Preview of December

Hey, everyone!

So, I have no specific topic to feature in today's blog because I'm going to be using this space to share with you some of the surprises that I have planned for the month of December.  After all, December is going to be a month filled with Christmas magic.

Yes...maybe you'll even see some of Sabrina's Christmas Magic during the month of December!

When I used to do A POP CULTURE ADDICT'S GUIDE TO LIFE, every year in the month of December, I would do something called the POP CULTURE ADDICT ADVENT CALENDAR, where I would write 25 different entries based around the holiday season.  It was fun when I was still doing the blog, but the problem is that I got so burned out on pop culture that I ran out of ideas.

But in the world of Archie comics?  They have been doing Christmas stories in Archie comics since the 1940s.  And since my collection of Archie comics is very large, I have thousands of Christmas comics that that I can spotlight in this blog.

So, tomorrow will kick off Day #1 of the PEP CULTURE ADVENT CALENDAR!

I knew you'd be excited!

So, what can you expect to see in this advent calendar?  Well, lots of Archie and lots of Christmas stories.  You'll meet special Christmas characters such as Jingles the Elf, the Sugar Plum Faery, and even Santa Claus!

You will be able to read some of my favourite Christmas stories ever written in the world of Archie comics.  And while I will be providing some spoilers in these entries, I will always start off with crediting the source of these stories so that if you don't want to be spoiled, you can track down the comic book so you can read the story yourself.

Archie comics also featured comic books that really stayed true to the spirit of what Christmas represents, such as in this special edition comic book released by Spire Christian Comics.  And yes, there may be a couple of stories that have some reference to what the season is really all about. 

Of course, that won't mean that I will avoid the comics that made me burst out into belly laughs when I was a kid.  I plan to feature a lot of comics that will make you laugh, chuckle, chortle, and spit out your egg nog all over the screen. 

And there are also some stories that have a lot of warmth and heart to them.  Stories that will restore your faith in humanity.  Stories that will cause the coldest of Scrooges to warm their hearts.  Stories that have a happy ending like all of those Hallmark holiday films.  Believe me, I'll feature a lot of those stories as well.

So, I hope that you will stay tuned.  We're going to have a lot of fun this Christmas!  :)

Archie's Activity Digest

I thought that I would use today's blog entry to do a feature on a forgotten title in the Archie universe that might not have lasted too long, but nevertheless had some impact.

Today's featured title?  The short-lived Archie's Activity Digest title.

Now, the 1980s brought us a ton of new digests.  Archie's Double Digest and Betty and Veronica Double Digest, for example, which are still in publication today (under the heading of Jumbo Comics).  But for every successful digest are a bunch of others that didn't last too long.  Katy Keene Digest ran for ten issues.  The New Archies Digest stretched out to fourteen.  And the Betty and Veronica Annual Digest managed to run for sixteen issues over an eight year period.

But the Archie's Activity Digest?  It ran for four issues.  Only four.  At least it lasted longer than some of the one-shot digest issues that were published, but there's the burning question - why did this title only last four issues?

By all accounts, the Archie's Activity issue wasn't a terrible idea for a title.  The vast majority of the covers and interior pages were done by longtime Archie artist Joe Edwards, who also worked on the "Archie and Me" title and various Lil Jinx comics, and he certainly illustrated many stories in the Archie universe.  And much like many of the digest series, the first story of the series was new and original, so at least we were guaranteed one new story to read featuring Archie and his friends.

However, that's where the appeal stops.  Because the Archie Activity Digest only featured ONE story.  The rest of the 128 pages?  Puzzle pages, word searches, connect-the-dot puzzles...and that's it.  It was called Archie Activity Digest because it was more or less an activity book. 

Even the covers sometimes contained puzzles.  Take this example from Archie's Activity Digest #2.  In fact, let's play along!

Okay, let's play this game.  We'll start with the top-left corner and go across ending at the bottom-right.

