Betty, Daddy says I’m not allowed to talk on the phone anymore this evening… so you talk, I’ll listen!!

Originally, in this beautiful Dan DeCarlo art from the all-pinup Betty and Veronica Spectacular #32 (June 1965), Ronnie’s spinning some 45s on her turntable while chatting:

As anonymously redrawn in this year’s Betty & Veronica Digest #183, the portable record player is now a laptop computer; the singles are CDs; the phone is an MP3 player; and Veronica’s got a cellphone tucked on her shoulder (which looks much more uncomfortable). And some completely unnecessary computer recoloring and shading has been added, turning her arms two-tone. At least the milk and cookies, the outfit (timeless in its oddity), and the parental surprise were left alone.

I just find it fascinating when these kinds of updates are made, looking at how and what is considered to need modernizing. (Sorry for the poor reproduction; I used a cellphone camera instead of a scanner.)

When they won’t accede to her demands to be nice, she quits. Readers begin complaining that things are too quiet without her. She won’t give in, so the artist introduces Victoria, the Lodges’ niece. Veronica is said to have “gone to Europe indefinitely”. This all smacks of bad sitcom, when actors struggle with producers over more money or control. But this is the printed page. Over-pampered diva is a fine role for Veronica to play, but it feels artificial to be asked to believe in the multiple layers here.

When Veronica finds out about this, she starts screaming how she can’t be replaced… still from the drawing board, which made me wonder why she’s still there, if she’s not being put into the stories. She demands to return, and then she literally erases Victoria. The point of the story is to remind and/or convince everyone that Veronica is best the way she is, but it’s so head-scratching that I’m not sure that comes through.

There are two other stories in this issue, one about exaggerated prom invitations, and the other about Veronica trying to set up her butler Smithers with a date.

After the mention of Archies music in the post about Archie getting drafted, I thought I’d offer a quick little guide to your best bets, just in case anybody wants to track down more of The Archies music on CD, as it is a musical minefield out there.

Absolutely the Best of The Archies
Buy this CD

The Archies’ hits on CD have been anthologized to death (over 20 different “greatest hits” CDs over the years), and there’s a a whole lot you should avoid due to their inferior quality. The best way to tell if you’re looking at a good one is if the actual Archie characters are on the cover. If the CD label actually took the extra step to license the character rights, they probably did the music right as well.

The best US Archies “hits” CD is Fuel 2000’s Absolutely the Best of The Archies which originally came out in 2001 and is also available on iTunes. All of the hits are here (including the oft-forgotten non-album single “Who’s Your Baby?”), as well as several great album tracks (“Melody Hill” is a bubblegum classic) and a couple of themes from the cartoon shows. There are well-researched liner notes in the 8-page booklet, which also features lots of Dan DeCarlo artwork.

Sugar, Sugar… The Archies
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Also of note is Sugar, Sugar… The Archies, a European compilation on the Repertoire label. This one might be OOP (out of print), but it is still available at Repertoire’s website, and used copies can be easily found. The biggest advantage to this one is that it’s 24 tracks (as opposed to Absolutely’s 16), so you get 8 more great album cuts like “Love Light,” “Over and Over,” and “Seventeen Ain’t Young.” The downside is that it’s an import, so you might have to pay a little more than you would for Absolutely. (And the liner notes are short and generic — but they’re also available in German!) Great sound and lots of good art, though!

The Archies
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If you’re an Archies fanatic (and who isn’t?) and want to collect the original albums on CD, then you are mostly out of luck. Out of the original 5 albums (I’m not counting the original Greatest Hits album), only the first album (The Archies) is available on CD, and only as an expensive (thank you declining US dollar!) import from Repertoire. It offers up the original album (with the original Dan DeCarlo cover — also available as a mini-poster!) and includes as bonus tracks the original mono single versions of the first Archies single (“Bang-Shang-A-Lang” and “Truck Driver”). The CD also features informative liner notes and excellent sound quality.

