Fans of Archie and his friends: those who like either the comics, the TV show, the music, or all of it! And, of course, anyone that was or is presently involved in the creation Archie and his pals. It is my wish to keep this page "Archie-like", a true tribute to "the gang" and their creators!
Betty, Archie, Veronica, Reggie and Jughead receive a gold record for "Sugar, Sugar"! This poster came with Archie Annual #22, which I ordered for a quarter. I'm sure the presenter is Don Kirshner. I think Ron Dante and Toni Wine should be drawn in, too! :-)
A (Brief) History of Archie!
Archie first appeared in December, 1941, in Pep #22. At the time, the comic world was full of super-heroes, and MLJ's Pep featured a super-hero called "The Shield". Archie was the brainchild of John Goldwater, who got the idea from the very popular radio show called "Andy Hardy", which starred Mickey Rooney (there were also Andy Hardy movies.) The image of Archie was created by Bob Montana -- it was a younger version of today's Archie, and he wore knickers! Besides this young Archie, who wished to be called "Chick", there were Archie's new neighbor (a pretty blonde girl named Betty Cooper), and his dour looking friend with a funny hat nicknamed "Jughead" (who mentioned pretty early on that "gals" were "poison"). Archie and his escapades became very popular, and after six or so appearances in the company's existing comic titles, the "Archie" title premiered the winter of 1942. Archie was described as "America's typical teenager" and "the mirth of a nation". The Archie daily comic strip also began in the 1940's, and MLJ pretty much forgot about super-heroes and changed their name to Archie Comics.
In 1944, Archie #7 included a story entitled "Double Date" in which the main ingredient of the success of Archie comics was added: the eternal love triangle between Archie, Betty and Veronica. A couple of stories had appeared in earlier comics which introduced Veronica in different ways. However, in Archie #1, the red-haired teen wrote to a very glamorous, manipulative Boston "sub-deb" named Veronica Lodge, asking her for a date. She accepted a date to the prom, just for a laugh, and the Veronica character fully materialized.
Archie's rival/friend Reggie Mantle first appeared in Jackpot Comics #5 in the Summer of 1942, and the character was more fully introduced in Jackpot #6. A confident braggart, he is the perfect nemesis for Archie.
So, we have the five main characters of Archie -- many other characters help to make up the stories, but these five are the core of the world of Archie! As this page evolves, I hope to delve further into different aspects of the comics and the characters. Click here to read more about the history of Archie and his friends! Click here to read an informative article on Archie Comics from the December 20, 2006 issue of Vanity Fair!
MEET ARCHIE!
Meet Archibald (Archie) Andrews, the main character of Archie Comics! Archie's image was created by Bob Montana in the early 1940's, and Charles Phillips in his book Archie: His First 50 Years indicates that Archie is in someways quite similar to Bob Montana. Phillips describes Archie as a "wholesome if goofy girl-crazy teenager". Girl-crazy is right, plus I would add quite clumsy, as he is always falling, slipping or creating some kind of havoc! Archie really is a nice guy, but sometimes he unknowingly hurts Betty, who loves him very much. For example, Archie might ask Betty to help him repair his car, and then say something like "Thanks, Betty! Now I can take Veronica to the movies tonight."
Archie is the only child of Fred and Mary Andrews, and it has been indicated in the comics that he is of Scottish descent. He loves his cars -- early on it was a jalopy, old Betsy, made of many different car parts. Later he obtained a 60's red Mustang convertible, which is usually in need of some repairs! Click here to read more about Archie and all the Archie gang, including their vital statistics!
MEET JUGHEAD!
Say hello to Forsythe Pendleton Jones III, better known as "Jughead", and the featured character for this version of the "Everything's Archie" page. Jughead is Archie's loyal best friend, in spite of their many personality differences. Jughead has another "best friend" -- Hot Dog, the big shaggy white canine! Although all the Archie characters have had pets, Hot Dog is the most well-known and was often seen in the Archie cartoons -- and he's a mascot for "The Archies"!
(This comic is from April 2000.)
Jughead is known for his huge appetite, especially for hamburgers from Pop Tate's. He often wears a shirt with the letter "S" (although several stories have come close to telling us what that "S" stands for, we still don't know!) and he loves his "beanie" crown-shaped hat! This style hat was popular in the 40's, when the Jughead character was created. Boys would make them from their father's old fedoras, and they were often worn by mechanics -- like "Goober" on The Andy Griffith show. Jughead "marches to a different drummer" (no pun intended, as he is the drummer for The Archies!) Veronica considers him an "oddball" and he often times infuriates her! Although he appears lazy or sleepy with his half-closed eyes, he is actually on top of things and always able to outsmart Reggie. Considered to be the most complex character of the Archie gang, he is also one of the most popular with readers (in my informal poll of friends here, Jughead is indeed the favorite!) Archie Comics has tried many approaches with Jughead:
From 1957 comes this highly collectable comic called "Jughead's Folly" -- the first and only issue with this title! And, it spoofed Elvis! In it, poor Jughead is shunned by everyone for one reason or another, and he says he "feels lower than a snake's belly". He ends up going to sleep by the jukebox, and dreams he is a big star just like Elvis! This issue led to Jughead's Fantasy. There were 3 issues in this series, all based on Jughead's daydreams -- he was a knight, a private eye and the son of Hercules!