Professor Flutesnoot, Ms. Grundy, Miss Haggly, Ethel Muggs, Hiram Lodge, Smithers, Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Waldo Weatherbee, Pop Tate, Reggie Mantle, Veronica Lodge, Ms. Beazly, Mr. Svenson, Moose Mason, Hot Dog, Fred Andrews, Dilton Doiley, Mary Andrews, and Coach Kleats.

Yeah, I know...that was an easy one.

Now, to be fair, the book by itself wasn't a terrible idea.  At $1.25 in American funds, it wasn't a bad price for what you got inside of it.  And provided that you had some crayons with you to do the colouring pages that happened to be inside the book, it provided kids with lots of fun activities to do during long car rides, or while you were at your grandmother's house.  And some of the activities inside sometimes helped teach you things about geography and history. 

I seem to recall a few of those activities happening in the final issue of the series, which was released right around the time that the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty was taking place.  It was interesting to learn more about one of New York City's most popular landmarks, as well as some history surrounding it.

But for comic book collectors, the book was a bit of a dud.  After all, the book pretty much encourages you to draw and write inside of the comic books which can cause a mess on other pages depending on how potent the pens or markers were.  And admittedly, one can get through a puzzle book that is only 128 pages long fairly quickly.  And there definitely isn't a whole bunch of re-reading value in it.  After all, one can only look at a book of puzzles for so long before their eyes glaze over and their mind starts to wander.

So, I can understand why the title was re-tooled in late 1986 and changed to "Archie's Story and Game Digest".  They reduced the number of puzzles, but increased the number of Archie stories, so that after every story, you'd do three or four puzzles, and then read another story.  It was a much better flow, and that title lasted for thirty-nine issues.  And at least digests today still print the occasional puzzle or activity to do while you read.

But none of that would have been possible had the "Archie's Activity Digest" not come along.

Archie Titles I Wish They'd Bring Back...

(Sometimes real life can get in the way of doing this blog on a daily basis.  In this case, I have to design something for my workplace that is going to take up some time.  So, I thought I'd use this space to share a blog entry that I wrote in my former blog.  Believe me, not much has changed - aside from a bit of tweaking to make some points more current.)

(Originally written on November 19, 2014 - ironically the same day I started this blog in 2018!)

So I'm guessing that if you probably all know that I am a major comic book geek - a label I've proudly worn since March of 1987 when I received my very first comic.

As far as what comics I've read, there have been so many titles that I have read.  I've dabbled in Harvey comics such as Richie Rich and Little Lotta, I've read mostly every Peanuts and Garfield comic strip, and I've even gotten into some superhero comics as well.  Things like Spider-Man, Batman, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Of course, my main love has always been Archie Comics, and I have quite a sizeable collection of well over three thousand books.  There are some that have a collection that is larger than mine, and many more whose collection is smaller.  But every single book in my collection has been collected with love and has been read and re-read about a hundred thousand times.  For I am one who believes that comics should be enjoyed and not sealed away in a plastic bag never to be read again.

Just recently, I have acquired a copy of Jughead With Archie Digest #6.  Prior to now, it was the last issue I needed to complete the whole set, and now I can boast that I have every single issue of that title.  In fact, I only lack just a few digests overall before I can make the claim that I own every single digest ever printed!  Not bad for someone who has collected the comics for over thirty years!

Of course, the Jughead With Archie Digest has not been printed for quite some time.  The last issue was #200, which was published in 2005. 

And in 2017, we said goodbye to Jughead and Archie Double Digest.  To me, this makes me sad, because Jughead was always my favourite character, and now he won't have his own digest title for the first time since 1974.  There is a bright side to this, as replacing the Jughead and Archie Double Digest title was the "Archie & Me" Digest, which debuted in late 2017. 

And it got me thinking...what other titles do I wish Archie resurrected? 

Now, everyone knows that Archie has recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, and that many of the Archie titles have been rebooted in a new art style.  This, coupled with the success of the CW show "Riverdale", has sent the company into a new, daring direction.  However, the company is starting to revisit the classic look that made them famous, and I appreciate the fact that the company is trying to appeal to new fans and old.  But we all have our wish lists over what titles we'd like to see come back.  Here's my list of eight titles that I hope return in some format.