Everything’s Archie
Buy this CD

The second and third Archies albums (Everything’s Archie and Jingle Jangle) were released on CD a few years ago (by lead singer Ron Dante, no less). However, the first was renamed The Archies and the latter became Archie’s Party. They are both kind of a mess — the packaging leaves much to be desired, with lots of typos, and the songs are not presented in the original running order — but they are still worth seeking out because the sound quality is excellent, they feature all the original songs, and they’re the only versions of these two albums that are currently available. Technically, both are out of print, but used copies can be found (and The Archies is also available on iTunes).

Archie’s Party
Buy this CD

Sadly, the fourth and fifth Archies albums, Sunshine and This is Love, are not available on CD at all. Sunshine really needs to be released as it has some classic tracks, including “Who’s Gonna Love Me?,” “Over and Over,” “Comes the Sun,” the bizarre “Waldo P. Emerson Jones,” and “Sunshine” — my favorite Archies single.

It does have its clunkers as well, including the aforementioned “A Summer Prayer for Peace” and “Mr. Factory.” The album as a whole provides an incredible time capsule of the era (The All-Music Guide refers to it as “being like The Monkees’ Head”) as well as the opportunity to listen to the powers behind-the-scenes trying to evolve the Archies “sound” into something more mature. Unfortunately, this reached its nadir with This Is Love, the final Archies album. The glistening title track is really the only thing worth hearing here, and fortunately it is included on both Absolutely and Sugar Sugar….

One final note: in your search for Archies music, you will most likely come across a group called The Gothic Archies. An interesting group, they play a mixture of gothic rock and bubblegum (!?), but they have no real connection to The Archies, other than their deliberately ironic name. Happy searching!

The first is their Mexican publisher, who’s been editing for 25 years:

In 2005, Jesús [Gil Holguín] started publishing Spanish Language editions of Archie Comics in Mexico. Jesús is writing his first script for Archie Comics. The story will feature the first Mexican addition to Riverdale High when Toño Diaz is introduced.

… Join Toño and his entire family for their first Riverdale adventure in Pals ‘n’ Gals #123 on sale in July, 2008. Toño’s first appearance will be released simultaneously in the United States and in Mexico.

Later on, Misako Takashima, a writer and artist, is introducing

Kumi Tamura … a shy, cute and goofy Japanese girl. She doesn’t think she’s goofy or funny. However, when Archie, Betty and the others meet her, they think she is very funny.

That’s kind of an odd description, setting her up as a figure to poke fun at. They go on to say “She likes reading Japanese girls’ comics”, but the word “manga” is never used. The location of her first appearance hasn’t yet been announced.

I applaud the inclusion of non-traditional characters in the mostly white Riverdale, but I hope we see them more often than Ginger or Frankie or many of the other existing Archie characters who came in to expand diversity but are rarely seen. And I hope they get real stories, not just travelogue-style “and people from their country like ____”. Having creators who know the cultures is a big help.

Read the pages after the jump

The first page offers Free Schooling to “train for a great career as a police officer or detective!” with pictures of a shooting range, handcuffs, gun, and badges.

The center spread has pictures of wedding sets and other diamond rings offered with monthly payment plans. The captions read “Military Men - Your credit is good” and “Give her a Genuine Diamond… it’s Forever!”

But it’s the last page that really got me, as shown here. (Click to see full-size.)

Yes, it’s lingerie. They want the readers to buy these peek-a-boo nighties to “thrill someone you love”. The one in the bottom right corner is called “Coming Home” and described as “to display her charms”.

Odd enough that, based on these ads, this Archie comic was aimed at military men who wanted to spend their money on their girlfriends or look for work once they were out of the service. But look at that placement! Facing the women wearing very little was an ad where Betty and Veronica fight over their Archie doll. From negligees to playing with dolls — what a mixed message!

Mr. Lodge has just bought a new abandoned mansion, and he’s taking Archie, Veronica, Jughead, and Betty to check it out. The overwritten caption illustrates the richly pungent, adjective-heavy style of the story:

It was big all right! And old! And somehow obscenely ugly, as it squatted like a giant bloated toad, overlooking the endless sea –

Mr. Lodge gets a call on his car phone, requesting his presence elsewhere, and the kids decide to stay and wait for him to return for them.

