Throughout much of the sixties, glitzy spy films and T.V. series (such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) were all the rage. Thus was born, in 1966, yet another alternate version of the core Archie characters: The Man from R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E. These stories, which ran through 1967, saw the teen agents of P.O.P. (Protect Our Planet) use their wits and high-tech gadgets to keep the world safe from their rival agency, C.R.U.S.H. (acronym never explained, but it's a play on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'s THRUSH (no periods, and also never explained)).

( 'I've unreeled exactly 22 feet of super strength nylon thread from my sock!' )

When MLJ Magazines, as Archie Comics was originally known, began publishing in 1939, its focus, like that of nearly every early Golden Age publisher, was superheroes: the Shield, Black Hood and Comet (the latter succeeded by his brother, Hangman). By 1946, however, the combination of Archie's popularity and readers' loss of interest in superheroes after WWII led not only to a company name change but also to the gradual phasing out of its caped characters.

Two decades later, of course, the Silver Age was in full swing and superheroes were back, big time. So in 1965, Archie Comics revived their old hero characters in their Mighty Comics Group line. However, recognizing that their teenage humour characters were the real stars, they also hit upon the idea -- months before the debut of the Batman TV series -- of having said teens moonlight as parodies of the superhero genre. Thus, in the fall of 1965 Archie became Pureheart the Powerful (aka Captain Pureheart), while Betty became Superteen. The coming months saw the debuts of Jughead as Captain Hero and Reggie as the supervillain Evilheart. (Veronica would have to wait until 2001 to become Powerteen.) Neither the serious Mighty Comics titles nor the goofier teen superheroes lasted much longer than a couple of years, but the latter at least are still remembered today, thanks to the Power of Digests! :-)

( 'Why can't you use doors like everyone else?' )

"Bob Bolling's talents have long been undervalued by comics historians, but they're all clearly on display here, from the tale's masterful staging to his evocative linework, capturing even the most subtle of mood changes precisely. There are very few comics' sequences that pack as emotional a wallop as Betty's shameful walk through the hyena-like mob of erstwhile friends, and few quite as satisfying as Little Archie's redemption shortly thereafter."

-- Fred Hembeck, The Fred Hembeck Show: Episode 48, February 14, 2006

( 'You're as brave as any boy' )

The year 2010 saw two of the most important and innovative developments in Archie Comics in many years. One was the launch of Life with Archie: The Married Life which, despite its initial misguided packaging together with teen celebrity infotainment pieces, was the first title in which the Riverdale cast not only grew to adulthood but, in both timelines, faced more complex life problems and underwent actual character development.

The other was the introduction of the publisher's first gay character. And not as a mere token minority, but as a likeable, non-stereotypical individual with a variety of interests. As a result, he instantly became a fan-favourite character and part of the main cast.

( 'You won't believe these characters! But you know -- I think I'm going to like it here!' )

Let's say you're writing a story about one of Archie Comics' most one-note and stereotypical characters: the stupid, foul-tempered jock Moose Mason. What do you do? If you're Mark Waid in 2018, you reinvent him as a shy, simple but very sweet jock who--

Oh, but we're still on the 1990s era in this series of posts, aren't we. Well then, if you're Mark Waid in 1991, you lean into the stereotype with all you've got, take the angry brutishness way over the top, and play it for screwball comedy.

( 'Hydrants... billboards... carnage...' )

Long before Cheryl and Jason Blossom were the victim and victimizer within a taboo relationship in Afterlife with Archie, or respectively mentally disturbed and dead in the Riverdale TV series, they were more lighthearted elitist troublemakers in the old Archie Comics continuity. That doesn't mean what they got up to wasn't envelope-pushing in its own way for the relatively family-friendly venue. Especially in this, their first appearance, 1982.

( 'Maybe it's time to shake them up around here!' )

The seventies saw the beginnings of a "kung fu craze" in American pop culture, inspired by Bruce Lee and other stars of Hong Kong action cinema. While this led some people to learn Asian martial arts seriously, others were content with a superficial and not-especially accurate understanding. Thus, for example, Reggie in this classic story which co-stars two of Archie Comics' earliest African-American characters (after Valerie of the Pussycats), Coach Floyd Clayton and his son Chuck.

( 'CHA! FOOM! HAAK!' )

Of all the regular writer/artist team-ups in the long history of Archie Comics, one of my favourites is Frank Doyle and Dan DeCarlo. Once his editors gave DeCarlo permission, circa 1959-1960, to draw in his own style rather than that modelled after Bob Montana (because he said he'd work much more quickly that way), his pencilling helped establish the house style the publisher would use for the next four decades at minimum. Doyle brought to the table his witty dialogue, eye for characterization, and a willingness to stretch and sometimes subvert the conventions of comics storytelling. Together, the two men created a number of the most memorable and frequently reprinted Archie stories.

Today's post, as this 80th anniversary series moves on to the sixties, shows how at times, Doyle and DeCarlo created stories capable of more than just making us laugh.

( 'My daddy [...] does not DROP IN to see people!' )