1.  LITTLE ARCHIE

I wouldn't care if it was in the form of a 32-page comic or a Double Digest.  Little Archie was my introduction to Archie Comics all those years ago, and it will forever have a place in my heart.  I know that most of the artists who worked on Little Archie are now deceased, but surely with all of the new talent that Archie has, they can figure out how to bring the series back.  There are still plenty of stories to tell, and I think that there is still a place for Little Archie in this world.

2.  ARCHIE'S STORY & GAME DIGEST

One of the things I loved about the Story & Game Digest was that it was brilliant to take with you on long car rides.  The book had comic stories to keep you laughing, but it also had puzzles and games that you could play while passing the time.  Or, even better...if they would just release a book that had nothing but puzzles and games - similar to the short lived Archie's Activity Digest, that would be even better. 

3.  BETTY'S DIARY

There was always something about Betty's Diary stories that I loved.  I think it's because prior to the series debut in 1985, Betty was kind of disregarded as a goody two shoes character who always came in second best to Veronica.  But with Betty's Diary, we learned that Betty had a lot of layers, and that she was capable of feeling all sorts of things.  I can see a lot of people reading Betty's Diary and being able to relate to a lot of the things that Betty was going through.  It was a highlight of 1980s Archie that really needs to come back.

4.  VERONICA'S PASSPORT
Some of the biggest moments of Archie have taken place in the Veronica title, which ran from 1989 until 2011.  It was the title in which celebrity guests made appearances, where Veronica went into outer space, and where the first openly gay Archie character debuted.  But my favourite issues of that title were the first eighteen issues, where Veronica visited several different places all around the world from Africa to Switzerland (and everywhere in between).  A collection of these stories were published in a digest title called "Veronica's Passport", but I think there have been enough stories where Veronica has visited the world that it could be resurrected.  Come on Archie, make it happen!

5.  ARCHIE ALL CANADIAN DIGEST
Once upon a time in the summer of 1996, Archie released a collection of stories in which Archie and the gang visited Canada, and for this Canadian fan, it was the highlight of his collecting experience.  The problem was that only one digest was ever released.  And considering that it's been 21 years since that book came out, I think we're long overdue for a second edition.

6.  LIFE WITH ARCHIE

I'm not talking about the recent magazine series which ended with Archie getting shot to death (not kidding about that either).  I'm talking about the original series in which Archie and the gang find themselves in the most ridiculous situations (saving people from murderers, foiling kidnap plots, stopping drug trafficking), and come out the victors.  Sure, the plots were extremely farfetched, but I loved the stories, and if they can bring back Archie & Me as a digest title, they can do the same with Life With Archie!

7.  ARCHIE'S CHRISTMAS STOCKING/BETTY & VERONICA CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR
Seriously, a regular holiday title would be a pleasure.  I looked forward to getting a Christmas comic in my own Christmas stocking, and it makes me sad that they don't have anything like this.

Although some digest titles have released special holiday themed issues, I think we should have something like "Archie's Holidays Digest".  It could be released every few months and celebrate holidays like Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, the 4th of July, Halloween, and Thanksgiving!  I think that would be very cool!

8.  JUGHEAD JONES DIGEST
Okay, so I know the reason they cancelled the Jughead digests were because of low sales.  But I still hold out hope that the Archie Comics people will reissue another Jughead Digest title one day.  I can hope anyway.

Any other ideas as to what books you'd bring back?

Archie and Me - "Snoopy Camera"

Would you guys like to see the latest acquisition to my already huge Archie comics collection?  Check it out.  This is the latest in the "Archie Comics Presents" series - a group of compilation books that feature a selection of stories from the first few issues of each spotlight series.  This one features the title "Archie and Me".  Or, at least it features selections over the first twenty-three issues of it.  If you're a fan of 1960s era Archie, this one's worth a look. 

"Archie and Me" isn't the only title to feature a "Me" at the end of the title.  There was also a "Betty and Me" and a "Reggie and Me".  But in both Betty and Reggie's titles, the "Me" was Archie himself.

