Archie's 80th anniversary: Fan Clubbed!

[alicemacher]

SNL Church Lady: "Well. We like ourselves, don't we."


No sooner did rock 'n' roll replace swing as teenagers' favourite music, in the mid to late fifties, than Archie Comics picked up on the phenomenon. In this 1957 story, the gang meets -- some with greater enthusiasm than others -- one Purley Gates, an obvious expy of a certain teen idol from Memphis.


From Archie's Pals & Gals #6, 1957-1958. Story and art credits unavailable.


Betty and Veronica are beside themselves as they rush out of the Cooper household to tell Archie and Jughead that Purley Gates, "Betty's very own mother's cousin's nephew," is here in person. The boys, however, appear to have no clue who he is and, unimpressed with his offer of an autograph, address him variously as "Farley" or "Curley." So Purley decides to set them straight.





Betty shows them a copy of Disc Digest with Purley's photo on the cover. "How could we be so stupid?", asks Archie. "Notice the resemblance?"

Jughead concurs, and says, "So you do impressions of the stars, eh Farley?"





Archie suggests settling this by taking Purley to Rick's Record Shop and comparing his voice with that on the record. Soon, the singer is introduced to Rick, who calls him "Hurley Bates," to the boys' amusement.





Rick invites the annoyed but obliging Purley to sing into the mic "so you'll feel at home!" The singer launches into "Love Me Slender," and of course...





This story is typical of a gradual shift, in Archie Comics titles throughout the fifties, from humour relying almost entirely on slapstick (as in most forties stories) to pop-culture parodies (usually mild and affectionate) and an emphasis on quick-witted dialogue as various characters try to outsmart each other.