Yup, another collection of mid-sixties Archie Comics efforts that had fallen into public domain, a happenstance which I personally think is grand! Y'see, if I can buy these comics from Gwandanaland that means none of the fanablas at the former MLJ 're gonna see one red cent from this, and considering what has happened to that particular comics line I'm sure glad about it!!!!
But hey, even though the whole Betty/Veronica line has tended to be "girl stuff" I sure gotta treasure these efforts. Dan DeCarlo's artwork at the Archie line was just beginning to hit its stride by the time these sagas were rolled out and not only that but the writing was starting to get better. And frankly, what red-blooded variety of a boy variety wouldn't get some healthy ideas pounded into his head lookin' at the wild pulchritude of these two femmes as they pose in everything from the latest fashions to swim suits??? Well that would be a whole lot better'n 'em lookin' at the Joe Weider muscleman ads getting the wrong idea from THOSE if ya ask me!
's got the typically teenbo stories here dealing with how Betty and Veronica backstab each other for whatever nefarious reasons to how they manipulate the guys in order to get their way...real educational material for the pubescent gal who would be tuning in for typically underhanded information as to how to manipulate others. As was the wont with the Archie comic book line (not necessarily the comic strip which I said was in a different dimension than the books or the animated Saturday AM series) Veronica is a rich bitch (or "rich witch" as Betty once put it!) while Betty is the nicer and sweet one even though she can get rather unscrupulous in her attempts to get hold of Archie when need be.
It's also nice to see the original ads and whatnot accompanying these sagas which do bring back memories of reading such fodder back when it was beginning to fall apart in my hands. The text does tend to veer towards the more feminine side of matters what with stories on modeling and wigs, though historically slanted efforts featuring famous Indians like Red Cloud and Geronimo (not to mention the decidedly non-Indian-esque Wright Brothers) does show that the male gender wasn't exactly left outta the target audience equation. Especially timely was an article on the Beatles mentioning their hit "She Loves Me"! And of course Brad Kohler will be glad to see that the "Li'l Jinx" cartoons were left intact as well.
didn't archie "go gay" in the very last issue? lol
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