Read the pages after the jump

In Jughead #190, he and the gang attend the National Buffalo Wing Festival. From the press release:

Along the way, they encounter many famous people and buffalo wing landmarks including festival organizer Drew Cerza, Mayor Brown, super-chef Bobby Flay, the Anchor - birthplace of buffalo wings, and Dunn Tire Park, the home of the Buffalo Bisons and host of the Wing Festival.

Ooh, two-dimensional Bobby Flay — just like his “always add chilis” cooking style.

The story sounds typical — Jughead enters the sauce contest but a competitor plays dirty tricks. It’s promised to be issue-length, though, which Archie comics are doing more often (instead of the previous 3-4 short stories an issue). It’s an interesting change that does allow for more plot twists and depth than the usual light gags.

The comic is due out July 30 in comic shops but earlier, July 12, on newsstands. Written by Craig Boldman (who handles the character very well) and drawn by Rex Lindsey.

Read the pages after the jump

Read the pages after the jump

That puts it between Archie & Friends and Jughead in sales rank, and I see that it’s declining when the most recent sales are compared to last year’s average.

As for Sonic X, your guess is as good as mine. The numbers weren’t in #29 or #30, the two issues that came out with the other books that did carry the statement.

Archie Comics has announced that they’re going to do a second Sixties volume in their Archie Americana series. Book two will be out in June, 96 pages for $10.95 (same size but a dollar more than book one). I think these historical collections are a hoot, because it’s a great way to see the pop culture of the time (especially the fashions). Nothing’s as revealing as entertainment intended to be thrown away.

Buck teeth, messy hair, cross eyes, gawky broomstick figure. And check out that chin!

Both of these were from Archie’s Joke Book #90, June 1963. It’s full of single-page strips showing teenage life in full bloom with transistor radios, beach dates, and TV and record and slumber parties.

I don’t know who Clarence was, or if he ever appeared again. But he’s not the only wacky one-shot type — meet Hal (from Archie’s Joke Book #97, February 1966).

Nope, it’s only it’s only Veronica, Betty, Ethel, and Nancy. Where’s Midge? That’s definitely Ethel, because of the Pebbles-looking ponytail on top of her head, visible in other panels. Since when is she a cheerleader?

The teachers like them, though, especially Veronica, who’s forgotten the bottom half of her outfit. Then for one and only one panel, they pick up a token, Tomoko, the new Japanese girl.

After Ms. Grundy flashes back to her days as cheerleader (no, really, although then they only had three girls on the squad), the boys stop by, feeling down. Ethel conveniently makes herself scarce, since her match doesn’t play on the same team as the other guys.

But the weirdest part about all of this is the opening panel.

Just how is Ethel supporting Betty and helping support Nancy with nothing but her outstretched arms?

I suppose it’s not a good sign that I was paying more attention to the ads than the stories while reading this. I’m surprised so many of them were house ads, for other Archie products. The inner front cover was for Pirates of the Caribbean Online, and the back cover was for a Disney cartoon and then, inside, WonderCon (are they really pitching themselves as that kid-friendly?). The remaining 10 were for subscriptions, back issues, blogs, DVDs, and upcoming multi-issue stories (unusual for this publisher).

The next issue of this title will kick off a World Tour storyline, while Archie #587-591 promises “Freshman Year”. No, these kids aren’t finally going to college; it’s a flashback to their first days of high school. Then the new stories in Jughead’s Double Digest are again going to try the redesign approach (Archie calls it a Dynamic New Look, with all caps) that got the Betty & Veronica Double Digest so much attention. This time, it’s drawn by “the legendary Joe Staton”, so they aren’t bothering to call it realistic.

This review continues, along with Betty & Veronica #233 and Betty & Veronica Spectacular #81, after the jump.
(more…)

I thought I’d done this more often, but I was able to round up a couple of historical mentions. In 2003, I posted them to Usenet. Comparing the two (using Nearest Issue values), we see that Archie sales are down significantly.

