The blame for my addiction to reading goes more or less to Archie’s. Although I started off my hobby with Diamond Comics (Yea - Chacha Choudhary, Billoo, Pinky - so on!), my genuine interest in reading english began from Archie’s.
Infact, most teenagers today prefer reading an Archie’s comic over a typical teen-novel (referring to Sweet Valley’s).
The Characters::
Archie - The lead character of Archie’s (duh!). He’s your typical guy-next-door. Freckled-face and red-headed, he falls in love easily with anything - girls, sports, kids. That makes him very lovable. He’s down-to-earth and very friendly. The character of Archie has been framed the best compared to all others. There is no way you can escape falling in love with Archie - even from your first comic.
Betty - Cute, smart and blonde (no pun intended) - Betty is madly in love with Archie. Her loyalties are totally devoted to him. She’s an extremely talented mechanic, cook and an ace at school. She’s got the perfect looks, but is always on a quest to grab Archie’s attention -whether it be the school dance, or a day at the beach!
Veronica - Some people detest the brunette Ronnie- because she’s so arrogant and materialistic. I feel Ronnie adds the essential spice in the whole scenario. Her plans and schemes add life to the comic. Archie’s heads-over-heels crazy about Veronica, but the only time she pays attention is when Betty endangers his loyalties. She’s your average rich brat who wants it all - and gets it most of the times.
Reggie - Reggie has his designs on Veronica - the major reason for his conflicts with Archie. Reggie’s on everyone’s hitlist - he’s the guy everyone’s looking for. Majorly, he’s in love with Midge - whose already going out with the dumbheaded however muscleman - Moose. He’s always scheming evil plans to separate Archie and Ronnie - but somewhere in there, lies a heart of gold.
Jughead - Everyone adores Jughead. The carefree glutton Jughead popular for his crowned hat and long nose is a woman-hater. Ethel is crazy about him - but the only thing that captures his heart - is food - and loads of it!
Mr. Weatherbee - Principal of Riverdale High School - he pretends to hate the trouble maker Archie, and always on a lookout to give him detention. But deep down below, he loves everyone - very dearly.
Other Characters -
Midge - Moose’s attractive girlfriend. She adores Moose - yet scared of him. She secretly likes Reggie too - but stays away because of Moose.
Moose - Huge, tall and strong describes him the best. Not to forget - so very dumb. His sentences typically start with a ’Duh’ - thats from where I learnt the word ;)
Dilton - The brainy nerd of Riverdale. A genius at all things technical - he craves for a girl, but his true feelings are masked behind his short frame and nerdy glasses.
Chuck - In love with Nancy and a very talented Cartoonist. Seldom appears in Archie’s.
Ethel - Crazed about Jughead who really doesn’t care.
Worth mentioning - Pop, Mrs. Grundy, Mr. Flutesnoot, Mr. Lodge.. and many more!
Technical Aspects::
At 128 (Single Digest) pages with broadly 6 pages for each story - it makes a very easy and fast read. The comic is formatted with sheer excellence. The stories are cute and always end up happy. They might be predictable - yet memorable. The language used is casual, yet decent. You won’t find any abuses there. The content too is decent enough for a preteen - the max you’d find would be Archie and Betty snuggling up for a kiss.
Victor Gorelick does an amazing job as the Editor. The artists are particulary fantastic - they never fail to perfect anyone’s face. Somehow all characters look just the same no matter which artist is designing them. The apparel and postures are worth all thumbs up!
Around 10-15 advertisements clog each issue - sometimes also crossword puzzles and the likes. The flavor of Archie’s remains the same - although very precisely presented in different forms. Different scenes are put together for a varied range.
Archie’s are available under different headings for particular character lovers:
Pricing::
In India, a brand new single digest will cost around Rs.40/- and a double at Rs.80/- There is also the long thin edition which is I think a little more expensive - but can’t comment since I never went around buying that.
Abroad, according to the cover (single digest):
US: $1.50
CAN: $1.65
Additional Comments::
Best placed in - Bathrooms
Recommended Reading - All ages
Suitable Time: Anytime
Rating: 10/10 ()
Cover Design: 9/10 ()
Worth Reading: Over and over and over again