The Sunday New York Times featured a long article by Robin Finn examining the dispute between Jon Goldwater and Nancy Silberkleit, the Co-CEO’s of Archie Comics who are locked in a bitter dispute for control of the last remaining family-held Golden Age comic book company (see "Archie Comics Files Suit Against Co-CEO" & "The Battle for Riverdale Heats Up").  The article points out that last week the two sides began meeting with a court-appointed mediator, though the Times concludes, “but it seems unlikely that they will resolve their differences quickly or easily—if at all.”

 

While the article includes the widely-reported allegation that Silberkleit walked into a meeting and pointed to the editors present and said “Penis, penis, penis,” it also includes some new information.  Among the chief revelations in the Times piece are a harassment complaint filed in May of 2011 by a female employee of Archie Comics against Co-CEO Nancy Silberkleit, her contentions that Co-CEO Jon Goldwater had her car tires punctured and destroyed her Web site, and claims from the other side that Silberkleit demanded that longtime employees be fired because they were “too old, too fat, or too buxom,” and that she let her dog run wild in the offices and defecate in the art department.  Archie employees also contend that Silberkleit brought ex-football player Howard Jordan, who she said was helping her with an anti-bullying project, to the office as “muscle” to intimidate staffers.

 

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the article is the way it frames the competing visions of the two sides for the future of Archie Comics.  It paints Goldwater as wanting (with the aid of super agent Ari Emmanuel) to build Archie into a contemporarily relevant “megabrand,” while Silberkleit is “vowing to keep the company’s traditions intact.”  According to the Times, Silberkleit was opposed to Archie’s major editorial initiatives including Kevin Keller’s gay wedding (see "Gay Marriage in 'Life With Archie'" and Archie’s hypothetical marriages to Betty and Veronica (see "Archie Enters Alternate Reality").

 

So the battle for control of the comics empire built around the antics of an ageless gap-toothed carrot-topped teen continues much to the delight of comics industry journalists everywhere.  Stay tuned for further bulletins.