team at Graphic India. The Archie characters are insanely popular around the world especially in India so it s long overdue -- and we can t wait to share more with our amazing fans."
They already have a TV show titled "Riverdale".
"The Archie universe is a tapestry of stories and takes and Riverdale is one version of the characters -- a hugely popular one a cultural phenomenon. What Nick (Spencer) and Marguerite (Sauvage) are doing starting with 700 (Archie s 700th issue) is taking the elements of the Archie series that have worked -- the friendships and the humour.
"Will that veer closer to Riverdale ? Sometimes. Will it be different? Definitely. It ll be the kind of comic fans of the show will gravitate to and the kind of book long-time fans will want to keep reading."
"Riverdale" spin off "Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina" will also premiere soon. Like "Riverdale" the "...Sabrina" show is said to be dark. But there s more to it.
"It s a testament to the versatility of the characters -- the fact that at one end you have Archie in Pop s having milkshakes and worrying about the school dance and on the other he s battling a zombie apocalypse.
"What that showed me early on in my tenure at Archie was that as long as you were true to the essence of the characters -- you could drop them into any kind of situation. They could become werewolves and vampires. Sabrina could go really dark as you note. So it s not just about going dark it s creating variety and telling a great story."
Any crossover?
"There aren t any immediate plans for a crossover right now but who knows what the future will hold? As our track record shows we re always game if the idea is good " said Goldwater.
As of now there are a lot of different things in play and some of them involve animation.
"Archie has a great cast of characters -- like Sabrina Josie Katy Keene Lil Jinx the superheroes and more so I think it s safe to say there s some level of progress with each of them.
"Some of that involves animation live-action and other media. We re entering a new era for Archie with a level of awareness and engagement that we could only dream of 10 years ago when I stepped into the offices for the first time. It s a dream come true " said Goldwater.
(Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at natalia.n@ians.in
--IANS nn/tb/sac
