PRESS RELEASE
MAMARONECK, NY – July 30, 2007
At the 2007 San Diego ComicCon International Archie’s George Gladir was the subject of a Spotlight panel, moderated by fellow Archie alumni Batton Lash. George, is one of the most prolific writers ever in comics, he has entertained readers with almost 50 years of stories for Archie Comics. He detailed his life and career from his first cartoon sale to his time in the service, including his time as a P.O.W. He talked in detail about his time at Crack and Archie Comics.
The 19th annual Eisner Awards, saw George win the 2007 Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing. George graciously acknowledged the work of the fine illustrators he has had the pleasure of working with over the years and humbly accepted the award.
At the Archie Comics Panel fans were treated to slides of coming attractions mixed with classic Archie moments. 300 copies of Archie Digest #236 were giving away at the door and only one fan failed to get a copy.
Tania del Rio talked about plans for Sabrina’s 45th anniversary including the storyline that sees Sabrina turn into an evil witch. Bill Galvan, a fan who was discovered at last years San Diego ComicCon, talked about how he became an Archie artist, and he was still wearing a homemade Jughead shirt. George Gladir explained how he keeps stories current and up to date. He talked about finding stories in everyday life and the research he does before he prepares his stories for the editor and artists. Rich Koslowski, who has inked virtually every character at Archie Comics in his 14 year career, explained how his inking was solely responsible for Archie’s 65 years of success. Dan Parent who is celebrating his 20th year at Archie Comics, talked about plans for Betty & Veronica Spectacular, how he selects clothing for the girls; the inspiration he takes from his own daughter and how he works current pop culture into his stories. Andrew Pepoy talked about the up coming Katy Keene graphic novel and the need for fans to send in more clothing designs for Katy. Victor Gorelick fielded question on everything from Jughead’s Time Police to the MLJ Heroes. He answered questions about Sonic and received praise from a parent who said that Archie Comics are what encouraged her daughter to read. Fred Mausser talked about sales and the successes the company has had. He talked to fans about the Comics, Digests and the newspaper strip, as well as encouraging fans that want to see the daily Archie strip to write to their local paper.
After the conclusion of the panel, the Archie creators went into the hall way to talk to the fans one on one; draw sketches against the wall, and review fans portfolios.
