Twelve-Cent Archie: New edition with full color illustrations (Comics Culture)

For over seventy-five years, Archie and the gang at Riverdale High have been America’s most iconic teenagers, delighting generations of readers with their never-ending exploits. But despite their ubiquity, Archie comics have been relatively ignored by scholars—until now. Twelve-Cent Archie is not only the first scholarly study of the Archie comic, it is an innovative creative work in its own right. Inspired by Archie’s own concise storytelling format, renowned comics scholar Bart Beaty divides the book into a hundred short chapters, each devoted to a different aspect of the Archie comics. Fans of the comics will be thrilled to read in-depth examinations of their favorite characters and motifs, including individual chapters devoted to Jughead’s hat and Archie’s sweater-vest. But the book also has plenty to interest newcomers to Riverdale, as it recounts the behind-the-scenes history of the comics and analyzes how Archie helped shape our images of the American teenager. As he employs a wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches, Beaty reveals that the Archie comics themselves were far more eclectic, creative, and self-aware than most critics recognize. Equally comfortable considering everything from the representation of racial diversity to the semiotics of Veronica’s haircut, Twelve-Cent Archie gives a fresh appreciation for America’s most endearing group of teenagers. Praise 1 Series Page 4 Title Page 5 Copyright Page 6 Epigraph 7 Contents 9 The Twelve-Cent Archie 15 How to Write (Archie) Comics 20 Story Length 23 The Archie Hierarchy 24 Archie Andrews 28 How Well Does Archie Speak French? 31 Bowling 31 Harry Lucey’s Rhythm 33 Veronica Lodge 38 Riverdale, USA 41 The Daily Strip 43 Footnote 45 “Why Is It Always between Archie and Reggie?” 46 Archie’s Jalopy 49 It’s as Easy as A-B-V 50 United Girls Against Jughead 53 Archie Giant Series 55 Invisible Paint 56 Archie Comics versus Art 58 Betty Cooper 61 Riverdale’s Racial Problem 64 Fashion 67 Betty’s Ponytail 68 Self-Plagiarism 69 Archie’s Sweater Vest 73 Jughead Jones 75 Beatniks, Hippies, and Other Undesirables 78 Dilton Doily 80 Moose 81 Reggie Mantle 82 Jealousy 85 “Are You Familiar with Shakespeare, My Young Ignoramus?” 88 “I Never Squeaked a Pip, Either!” 90 Jughead’s Hat 91 Fantastic Elements 94 Archie’s Joke Book 95 Often Imitated, Never Duplicated 96 The Historical Archie 100 Mutually Assured Destruction 102 Betty = Veronica 103 Head over Heels 104 Mr. Weatherbee 106 Caveman Archie 107 Life with Archie 111 What Is the Zip Code for Riverdale? 114 Cover Art 115 Fairy Godmothers 118 Dan DeCarlo’s Foreground Portraits 119 Archie as an Adventure Comic 120 Text Pieces 123 Previously on Archie 125 Notes for the Norton Anthology 127 Archie : Arch : Archiekins 130 Eep! Omigosh! And Other Unusual Contributions to the Language of Comics 131 Archie’s Black Book 133 Laugh and Pep: The Residual Titles 134 Pureheart the Powerful 136 Errors 139 Midge 140 You Can Take the Boy Out of Riverdale . . . 142 Archie Club News 144 Veronica’s Mother 145 Mr. Lodge 145 Betty’s Parents 149 Jingles 149 Li’l Jinx 151 Archie’s Gender Politics 152 Should Archie Marry Betty or Veronica? 