East West - The Asian American Lifestyle Magazine

By Kirthana Ramisetti 

Archie comics were a staple of my childhood visits to extended family in India. My siblings and I would make weekly visits to the small library on the corner (which was actually a closet-sized space jammed with books that you rented for a fee) and gorge ourselves on the thick, colorful Archie Digests. And since our family’s television at the time only picked up three channels (with nearly no English programming), we more often than not found ourselves retreating into Archie’s world. 

It occurs to me now that I have never read the comic books while in America. But in India, it just seemed the normal thing to do, and I couldn't get enough of them.

The adventures of red-headed Archie, frenemies Betty and Veronica, best pal Jughead and the rest of the Riverdale gang are, in fact, quite popular in India. According to The Variety Book Depot, the comic’s Indian distributor, each issue routinely sells 10,000 copies. 

So it makes sense then that the editorial brain trust behind the long-running comic book series have finally responded by introducing the first Indian (and Asian) character to Riverdale, U.S.A: Raj Patel.

Raj may be the most recent addition of an Indian character to American comic books, but he is not by far the only one. DC Comics has a history of curvy and exotic female characters with powers such as shape-shifting and thermal projection, the earliest one debuting in 1977. More recently, Virgin Comics launched the Shakti line, flashy books that merge Hindu mythology with Bollywood atmospherics. As for non-superheroes, Dilbert has a character named Asok, an IT supergenius. And of course there’s Apu, the Kwik-E-Mart owner from “The Simpsons,” perhaps one of the most well-known Indians in popular culture. 

Many of the characters described above traffic in Indian stereotypes (mysticism, nerdiness and thick accents, to name a few). But Raj is different—rare in that he was purposely conceived to be just a normal teenager and a person who would not be defined solely by his ethnicity.

The idea to add an Indian person to the mostly white cast of characters in the Archie universe originated from the comic’s widespread popularity in India as well as an overall mission to diversify the comics. Michael Silberkleit, chairman and co-publisher of Archie Comics, says, “We have always tried to have a rich and diverse cast of characters for Archie to interact with in his hometown of Riverdale. Riverdale represents a prototypical (albeit idealized) American suburb. With the large expatriate Indian population in the U.S., it is only natural that an Indian family would move to Riverdale." 

Archie Comics have been sold for more than 40 years in India, an audience which no doubt one day hoped to see themselves reflected in that world. So it was of utmost importance that the new character defied ethnic stereotypes while fitting in seamlessly with the established characters. Fernando Ruiz, a freelance writer and artist who originated the character, says that a lot of time and research was devoted to Raj’s development.

“Sometimes a new character can happen very quickly. He or she might just spring out of whatever story they're appearing in. Raj, though, took a little bit of time because we wanted to get him just right. We want Raj to become an important part of the Archie cast, and because he is of such a distinct cultural background, he required a good deal of research in order to represent that culture accurately and appropriately.” 

The first step was to come up with a name.

The moniker was chosen after consultation with Archie Comics’ Indian distributor, The Variety Book Depot, which provided a list of typical Indian names. “Originally, I had given Raj and his family completely different names,” Ruiz says. “However, my editor, Victor Gorelick, reminded me that Archie comics are the best-selling American comics in India, and we had to be sure that the name we picked for our new Indian character was authentic.” “Raj Patel” is not the most exciting choice—think of it as the American equivalent to John Smith—but it's probably one of the easiest names for English tongues to pronounce. 

Silberkleit says that Archie Comics’ president of licensing traveled to India to experience the culture firsthand and report back on his experiences. Indian suppliers and distributors of Archie Comics were also called upon for suggestions and advice. “All of this helped develop Raj,” explains Silberkleit, “and we will be telling the story of Raj's history and where he moved from in future stories.”

Ruiz, who teaches at The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in Dover, N.J., also relied on the input of his Indian students for insights on what Raj’s life would be like. “My students helped me with a lot of the details concerning Raj's background, his mother's form of dress and anything that could help make Raj seem genuine.” 

Ruiz also used his students as inspiration for Raj’s physical appearance and style, drawing on their feedback as he created and refined the look of the character.

