The latest entry in the Archie Americana series of reprint volumes by decade is Best of the Sixties Book 2.

Archie Americana:
Best of the Sixties Book 2
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The previous volume focused strongly on trends. This one takes the opposite approach. For that reason, the cover is extremely misleading — there are no hippies in this book. In fact, with two exceptions, all of the stories date from 1960-1964. There’s also one from 1965, where Archie uses peace slogans to duck a warring Betty and Veronica, and one weird one from 1968 that could have been told in any decade. The gang notice a line running through their panels in a story where they’re aware that they’re comic characters.

Many of the stories are better reads than those that focus only on showing a fad, so I’m not complaining about the selection. It’s just that this book is so different from its predecessor… except in one way: there still aren’t any creator credits, although there’s a whole masthead of Archie company employees listed. That’s a huge oversight. I’ve always wondered who’s responsible for the art style demonstrated in most of these tales, and now I still don’t know. (Again, it’s very different from that reflected on the cover. I’m told that it’s likely Harry Lucey.)

Don’t get me wrong, the clothes still reflect the era, and some of the pieces focus on elements like bubble/flip hairstyles (although exaggerated from actual styles of the era) or beatniks. But many of these stories, with updated wardrobe, wouldn’t be out of place in today’s issues; they’re surprisingly timeless for a book pushing a particular decade.