An Interview With ‘Betty And Veronica Friends Forever: Fairy Tales’ Writer Goldie Chan — Plus EXCLUSIVE ART

Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who’s the fairest of them all? Veronica’s convinced it’s her but does writer Goldie Chan agree? With pencils by Bill Galvan, inks by Ben Galvan, colors by Glenn Whitmore, and letters by Jack Morelli, Chan’s story — “The Frumpy Duckling” — is part of next week’s one-shot, Betty and Veronica Friends Forever: Fairy Tales, and you can find out more about it in the following interview:

Rachel Bellwoar: If my research is correct this is your second Archie story (with a third solicited for June in the Betty & Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest). How has the experience been different each time?

Goldie Chan: Yes, this is my second Archie story and I think it has the same nostalgia feeling as my first story but with a lot more puns. Each time I write an Archie story it’s important for me to think about the characters that are involved; for example my first story was with Ginger Snapp, who is a friend of the Riverdale community, and my second story features Cassie Cloud as well as a very fun fairy tale theme. I make sure to research those characters and how they’ve been used in Archie stories in the past and stay true to their lore.

Bellwoar: Do you think it’s more challenging to write classic Archie stories in the present day than it is to write the horror/genre crossovers, or are they just two different disciplines?

Chan: I haven’t written an Archie Horror comic yet, but writing in the fairy tale setting is very fun; these are characters that I grew up with and am so familiar with — such as Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie and the whole crew. I think anytime you’re writing Archie Comics through a different lens than the classic lens, it’s a fun exercise to keep what is charming and true about that character in mind.

Bellwoar: Outside of the issue’s fairy tale theme, were there any other directives or were you pretty much given free vein?

Chan: With the fairy tale theme, it was very open-ended what I could write about. In fact, I pitched a couple of different fairy tale ideas and characters before I landed on the story that I ended up doing with Cassie Cloud and a version of “The Ugly Duckling,” but I’m calling it “The Frumpy Duckling.” As new characters are introduced into the Archie universe, I have been asked to include a couple of them in the last two stories that I’ve written and I can usually pick between a few different characters. One thing that both me and my editor like to keep in mind is to not repeat a story that’s already been told. This means being aware of what previous fairy tale stories were already created, at least recently, and doing my own fresh take on that particular genre.

Bellwoar: As readers will find out, you know your way around a pun but where do you stand on puns – necessary nuisance or delightful wordplay?

Chan: If you’ve read any of the comics that I’ve written, you will see that I love puns; especially in the Archie universe, I think there is quite a bit of room for silly light-heartedness in the story, and some of my favorite classic Archie comics that I read growing up had the silliest of puns. So I think it is very delightful to have a story with a pun-tiful amount of playful puns!

Bellwoar: In “The Frumpy Duckling,” Veronica is suffering from a case of Evil Queen from Snow White vanity. Did you always have a clear vision of how you wanted the characters to dress and what was it like getting to work with the art team?

Chan: Working with the art team at Archie Comics is always very fun as a writer. I’ll usually have an idea of how I think my characters can dress and I will include reference pictures if there’s a specific type of outfit that I want my characters to have, but for the most part I really enjoy when artists take my directives and suggestions and reference pictures and then put their own spin on it. That’s what makes comics so collaborative; while I write the words and the sentiments, the artists really fill in their vision of what the world looks like in inks and colors.

Bellwoar: Cassie Cloud is a fairly new character to the Archiverse (having debuted in Archie’s Valentine’s Spectacular early last year). How was it getting to write for her?

Chan: It’s quite fun writing for a new character that doesn’t have a full decades-long encyclopedia of lore behind them. With Cassie Cloud we know a couple of identifiers and personality characteristics about her already: she’s quite tall, very well-liked, and stylish. Now, I’ll admit that the last characteristic is my spin on Cassie Cloud. I think it’s fun to have a character give Veronica a run for her money, as Veronica is often known as the most stylish character in the series. Being able to help define a character is what makes writing comics so fun, exploring new stories through the lens of a character that you may or may not know very well.

Bellwoar: Are there any Archie characters you haven’t gotten to write for yet that are on your bucket list or situations you’d love to drop the residents of Riverdale into?

Chan: As I’ve only written two Archie stories so far, I hope that there are many many more to come. My first Archie comic which came out last year was my dream comic to write. It was a story full of nostalgia, tenderness, affection for the characters, and a brief snapshot in a moment in time at Archie. I’d love to write a Sabrina comic because she’s so fun and there are so many new storylines around her. She has really had a fascinating new life at Archie Comics, and I think it would be fun to take her in one of those new directions. Another character I’d like to write more about is Cheryl Blossom because she and her brother are classically the rivals of Veronica and the Lodge family. In terms of situations that I’d love to drop the characters into, I think it would be very fun to take the Archie characters into new adventures, perhaps cultural ones around my Asian American identity or fun, silly, modern American cultural events. I’m excited to keep writing Archie and keep putting my voice into this unique and enduring world.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Goldie!

Betty and Veronica Friends Forever: Fairy Tales goes on sale May 8th from Archie Comics.