Archie Comics have been making a notable effort over the last few years to ensure their fictional universe is populated by a diverse cast of characters that reflect the world outside of their comics’ pages. Below we have taken info from a couple of recent press releases to introduce you to some new Riverdale arrivals…
Firstly Archie recently introduced Grace Alondra in Archie Comics Jumbo Digest #329. a character living with neurofibromatosis (NF) or schwannomatosis. This story was in conjunction with the Children’s Tumor Foundation who we have featured before at Broken Frontier here.
From the press release:
Archie worked with the Children’s Tumor Foundation to create this character in order to shine a light on the many individuals living with NF2, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves in the body, and which often leads to hearing loss. The disease affects 1 in 25,000 births of all populations equally. The comic is part of the Foundation’s global awareness campaign that launches at the end of April and continues throughout May, which is NF Awareness Month.
In “Sounds like Music,” Archie and the gang meet Grace, a young Latina woman who loves music — especially her favorite band, The Archies. Spunky and smart, Grace isn’t letting her journey toward hearing loss define her. Instead, she is eager to hear all the great music she can, while she can.
Grace’s journey is all too familiar to individuals with this diagnosis, which is most often discovered in the teen to young adult years. “As a long-time music fan, I first learned that I would lose my hearing in college, so I set out to listen to all the music I could so I could keep it deep in my memory,” said Matt Hay, who lives with NF2. “I was creating a soundtrack for a life I had not yet lived.” Matt was diagnosed in his early college years and eventually lost all hearing due to NF2.
The inclusion of Grace continues Archie’s commitment to introducing diverse and differently-abled characters in its various ongoing comics series. Archie Comics Editor-in-Chief Mike Pellerito is enthusiastic about bringing this character into the classic Archie Universe. “Grace is a talented and whip-smart teenager,” he said. “The fact that she’s experiencing hearing loss is only one part of her story. To me, this is the stuff that really matters, and we’re proud to be working with the Children’s Tumor Foundation on an important story like this.”
“Sounds like Music” was written by veteran comic book writer Alex Simmons whose Archie Comics work has been hailed as both entertaining and educational. Art is by Bill Galvan, Ben Galvan, Glenn Whitmore, and Jack Morelli.
“We’re incredibly grateful for the support of Archie Comics in our mission to increase knowledge of NF to new audiences, particularly readers of comic books,” said Simon Vukelj, Chief Marketing Officer of the Children’s Tumor Foundation. “In addition to the health challenges NF patients face in their day-to-day lives, they also find that many people simply have never heard of NF. This partnership with Archie will go a long way to changing that, and will help give voice to all NF patients.”
The Children’s Tumor Foundation has developed and released three previous comics stories independently, with three more currently in progress. “Comics are an ideal medium to create awareness, education, and representation for people facing all kinds of challenges, including neurofibromatosis and other rare disorders,” said Vanessa Younger, Communications Director at the Children’s Tumor Foundation, who oversees the Foundation’s comics program. “The inclusion of a character living with NF2 in this Archie story is the next step in this initiative, and we are actively working on more.”
CTF’s current “NF Comics” titles include “Understanding NF2,” “Moxie and Sparx Explain NF1,” and “Moxie and Sparx Introduce the Accelerator”; the Foundation’s comic books, including Archie’s “Sounds Like Music,” are available to freely download or read on the CTF website at ctf.org/comics.
And secondly, two new characters will be appearing in upcoming Archie issues. Eliza Han, a bi-racial pansexual teen, debuts in Archie & Friends: Summer Lovin’ #1 and African American teen coding savant Stacy Banks makes a first appearance in Betty and Veronica Friends Forever: Summer Surf Party #1.
From the press release:
Archie Comics is introducing two new characters to the core cast of iconic Riverdale teens who have delighted readers for 80 years. Fans of Archie‘s ongoing digest and comic book series will meet teen business mogul Eliza Han and software tech genius Stacy Banks in two new one-shot specials hitting comic shops this summer.
Eliza Han — a bi-racial pansexual teen with a remarkable back story as the brains behind a major corporation — makes her first appearance in June’s ARCHIE & FRIENDS: SUMMER LOVIN’ one-shot. Eliza comes to Riverdale to hang out with her new love interest, Veronica’s cousin Harper. The only problem is that Reggie thought this would be his chance to rekindle his romance with Harper. The story is by writer Tee Franklin (Bingo Love) and artist Dan Parent and is the first to reveal that Harper Lodge is bisexual.
Eliza Han development art by Dan Parent and Rosario “Tito” Peña
“The best Archie characters are the ones you can drop in and have them create a little fun chaos,” Archie Comics Editor-in-Chief Mike Pellerito said. “Eliza is another character that you can fall in love with very easily — and there’s a lot more to be revealed about the character besides her sexuality.”
Then, African American teen coding savant Stacy Banks shakes things up in July’s BETTY AND VERONICA FRIENDS FOREVER: SUMMER SURF PARTY one-shot! While Dilton Doiley has long been the established genius of Riverdale, Dilton’s mechanical knowledge will now be complemented by Stacy’s digital savvy. In the story by Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie Rotante and artist Dan Parent, Stacy invents an online word game that’s making waves — and distractions — all over town.
“STEM has become such an important field in today’s world — but it also can be incredibly fun,” Rotante said. “The possibilities of what you can do with it are nearly endless, and the doors it can open for students are invaluable. The chance to bring a STEM-focused student into the spotlight in the modern classic-style Archie titles is especially exciting!”
While Stacy and Eliza make brief introductory appearances, they are here to stay. As part of Archie‘s ongoing commitment to expanding and diversifying its storytelling universe, the characters will have regular recurring roles in future issues of its many comic book and digest series.
Rotante added, “Any and all new characters are meant to become integrated into the regular cast of characters. Riverdale is forever expanding, and we’ll be taking extra care to make sure that none of these new kids get lost in the mix!”
Stacey Banks development art by Dan Parent and Rosario “Tito” Peña
ARCHIE & FRIENDS: SUMMER LOVIN’ #1 releases June 8 in comic shops nationwide, and will boast a cover by Bill Golliher and colorist Rosario “Tito” Peña. BETTY & VERONICA FRIENDS FOREVER: SUMMER SURF PARTY #1 hits stores July 17 with a cover by Jeff Shultz and Peña.
