Archie Comics have always been popular in India, says comic writer-artist Dan Parent

India is among the top three countries where Archie Comics are really popular, says Dan Parent, a long-time artist and writer at New York-based Archie Comic Publications.While its hard to decode the popularity of the comics in India, Parent said he met a lot of people who grew up reading Archie Comics and have now introduced it to their children during the Comic Con here last month.Archie is still popular in the United States, but it is very popular in Canada and India too.

India is among the top three countries where Archie Comics are really popular, says Dan Parent, a long-time artist and writer at New York-based Archie Comic Publications.

While it's hard to decode the popularity of the comics in India, Parent said he met a lot of people who grew up reading Archie Comics and have now introduced it to their children during the Comic Con here last month.

''Archie is still popular in the United States, but it is very popular in Canada and India too. I am not sure if India is second or third, but these are the top three countries,'' Parent told PTI.

''We have always known that it is popular in India. Even decades ago, when I started at Archie 37 years ago, we knew we had a huge Indian audience and we just don't know why. We are just glad that there is a fan base,'' he added.

Most recently, the popular American comics were adapted for a movie in India by filmmaker Zoya Akhtar called ''The Archies''.

Parent, 59, said Archie Comics also has a fan following in South America and Europe.

''It's just hard to figure out why something is popular in one country and why it is not in another. But it's nice that it is popular in India – you got a lot of people in India... ''I see a lot of people coming with their kids who are either getting their kids into Archie or their kids just like Archie anyway. You always come across people who will say, 'I grew up reading Archie','' he said.

The writer is happy with the Indian interpretation, which is streaming on Netflix. The film launched Agastya Nanda (Amitabh Bachchan's grandson), Khushi Kapoor (Sridevi's younger daughter), and Suhana Khan (Shah Rukh Khan's daughter) as Archie, Betty and Veronica, respectively. It also features young actors like Vedang Raina (Reggie), Mihir Ahuja (Jughead), Aditi Saigal (Ethel) and Yuvraj Menda (Dilton).

Parent said the comics, which are 84-year-old, have thrived because of the universal nature of its stories.

''Ideas like friendship, growing up in a nice small town, in a safe place… I think these are universal (aspirations). It's just the universal aspect of the small-town life that clicked with people," he said.

"In the comic books, we've had like little Archie, we've had Archie in the future, we've had Archie grow up getting married, pre-teen Archie… Every interpretation of Archie works just because the characters are relatable. Even in 'Riverdale', which is more of an adult show, it worked." And it is important to evolve with time, he said.

''Now that we are in the 21st century and have modern technology, we have social media, we have characters on TV shows that are more diverse… So, we had to evolve and, with Archie it's a pretty easy transition because we like diversity and we want that. It just makes sense in this day and age, you want to represent everybody," said Parent.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)