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Nancy Silberkleit Pays Tribute to Archie's Editor-In-Chief Victor Gorelick

Published Tue, 23 Oct 2018 08:30:05 -0500

Nancy Silberkleit, co-CEO of Archie Comics pays tribute to Archie Comics Editor-In-Chief Victor Gorelick. She writes for Bleeding Cool,

Victor Gorelick is not just an editor for Archie Comics, a key individual who has been responsible for Archie Comics throughout the decades, and now a big influence for the hit TV show, Riverdale. Victor Gorelick has been with Archie Comics for 60 years! What all of this means is that Victor has touched many lives, as he has likewise made a huge impact in the comics industry, and beyond. From Archie stories, to gags, to a television show – Victor has produced rich, meaningful, and deeply human entertainment!

Sometimes, our lives connect and interconnect through listening to emergent stories. Many times folks share with me , I know Victor: he is my friend, was my boss, was my neighbor — he is special. There may be some things in our lives that we may regret, but Victor Gorelick will never regret when he entered the world of Archie Comics, at age 16. Since that age, and six decades since, he has never missed a day of work! I gather he loves his career!! The people outside of the comics world that somehow know Victor, I find mind-boggling, if you think of it, because Victor has been behind a desk with a pencil, or a phone in his hand, so much of the time! But, it's those Archie stories that Victor helped fashion circled the globe, and back, and even made it to the moon and around!

Very recently, a personal story was shared with me that is timely, given Victor's 60^th anniversary with Archie Comics. An administrator and professor at Syracuse University happened to connect with me, due to another connection that I had made in Ohio. She and I spoke, and, at the end of the conversation, she shared a cherished moment of her childhood. Victor and his family once lived down the street from her and her own family. As neighbors, Victor's daughter and this person were childhood playmates and friends. Brooklynite, Dr Diane R. Wiener, reflects fondly on when, in the mid-1970s, when she was in elementary school, Victor took out his giant, white sketch pad, and personally drew for her a close-up picture of Archie, addressed to her, as she looked on with glee. He signed it, by hand, in sweeping, bold black marker: "Your Pal, Archie." Diane was thrilled, and her parents soon thereafter had the magical picture framed for her, as a surprise gift for a special occasion. She immediately hung it up in her room. Over 40 years later, as I just learned, this picture now hangs in Diane's home – in her own, modest art studio — in upstate N.Y.

Individuals such as Victor touch people in a profound way. Syracuse University has many Riverdale TV fans and readers of the Archie Comics classics. During the 2019 "Cripping" the Comic Con at Syracuse University (the only entirely disability-themed comic con), Victor's legacies will be honored and celebrated.

Stories change hearts, change minds, connect humanity, make a lasting impact. Thank you, Victor Gorelick.