Archie’s Double Digest, always the best seller, is down almost 50,000 copies, from 152.5K to 104K. Betty’s dropped 5K. Pals’n'Gals Double Digest went from almost 136K to just under 99K. (Digest sales, no matter the title, used to be comfortably over 100K.) Archie single issue sales are up slightly, however, from 27K to 29K (rounding up).

For an even earlier comparison, last decade, I put up the figures for a couple of titles in 1998, and Carl Henderson had some digest numbers from 1997.

Here’s the figures I’ve seen so far for Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation. The first number is the Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months; the second is No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date.

As usual, the digests do much better than the single issues. For comparison with Diamond direct market sales, the ADD’s 104K would make it #5 in ranking (based on this November 2007 list) while Betty would be #164 or so, right next to the last issue of Loners and part of the Howard the Duck miniseries.

I’ll try to update this post in a month or so when I get more issues.

As Sabrina the Teenage Witch prepares for the countdown to issue #100,”The Turning” kicks off in issue #90. She’s coping with a big loss for her: her aunt erased her boyfriend’s Harvey’s memories. Not only does he not know she’s a witch any more, he also no longer remembers they were dating! Meanwhile, she’s involved in the conspiracy to overthrow the current ruling structure of the magical realm.

As part of that plot, she’s got two magic wands that only work together, and she’s become quite jealous of allowing anyone else to touch them. Plus, there’s the soap opera of working with ex-boyfriend Shinji, whose current girlfriend is fooling around on him. Of course, with Sabrina bearing this bad news, she’s not believed.

This three-issue storyline explores the concept of Sabrina being corrupted, of going bad and apparently being seduced by her new, powerful tools. Aside from evoking unpleasant memories of Dark Willow, it’s not a storyline that I find particularly compelling, because as the title character, I know that she’ll be rescued by her friends and it will only be a very temporary change at best. I like the more personal, character-driven stories better. It’s entertaining enough for me to see Sabrina struggle with school and family and love issues — I don’t need the idea of evil wands to make things interesting.

Plus, this story seemed more slow-paced than the usual jam-packed issue. Maybe that’s because I already know all the stuff being explained to me at the beginning; a newer reader might appreciate it more.

Archie & Friends #115 does something that’s a twist for this title, which is usually an anthology series — it tells a single, issue-long story. The gang decide to refurbish a boarded-up building that was Riverdale’s first general store back in 1859. Along the way, they figure out how to manipulate the media, uncover dirty political dealings, and learn construction and the virtue of hard work. (Although the bad guy gets away without punishment for the implied bribery.)

There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader interested and the art’s snappy, with lots of happy, enthusiastic teens. I have to wonder, though, about one thing. If I was a skilled construction worker, I’d be a little ticked that stories like this make it look like anyone, with the right supervision, can build a house or redo a commercial building. (Yes, I know it’s just a way to tie into those popular home improvement TV shows.) It seems to downplay the knowledge and experience that should be valued in these kinds of trades.

Veronica does call the “contractor my Daddy keeps on retainer” and gets his evaluation, but when he says his crew is ready to start, Veronica says the equivalent of “oh, we just want you to guide us”. He must be a really nice guy to allow these teens to replace his paid team. Or he wants to be sure to keep that Lodge business!

I’d like to see more of these kinds of stories, with the full issue allowing for more complications and developments. It’s a nice change from the 5-8-page stories.

Veronica #186 parodies romance novel covers, and underneath is a charming story about the addictiveness of serial literature and Ms. Grundy’s surprising after-school activities. It’s a very pleasant surprise to see another side of some of these long-running characters, since they can sometimes be over-familiar. And this one is still in keeping with the personalities of everyone involved.

The backup story features Veronica getting to invite one of her friends to go to Hawaii with her. She runs through Betty, Nancy, Midge, and can’t decide. I found myself wondering, though, why her first choice wasn’t Archie. Wouldn’t a romantic island getaway be her first thought? The story’s meant to be about the importance of not taking your friends for granted or making them prove they care for you, so Archie’s irrelevant, but that could have so easily been take care of with one line of dialogue.