155 Big Ethel 157 The Mayor of Riverdale 160 Worst. Archie. Story. Ever. 161 Archie the Klutz 162 Celebrity Culture 165 Jughead’s Dipsy Doodles 166 Imitation Is the Lowest Form of Flattery 168 Surf and Ski 170 Samm Schwartz’s Art 172 Self-Referential Metafictions 175 Riverdale High 178 Who Cut Veronica’s Hair? 179 Little Archie 181 Credits 185 Juvenile Delinquency 186 Teenese 188 The Archies 189 Pop Tate’s Choklit Shoppe 194 Unusual Panels 196 Smithers 197 The Archie Archive 198 Fads and Fashions 201 Borderless Panels 202 A Comic About Nothing 204 Fred (and Mary) Andrews 207 The Banjo in Archie Comics 208 Wordless Stories, or Nearly So 209 Hot Dog 213 Dan DeCarlo’s Split-Horizon Girl 215 The (Nearly) Perfect Archie Story 218 The Myth of Archie 221 Archie and Me 222 Index 225 About the Author 234 The Twelve-cent Archie How to Write (Archie) Comics Story Length The Archie Hierarchy Archie Andrews How Well Does Archie Speak French? Bowling Harry Lucey's Rhythm Veronica Lodge Riverdale, USA The Daily Strip Footnote "Why is it Always Between Archie and Reggie?" Archie's Jalopy It's as Easy as A-B-V United Girls Against Jughead Archie's Giant Series Invisible Paint Archie Comics Versus Art Betty Cooper Riverdale's Racial Problem Fashion Betty's Ponytail Self-Plagiarism Archie's Sweater Vest Jughead Jones Beatniks, Hippies, and Other Undesirables Dilton Doily Moose Reggie Mantle Jealousy "Are You Familiar With Shakespeare, My Young Ignoramus?" "I Never Squeaked a Pip, Either!" Jughead's Hat Fantastic Elements Archie's Joke Book Often Imitated, Never Duplicated The Historical Archie Mutually Assured Destruction Betty = Veronica Head Over Heels Mr. Weatherbee Caveman Archie Life With Archie What is the Zip Code for Riverdale? Cover Art Fairy Godmothers Dan DeCarlo's Foreground Portraits Archie as an Adventure Comic Text Pieces Previously on Archie Notes for the Norton Anthology Archie : Arch : Archiekins Eep! Omigosh! And Other Unusual Contributions to the Language of Comics Archie's Black Book Laugh and Pep: The Residual Titles Pureheart the Powerful Errors Midge You Can Take the Boy Out of Riverdale Archie Club News Veronica's Mother Mr. Lodge Betty's Parents Jingles Li'l Jinx Archie's Gender Politics Should Archie Marry Betty or Veronica? Big Ethel The Mayor of Riverdale Worst. Archie. Story. Ever. Archie the Klutz Celebrity Culture Jughead's Dipsy Doodles Imitation is the Lowest Form of Flattery Surf and Ski Samm Schwartz's Art Self-Referential Meta-Fictions Riverdale High Who Cut Veronica's Hair? Little Archie Credits Juvenile Delinquency Teenese The Archies Pop Tate's Choklit Shoppe Unusual Panels Smithers The Archie Archive Fads and Fashions Borderless Panels A Comic About Nothing Fred (and Mary) Andrews The Banjo in Archie Comics Wordless Stories, or Nearly So Hot Dog Dan DeCarlo's Split Horizon Girl The (Nearly) Perfect Archie Story The Myth of Archie Archie and Me "Twelve-Cent Archie is not only the first scholarly study of the Archie comic, it is an innovative creative work in its own right. Inspired by Archie's own concise storytelling format, renowned comics scholar Bart Beaty divides the book into a hundred short chapters, each devoted to a different aspect of the Archie comics. Fans of the comics will be thrilled to read in-depth examinations of their favorite characters and motifs, including individual chapters devoted to Jughead's hat and Archie's sweater-vest. But the book also has plenty to interest newcomers to Riverdale, as it recounts the behind-the-scenes history of the comics and analyzes how Archie helped shape our images of the American teenager. As he employs a wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches, Beaty reveals that the Archie comics themselves were far more eclectic, creative, and self-aware than most critics recognize. Equally comfortable considering everything from the representation of racial diversity to the semiotics of Veronica's haircut, Twelve-Cent Archie gives a fresh appreciation for America's most endearing group of teenagers."-- Provided by publisher