ARCHIE Co-CEO Sings About the ARCHIE-GLEE Duet

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Archie Comics announced Monday the four-issue comic series, which will will begin in early 2013. Written by Glee writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa with art by Dan Parent, Archie Meets Glee will incorporate the characters from the Fox TV show Glee into the world of Archie and Jughead.

Following on the heels of Archie's "Occupy Riverdale" story and the Archie meets KISS series, the tie-in to Glee represents the latest effort by Archie to infuse its titles with pop culture and current events, from politics to gay marriage.

Although details of storyline have not been revealed, Archie's Co-CEO Jon Goldwater told Newsarama that the kids at Riverdale High School will get a visit from a group of characters from the fictional William McKinley High School where Glee is set.

Newsarama talked with Goldwater to find out how he hopes to put music into a comic, and why he thought Glee would work in an Archie comic.

Newsarama: Jon, I know you guys have experience with mixing music and comics, but wow, how did this idea come about?

Jon Goldwater: Yeah, like you said, we do have experience with The Archies and, you know, the massive hit we had back in the day with "Sugar, Sugar." And then more recently with Josie and the Pussycats.

So even though we're a comic book company, we do embrace our music. And more than embrace it, we love it, you know? We are passionate about our music.

But how this came about started is an interesting story. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and I have become quite friendly over the last couple of years since I've been here at Archie, and Roberto is the genius writer they brought in to save Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway. He re-wrote the whole thing soup-to-nuts, and did an incredible job with it.

And it turns out Roberto is this fanatical, fantastic Archie fan. And as a matter-of-fact, this Halloween that past back in October, he came dressed as Archie to his Halloween party, he told me. So that tells you the depth of his love for Archie.

But Roberto came by our booth at New York Comic Con just to say hi. And he and I started talking, and I was updating him on what was going on here at Archie. And he was updating me on what was going on with Glee. And we were just having a very friendly sort of conversation.

And he said, "You know what would be fantastic? I would just love to write an Archie-meets-Glee crossover!" And I said, "What? Really?" But obviously I loved the idea.

That was how the whole thing was born. Roberto went back to the folks at Fox and the folks at Glee and talked about it. And he made it happen.

Nrama: Does the story involve the kids from the Glee earth crossing into the Archie universe? Does it take place in Riverdale?

Goldwater: It takes place in Riverdale.

Nrama: So we're going to see the characters from the show coming into Riverdale, and maybe singing and dancing alongside the Archie kids, right?

Goldwater: Yeah. It's the Archie universe meets the Glee universe. All the characters that are beloved in the TV show and all the beloved Archie characters are going to be in the same storyline.

For us, it's really an honor to be involved in a TV show as ground-breaking as Glee. Here are Archie, the characters stay the same, but the world of Riverdale is always changing to reflect the world we live in. And we want to reflect what goes on with kids today. The folks at Glee are courageous geniuses for what they've done, and the characters that they've introduced to prime time television.

We're also trying to break new ground at Archie, so it does seem to fit for us.

Nrama: We've seen different licensed properties visiting Riverdale. Are these type of crossovers the type of thing you want to see more?

Goldwater: Absolutely! We just thought it would be fun. And we thought the folks who enjoy Archie and the folks who enjoy Glee are going to doubly enjoy reading the Archie meets Glee comic book.

I wouldn't say we're aggressively seeking out these collaborations, but when there is something as incredible and smart and funny as Glee, it's good for everybody.

It's going to be a fun, entertaining story. It's a four-parter, so it's not just a one-off comic book.