06 Mar 2014 02:12:03
Lena Dunham is already the writer, producer, star and sometime director of the US sitcom Girls, as well as the author of a forthcoming memoir, Not That Kind of Girl, which she sold to Random House in a multimillion dollar deal. And now she can add another hyphenate: comic-book writer.
Dunham has signed on to write a four-part story for the long-running Archie comics in 2015, after the publisher reached out to her following her public enthusiasm for the books in a panel debate with JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst. The books feature the travails of Archie Andrews, a high-school student forever swooning over pretty girls and going through slapstick teenage angst – the character was created in 1941, and spinoff titles for the supporting cast followed later.
"I was an avid Archie collector as a child," said Dunham in a statement. "It has so much cultural significance but also so much personal significance, and to get to play with these beloved characters is a wild creative opportunity."
Archie's chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told the Comic Book Resources website: "We sent her a box of tons of Archie books, she devoured them all, and maybe a week or two later came back with her pitch. I'm not going to spoil it, but it's really, really funny. It's incredibly contemporary. It's a classic Archie story, with a definitely unique, Lena spin, and it's going to be set in Archie continuity."
"She's the voice of her generation," added Archie co-CEO Jon Goldwater. "To have someone like that say, 'Not only am I a fan, I'd love to write something,' it just epitomizes all the hard work we've put in for the last five years." Signing Dunham is the latest bold move to modernise the comic, with new stories including ones with gay characters, adult versions of Archie and friends, and even zombies in Afterlife with Archie.
Dunham meanwhile continues to helm the sitcom that made her name, and will also soon appear in the forthcoming indie romcom film Happy Christmas. Her memoir is published in October, and she recently posted a sneak peek at the cover.