This time around, the "Me" is a character that has had a love-hate relationship with Archie.  Riverdale High School Principal Waldo Weatherbee.  At times, he can be his favourite student.  Others, Archie can be his worst nightmare. 

But I suppose Mr. Weatherbee shouldn't get too upset with Archie.  After all, this title was the closest that Mr. Weatherbee got to having his own standalone title.  And don't even make the claim that he had "Faculty Funnies" because I try to forget that title even existed!  Remind me to do a blog entry on that title later on as one of the rare moments that I didn't like an Archie tale!

Anyway, back to "Archie and Me".  This was a title that began in 1964 and ran until 1987 with issue #161 (seen above).  It depicted Archie's often tumultuous relationship with Mr. Weatherbee.  More often than not, every tale had Archie getting into some sort of trouble, and Mr. Weatherbee serving as the fall guy.  Usually each story had Mr. Weatherbee getting injured, suffering an allergic reaction, getting his clothes ruined...you know, the drill.  Of course, Archie never meant to make Mr. Weatherbee's life annoying on purpose...he really does respect Mr. Weatherbee most of the time and has his best interests at heart.

Emphasis on most of the time.

You see, there was one story that was featured in this Archie and Me collection (which originally appeared in "Archie and Me #16") that showed Archie getting so angry at his principal that he almost made his feelings known on national television!  That can't be good for a student who has trouble getting on Mr. Weatherbee's good side in the first place!

Smile.  You're on "Snoopy Camera"!  I presume the title is loosely based on the classic television show "Candid Camera" hosted by the late Allen Funt.  It was a show that featured practical jokes and interviews on the street, and was a precursor for many shows that have come and gone since.  And in this case, it is the show that Archie ends up being an unintended star!

This story does contain spoilers, by the way.  You have been warned.

Our tale begins with Archie running in the halls - which last time I checked, was against the rules of Riverdale High School - or any school for that matter.  But hey, when the dismissal bell rings, I suppose anybody would be excited to get out of there in a hurry. 

Unfortunately, Archie is in such a hurry that he bowls over Mr. Weatherbee in the hallway, and Mr. Weatherbee is in no mood to argue with Archie.  Because of his disobedience of the rules (as well as running over him), Mr. Weatherbee gives Archie a week's worth of detentions!  Ouch.

Naturally, Archie is angry at the punishment and blames Mr. Weatherbee for being a jerk - even though he more than deserved the punishment he got.  In fact, Archie is so angry that as he walks down the street he doesn't notice that the host of "Snoopy Camera" is there doing man on the street interviews.  In fact, his subject matter for the next episode of the show is teenagers.  I can sense where this is coming.

Sure enough, Archie finds himself being interviewed by "Snoopy Camera" and he wastes no time in telling them what he really thinks of Mr. Weatherbee.  It's hard to get the information out about what exactly he says as the speech balloons feature a whole lot of blah blah blahs...but the gist of it is the he tells "Snoopy Camera" that Mr. Weatherbee is a big windbag.  Apparently that was considered a really nasty insult in 1967.

And this is the face that Archie makes upon quickly realizing that he has told a national television show his true feelings about Mr. Weatherbee.  Not a good look, is it?  But hey, kudos to Joe Edwards and Jon D'Agostino for creating such vibrant facial expressions in this story!

Anyway, he's filling Betty and Veronica on his little problem, and Betty notes that they don't have much time.  After all, the program is being slated to air the very next night.  But Archie seems to have a really good plan on the go.  He takes all of his savings to buy a ticket to one of the hottest shows playing in town, and decides that he will give the ticket to Mr. Weatherbee anonymously.  The performance, of course, being scheduled for the same night that the "Snoopy Camera" episode is slated to air.  For once, Archie has come up with an infallible plan.  I'm very impressed.

Too bad it backfires on Archie completely when Mr. Weatherbee gives his ticket to Ms. Grundy instead.  So now Archie is out quite a bit of money and the show is still going to be broadcast.  What is he going to do now?

It turns out that Veronica says just the right thing to get Archie's wheels turning once more.  She says that it's too bad that Archie can't stop Mr. Weatherbee from seeing the show, and Archie decides that if he can prevent Mr. Weatherbee from watching television that night, he will be saved.

