By various (Archie Comics)
ISBN 1-879794-02-0
The monolith of wholesome fun that is Archie Comics really hit its stride in the 1960s. In an era that saw the commercial orientation of the world shift permanently to the Youth Market, the red-haired archetype finally broke into the TV arena with the first of many animated shows, scored a world-wide pop hit with the single “Sugar, Sugar†and utterly dominated the comicbook humour market.
This volume collects a scant few of the stories from that decade, concentrating on fashions, fads, Flower-Power, Pop-Art and even the growing divide between rebellious teens and oppressive adults. It also delightfully shows the overwhelming power of good writing and brilliant art to captivate an audience of any age.
Archie is a still that good-hearted, well-meaning boy lacking common sense. Betty is still the pretty, sensible girl next door, and glamorous Veronica is as rich, exotic and quixotic as ever, whilst the school and leisure antics of the broader cast are as hip and engaging as ever.
This eternal triangle has been the basis of more than sixty-five years of charming, raucous, gentle, frenetic, chiding and even heart-rending comedy ranging from surreal wit to frantic slapstick, and has never been better depicted by such wonderful talents as Frank Doyle, George Gladir, Bob Montana, Bob Bolling, Dan DeCarlo, Joe Edwards, Samm Schwartz, Bill Vigoda and Harry Lucey than in the era when everything changed and – at least on paper – the Kids took over.
These charming and comfortable yarns are a gentle delight and a much neglected area of cartoon and graphic narrative. It would benefit us all to take another long look at what they have to offer.
© 1961-1999, 1995, 2008 Archie Publications Inc. All Rights Reserved.