>tfw you realize the Japanese would probably love pre-reboot Archie
They love auteur-driven manga. A single guy with a vision and just running with it for years, building his own lore bible? That's way more respectable than some soulless corporate committee making sure every story is 100% safe, on-brand, and episodic as hell. Japan does not care about episodic storytelling UNLESS its comedy or kodomo. That's why Sonic X was a kodomo and did so poorly in Japan. This is why the Sonic Boom show did well in Japan.

All the crazy crap in archie is what gave it soul. It wasn't a lame and defanged adaptation of the games. It had its own world with its own fantastical storytelling. The brand, especially IDW comics, is so sterile by comparison because it's terrified of doing anything interesting that Sega might not approve of.
Penders would unironically be treated like a Yoko Taro or a Kojima over there. People would ignore the weird art and see the creative integrity. Meanwhile, over here, everyone just screeches about lawsuits and off model art when in Japan going off model is normalized for exaggeration and expression. One Punch Man did gang busters in Japan for this reason. This is why western stuff like Amazing Digital Circus does well over there. Because it's auteur-driven and exotic.