Of course, it would seem rather unrealistic for Archie to drive over to the Riverdale television station and blow up their transmitter, or replace the tape of the episode with an episode of "As The World Turns".  So Archie comes up with the foolproof idea of going to Mr. Weatherbee's house to sabotage his television antenna.  Ah, so destruction of private property.  Archie, is there really no low you'd sink down to?

Besides, as we all well know, Archie Andrews isn't exactly the most graceful person in the world, and in his quest to knock over Mr. Weatherbee's television antenna, he nearly falls off the roof!  He is literally holding onto the antenna with one hand as Mr. Weatherbee goes outside to see what all the commotion is!  And believe it or not, Mr. Weatherbee is gullible enough to believe Archie when he explains that he was casually in the area, saw that his antenna was busted and decided he would take it upon himself to fix it.

And if you believe that, I have a bridge I'd love to sell you, Archie.

But since Mr. Weatherbee is like...whatever...he invites Archie inside where Archie proceeds to solidify his scheme by unplugging Mr. Weatherbee's television and claiming that his television set is busted.  Again, Mr. Weatherbee buys it (which makes me wonder if Mr. Weatherbee is on stupid pills) and Mr. Weatherbee laments that he's going to miss his favourite show, "Snoopy Camera".  And Archie is trying to feel sorry for Mr. Weatherbee, but can't because he can't believe that his plan has worked.  Maybe he'll be able to get away with it after all.

And then here comes Jughead carrying a brand new battery powered portable black and white television that he got for his birthday right at the same moment that "Snoopy Camera" happens to be on.  And Mr. Weatherbee is so elated that he invites Jughead and an obviously terrified Archie to come in and watch it with him.

So, this is how it ends.  Archie is forced to relive his worst interview ever in the home of the person he insulted on television.  He will likely think that Mr. Weatherbee will be so angry at him that he will spend the rest of his senior year in detention.  In fact, forget detention.  Expulsion.  No, forget that.  Mr. Weatherbee will kill him.  Yes.  Weatherbee will kill him.  He needs a miracle to get through this.

And then it happens.  Only in a comic book can this possibly happen.

Yes, a hurricane warning has pre-empted the show, and Archie is in the clear - well, at least until the summer reruns start airing.  It's certainly enough for Archie to write the weather bureau a fan letter!

(And yeah, the Archie stories from the 1960s were very hard to believe.)

However, the craziness and the disbelief of these stories are what make them memorable...and hilarious.  For Archie to go through all that trouble to erase the mistakes he made?  It was a comedy of errors all around.

And for 161 issues (plus several one-off specials in the Archie Giant Series Magazine), there were many of these adventures between Archie and Mr. Weatherbee!  

That's why it's disappointing that when they rebooted the "Archie and Me" title in digest format in 2017, they lost the original concept of the title.  No longer is it about Archie and Mr. Weatherbee.  Instead, the "Me" I believe refers to the reader.  So technically it should be called "Archie and You".  "Or, Archie and I"?  Whatever the case, I kind of hope that the longer the title continues that they can find a way to make it all about Archie and Mr. Weatherbee again.  Because those stories were entertaining.

Archie Giant Series Magazine - Making Sense Of It!

For many of the titles within the Archie universe, past and present, the titles have carried on a numbering system.  For the most part, the title begins with issue #1, and ends at whatever number the series decides to stop at, like, say #39 for "Tales from Riverdale Digest", or #200 for "Betty and Me", or #666 for the original classic Archie title.

(No, I'm not lying.  The original title ended at issue #666.)

And then it got rebooted to #1, lasted for 32 issues, and was rebooted again with issue #699.  Currently, it's at 700 issues, even though technically it should be #34.

Confused?  Yeah, I am too.  And that's just one example of how the numbering system can get screwed up when titles are rebooted, or changed.

And that isn't even the worst offender.  There was one title that was actually about twenty-five different titles under one parent umbrella with a numbering system that was so confusing that new collectors might think that there are some issues missing because the series skipped a whole bunch of numbers during its publication.

