ARCHIE PANEL AT NEW YORK COMIC CON 2012 RECAP
Oct12Written by:
10/12/2012 10:10 PM 
By Steven Scott
This year’s Archie panel at NYCC was a big hit, showcasing an array of all-star Archie panelists who played to a packed room of eager fans itching to learn the latest Archie news. AOL’s Comics Alliance listed it as What To Do On Friday at NYCC and Archie delivered big time. Being the final Archie panel of the year, it served to not only sum up the year in Archie but also to explore the future, highlighting such upcoming projects as Archie Meets GLEE, an Archie mobile game, next summer’s Sabrina animated series, Art of Betty & Veronica, and much more. All attendees received a free gift bag courtesy of Archie Comics with the total amount of the swag equaling $25,000.
Director of Publicity and Marketing, Adam Tracey, moderated the panel that included several key Archie players, including Co-CEO Jon Goldwater, Editor in Chief/Co-President Victor Gorelick, President Mike Pellerito, writer/artist Dan Parent, and Executive Director of Editorial Paul Kaminski. In addition to the Archie team, the panel included Archie’s extended family such as iVerse CEO Michael Murphey, CEO of Gogii Games George Donovan and producer/Life with Archie writer Michael Uslan who was recently awarded the first doctorate in comic books. Uslan described Archie as a powerhouse of ideas, giving creators the freedom to take Archie to new heights.
Jon Goldwater was quick to highlight his staff’s contributions, recognizing Victor Gorelick’s longstanding career at Archie and Dan Parent’s creation of Kevin Keller. Special attention was given to a book that Gorelick disclosed was a year in the making, The Art of Betty and Veronica, Archie’s first art book currently on sale at the Archie booth. The book received a trailer that kicked off the panel while Dan spoke about the upcoming George Takei guest spot in the Kevin Keller title. Goldwater also teased upcoming plans for such properties as Josie & the Pussycats and a live action Sabrina movie but was mum on the details.
The Life with Archie variant covers were shown off, two of which are being sold exclusively at the event as posters, the Jughead, “Grill of Thrones” cover by Mike Norton and the Josie & the Pussycats cover by Fiona Staples.
All in all, the panel and day 2 were a slam dunk for Archie. Fans now have the Archie Action Hour panel on Sunday at 2:30 in room 1A08 to look forward to, closing out the event. This panel will cover Archie’s action line of comics including Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man and New Crusaders with more FREE gift bags--worth a cumulative total of $25,000!--for all who attend. See you there!