ARCHIE COMICS Could Cash in Big Time With These 13 Classic SUPERHERO FACSIMILE EDITIONS
It’s not just the characters like the Shield and the Fly, it’s creators like Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, Alex Toth and so many more… I love Archie Comics’ Facsimile Edition line. I’ve bought every issue so far and expect to buy every one still to come. I’m especially taken with the notion that they’ve expanded their offerings with foil covers, which shows that there’s obviously a market they’re hitting. Understandably, it’s all been the Riverdale gang, with issues like 1964’s Laugh #166 and 1965’s Betty and Me #1. Makes all the sense in the world. But the publisher is leaving money on the table by ignoring its lengthy history with superheroes like the Shield, the Fly, Black Hood, the Hangman, and on and on. I understand why Archie’s avoided them: No matter how many times it’s tried, from the 1960s to the 21st century, the company simply has not been able to find a reliable audience for the MLJ heroes/Mighty Crusaders. But Facsimile Editions are a whole other animal and there’s a way Archie could market its considerable library of superhero titles to a waiting populace, one that skews older, knows its comics history and, most importantly, has disposable income: Focus on — and play up — the creators who made those comics. We’re talking — and this is by no means a complete list — Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Steve Ditko, Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, Alex Toth, Gray Morrow, Jack Davis, Bob Powell, Irv Novick, Rudy Nebres, Jack Cole, Rich Buckler, Charles Biro, Carmine Infantino, and Alex Nino. Oh, plus some guy named Jerry Siegel, and artists who helped build Archie in the first place: Harry Lucey and Bob Montana. So many of these writers and artists have devoted fandoms of their own. Added to the cult appeal of the characters themselves, and you have a winning combination. They’ve tiptoed to the line with offerings like 1965’s Life With Archie #42 — which introduced Pureheart the Powerful — but I’ve picked 13 ISSUES with which they could go all in. The key thing is variety. The Facsimile Edition market is not monolithic; I could have easily picked 13 from the Golden Age and called it a day, but you absolutely cannot ignore Silver and Bronze Age fans, who are far more plentiful. Dig these, in chronological order, with publication...
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