That title is the Archie Giant Series Magazine.  And with this blog entry, I hope to clear up a lot of the confusion behind the title.  Because let's face it...there's a lot of confusion to be had.

Let's look at how it first began.

It was 1954, and a period in time in which Archie comics was experimenting with various titles.  By this point, the company had "Archie", "Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica", "Archie's Pal Jughead", "Archie's Rival Reggie", "Laugh Comics", "PEP Comics", and a short-lived title called "Archie's Mechanics".  And by the end of that year, Archie Comics made the decision to put out a special giant sized issue filled with Christmas themed stories.  When I say giant sized, I mean that the book had three times as many pages as a standard comic book.  It was almost like you were reading a digest, but in larger pages.

As a result, the very first Giant Series Magazine - "Archie's Christmas Stocking #1" was released.  And it was such a success that the next five issues of the title boasted the "Archie's Christmas Stocking title, running once a year from 1954-1959.

By this time, another character in the Archie universe - Katy Keene was growing in popularity as well, and it was decided that they would do a Katy Keene Holiday Special just for her.  But rather than start off the title with a brand new #1 issue, the Archie Comics people chose to add onto the Giant Series title.

Making the Katy Keene Holiday Special issue #7 instead.

Over the next six years, Archie comics would later use the Giant Series title to launch other titles keeping the numbering system going on, and publication expanded to several times a year.  "Betty and Veronica Summer Fun" began with issue #8.  The following issue would see the first appearance of "The World of Jughead".  Another Betty and Veronica title, "Betty and Veronica Spectacular" would start with #11.  And Archie would get two more titles with his name under the Giant Series heading - "Archie's Jokes" at #17, and "Around the World With Archie" at #29 (which later changed to "The World of Archie").

By the time 1965 rolled around, there were at least seven different titles rotating through the Archie Giant Series, and with issue #35, it looked as if Archie had the Giant Series formula down pat.

And then THIS happened...

The following issue of "The World of Jughead" was released two months after issue #35...yet it had the issue number of 136!  Whether it was a misprint, or a misunderstanding, who can say?  Perhaps it was the company's decision to bump up the number to make it seem like it was around longer than it had been.  Either way, don't bother looking for issues #36-135...they do not exist!

But if you thought that this skip in numbering was confusing, would you believe that they ended up doing it AGAIN?  Well, in 1976, it happened once more.

Here's the cover for "The World of Jughead #251".

And yet, here's the following issue for "Archie's Christmas Stocking #452"!  That's right...issues #252-451 are non-existant too.  Again, this made things really confusing for collectors like myself who thought we had missed a ton of books, but in actuality, the numbering was just weird, or miscalculated.  So, essentially issue #452 should actually be issue #152!

However, to make up for the confusion in numbering, the comic book series created even more holiday issues starring a variety of characters within the Archie universe.  Along with the creations of "Betty and Veronica Christmas Spectacular" and "Archie's Christmas Love-In" came a Christmas title featuring Lil Jinx...

...as well as a Christmas title featuring Sabrina the Teen-Age Witch".

Now once the title skipped to issue #452, the numbering continued as normal until the end of the series.  However in the 1980s, a lot of changes to the Archie comic line-up meant even more upheaval to the title.

Mind you, some of these changes lead to the creation of other titles.  "Betty's Diary", "Archie's Explorers of the Unknown", and "Jughead's Time Police" were all kicked off in the Giant Series Magazine in issues #555, #587, and #590 respectively.  I suppose if you were to look at the comic series the way that television series are produced, you could consider those issues their pilot episodes.

But then in 1982, several titles were cancelled including "Little Archie", "Josie and the Pussycats", and "Sabrina the Teen-Age Witch".  But instead of going away never to be heard from again, those three titles were inserted into the Archie Giant Series line-up, and published once a year (or twice a year in the case of Little Archie) for several years.

And then in 1987 the same thing happened to other titles, including "Archie at Riverdale High", "Archie and Me", and even long running series "PEP Comics"!  By the time the 1990s began, there were several titles that rotated under the Archie Giant Series umbrella, with the title published a dozen times a year (the vast majority of the issues timed to be released during summer vacation and the holiday season).

