Archie: As far as I know you are the only Mother/Daughter writing team in comics. How did the two of you decide to start writing together?
Samantha: I always read Archie Comics. That's how I learned to read. One day, I just asked my mom if I could write a story and that's when we started working together.
Barbara: Samantha had some good ideas. I asked her to tell the beginning, middle, end and twist of a story. She soon caught on.
Archie: Barbara, what type of reaction did you get from your editor when you told him you wanted to write with Samantha?
Barbara: It's not easy getting a reaction from Victor! But Samantha did help me a lot with the stories, so I wanted to give credit where credit was due and Victor didn't seem to have a problem with that.
Archie: Is Samantha your first writing partner?
Barbara: No, Samantha is not my first writing partner. But she is my youngest and is very talented.
Archie: Samantha, what grade are you in?
Samantha: I am in 5th grade at Berkshire Country Day School. It rocks!
Archie: Do you use school life as the inspiration for stories?
Samantha: No, but I do use ideas from pictures or TV shows. Betty and Veronica are a lot older than the kids in my class.
Archie: What role does each of you play in the writing team?
Samantha: Well, we think of something and we both start shouting out our ideas and Bing!, Bang!, Splash! We got the beginning, middle, end and twist! So we both kinda work evenly with the jobs but, I have to say, my Mom does a lot of the work. Mostly I'm at school or doing homework.
Barbara: I'm glad Samantha recognizes that. Once we know the story, then I do most the grunt work. Samantha is always surprised that it takes me so long but anybody who writes comics knows that layout and dialog take time. When I finish writing, I always show it to Samantha who gets me up to date on the lingo. Some of the things she says are so funny. Like, if Veronica is being mean to Betty, Samantha will have Betty say, "What is this, be mean to Betty day?" I never would have thought of that dialog.
Archie: What is it like working with Dan Parent?
Samantha: Dan parent is a very good drawer, and he does a lot of our stories. We also like to work with Stan Goldberg.
Barbara: I love seeing the story when it's complete. Archie has a lot of talented artists. When the writing, penciling, inking, lettering and coloring all work, it's magical!
Archie: What attracts you to Veronica?
Samantha: Well, Veronica is a funny character. She's snobbish, self -centered and has a love triangle with Archie and Betty. I'm more a Betty person though. But Veronica is just as good to write about.
Barbara: So we're both more Betty. But it's fun to imagine being Veronica. Sometimes I wish I were more like Veronica. She doesn't worry and fret about how other people feel. Being self-centered does have its advantages although in the end Veronica does suffer the consequences. At least that's what I tell myself. And Betty would agree.
Archie: Samantha, what type of reaction have you received from friends and family when they found out you write stories for Veronica.
Samantha: I really don't think you would have the time to read all the things that have happened but to shorten it lets just say you feel like a celebrity!
Archie: You have a new story "The Make-Over" coming up, what is that about?
Samantha: This story is so funny especially if you like perfectly perfect Smithers. I can't tell you all that much but Smithers is trying to find a lady and Veronica takes Smithers on a shopping spree.
Barbara: This story Samantha really had to talk me into. Samantha knows all the characters inside out. She wanted to write about Smithers, something I would never do. I like writing about Betty and Veronica. I think their friendship is very important because they work through their differences. I also like to totally humiliate Betty and Veronica and show how they get over it. So many girls are hard on themselves. Betty and Veronica are good role models because they are cartoons of real life and through them; hopefully, girls can learn to laugh at themselves.
VERONICA #187
