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Words alone aren't enough to describe the phenomenon that is Archie Comics. TV, movies, comic books, of course, and much more are now included in this vast, often sentimental, but always forward-thinking cultural phenomenon. Archie Andrews made his debut in 1941, while the rest of the main cast of the books has been together since the 1940s.
The comics' primary objective was to create kid-friendly material that would also appeal to the typical adolescent, and as a result, they gradually came to be seen as a treasured relic from parents' childhoods. It was a clean enough piece of quintessential teenage fever for everybody to enjoy.
Archie comics a brief history
Originally known as M.L.J. Magazines, Inc., Archie Comics was founded in 1939 and started off publishing superhero comics. Together with author Vic Bloom, publisher John L. Goldwater and illustrator Bob Montana created the first Archie characters in 1941.
They made their debut in December 1941's Pep Comics #22. Publisher John Goldwater wanted to appeal to lovers of vintage Americana and Mickey Rooney-starring Andy Hardy movies with the invention of Archie Andrews.
After the characters' meteoric rise to fame in 1942, Archie gained its own magazine. Two years later, MLJ Magazine began to phase out tales about superheroes in favor of growing the Archie world.
After MLJ rebranded itself as Archie Comics Publications (ACP) in 1946, several successful spin-off series followed, starting in 1949 with Archie's Pal Jughead. According to Michael R. Lavin's 1999 book "A Librarian's Guide to Archie Comic Publications,"
“Much of Archie’s enduring appeal comes from the books’ idealised portrayal of small-town America… Archie’s creator, Bob Montana, deserves a large measure of credit for inventing this long-time formula for success,”
While John L. Goldwater came up with the concept for Archie, the final touch to the comic universe's appearance and style came from cartoonists Bob Montana and, subsequently, Dan DeCarlo.
Montana imbued the comic strip with the emotional potency of his personal reminiscence, resulting in an idealized portrayal of adolescence that we can all identify with, but few of us ever experienced.
Archie Comics was a wholesome substitute for the mainstream comics of the day, which were frequently filled with explicit and violent imagery. At the same time, Archie's comics have a strong moral foundation and are set on "the American way." Regarding Archie's persona, Goldwater stated to The New York Times in 1973 the following:
“He’s basically a square, but in my opinion the squares are the backbone of America. If we didn’t have squares we wouldn’t have strong families,”
Meet the Gang and Archie
A long-running comic book series, Archie Comics has characters from nearly every background. Archie's love interests, Veronica Lodge and Betty Cooper are part of his core group in the comic books, along with Jughead Jones, Reggie Mantle, Moose, and Dilton Doiley.
Of course, the book also has a ton of other distinctive characters, such as Chuck Clayton, Nancy Woods, Josie and the Pussycats, Pop Tate, Sabrina the Teen Witch, Midge Klump, and Ethel Muggs, the recent addition Kevin Keller… We could go on forever.
For now, let's talk about our core group. Archie Andrews is a normal adolescent guy in the framework of the comic strip and the wider series that sprang from it; he goes to high school, plays sports, and dates. Though well-meaning, many of his acts unintentionally hurt the people he attempts to serve.
The lovely, compassionate blonde next door is Betty Cooper. She has a great concern for other people's welfare and is always willing to provide a helpful hand. Despite her amorous obsession with Archie, she frequently finds herself taking a backseat to Veronica Lodge. She is an accomplished student, sportsperson, cook, car mechanic, passionate, basically writer a definition all-rounder.
Veronica, whom the gang occasionally refers to as Ron or Ronnie, is the daughter of tycoon Hiram Lodge and is due to it a very wealthy woman. Although she is a spoiled, and conceited brat, she gets along fine with the majority of her peers. As mentioned before, Ron competes with Betty, her closest friend, for Archie's attention, but she also periodically dates Reggie and is easily lured by the next attractive guy.
Since their early years together, Jughead Jones has been Archie's closest buddy. Jughead is a chronic food hoarder who is often begging his pals, particularly Archie, for cash as well as food. In addition, he is snarky, indolent, and uninterested in girls—especially Big Ethel, who has a thing for him.
Jughead is typically one to save Archie from problems and In certain aspects, he is quite intelligent, but in others, he is naive. a distinctive gray crown beanie is his trademark. Fun fact: Jughead's carelessness makes it rare for Veronica to get along with him.
In the comics, Archie's biggest rival—especially for Veronica's affections—is Reggie Mantle. Even though Archie and the two of them are subsequently close friends, he regularly pokes fun at Archie and doesn't get why women want to date him.
Reggie is the typical bad boy; he believes he is "The Man", is extremely cocky and narcissistic, and assumes everyone would think favorably of him. He enjoys pulling pranks on people like Moose and Archie.
Moose Mason is an athlete with great muscle but low academic standing. "Duh" is his catchphrase, which he frequently uses to start sentences. He also has a possessive attitude towards his partner Midge.
Moose is also revealed to be dyslexic in Archie comics. He is simple-minded and easily tricked by people, especially Reggie, yet he is also compassionate, kind, and ready to help his closest friends. He is the quintessential jock; if someone offends him or even speaks to Midge, he will beat them up (especially Reggie).
Dilton Doiley is the last member of the core group we will be talking about. Dilton is a brilliant inventor and geek. Except for physical education, he receives A's in every subject and is well-liked by most of his professors (the quintessential nerd trope).
Despite his shyness among ladies and lack of interest in dating, he has expressed interest in a few Archie Comics heroines. He belongs with the group despite his eccentricities since they frequently use his intelligence. Interesting Note, Even though Moose and he have different personalities, they are great pals.
Archie comics: legacy and future
Archie comics, undoubtedly the most popular non-superhero comic book series ever, first appeared during a time when names like Superman, Captain America, Wonder Woman and more dominated the market. But Archie Comics has stood the test of time and is still going strong after more than 80 years.
Forbes interviewed Jamie L. Rotante, Senior Director of Editorial at Archie Comics, and Mike Pellerito, Editor in Chief. Regarding the legacy and future of everyone's favorite teenagers, they had the following to say.
Jamie Rotante: “Evolution is so paramount to Archie and that’s due in large part to our CEO Jon Goldwater, who’s been ushering progressive change and forward movement for the past decade plus. Accessibility is key. And we’re aware that we have fans that span multiple genres and ways of reading our comics. That’s why it’s been paramount to us to cover as many genres and avenues as possible.”
Mike Pellerito: “And we have a lot more layers to our library to go through in addition to Archie. Much of what happens in media is foreshadowed in print first, with new characters, story ideas, etc. Kevin Keller was a great new addition to the cast, showing up in the Veronica comic book first, winning a GLAAD media award and acclaim for writer/artist Dan Parent’s work. We want the characters and stories to reflect the audience, showcase modern trends, and continue to expand what we can do with our comics.”
In addition to publishing comics in other languages, Archie Comics has sold over two billion copies globally. Apart from comic books, the characters of Archie Comics have been featured in animation, television, movies, and music over the course of eight decades.
Furthermore, the gang was also highlighted once a week on The CW's Riverdale TV show and now in Zoya Aktar's upcoming musical for Netflix The Archies which aired on December 7th.
