Fernando Ruiz talks about Jughead meets Jughead
Archie: You wrote the Archie meets Archie story and are currently writing and illustrating Jughead meets Jughead, how did these stories come about?
Fernando Ruiz: Digest Editor Nelson Ribeiro had been going over that very first Archie story from Pep #22 and he was struck by the differences between Archie in his first appearance and Archie today. He suggested that I write a story where the two versions of Archie actually meet. At first, we'd envisioned it as a story for Tales From Riverdale but when we pitched it to Editor-In-Chief Victor Gorelick, Victor liked the idea so much; he wanted to use it for something special. For a while, the story was going to be used for the Free Comic Book Day comic, but then it was decided that this would be the perfect story for Archie's 65th anniversary. It turned out to be a perfect fit because the 65th Anniversary also gave us the opportunity to reprint that entire comic book of Archie's first appearance. It ended up being a great issue and one of the most popular things we've done recently.
Archie: Do you tie these stories in with the Historic First Appearances that accompany them? Fernando Ruiz: In Archie's case, we did. Archie goes back to that very first story from Pep #22. In Jughead's case, since he'd already had his first appearance in that same story Archie first appeared in, it was decided to take him back to his first issue. We did the same thing for the upcoming Betty and Veronica story. This gave me some great material for the covers for those issues where in the case of Jughead and Betty & Veronica, I have the modern day characters intruding on the original covers to Jughead #1 and Betty & Veronica #1.Archie: Isn't there just one Archie and Jughead?
Fernando Ruiz: I like to think that there's always one Archie and Jughead...in every time period! Archie: How have things changed for Jughead in the last 65 years?Fernando Ruiz: Surprisingly, not much has changed for ol'Jug since his creation. He might be a little more handsome than he was in his first appearance and he might dress a little better, but otherwise, he's always been adverse to work and girls and a big fan of food! This of course leads to Jughead being the character to have the least amount of culture shock when he goes back in time which is great because when Jughead finds out that burgers were only a nickel in the 1940's, he decides not to come back to the present!
Archie: What type of research do you do before writing 1940's Jughead?
Fernando Ruiz: The first thing of course is to dig up reprints of that first Jughead story and other Jughead stories from around that time period. Then of course I had to research the trends and teen culture of 1949 which is when the original Jughead #1 came out and therefore, it's the time period Modern Jughead visits in that story.Archie: Which classic Jughead artist inspired your design for 40's Archie and Jughead?
Fernando Ruiz: Well, I wanted to keep the Jughead of the 40's true to his original design, so I had to go back and look at the work of the great Bob Montana and Bill Vigoda. Archie: What are the elements that make Jughead standout as a character?Fernando Ruiz: Jughead is probably the most unique and easily recognizable character of the entire Archie cast. Of course, there's Jughead's look visually. With his long nose, half-closed eyes, and his hat, he tends to stand out in the crowd. His personality though is also pretty unique. He's the only guy among Archie's friends who avoids girls as feverishly as he avoids work. He's also a fun, eccentric character who easily lends himself to quirky, off-beat stories. Archie: Do you believe it is easier for the Jughead from today to go to the past then it would be for 40's Jughead to come to the present?
Fernando Ruiz: Absolutely. In fact there's a moment in the story where the Jughead of today introduces his idea of fun to the Jughead of the 40's. The Jughead of back then is used to playing with soapbox racers and barrel hoops. He's not going to like the idea of sitting in front of a video game for hours. Plus, paying five to ten bucks for a burger is enough to make anyone run back to 1949 if they could! Archie: Other than 40's Archie and Jughead; who does Jughead run into in the past? Fernando Ruiz: I wish I had the room to have Jughead run into more characters, but with space being what it is, I can only include a couple of characters at a time in order to insure that they can be handled fairly and properly. I'd hate to drop a character into a story and not have the room to really get that character to shine. I've been very eager to include the Reggie of the 1940's but unfortunately, we haven't had the space. Archie: Is there any chance we will see more new stories with the classic 40's look? Fernando Ruiz: There's always a chance. These stories have been pretty popular and well-received so that bodes well. I'd love the opportunity to take Reggie back to his first appearance in Jackpot Comics #6.
