Sugar, ahh,
honey, honey.
you are my candy girl,
and you got me wanting you.
Do these lines sound familiar? If yes, welcome to the magical world of Archie and the gang, where everything is like a dream. Where you laugh, cry, cheer, frown… all emotions blended into one, like a perfect dinner course with the right proportions.
The History of the Comics:
I think many reviewers have already spoken in tons about the history and characters of Archies. I may not be adding much to it….
An offshoot of PEP Comics, Archie made his first appearance in 1941 as an “average teen-age clumsy chap” who was often confused over his priorities in life…. Studies or girls? Betty or Veronica? Friend or love?.... So much was his popularity that soon he moved out of pages of PEP Comics to have his own brand.
Interestingly, this comics came at a time when the comic characters were believed to be only in war magazines or the superheroes. No one expected Archie to be a success, but today, this 65 year old teenager is still going strong.
The Settings:
Archie comics are based at a typical American Small Town (like Malgudi in India?) where the summer is hot and winter has snow… where one of the richest men in the world lives and yet the town is hardly known…. Where you get the good, the bad and the ugly all in right proportions….
The Characters:
When the comics started, there were not many characters. Slowly characters got added and depending on their popularity, they either became a part of the mainstream (like Moose, big Ethel) or perished (like
Archie: The all American Boy? Or the average teenage clod?
Betty: The girl next door. The sweet blonde who can do nothing wrong. Definitely she is the lead lady in the comics. That’s why its always Betty and Veronica and not the other way around.
Veronica: The obscenely rich lady, who is all out to get Archie. She is scheming, arrogant, yet…. has a heart of gold which will make her do the best of things for her friends.
Jughead: Probably the most popular character of the comics. He is witty, fun loving, loves to eat, sleep and make Reggie look like a stupid fellow.
Reggie: He completes the series of the more popular character of the Archies. What is a story without a villain? And what can be better than having a villain who can turn into a hero in the hours of need?
The Other Characters and settings:
The story revolves around Archie and gang with several characters out of ordinary life. Where the Riverdale High has got teachers like Principal Weatherbee, Miss Grundy, Miss Hagly, Prof. Flutesnot, it also has got other characters of equal importance such as Svensen – the Swedish janitor and Ms. Beazly – the lady who runs the cafeteria.
A lot of stress is on sports and outdoor activities as is evident with the presence of two coaches: Coach Kleats and Coach Clayton.
All the other characters represent some aspect of life. These include Big Moose (Strong, but dumb), Big Ethel (Ugly but with a heart of gold), Dilton (the little genius), Chuck & Nancy (probably representing the racial equilibrium), Midge (the beautiful lady with a possessive boyfriend), Mr Lodge (A rich millionaire who always has trouble with Archie), Smithers (the frustrated butler), Pop Tates (The inn keeper who runs the eating joint) and so on.
The stories are based in and around Riverdale Town. The focal places of activities being the school, Pop Tate’s Eatery and Veronica’s bunglow.
The Story Classifications
The stories in Archies can be divided into five broad categories.
1. The Funny ones
These are probably the most frequently appearing stories. The funny ones vary from being the pin-ups and one page corny jokes to the longer story versions. Many of these are the typical romantic comedies, where Archie is confused with Betty or Veronica, Betty worships Archie, Veronica lives (?) Archie and Reggie is the typical “Kabab mein haddi”. And of course, the comedies with Jughead’s love for food, Ethel’s passion for Juggie, Reggies obsession with Midge and ultimate fate in hands of mood, Dilton’s weird discoveries…. All are bundles of fun.
Probably my favourite ones are the “serious comedies”, where a lot is told through satires, serious dialogues and indirect hints. Many of these have Jughead at the centerstage with Reggie as the scapegoat.
2. The Adventure Ones
The next category is probably the adventure ones. These are again of two kinds. The first one is the stories with rescue missions, sporting events, outwitting the antisocial elements. The second category is the superhero kinds, where all of them turn into different characters or there is some weird attack by some weird characters.
3. The Stories with a Social Message
Many a times, the stories spread good messages worth reading. Some times they talk about school spirit or love for one’s country. At other times they talk about avoiding racism, awareness about drugs or support to the lesser fortunate ones.
4. The Educative Ones
Then comes the category of educative stories. I remember reading stories on eating habit of animals, on history of America, on how to play a particular sport and many a stories revolving around some interesting words. In fact, I learnt the word “sagacity” from these comics only.
5. The all nonsense ones
Archie 3000, Archie 1 or many other meaningless inventions…. They keep on appearing from time to time. They can vary from being very interesting to utterly boring with no meaning in them.
Why Should one Read Archies:
Here are my top 10 reasons for reading Archies…
They are fun.
These always make me feel like ateenager.
It teaches the importance of relationships.
It has improved my sense of humour.
The pages of these comics make you learn a lot about America and its culture. It’s no great thing to learn about America as such, but if comics can make you learn about a country, why not make use of it?
These comics are not “vulgar” as pointed out by many. Rather, these teach you to be open to a different culture.
There are many good things (messages, words etc.) that one can pick-up through some interesting reading.
These improve one’s reading habits at an early age.
They are not as long as reading novels. You can start or stop at any time.
These comics are very good stress relievers. You can easily relax at the end of the day through these pages. Read them only for their entertainment value.
End Note
I started reading these comics 18 years ago and till date my love for the Archies has not gone down. In fact, today I can boast of a collection of 400+ comics with me :-)