So, what marked the end of the Giant Series Magazine's amazing run?

Well, 1992 marked another period of great change for Archie comics as several new titles were being published and several more were axed in order to make room for the new books.  "Betty and Me" became "Betty".  The "Archie's Pals 'n' Gals" title went from a 32-page book to a rebooted Double Digest.

And the Archie Giant Series finally had their plug pulled after issue #632.  Or issue #332, depending on how you count it.  Interestingly enough, the final header of the Archie Giant Series was "Betty and Veronica Spectacular", which was rebooted as a brand new title in late 1992 with a brand new #1 issue.  At least one other title under the Archie Giant Series umbrella - "Archie's Christmas Stocking" would continue as a standalone holiday issue that ran until the year 2000.

But the more I look at the Giant Series title, it was really considered to be Archie's red-headed stepchild in a variety of ways.  The really wacky numbering, the constant title changes, and the fact that the title seemed to be where aging titles seemed to go and die...it felt as though it had received zero respect from everyone involved with it.

And yet, the title was also very important for kicking off some of the classic Archie traditions that we all still love today.  It provided a home for several secondary characters who would have never really gotten a chance to shine before.  And, despite the confusion, the title contained some of the best stories that were ever written in a series.  Believe me, as this blog continues, I will be sharing some of these stories with you!

So that's the history of the Giant Series Magazine.  I hope I cleared things up for you.

"The Silks of Svengasi" - A Life With Archie Tale

One of the great things about Archie digests are the fact that you never really know what stories that you will find inside until you open them up.  After all, traditionally speaking, most original stories that have been printed in the standard comic series will be reprinted in digest format anywhere from four to seven years after they originally appeared.

While I was writing yesterday's blog entry, I mentioned that I had gotten my photos from Archie Digest #96.  As it turns out, I happened to find other stories within that digest that were really interesting that I had forgotten about.  One of those stories is one that I will be featuring on this lazy Sunday.  But perhaps the subject matter of this particular tale could make someone a little bit TOO lazy.  And fair warning, there are spoilers in this tale, so if you haven't read this one yet, you've been warned.

This story originally appeared in Life With Archie #222.  And if you have ever read any of the issues of the original "Life With Archie" series, you'll know that the stories in that serial kind of make you question reality a smidgen.  Remember how I said in yesterday's entry that the "Archie at Riverdale High" series featured Archie and the gang exposing Scooby-Doo type mysteries that happened at their school?  "Life With Archie" amplified it by a hundred.

This meant that you had stories which blended the Riverdale universe with true crime mysteries, science-fiction elements, natural disasters, and even time travel!  Considering that at the time Archie and his friends are still in high school, that's a lot to take in!  It suspends your belief in everything you think is real, that's for sure.

Such as today's tale - "The Silks of Svengasi".

I'm assuming that this is a play on words where Svengasi is meant to be like Svengali, which is a fictional character in the novel "Trilby".  In that novel, the character Svengali manipulates, dominates, and exploits the main character of Trilby...which is sort of what happens in this tale.  I mean, have you seen how Mr. Lodge looks in the opening panel of this story?  He's taken casual Friday into slobby Sunday.  No ambition, no desire, no need to do anything but lay around. 

When a new business partner of Mr. Lodge's named Mr. Snodgrass pays a visit to Mr. Lodge, Mr. Lodge signs over full control of one of his manufacturing plants to Svengasi Enterprises.  Veronica explains that Svengasi is a clothing manufacturer that is in direct competition with Lodge Enterprises, and that Mr. Snodgrass is the CEO of Svengasi.  So, it would be incredibly out of character for Mr. Lodge to co-operate with the enemy - especially in a business setting.  Veronica has noticed that Mr. Lodge is losing more and more ambition these days, and he doesn't even go to the office or even have the desire to shave.  She is genuinely worried that if this keeps up, the Lodges will lose all of their money.

