Like Spider-Man before him, Archie Andrews is moving to India.
The Hindustan Times reports that Archie Entertainment is planning a “large scale expansion” in India, which could include localizing some of the content, much in the same way Marvel and Gotham Entertainment did with Spider-Man: India.
“We are open not only for the Hindi version of the comics but also other Indian regional languages,” Archie Entertainment President Steven R. Herman tells the newspaper. “There have been even suggestions of dressing Veronica and Betty in sari, which we find interesting.”
Archie comics have been imported and distributed in India for more than 40 years by Variety Book House. According to the publisher’s website, Archie comics are the “largest circulating English-language comic book” in India.
For its expansion, Archie is looking to have the comics printed in India.
According to the article, the company is in talks with three Indian animation studios to produce new series starring the Riverdale gang.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Just so long there is no out-sourcing of artists and there are no annoying telemarketers calling thmselves ‘Archie’ from India, I’m all for it.
April 9th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Why shouldn’t they outsource the artists? You think an Indian comic written for an Indian audience should be created by an American?
April 9th, 2007 at 10:18 am
I was wondering this just recently: What’s the current status of Spider-Man:India, anyway? I can’t find anything online beyond the initial 2004 hype, but then, nobdy puts out press releases about their failures. Is it still going strong? Cancelled? Struggling? Anyone know?
April 9th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Archie still rules the world.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:28 am
“I was wondering this just recently: What’s the current status of Spider-Man:India, anyway? I can’t find anything online beyond the initial 2004 hype, but then, nobdy puts out press releases about their failures. Is it still going strong? Cancelled? Struggling? Anyone know?”
Hm, Gotham doesn’t have it on its list of monthlies so I guess it’s cancelled. They’re selling a “Special Collector’s Edition” of it.
April 9th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
…Heh, so I wonder how they’ll handle Juggie’s addiction to hamburgers!
April 9th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
I thought Spider-Man:India was just a miniseries.
April 9th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Sounds good, it is true that when the average Indian child or adult hears ‘comics’, he/she’s either thinking of Archie digests, or the local Indian chapbooks (Tinkle, Amar Chitra Katha).
And it would be extremely unlikely that girls of Betty and Veronica’s age (in the comic, not based on when they were created) wore Saris. They’d probably just wear Salwars, or Jeans.
April 9th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
hey you first poster, get your racists remarks out of here, newsarama does not need that. What makes you better than an indian? The fact that you are white? If being white means I have to become like you then never mind, I’ll be just the alternative.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Spiderman India was a four part mini series that sold quite well, which I bought and enjoyed, buzz is another mini series is in the works for late 2007 or 2008.
April 13th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Wouldn’t Archie-sahib make a great Bollywood musical? Bap re bap!