--- description: Comic-book favorite Archie Andrews has come back to life — as a Justin Bieber lookalike title: Archie Andrews Just Got a 21st Century Makeover image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Archie Andrews Got a 21st Century Makeover and Now Looks Kind of Like Justin Bieber by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 9, 2015 5:49 AM CUT by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 9, 2015 5:49 AM CUT > [](https://twitter.com/takedanger/status/618973369569013764) Comic-book favorite Archie Andrews is coming back to life — as a Justin Bieber lookalike. The newest Archie comic, _Archie #1_, was unveiled in San Diego at Comic-Con on Wednesday. The character’s reincarnation has a trendier haircut, wears skinny jeans and sends text messages, according to [Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-08/archie-comic-book-characters-now-wear-skinny-jeans-and-send-texts "undefined"). The redheaded charmer has graced the pages of comic books for 75 years, but needed to be brought into the 21st century, Jon Goldwater, the chief executive officer of Archie Comics, said, who made the decision to [kill off the character](http://time.com/2981314/archie-comics-death/ "undefined") last year. “It was clear to me that Archie was moving down the path of irrelevancy,” Goldwater told Bloomberg. Now, Bloomberg says, _Archie_ #1 includes video games and social apps and a more diverse student body at Riverdale High. The comic-book company also commissioned a redesign of Archie’s sidekicks, Betty and Jughead. Betty dons ripped jeans and a range of facial expressions, unlike her earlier character, while Jughead now has more angular features and wears trendy black hightops. Comic-book sales rose by 7% in the U.S. in the last year. Goldwater says Archie Comics has already benefited from this trend and from the character’s overhaul — revenue figures for _Archie_ #1 are the highest he’d seen in six years, Bloomberg reports. > [](https://twitter.com/ronthecanuxican/status/618987700092186624) \[[_Bloomberg_](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-08/archie-comic-book-characters-now-wear-skinny-jeans-and-send-texts "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3950623/archie-comics-makeover-justin-bieber-comiccon/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3950623/archie-comics-makeover-justin-bieber-comiccon/"},"headline":"Archie Andrews Got a 21st Century Makeover and Now Looks Kind of Like Justin Bieber","datePublished":"2015-07-09T05:49:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:05:02.894Z","description":"Riverdale High also boasts a more diverse student body","url":"https://time.com/3950623/archie-comics-makeover-justin-bieber-comiccon/","keywords":["Books","Comic Con"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3950623/archie-comics-makeover-justin-bieber-comiccon/","name":"Archie Andrews Got a 21st Century Makeover and Now Looks Kind of Like Justin Bieber"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Understanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe","description":"How do we get from Iron Man to The Avengers? 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