So, what about Jughead and girls? Is he really a "woman-hater"? No, I don't think so, but he is very much aware of all the "trouble" he can get into with girls, especially after observing the Archie-Betty-Veronica love triangle. He is fond of Betty, though, and he has on occassion mentioned to Archie that he could be more considerate of Betty's feelings. Early on, Jughead was chased by a not-so-attractive girl named Ophelia, who later became "Big Ethel". Here's Ethel in 1973, trying to cozy up to Jughead:
B & V have also tried to interest Jughead, as can be seen on the cover of this 1959 Jughead Annual:
In the late 1980's and early 90's, Jughead really got interested in girls! It is a very cute story where Jughead has a crush on a new student named Debbie -- the story includes all Jughead's scribblings about Debbie in his English class journal. About the same time, Joani Jumpp comes to town, and she was his very first girlfriend before he moved to Riverdale (and according to the story, that is why he swore off girls -- he had a broken heart over leaving Joani). So, Jughead was in a love triangle just like Archie! But, there are only so many love triangles one can take, and readers missed the "old" Jughead, so, Debbie got a new boyfriend and Joani had to move away again.
Above is Jughead with some of the women in his life (left to right): Debbie, January McAndrews, Ethel and Joani. (June 1990)
Who is this January McAndrews? Well, that's another story (and brief comic series) for Jughead! One of his beanies let him time travel, which is discovered by January who is from the 29th century, and a descendant of Archie (!!) and a love interest for Jughead! Jughead becomes an agent to protect the past and the future. This series was called "Jughead's Time Police".
In 1993, a very cute girl entered Jughead's life, one that he truly loved! Jughead was, needless to say, very shocked to find out that his parents, Gladys and Timothy (sometimes his dad is named Forsythe II), were expecting a baby. Like all the Archie characters except Betty, he was an only child. But, Archie Comics asked the readers to choose which character would get a new sibling, and Jughead won! There are some cute stories leading up to the birth of "Jellybean", so nicknamed because she was born on the way to the hospital -- there was a traffic jam because of a truck carrying jellybeans! What is Jellybean's real name? Forsythia, of course, named after her big brother. Jellybean's birth led to some cute covers, and there was a short-lived series called "Jughead's Baby Tales"!
There is one girl, though, in whom Jughead has met his match, and she was created by Craig Boldman, writer of Jughead comics (see Craig in the friends list below!) Trula Twyst is a fan of pop psychology and spends a lot of time studying Jughead's behavior. She has the uncanny ability to figure out his every move! There are some very enjoyable Jughead/Trula stories!
(Feb. 1997. JUST: Jughead Under Surveillance Team!)
Presently, Jughead has been drawn in a new style for "The Matchmakers", a 4 part story. The colorist for this story is Stephanie Vozzo (see Stephanie in the friends list below!) "The Matchmakers" seemed like a familiar story to me -- and it is! It was first published in a little novel by Michael J. Pellowski, It's First Love, Jughead Jones, 1991. Basically the only difference is the girl's name (Melanie Marks in the book, Sandy Sanchez in the new-style comic.) In both stories, B & V decide Jughead needs a girlfriend, and they set him up to meet Melanie/Sandy at the movies, with the help of Archie and Reggie. Jughead and Melanie/Sandy end up pulling a prank on the rest of the gang!
Well, as you can see, Jughead has stayed pretty busy through the years! We'll end this section with a Jughead version of "three on a soda":
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Leading up to...
Look at these comic book covers -- see how The Archies became a group!
Wow -- Archie and his friends were getting started as a band at the same time The Beatles were getting together in Liverpool! This issue of Archie's Pal Jughead from 1958 features a band called "Archie's Rock 'n' Rollers" with Archie playing clarinet (!) and Jughead as the lead singer!
In this issue of Archie's Pals 'n' Gals (Summer 1964), Archie dreams that he, Jughead, Reggie and Moose (on drums) were America's answer to The Beatles!
Archie's Joke Book, July 1966, shows "Archie and his 3 Piece Rockers", with Jughead on drums, Archie playing guitar, with 2 unknown singers!
It's the April 1967 Life with Archie, and Archie has his friends Jughead and Reggie in a band called "The Archies", all dressed in red jackets!
In August, 1967 the guys were still thinking of the girls only as "go-go girls", oblivious to their musical talent...
In September 1967, a very mod looking Betty and Veronica are still not pictured as part of the group, but you know what is going to happen in 1968:
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FUN STUFF!
Here's a cute little puzzle I found (5"x7"), which is from the mid-60's, I think. There is not a date on the box, but it is called a Bantam Pocket Picture Puzzle, by Jaymar Specialty Company.
This large poster was available for order from Weekly Reader in the early '70's. Thanks to my friend Tom for helping me find one!
This card is from a "bubblegum machine" -- selling Archie buttons! (How appropriate!) :-)
The Archies manga style! This little comic was written and drawn by Archie manga artist Tania del Rio, who now does the Sabrina comics (very popular with the "tween" girls!) Visit my friend Tania's Myspace page!