September Updates

It’s been a pretty busy two weeks since I last checked in! If you’ve been following me on any of my socials, you probably already know the big Archie news. But if not, feast your eyes upon these two beauties:

These gorgeous pieces of art are both by the incredibly talented artist Matt Talbot, and feature Michael Myers from the iconic Halloween film franchise stalking Sabrina, Betty, and Veronica. These art prints are exclusive to the H45: 45 Years of Terror in Pasadena, CA the weekend of 9/30-10/1. This is Archie Horror’s first time tabling at a horror convention, and also my first time ever visiting California! If you’re on the West Coast and planning on attending, make sure to stop by the Archie Horror booth and say hi!

You can read all about it over on Bloody Disgusting: EXCLUSIVE: Michael Myers Stalks Archie Icons on Special Prints for "Halloween: 45 Years of Terror" Event! - Bloody Disgusting (bloody-disgusting.com)

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In personal writing news, my newest essay for Razorcake is live now! It’s about navigating other people’s issues and crises while also maintaining my mental health. I’m always grateful to have a safe space in Razorcake to share these personal thoughts and mental health and anxiety analyses. Art below from my dear friend Jenn Martinez-Flood.

And in one last bit of personal writing news, I will be returning with a new article on my Substack this week. If you haven’t subscribed, it’s called “Streams of Unconsciousness,” and I use the space to wax poetic and write critical analyses and essays about pop culture and life in the 1990s and 2000s. It’s an ode to nostalgia and, without giving too much away, here’s a little sneak peek at what this week’s article will be about:

You won’t want to miss this one. That goes live on Friday.

But before that, I'm trying something new on my Substack. Moving forward, paid subscribers will get some additional content, including album reviews—where I revisit formative albums from my youth and teen years as an adult—and diary entries. These diary entries are either plucked straight from my online journals from my teenage years or written in the current day as a recollection of key moments in my youth - early 20s. These will be a bit more freeform and personal, hence the paywall. The first one is called “Manic Girl Summer,” and goes live tomorrow, so if you’re interested, now’s the time to sign up!

That’s all that’s fit to print. Now it’s time to get some sleep!

Spooky Season is Upon Us!

Happy September, friends, or as it’s better known: Halloween-Eve!

If you know anything about me, it’s that I live for Halloween. My husband’s birthday is on Halloween. We were engaged on Halloween. It’s the best holiday there is, and I’m all for the idea of expanding its celebrations throughout October and September.

So you can imagine how grateful I am to work at a company that’s also all-in on celebrating Halloween. Heck, Archie celebrates it pretty much year-round! But to kick off the more official Spooky Season, I wanted to update you on a few new titles that’ll get you into the spirit!

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First, out RIGHT NOW (if you can still manage to nab a copy) is the SABRINA ANNUAL SPECTACULAR comic, featuring a brand new story I wrote!

It’s always a thrill to work on these fun, classic stories. It’s even more thrilling when I get to work with the fantastic Holly G! Her unbridled enthusiasm for all things Archie, but especially for everyone’s favorite teenage witch, is unmatched—and it shows in every page of art she turns in! The unstoppable group of Jim Amash on inks, Jack Morelli on letters, and Glenn Whitmore on colors are rounding out the team. It’s always neat to work with such a legendary crew!

Editor-in-Chief Mike Pellerito had the brilliant idea to bring more magical characters into the Archieverse, starting with Sabrina’s new nemesis, Amber Nightstone, who was introduced in last year’s Sabrina Anniversary Spectacular. He expanded on that even further by giving her two nefarious sidekicks: Jade and Sapphire. Together, the three have powers of fire, wind, and water. It was a blast getting to work with these new characters and bring them to life! Expect to see more of them in the future!

If your local comic shop is out of stock on this one (which it very well might be!) you can grab a copy on the Archie webstore while supplies last.

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Next up, on sale in bookstores everywhere 9/12, is probably one of the projects I’m the proudest to have ever worked on: the ARCHIE HORROR PRESENTS…. CHILLING ADVENTURES GRAPHIC NOVEL.

This graphic novel anthology collection features the first seven one-shot/anthology style comics Archie Horror has released. This is a bit of a testament to the start of my tenure as Senior Director of Editorial at Archie, and to see it all together in such a beautiful package (with striking cover art from horror master Robert Hack), is kind of jaw-dropping. For more info on the stories inside, check out this infographic:

This beauty is available in comic shops right now (since 8/23, as you can see) and, as mentioned earlier, in bookstores everywhere 9/12. Archie Horror is here in a big way this Halloween, and if you’re looking for a great jumping-on point, this is the perfect book for it. As always, you can also purchase this easily from the Archie Webstore. (Psst… if you order now, there’s a special sale going on, too!).

If you find the lovely Madam Satan gracing the cover and interiors of Archie Horror Presents… Chilling Adventures rather alluring, then fear not! Her story also continues this month with the MADAM SATAN: HELL ON EARTH one-shot comic, on sale 9/20!

Don’t forget to grab a copy of this gorgeous Madam Satan: Hell on Earth variant by artist Soo Lee!

Madam Satan has become a horror icon for us, and her journey is far from over. Pick up this comic in comic shops or on the Archie webstore to experience another frightful leg of our journey.

