About a decade ago, PAX-TV launched the "Archie's Weird Mysteries" animated series. The longtime lore of the Riverdale gang -- Archie, Betty, Veronica, Reggie, Jughead -- set in precarious and "weird" situations involving mysterious creatures and events, a la "X-Files" or "The Twilight Zone" ... my, my, my, how I miss it. Shortly after the launch of the show, which aired just a couple years, Archie Comics also introduced a comic book title to go along with it.
I had the pleasure of chatting via email with Paul Castiglia, who wrote for the Archie's Weird Mysteries comic, later retitled Archie's Mysteries. Here's a short version of that interview; you can read the whole thing at http://brbtv.blogspot.com.
You had a couple things to juggle with the Archie's Weird Mysteries comic. You had to remain true to both the TV show and to these long-established, iconic characters. Did you find that difficult, in this supernatural-mystery-type setting?
That was definitely the most challenging aspect – to stay faithful to the characters within the context of the TV series’ concept. What made this especially hard was the fact that some of the situations I came up with lent themselves to great jokes and one-liners, but I always had to self-edit first and ask myself, "Would Veronica actually say this; would Betty really do that?"
It’s not the easiest thing to do once you’re wrapped up in your plot, and many Archie writers (myself included) don’t always get it right. You just try your best to keep all the varying personalities in the back of your mind and not assign interchangeable dialogue to the characters.
One edge I’ve tried to fall back on in my writing is my exposure to the evolution of the Archie characters gained through my experiences as company archivist when I worked on Archie staff in the ‘90s, as well as my continuing duties researching and editing the "Archie Americana Series."
You've said in interviews that when the TV show hit the airwaves, you campaigned to get the job doing the comic version. Why was that?
I have always been a fan of the "horror-comedy" genre from Hollywood’s golden age. This was a very popular genre from the 1930s through the 1950s in both shorts and feature films. So popular that several of the classic comedians tried the genre more than once - Laurel & Hardy, the Three Stooges, the Little Rascals, the Bowery Boys and most famously Abbott & Costello each made several horror-comedies (and incidentally, I have a book on the topic in the works).
I also appreciated all the "legitimate" horror movies from the ‘30s through the 1980s that incorporated comedic elements. And I was a HUGE fan of the "Kolchak the Night Stalker" TV movies and short-lived series (about an intrepid reporter investigating the supernatural). When I heard what the concept for the animated "Archie’s Weird Mysteries" TV series was, I knew I had to write the comic book version of it – it would be my opportunity to write Archie meets "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein" meets "Kolchak the Night Stalker" meets "Night of the Creeps" (a great 1980s movie which is practically an Archie comic book come to life … if Archie and Jughead ever had to fight zombies, that is)!
I very much appreciate the fact that you are a professional working in the comics industry who is a Christian. How do you think your Christian beliefs have translated -- either directly or indirectly -- into your comics writing?
It’s hard to pinpoint for me. It’s actually easier for me to spot some stories I wrote in the past when I was in a "backsliding phase" that show a lot of the confusion I went through when I wasn’t being active in my Christian life. But those stories written once I got back on track spiritually tend to have inherent moralistic and ethical underpinnings.
Tell us a little about Mecha Manga Bible Heroes.
Mecha Manga Bible Heroes is a new comic series that I co-created and edit for JMG Comics. We’re taking Old Testament Bible stories, leaving the characters, themes and plots intact, but transporting them to a future world of robots, aliens and advanced technology, with mech and manga-styled art. So far we’ve released issue #1, which recounts the tale of David vs. Goliath.
We’re currently working on the second issue, which will be the first installment of a three-part story arc called "The Rise of David." It is scheduled for March release.
Mecha Manga Bible Heroes comics are available at Christian bookstores and some comic shops (check out our blog for details on both – http://mechamangabibleblog.blogspot.com/) and is most easily available to order directly from DeeperShopping.com.
|