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Thread: ARCHIE comics

  1. #1
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    Default ARCHIE comics

    Anyone care to discuss the good, the bad and the downright weird of over 80 years of Archie and related characters?

    We can discuss:

    Dan de Carlo and his awesome good girl art.

    Those DRAMATIC Little Archie stories where little Arch would face muggers, bears and wolves...

    AL Hartley's stressed out versions and his Christian comics

    Other stuff?
    Last edited by AnthonyO'Brien; 05-03-2023 at 10:52 PM.

  2. #2
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    My main comment about Archie comics would be to bemoan the sad way in which the flagship title, Archie, came to an end. In its final year it had introduced a big plot twist - Archie had finally decided between Betty and Veronica by choosing... Sabrina! Several issues were devoted to this deepening romance, then the story took a diversion to introduce a short arc about Katy Keane (as a preview to her short-lived TV series), then at the conclusion of that diversion, the book simply ended its over 50-year run. The Archie and Sabrina romance was really heating up, and we have no idea what would have happened next. Was the plan in fact to make them a permanent item, with B&V as just secondary characters? How would Archie have reacted to Sabrina's use of magic? (He seems to have been only dimly aware of it in the stories we saw.) Was this pairing meant to be only temporary, and the long-term plan was to restore the status quo ante? We shall never know.

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    Thanks. Liked the Nick Spencer run. Did the publishers hit a snag due to COVID? There was a Superduck relaunch that folded after one issue that may be a covid casualty as well.

    LOVE the DeCarlo/Hartley stuff and would love some more tpbs.

    Dislike Bob Bolling and Harry Lucey. Especially the way the noses turn out!

    Got lucky at a garage sale a few years ago. Found a 70's issue of PEP featuring the debut of Nancy (Chuck's girlfriend). She deserves to be seen more. Marvel has Shuri and Riri, DC Naomi and Nubia, so why not a mini or a bunch of teen novels featuring her? Suggested title - Nancy of Riverdale High. Stories could include Nancy imagining herself as great African American women of history and Chuck drawing her as different kinds of super ladies...
    Last edited by AnthonyO'Brien; 05-04-2023 at 07:03 PM.

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    One thing I enjoyed was the Married Life collection...half was what if Archie married Betty and the other was what if he married Veronica. It leaned a bit into soap opera but I thought it was fine for what it was. I never got around to reading the arc where Archie gets shot though.

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    There's some great obscure stuff that turns up in the digests. Last Halloween there was a BaV digest featuring spooky Dan Decarlo stuff from "Bats" magazine. It had a femme fatale cat woman.

    Other digests feature stuff like Superduck and the adventure heroes...

  6. #6
    Astonishing Member SquirrelMan's Avatar
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    Jeff Parker's Batman/Archie mini was good fun.

  7. #7
    Astonishing Member signalman112's Avatar
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    ARCHIE had a radio series in the 1940's.

    archie andewsradio.jpg

  8. #8
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    Wow. Thanks didn't know that.

    Remember the annoying voices on the Filmation cartoon? Heeeyyy gaaaanng!

    Childhood friend of mine's dad was a minister. They had the Christian Al Hartley ones including the Johnny cash one. Found that one a few years ago. It's worth a lotta cash Johnny!

  9. #9
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    My favorites were Betty And Me and of course Betty And Veronica from the 1960s.

    I loved Betty but she usually didn't win in the battle over Archie. But it was why I kept coming back. I wanted that one story out of four or five in the book where Betty would finally win.

    I actually liked it sometimes when Reggie would win over Archie. Archie would usually sit back and watch Big Moose beat Reggie senseless, which was a cop-out IMO.

    But I enjoyed the 1950s and 1960s stories that you could get in the Archie Comic Digests where it was similar to Looney Tunes or Tom And Jerry. Those stories could sometimes be kind of cruel.

  10. #10
    Astonishing Member Overhazard's Avatar
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    Thanks to Ian Flynn, I now have a weird soft spot for the mighty crusaders. Archie pulls them out of the toybox every decade or so then puts them back.

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    Ultimate Member babyblob's Avatar
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    Archie comics were what I started to wet my teeth on in comics. My dad had a huge collection since he had been reading them since he was a kid. We read them together and bonded over them. It is a great memory I have with my dad sitting and reading comics for hours.

    The Mighty Crusaders were my first intro into super heroes. I would read the profiles of the heroes they did and would sit around and write stories about them. It would be a few years until I got my first Marvel comic.

    In fact when I first saw Captain America I thought he was a rip off of The Shield.
    This Post Contains No Artificial Intelligence. It Contains No Human Intelligence Either.

  12. #12
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    Feel free to discuss the ACP ninja turtles series. That was my intro to TMNT. Got lucky at a flea Market and found the rare final issue. It's worth $$$!

    Reggie and me. Looks interesting. It shows a different side to him. Apparently including an old lady he's friends with...

    Pepper from the old Josie comics deserves a comeback.
    Gene yang could write her as an artsy alternative Asian girl...
    Last edited by AnthonyO'Brien; 05-06-2023 at 01:14 AM.

  13. #13
    Mighty Member Zauriel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AnthonyO'Brien View Post
    \

    Dan de Carlo and his awesome good girl art.

    \?
    Dan de Carlo was the definitive Archie artist. I still fondly remember his stories.

    I enjoyed reading Archie Marries Veronica/Archie Marries Betty. It was quite entertaining.

    Afterlife with Archie was a very excellent story to read. In addition, I have read Archie 1941, Jughead: The Hunger and Vampironica comic book series. They were all great, awesome and creative ideas. especially, Afterlife with Archie.

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    I see jinx has become supernatural as well..

    Man, Decarlo was an odb long before Wu-Tang!
    He did pin-up girls in men's mags would squeeze b.v into bikinis every chance he got, then cut off shorts in the seventies, aerobics outfits in the eighties. Not that I'm complaining!

    Stan Goldberg was the best of the Decarlo impersonators but could never quite top Dan's girls

    Ever read the early 200's realistic B&V or the manga style Sabrina's?
    Last edited by AnthonyO'Brien; 05-09-2023 at 09:03 PM.

  15. #15
    Extraordinary Member PaulBullion's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Overhazard View Post
    Thanks to Ian Flynn, I now have a weird soft spot for the mighty crusaders. Archie pulls them out of the toybox every decade or so then puts them back.
    I found the recent The Fox series all excellent. They should have sold better.
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