“This was tricky because I wanted Raj to be a distinct individual where you would look at him and not mistake him for Reggie or Jughead, but I also wanted him to remain consistent with the rest of the Archie cast. I wanted him to have that fun, animated look that is the classic Archie style, but because Raj is of a particular ethnicity, I didn't want him to devolve into a caricature. It took many sketches and a few different versions of Raj before we settled on the way he appears now.”

Though Raj is not based on anyone in particular, he is an amalgam of various real life and fictional people. “I borrowed a hair style from one person, a nose from an actor on television, eyes from a person in a book, and so forth,” Ruiz says. “I put all those ingredients together and I got Raj!” 

Raj’s defining traits include shiny black hair that flips on top, a brightly patterned shirt and, of course, his dark skin. It’s hard to tell how this makes him Indian exactly—he could just as easily be Hispanic—but it seems what is really supposed to set Raj apart as Indian are his eyebrows: a long, thick squiggly unibrow that hovers above his eyes.

It is jarring to see them, in part because they stand in marked contrast to Archie and friends’ normal-shaped ones. In fact, some online posters took immediate notice of Raj’s brows when Archie Comics published an announcement about the character’s introduction (he made his first appearance in the summer 2007 “Tales From Riverdale Digest #21” issue, “Out-Raj-Ous Behavior”). 

“Bantha” wrote: “I like Raj a lot. He’s super groovy. But can we wax his eyebrows…seriously– that’s un-cool.” Someone named “Omar” countered: “Raj looks great. Actually I have eyebrows like him.” Another poster noted that Raj’s father was merely a brown version of Mr. Lodge, Veronica’s father.

Obviously, the Archie Comics team can’t please every reader since Raj Patel cannot possibly represent the entire Indian population. And, despite a little sniping about Raj’s appearance, it does seem that he has a genuine personality. 

In the book, Raj moves from India to Riverdale with his family: his doctor father, research scientist mother and his sister, Tina (a slightly exoticized version of Veronica). Archie takes the new kid under his wing and introduces him to Riverdale High and his friends, who quickly embrace Raj.

What perhaps makes Raj most relatable and endearing is his signature personality trademark. If Veronica is a snobby rich girl, Jughead a glutton and Betty the bubbly girl next door, then who is Raj? 

"Raj loves film and his main interest is making his own movies, and so he's often going around with a camcorder recording his friends' crazy antics,” Silberkleit says. “Raj's interest in film, art and sci-fi make him a natural to be friends with [comics enthusiast] Chuck [Clayton] and Jughead.”

He adds that Raj’s passions were chosen because they are “interests that are popular with teens, especially with the success of YouTube and Web-based films.” Silberkleit also says there are untapped storytelling possibilities with Raj’s love of moviemaking. It’s a bit hard to imagine that Raj will be uploading videos of Archie and pals doing Jackass-type stunts or Lonelygirl 15 Web shorts, but it’s definitely one way to firmly usher Archie Comics into the 21st century.

As Raj makes friends with the Riverdale gang, perhaps a real revolutionary moment in a comic universe in which Archie is forever torn between a blond and a brunette would be if one those girls dated Raj instead. Could it ever happen? “Very possibly,” Ruiz says, “as long as it makes for a good and funny story.” 

With Raj already somewhat acclimated to life in America as told in the summer’s “Out-Raj-Ous Behavior,”  he is now whisking his friends on a trip to his home country. In Archie's Double Digest #183, Raj, Archie and friends travel to India to visit Raj's uncle's video game company. While there, they inspire the 3-D animators to come up with a new game. Archie Comics is even creating a video game in conjunction with the storyline, with a scheduled release in November.

“Out-Raj-Ous Behavior” has just recently released in India with Double Digest #183 soon to follow, and Om Arora of The Variety Book Depot says that “sales have been flat in the last two years, and I am hoping the sales will improve from this issue.” And while some online fans and bloggers have been a bit skeptical of Raj, most are welcoming and hopeful that his character will appear often, rather then becoming just another ethnic “token.”