ShareThisBy ANDREW A. SMITH
Scripps Howard News Service
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Happy 65th anniversary, Archie Andrews! Well, sort of.
Archie Comics is celebrating the longevity of America's oldest teenager this summer, but you have to squint just right for the math to work. Archie (and Betty and Jughead) actually debuted in "Pep Comics" No. 22, cover dated December 1941 _ which makes the ol' redhead 66 years old. He did get his own self-titled comic book in the winter of '42 _ but this is only May, so we ain't there yet. You can't even say Archie Comics Inc. is 65, because the company was founded (as MLJ Comics) in 1939.
But let's not spoil the party with a Miss Grundy math quiz. Especially with such interesting stuff coming out of Riverdale.
Kicking off the show are Archie's longtime gal pals, who enjoy a temporary "makeover" in "Betty & Veronica Double Digest" No. 151 (shipping May 9). The four-issue story "Bad Boy Trouble" features the girls drawn in a more realistic fashion, courtesy of superhero artist Steven Butler ("Sonic the Hedgehog," "The Badger," "Web of Spider-Man"). The story is a bit edgier than the usual Archie fare, too, with Veronica falling for the motorcycle-riding, leather-jacket-wearing, wrong-side-of-the-tracks Nick St. Clair, whom she is convinced is a rough-hewn Romeo, but her friends think is just a plain old thug. Will this drive a permanent wedge between B&V? Yikes!
Later in the month is "Archie & Friends" No. 110, in which fashion model Katy Keene _ who has always been drawn in a relatively realistic style _ appears at a major California comics convention (read: Comic-Con International: San Diego) to promote the movie "The Web Returns" (read: "Spider-Man 3"), in which she plays the hero's actress/model love interest (read: Mary Jane Watson).
And sure, it's a play on this summer's big movie. But what's ironic is that The Web is an actual superhero who appeared 20 years before Peter Parker's 1962 debut, back when Archie Comics was MLJ. And Katy Keene first appeared as a model/actress in 1945, decades before Spidey's red-haired heartthrob showed up in "Amazing Spider-Man." The Web never achieved much sales success, and Katy dropped off the radar for the most part from 1961 until her re-introduction in a 2005 Free Comic Book Day special (which landed her a semi-regular berth in "Archie & Friends"). But you have to admit, despite their relative obscurity, Web and Katy were doing their thing long before Peter and MJ hit the big time.
But we're not done yet! The 96-page "Archie Digest" No. 236 ships in early July, which brings the party to a climax. Chuckle at the reprints of Archie's first adventures from "Pep Comics" No. 22 and "Archie Comics" No. 1, stories clearly patterned on the screwball comedies of the time (and when Archie preferred to be called "Chick" Andrews). Cock your head curiously at the reprints of the original "funny animal" supporting features, like Squoimy the Woim, Cubby the Bear and Bumbie the Bee-tective. And marvel at the bizarre "When Archie Meets Archie," a new story wherein today's modern, post-ironic teenager meets his goofy '40s counterpart _ along with vintage versions of Betty and Jughead. Truly, a crisis of infinite Archies!
And just when you thought these parodies couldn't go further over the top, "Tales of Riverdale Digest" No. 22 (late July) tackles Marvel's mega-epic "Civil War"! (You know, the story that led to Captain America's death.) "Civil Chores Part One" tears Riverdale apart, when Archie goes on strike for a bigger allowance and fewer chores. This action draws many supporters _ but not Forsythe P. "Jughead" Jones, who realizes that more money for Archie means more dates for Archie, and therefore less time for Archie to hang out with him. So he takes the opposite course, aligning himself with Reggie and Veronica, who want to maintain their status as the town's richest teens. It's Ragnarok for Riverdale!
Now, we can guess which side Betty will take. But it's less easy to predict the loyalties of the rest of the gang down at the Choklit Shoppe. What about Chuck? Dilton? Ethel? God help us, what about Big Moose? I guess we'll find out in "Civil Chores Part Two," in the August "Tales of Riverdale Digest."
So, despite 65 (or 66, or 68) years, the folks who brought us "Archie Meets The Punisher" (1994) can still surprise us. Even if they can't do math.
(Contact Andrew Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics(at)aol.com or visit www.captaincomics.us/)
