History Franchise / ArchieComics

Archie Comics pushed for the creation of UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode, and more or less ran it for the entirety of its existence. Archie was the last publisher officially adhering to the Code when it ceased to exist in early 2011.[[note]] Creator/DCComics was the other holdout – although they had been slowly dropping their titles from the Code throughout the 2000's, a few series continued to follow it until the end of 2010. Once DC left the Code, Archie agreed there was no point in keeping it around.[[/note]] Unofficially, they had stopped following it decades earlier, but nobody noticed because things like sex, drugs, or violence were never really part of the Archie universe anyway... until the 2010s, when the publisher started producing some very child-unfriendly DarkerAndEdgier horror self-parodies such as ''ComicBook/AfterlifeWithArchie'', ''ComicBook/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina'', and ''ComicBook/JugheadTheHunger''.

* ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' (2017-present) (Live-action drama)

* ''ComicBook/Vampironica''

* ''Vampironica''

* ''Series/KatyKeene'' (2020-present) (Live-action drama)

Though the eternal love triangle is the heart of the series, and only the Big Four (Archie, Jug, Ron, and Betty) have any kind of long-running success in solo books, the recurring cast is actually [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters huge]], and has only grown as the decades passed. It is very possible to have an Archie story where none of the Big Four appear at all-in fact, ADayInTheLimelight stories are so common that the Archie universe has one of the best developed supporting casts this side of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.

Archie Comics pushed for the creation of UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode, and more or less ran it for the entirety of its existence. Archie was the last publisher officially adhering to the Code when it ceased to exist in early 2011.[[note]] Creator/DCComics was the other holdout – although they had been slowly dropping their titles from the Code throughout the 2000's, a few series continued to follow it until the end of 2010. Once DC left the Code, Archie agreed there was no point in keeping it around.[[/note]] Unofficially, they had stopped following it decades earlier, but nobody noticed because things like sex, drugs, or violence were never really part of the Archie universe anyway... until the 2010s, when the publisher started producing some very child-unfriendly DarkerAndEdgier horror self-parodies such as ''ComicBook/AfterlifeWithArchie'', ''ComicBook/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina'', and ''Jughead: The Hunger''.

* ''Jughead: The Hunger''

* Series/KatyKeene (2020-present) (Live-action drama)

While Archie Comics is best known for its comic books featuring Archie and/or other "Riverdale" characters, their output has never been limited to those characters. Archie published stories with a number of superhero characters, including The Shield ([[CaptainPatriotic a patriotic hero]] who actually predates the more popular ComicBook/CaptainAmerica), the Hangman, the Fly, the Jaguar, and others. Starting in the early 1970s, these and other "non-Riverdale" titles have often been published under the "Red Circle" imprint. Archie has also published a number of licensed titles over the years, such as ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' and ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures''.[[note]] Archie's ''TMNT'' used the 1987 cartoon series as its base, and could have its darker moments, even if it wasn't ''as'' dark as the original Mirage comics, which were still running at the time.[[/note]] The two most successful non-Archie original titles have been ''Comicbook/{{Sabrina|TheTeenageWitch}}'' and ''Comicbook/JosieAndThePussycats'', both of which were spin-offs of the original Riverdale series. Both of those comics spawned fairly popular animated series, and while [[Film/JosieAndThePussycats the film version of Josie]] was unsuccessful, ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' was one of the most popular teen sitcoms of the late 90s / early 2000s. In 2017 the live-action television series, ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'', premiered on Creator/TheCW and has been wildly popular ever since, though the series changes many elements even beyond just the tone.

* ''Series/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina'' (2018-present) (Live-action drama)

* ''WesternAnimation/ArchiesWeirdMysteries'' (1996)

* ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries'' (1997)

While Archie Comics is best known for its comic books featuring Archie and/or other "Riverdale" characters, their output has never been limited to those characters. Archie published stories with a number of superhero characters, including The Shield ([[CaptainPatriotic a patriotic hero]] who actually predates the more popular ComicBook/CaptainAmerica), the Hangman, the Fly, the Jaguar, and others. Starting in the early 1970s, these and other "non-Riverdale" titles have often been published under the "Red Circle" imprint. Archie has also published a number of licensed titles over the years, such as ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' and ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures''.[[note]] Archie's ''TMNT'' used the 1987 cartoon series as its base, and could have its darker moments, even if it wasn't ''as'' dark as the original Mirage comics, which were still running at the time.[[/note]] The two most successful non-Archie original titles have been ''Comicbook/{{Sabrina|TheTeenageWitch}}'' and ''Comicbook/JosieAndThePussycats'', both of which were spin-offs of the original Riverdale series. Both of those comics spawned fairly popular animated series, and while [[Film/JosieAndThePussycats the film version of Josie]] was unsuccessful, ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' was one of the most popular teen sitcoms of the late 90s / early 2000s. In 2015 the live-action television series, ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'', premiered on Creator/TheCW and has been wildly popular ever since, though the series changes many elements even beyond just the tone.