Veronica also explains that the way that Svengasi Industries made their money was through manufacturing clothing made with the softest silk ever imagined.  Mr. Snodgrass gave Mr. Lodge a gift of several of these dress shirts, and since that day, those shirts are all that Mr. Lodge will wear.  Archie and Betty agree that the shirts are extremely soft, and Archie admits that he doesn't blame Mr. Lodge for wearing them all the time.  But at the same time, Archie suspects that something isn't right about Mr. Snodgrass and he doesn't trust him as far as he can throw him.

The next day, a sudden downpour strikes Riverdale, and Archie gets completely drenched on his way to Veronica's house.  Fortunately, Betty and Veronica are already there and Veronica knows exactly what to do.  She runs to grab one of Mr. Lodge's shirts and gives it to Archie while his shirt is thrown in the clothes dryer.

As soon as Archie puts on the shirt, he is taken aback over how soft and cozy the shirt really is.  It is the most comfortable garment that he has ever put on in his life.  In fact, Archie finds it so soft that he refuses to hand Veronica a book when she asks for it and actually asks for Betty and Veronica to remove his shoes for him so that he will be more comfortable!

At this point, the wheels in Betty and Veronica's brains are spinning and they seem to know what is going on.  But to put that theory to the test, Veronica tries an experiment.  She grabs another one of Mr. Lodge's shirts, goes into the kitchen, and gets the Lodge family chef Gaston to try one on.  And the results are fairly predictable.

The shirts are bad news.  They are not only the softest shirts ever created, but they are made of a material that is so soft that it actually drains the energy and ambition of those who wear them.  It essentially makes them under the control of anybody else who is NOT wearing the shirts.  The shirts are the Trojan horse that Mr. Snodgrass has bestowed upon Mr. Lodge, and it was done so that he could put Lodge Enterprises out of business.  It was a rather devious scheme for sure, and now that Betty and Veronica know the truth, they set on stopping Snodgrass once and for all.  But before they do that, they must rescue Archie, Mr. Lodge, and Gaston from the sap-sucking silk shirts once and for all.

Once they free Archie from the shackles of softness, the three of them put their heads together to come up with a plan to stop Snodgrass once and for all.  And Archie seems to have the idea that Snodgrass couldn't possibly be wearing his own clothing, or else he would end up being just like Mr. Lodge.  For Archie, it's proof enough that Snodgrass is a con man.  And while Veronica deals with the newly-lazy chef Gaston, Archie and Betty set out to trap Snodgrass.

It doesn't take long for Archie to realize that Snodgrass is actually buying his own shirts from a local men's wear shop - La Roma.  Archie comes up with a way to get even.  He goes into the shop, tells the man that he wants the shirts sent to Mr. Lodge's house instead because Lodge wants to give them to Snodgrass as a gift.

Once they get back to the Lodge Mansion, Archie gets Betty to grab whatever Svengasi shirts are left in Mr. Lodge's closet.  Archie then uses Betty's sewing skills to use by switching the labels inside of each shirt, so that the Svengasi labels go into the La Roma shirts, and the La Roma labels go in the Svengasi shirts.  That way, when Archie poses as a delivery boy to deliver Snodgrass his shirts, he'll actually be wearing his own creations.  Wow...Archie can be quite the genius when he wants to be.  It's too bad he doesn't show that same intelligence when he accidentally books dates with Betty and Veronica on the same night!

At the same time all this is going on, Veronica manages to get Mr. Lodge to put on one of the La Roma shirts, and once he comes back to his senses, Mr. Lodge is astonished at what has become of him.  And once he gets back on track following a hot bath and a change of clothes, he is furious to realize that Snodgrass had taken advantage of him for so long and vows to get revenge. 

Of course, as we all well know, most of the wacky tales of Life With Archie have a happy ending to them, and as you can see in the last panel of the story, Archie's plan has worked brilliantly.

Now, if you want a reprinted copy of this story, it's available in Archie Digest #96, as I mentioned earlier.  But if you can find a copy of the Archie 1000 Page Mega Comics Digest (the eighth in the series), that story appears in that book as well. 

Enjoy your Sunday, everyone...and try to avoid silk that appears TOO soft...