New Betty & Veronica Art - Actual Pages
Author: Stephen Gerding
January 1st, 2007
I know, I know, Archie Comics is bending head over heels now to assure everyone that this isn’t the new official art style for the company, but that doesn’t mean I’ve gotta like it. Another argument against those of us who were dismayed/annoyed at the shift in style was that the majority of those bitching probably had not bought an Archie title in years. Again, guilty as charged, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love the characters any less, as my stacks of Digests and Double Digests that I plan on handing down to my daughter will attest.
Either way, whether you think I’m being a ridiculous, narrow-minded comic geek, or if you agree with my take on the situation, one thing seems pretty certain: this re-imagining lacks any actual imagination. A few of the actual pages from the first new appearance of Betty and Veronica have made it online, and while there’s nothing patently offensive or bad about them, there’s also nothing interesting either. The art is solid enough - Steven Butler’s never been a bad artist - but it all looks so generic. Rather than stand out on the shelves, any Archie book with this style looks more likely to sink back and blend in with it’s surroundings.
Thoughts?
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4 Responses to “New Betty & Veronica Art - Actual Pages”
January 1st, 2007 at 1:06 pm
So this is basically “Ultimate Betty and Veronica” Perhaps “All Star Betty and Veronica” I wonder what a Alex Ross Betty and Veronica would look like?
January 1st, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Yeah, that’s kind of what I was thinking after reading the interviews. Of course, that only creates the question of why Archie didn’t just come out and say as much at first, unless they were trying to float the idea to see if they could get away with it without too much geek backlash…
January 31st, 2007 at 6:37 pm
I would knock Butler’s ability at character design, if not general illustration. I agree with the sentiment that the sample pages are bland.
Dan DeCarlo left us some some while back, and had limited influence on the girls for a long time before that. In a way, Archie (the publisher) doesn’t really deserve to continue benefitting from his legacy (the designs we all grew up with, which were not actually the original designs for our girls), after the way they bilked DeCarlo out of his creative property.
However, I have a feeling that the sales for Butler’s version will be abysmal and the company will ultimately return to DeCarlo’s designs. It could have worked, I think, had Archie hired an artist already known for modern GGA (good girl art) to draft the new look.
I’m surprised they didn’t employ Adam Warren, what with the manga look being hot these days and his being influenced by DeCarlo.
May 9th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
As an adult who still subscribes to several Archie digest and comic books, I’m dismayed at the change in artwork. I’ve got comics dating back to the 1940s and in several foreign languages. While DeCarlo’s design isn’t the original designs, it’s what we all grew up reading and loving. There’s enough CG (computer graphics), manga style and “real” artwork out there to satisfy all of us. I’m glad to hear that this is just an experiment (gone bad).