While Archie Comics is best known for its comic books featuring Archie and/or other "Riverdale" characters, their output has never been limited to those characters. Archie published stories with a number of superhero characters, including The Shield ([[CaptainPatriotic a patriotic hero]] who actually predates the more popular ComicBook/CaptainAmerica), the Hangman, the Fly, the Jaguar, and others. Starting in the early 1970s, these and other "non-Riverdale" titles have often been published under the "Red Circle" imprint. Archie has also published a number of licensed titles over the years, such as ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' and ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures''.[[note]] Archie's ''TMNT'' used the 1987 cartoon series as its base, and could have its darker moments, even if it wasn't ''as'' dark as the original Mirage comics, which were still running at the time.[[/note]] The two most successful non-Archie original titles have been ''Comicbook/{{Sabrina|TheTeenageWitch}}'' and ''Comicbook/JosieAndThePussycats'', both of which were spin-offs of the original Riverdale series. Both of those comics spawned fairly popular animated series, and while [[Film/JosieAndThePussycats the film version of Josie]] was unsuccessful, ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' was one of the most popular teen sitcoms of the late 90s / early 2000s. As of 2015, a live-action television series, ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'', is currently in development at Creator/TheCW.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/archie_gang_6913.png]]
[-[[caption-width-right:350:Left to Right: [[GirlNextDoor Betty]], [[BigEater Jughead]], [[AllLovingHero Archie]], [[LovableAlphaBitch Veronica]], and [[JerkJock Reggie]].]]-]

With romance so core to the series, its fanbase is inevitably mostly female (gazing at issues featuring 'dress up' and 'design outfits for the girls to wear', this should be unsurprising). But there is a [[PeripheryDemographic significant fanbase of men]] who grew up reading the books as boys. Archie Comics is also famous, or infamous, for keeping everyone the same age, and altering only the fashion and accessories… making Archie Comics a stereotype-laden snapshot of each decade. Bell-bottom jeans, Nehru jackets, citizens-band radio, disco, smartphones and social media, etc. are all brought in as new fads and then slowly dropped as new fads come in.[[note]] The one weird exception to this is Jughead's iconic hat, which actually ''was'' a fad in the early 40's, but fell out of fashion soon after. By that time, the hat had become associated with the character to the point that dropping it was out of the question. Nowadays it's a symbol of his quirky personality.[[/note]]

With romance so core to the series, its fanbase is inevitably mostly female (gazing at issues featuring 'dress up' and 'design outfits for the girls to wear', this should be unsurprising). But there is a [[PeripheryDemographic significant fanbase of men]] who grew up reading the books as boys. Archie Comics is also famous, or infamous, for keeping everyone the same age, and altering only the fashion and accessories… making Archie Comics a stereotype-laden snapshot of each decade. Bell-bottom jeans, Nehru jackets, citizens-band radio, disco, etc. are all brought in as new fads and then slowly dropped as new fads come in.[[note]] The one weird exception to this is Jughead's iconic hat, which actually ''was'' a fad in the early 40's, but fell out of fashion soon after. By that time, the hat had become associated with the character to the point that dropping it was out of the question. Nowadays it's a symbol of his quirky personality.[[/note]]

While Archie Comics is best known for its comic books featuring Archie and/or other "Riverdale" characters, their output has never been limited to those characters. Archie published stories with a number of superhero characters, including The Shield ([[CaptainPatriotic a patriotic hero]] who actually predates the more popular ComicBook/CaptainAmerica), the Hangman, the Fly, the Jaguar, and others. Starting in the early 1970s, these and other "non-Riverdale" titles have often been published under the "Red Circle" imprint. Archie has also published a number of licensed titles over the years, such as ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog'' and ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures''.[[note]] Archie's ''TMNT'' used the 1987 cartoon series as its base, and could have its darker moments, even if it wasn't ''as'' dark as the original Mirage comics, which were still running at the time.[[/note]] The two most successful non-Archie original titles have been ''Comicbook/{{Sabrina|TheTeenageWitch}}'' and ''Comicbook/JosieAndThePussycats'', both of which were spin-offs of the original Riverdale series. Both of those comics spawned fairly popular animated series, and while [[Film/JosieAndThePussycats the film version of Josie]] was unsuccessful, ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' was one of the most popular teen sitcoms of the late 90s / early 2000s. As of 2015, a live-action television series, ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'', is currently in development at Creator/TheCW.

* ''ComicBook/TheFoxHunt''
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGovernator''

* ''ComicBook/KatyKeene''

* ''ComicBook/ManTech''
* ''ComicBook/MegaMan'' (2011 Comic)
* ''ComicBook/NewCrusaders''

* ''[[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog]]''
** ''ComicBook/SonicBoom''
** ''ComicBook/SonicMegaDrive''
** ''ComicBook/SonicX''
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsCollide''
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsUnite''
* ''ComicBook/{{Suzie}}''
* ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures''