The Girls writer-actor-director has some big plans for the classic all-American comic book
Good news for anybody who grew up reading the fictional exploits of a gang of teenagers from Riverdale High – Lena Dunham is planning to give Archie Comics a "feminist update" in a new four-story run.
The Girls writer, who was on Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote her new book, Not That Kind of Girl, explained her vision for the much-loved, all-American comic book.
"I love Archie but going back and reading it, I would say that the values system of the Archies that I read as a child is slightly off from my own," she told Kimmel. "It's like, two really hot, intelligent women fighting over a redhead."
For those of you who didn't grow up mainlining these books like kiddie crack, the Archie series follows a group of teenagers as they muddle their way through adolescent life. One of the main storylines involves the perpetual love triangle between redheaded protagonist Archie and his two friends, Veronica and Betty.
"I think it could use a little bit of a feminist update," Dunham said of the comics. “So I'm going to try to figure out a way to be true to the world of Riverdale, while also inserting some of my politics and beliefs and trying not to show breasts... The teaser I'll give is that reality TV has come to Riverdale."
Dunham is a big Archie fan – in an earlier press statement, she described herself as a convention-going "avid collector" with "first editions that I kept in plastic sleeves".
Archie Comics might best be described as a child-friendly cross between Skins and the Scooby Gang, but it's also an iconic part of 90s American childhood, sitting right next to the retro-tastic Baby-Sitters Club or (if you were a particularly advanced reader) Judy Blume's books. Some people have even speculated that it's provided the inspiration for Katy Perry's entire career.
In recent years, Archie has updated itself by tackling issues like gay marriage and LGBT rights, with Archie taking a bullet for a gay senator. Hopefully Dunham's take will be slightly less dark than that. Either way, expect a whole new generation of pre-teen girls to start quoting Hannah Horvath.
Watch Dunham on Jimmy Kimmel Live below:
