Montreal’s Toon Boom Animation certainly made a
splash during the highly successful ComicCon Weekend here, hosting legends of
the business s Stan Lee, Lynn Johnston
and Archie Comics Co-CEO Nancy Silberkleit. Toon Boom also officially launched
its new Garfield the Cat application
Credit Director of Product Marketing Alissa
Anzarut for a job well done. The mother of three from Côte Saint-Luc clearly
loves what she does and here are some facts she sent over about ComicCon.
- There were over 20,000 attendees during the weekend
and a three hour wait to get in on Saturday after 2 pm. - There was more than two hour wait for Garfield to get his picture taken with Stan Lee.
- Lynn Johnston, creator of 'For Better or For Worse' and Silberkleit, signed autographs at the Toon Boom booth.
- Stan Lee made a surprise four minute visit to athe Toon Boom booth and told the crowd “Toon Boom rocks!!”
- A total of 330 photos were taken with Garfield at the Toon Boom booth.
- Sixty five minutes spent by Francois Grossin in the Garfield mascot outfit in one shift.
Alissa offered me a choice of interviewing Johnston or Silberkleit. I chose the latter, having always been a big fan of the Archie series as a youngster.
The
Archie Comics line of comic books is one of the most successful, longest
running brands in the history of the comic industry. Archie Comics have sold
1.5 billion comics and are published in a dozen different foreign languages and
distributed all over the world. Archie Comics has spawned characters
whose popularity has spilled over into other media and who have become part of
popular culture. SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH and JOSIE AND THE
PUSSYCATS are just some of the many legendary franchises that are part of
the Archie Comics Library.
Silberklet is an interesting lady who assumed her post unexpectedly in
2009 after her husband Michael passed away. He was the company's co-chair and
the son of one of the founders, Louis Silberkleit. Nancy
Silberkleit had no formal experience in business and was not a comic book
reader herself. A former arts educator in New Jersey, she made it her mission
immediately to use her educational background to focus on student literacy and fundraising. She regrets the fact there has been some internal
problems since she took over, including what she calls outrageous allegations
and an atmosphere of bullying. Throughout it all she carries on, travelling to
different venues to promote events like Comic Book Fairs wherein schools can
collect 40 percent of their sales. “One school of 800 just made a profit of
$5,000,” she says.
There
is a website (www.comicbookfairs.com)
which describes this new way of generating
funds and capturing student interest by tapping into the power of comics. Why
comics? “Because they work!” says Silberkleit, noting how trends come and go,
but for over 75 years comics have been a powerful way of reaching and inspiring
young people.
Silberkleit emphasizes that as schools look for healthier and
more substantive alternatives to the traditional bake sale, comic books are
becoming a more favored promotion because they stir a unique and communal
excitement, stimulating a sense of sharing and adventure that's contagious!
The idea is simple. A school agrees to host a Comic Book Fair
on a school day, an evening, or a weekend afternoon. Whatever money is raised,
the school collects 40 percent of the profits. There are no upfront costs and
shipping is free! Family-friendly Archie Comics and Sonic the Hedgehog lines
are included in the Comic Book Fair.
Silberkleit
sees how comic books can educate students on issues relevant to them, such as
bullying, cultural awareness, and health and wellness. She completed a dual major at Boston College in art and education and then went
on to work as an art teacher. She helped
launch the Hudson Valley Children’s Museum, located in Nyack, New York
and collaborated with the East Hampton Library to establish a fundraiser that
allowed readers to meet famous authors.
Born
in Englewood, New Jersey, Silberkleit simply found a unique way to move into
a new job she was initially not prepared for nor particularly interested.
"I had no business experience and had never, ever
thought about running Archie Comics," Silberkleit says. "I don't know
if my husband or his partner ever thought about who could do this if they
weren't here. They may have thought about it, gotten headaches, and ended the
conversation there."
Silberkleit
shares the co-CEO title with Jon
Goldwater, son of company co-founder John L. Goldwater who died around the same time as Michael Silberkleit.
Silberkleit spoke me by telephone as she rode a bus to
the airport. She gave me her personal cell phone number and email address,
something most CEOs would avoid.
There was no company PR person playing
interference. What I heard from this astute individual was a passionate desire
to see more young people read. She would
like to come back to Montreal and see some Comic Book Fairs occur. Wouldn’t it
make sense for Riverdale High School in Pierrefonds, the same name as the
secondary institution the ageless Archie, Jughead et al attend, to get the ball
rolling and make a few dollars?
Archie has come a long way from when we were kids. The
comics can now be accessed digitally. There is word of a live action Archie
movie in the works and the creation of a mobile app. Silberkleit
is also excited about partnering with Toon Boom Animation. Their Garfield Comic Boom
encourages creativity and storytelling with easy-to-use drawing and colouring
tools, props, and library items prompting kids to produce comic panels, comic
strips, and even comic books. The software even allows users to record
sound and voice-over, essentially turning the child into the director of their
own unique production. Adding yet another dimension, the final product
can be instantly broadcast via e-mail, YouTube, Facebook and mobile. She has been engaged in
discussions with Toon Boom to possibly follow the same path for Archie.
“Toon Boom is active in
schools and so am I,” she said. “We have that in common. I think they would fit
nicely in my program.”
While she is not directly involved in the actual
production of the comic books, Silberkreit says she has shared some of her
ideas related to furthering education
via certain storylines with the editors
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