And show your love of all things Madam Satan with our brand new collection! T-shirts? Coffee mugs? Water bottles? We’ve got it all!

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And if you’re going all-in on Halloween now, too, we’ve got a whole section for your happy haunting needs!

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Ok, folks! That’s all the news that’s fit to print! Be back with more updates in the very near future.

Stay cool, and stay spooky!

HELLLLLOOOOO, INTERNET!

Hello there, boils, ghouls and gender-non-subscribing spirits! I'm back with another installment of "Hey, did you miss me? I promised I'd update regularly then didn't bother to post anything for SIX MONTHS but it's okay cuz I'll get better at it!" You see, it's the fun thing I do where every six months the crippling anxiety and mounting pressure of maintaining an online presence finally gets to me. Then I get the cold sweats looking at my unpublished and unfinished drafts. THEN I start shaming myself for how often I let this happen. Finally I end up writing a blog post, usually to talk about how little I've updated my blog with a promise to change going forward. 

See? Just like I said, FUN.

Well no wallowing in self-pity this time (any more than I already have), let's get into the good stuff:

• My newest Razorcake article is up now--it's about how big of a crybaby I am! 
• Betty & Veronica: Vixens #6 is on-sale now, and Vixens #7 will be on sale June 13!
• Speaking of which, if you're on, affiliated with, or know of an all-female roller derby team that would like to be featured in an upcoming issue of VIXENS (or have their very own variant cover) shoot me a message via the contact page or DM/tweet @ArchieComics on Twitter! 
• TONIGHT (that's June 1, 2018) from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at the New York Historical Society: QWERTY, Girls Write Now's digital expo is taking place! I'm so honored to be a part of this community and I can't wait for every one to see what this year's digital media making teens have in store for everyone. Speaking of which, check out my incredible mentee Kylie's blog, The Cicada Effect. I'm so constantly inspired by her and in awe of her work and ambition and her blog is a great place to see the mission she's undertaken as a way of bettering her community and the world around her. Listen to them!! 

That's all for now, folks! 'Til next time! (Which will hopefully be in under six months!)

Jamie

Remember, Remember... You Really DO Like November...

Howdy, y'all! I'm writing this from the depths of my favorite time of year. Sure, October brings with it all of the fun and ~spooky~ Halloween vibes, but it's also on the cusp of summer's end and autumn's start, which means that summer desperately tries to grasp on to life, letting out its last gasps in the form of ill-timed heatwaves and tropical storms, delaying any chance of seasonal outings until it's almost too damn cold to want to do anything. Which is kind of where I'm at now (donations for my own personal SAD lamp are more than welcome). Plus I always spend way too much damn money on Halloween festivities (no regrets though). 

I like November. It's usually pretty seasonally on-point weather-wise. The most gorgeous leaves never change until November, right before they drop, forging a reminder of the impermanence of everything beautiful in this world, forcing you to drink in every last drop before winter's cold, icy death grip comes pounding on your chest. 

Autumn's pretty chill. Plus I get to eat like an animal on Thanksgiving, and that's pretty tight. 

But with the change in season comes the changes in my mood and mindset. November has promised to bring with it a lot of awesome things--concerts, get-togethers with friends, my freakin' comic book coming out (!!!), yet my brain won't let me enjoy any of it. Instead, my head gets consumed with thoughts of endings, failures, the impending winter that will wipe away my favorite season.

But that's a story for another time and place. Point is, November is and can be great as long as I don't get to caught in my own head. Something that's prevented me from finishing this blog post for about a week. Speaking of which, here's more on my weird, weird brain and inability to finish things in a timely fashion: 

http://razorcake.org/procrastination-jamie-l-rotante/

And, oh yeah, in case you haven't heard. I have a freakin' comic book coming out. Betty & Veronica: Vixens #1 will be available in comic shops and digitally on 11.22.17. And here's a trailer (!!) for it:

Peace out, cool kids! 

September Update: VIXENS, RAZORCAKE and more!

Howdy, howdy, howdy! I haven't given a proper update in quite some time--sorry about that!--but that doesn't mean I haven't been writing. Albeit, I've fallen massively behind on my personal writing endeavors, but it's all good cuz I've got some awesome writerly news to share with you:

I'm going to be writing a brand new COMIC BOOK called BETTY & VERONICA: VIXENS coming to comic shops this November! Archie Comics' iconic BFFs Betty & Veronica get a badass makeover and start an all-female motorcycle gang--think if Betty and Veronica were in a Russ Meyer/Quentin Tarantino/John Waters film, with art by Eva Cabrera, colors by Elaina Unger and letters by Rachel Deering.

I'm super stoked to be working on this and I hope y'all add it to your comic pull lists or just grab a copy at your local comic shop on November 15th.  

Here's the article from The Hollywood Reporter (holy poop!) announcing the title. And here's an interview I did with The Mary Sue about it. 

And I've still been working with Razorcake on my bi-monthly articles, I just didn't get a chance to post the most recent ones up on here. The first is about my penchant (and simultaneous disdain) for clutter, and the most recent one is about our dear leader and how I really, really don't like nuclear war. 

I hope to have even more cool stuff to share with you in the near future! Happy September!