1989
was an interesting year in the Archie Comics world.
It
was a year that was filled with some incredible changes to the Archie comics
line-up. Jughead received his own
"Double Digest" title, toy stores began selling bendable action
figures of Archie and his friends, and in the comic book series, at least ten
new titles debuted between 1989 and 1990.
Mind you, nine of those titles were cancelled by the time Archie Comics celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1991, but hey, you have to admire the company for trying to expand their horizons to take risks.
Mind you, nine of those titles were cancelled by the time Archie Comics celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1991, but hey, you have to admire the company for trying to expand their horizons to take risks.
In
the case of one of these ten titles that debuted in 1989/1990, one managed to
run for over two hundred issues and twenty-three years! What's even more remarkable is that the
subject that this comic focused on?
This was their first solo title in the comic book's history!
(And no...it wasn't Dilton's Strange Science, either.)
(And no...it wasn't Dilton's Strange Science, either.)
It
was Veronica Lodge! It's true. Prior to the release of "Veronica in
Paris" in 1989, Veronica did not have a solo title of her own. To put that into perspective, Archie has had
over a dozen of his own titles. Jughead
had six if you include "Jughead's Time Police" and "Jughead's Diner"
- two other titles that debuted in the 1989/1990 year that didn't nearly last
as long as Veronica's title. At the
time, Betty had two - "Betty and Me" (which debuted in 1965), and
"Betty's Diary". Even Reggie
had "Reggie and Me", though the last issue was released in 1980. But still, Reggie had his own title before
Veronica did.
Veronica's
title also marked a couple of firsts for the company. Aside from being Veronica's first solo title, it was also the
first time that Archie artist Dan Parent had illustrated a cover for Archie
comics. He would work on the cover for
the first issue (and the final issue of Veronica with many others in between),
as well as all of the stories that were featured within the first eighteen
issues of the title.
In
fact, that's what the focus of today's blog is all about!
While the title of Veronica was filled with lots of creative stories, the first eighteen issues were dedicated towards Veronica touring the world. Although Archie and his friends have gone to almost every country in the world, this was really the first time we saw Veronica take on the world on her own. And it wasn't all that contrived to believe, as we well know that Veronica's family is rich. All the writers had to do was say that Veronica was on winter vacation, or on a business trip with her father.
Now, Veronica went to several places during those first eighteen issues of her solo title. While she stayed in the United States to visit places like Hollywood, Hawaii, Texas, and New York City, she also traveled to several other cities, countries and continents. These include France, Africa, India, Germany, Greece, Russia, Italy, the Bahamas, Switzerland, Canada, England, Japan, Australia, and Mexico!
While the title of Veronica was filled with lots of creative stories, the first eighteen issues were dedicated towards Veronica touring the world. Although Archie and his friends have gone to almost every country in the world, this was really the first time we saw Veronica take on the world on her own. And it wasn't all that contrived to believe, as we well know that Veronica's family is rich. All the writers had to do was say that Veronica was on winter vacation, or on a business trip with her father.
Now, Veronica went to several places during those first eighteen issues of her solo title. While she stayed in the United States to visit places like Hollywood, Hawaii, Texas, and New York City, she also traveled to several other cities, countries and continents. These include France, Africa, India, Germany, Greece, Russia, Italy, the Bahamas, Switzerland, Canada, England, Japan, Australia, and Mexico!
What's
also interesting is that in nearly every issue of those first eighteen,
Veronica somehow managed to find a new love interest! In the first issue, Veronica fell in love with a man named
Jean-Paul...only to have him fall in love with someone else at the end of the
story! Whoops!
However, one thing I can also say about the Veronica issues is that they were very informative, and actually provided a bit of a history and geography lesson as Veronica visited world landmarks. Whoever wrote the stories certainly did their research! In fact, I probably shouldn't admit this, but I actually used one of the Veronica books for research when I had to do a school project on Japan in the sixth grade! I ended up getting an "A" though, so I consider that a win!
However, one thing I can also say about the Veronica issues is that they were very informative, and actually provided a bit of a history and geography lesson as Veronica visited world landmarks. Whoever wrote the stories certainly did their research! In fact, I probably shouldn't admit this, but I actually used one of the Veronica books for research when I had to do a school project on Japan in the sixth grade! I ended up getting an "A" though, so I consider that a win!
Anyway,
I've read all of the first eighteen issues of Veronica, and I'm ready to talk
about which five are my favourite in the series. One probably doesn't come as too much of a shock given my
nationality, but the other four are stories are written and illustrated in a
way that when I was a kid reading them for the first time, it felt like I was
actually there with Veronica taking in the sights and sounds.
So,
here are my five favourite issues of the first eighteen of the Veronica
series. Beginning with...
#5 - VERONICA IN CANADA
Yeah,
you knew that this book would make an appearance in my top five, with me being
from Canada, of course. In this story,
Veronica accompanies her photographer cousin (whose name is Ginger Snap, I kid
you not) on a coast to coast tour of Canada where Ginger is putting together a
photo project on Canada. What's
interesting about this story is that they touch upon so many Canadian landmarks
such as the Bay of Fundy and the CN Tower.
You can tell that a ton of research was done into creating the various
stories. What's even more interesting
is that when they visit Quebec, Veronica runs into her former French flame,
Jean-Paul, and she ends up getting her sweet revenge on him. Might be a bit immature for Veronica, but
it's still satisfying!
#4 - VERONICA IN TEXAS
This story reads more like a plotline on "General Hospital", but it still plays out quite nicely. When Veronica is flying to Texas, her plane hits turbulence and it causes her to bump her head and lose her memory. She believes that she is the rodeo star featured in the Harlequin romance novel that she was reading on the flight and transforms into her when they land in Texas - even dying her hair bright red as a result! But as contrived as this plot is, it's good to see her bond with Matt, a local boy who is into the country scene. And it's also good to learn all about Texas history and culture.
This story reads more like a plotline on "General Hospital", but it still plays out quite nicely. When Veronica is flying to Texas, her plane hits turbulence and it causes her to bump her head and lose her memory. She believes that she is the rodeo star featured in the Harlequin romance novel that she was reading on the flight and transforms into her when they land in Texas - even dying her hair bright red as a result! But as contrived as this plot is, it's good to see her bond with Matt, a local boy who is into the country scene. And it's also good to learn all about Texas history and culture.
#3 - VERONICA IN ROME
Mr.
Lodge is fed up with Veronica's lack of knowledge in business and finance, and
he decides to send her to a prestigious school in Rome, Italy so that she'll
figure it out. Once Veronica arrives, a
mix-up at the airport sees her being sent to a reform school for girls, and she
is bullied and treated poorly by her instructors and her roommates. Veronica is frustrated over the whole
situation and she worries that she won't survive it. But when a chance encounter on the rainy streets of Rome comes
into play, will Veronica's luck change for the better? Toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain and make
a wish...this story will not disappoint!
#2 - VERONICA IN JAPAN
Veronica is accompanying her father to Tokyo, Japan, where he is on a business trip. And Mr. Lodge arranges for an American-born tour guide named Rob to show Veronica around town. At first, the two have a hard time getting along as Veronica sees Rob as being a nerd, and Rob has no tolerance for spoiled brats. But as Veronica and Rob get to know each other, they find that they might have misjudged each other. And Veronica finds that she might need Rob's help more than once when she accidentally gets caught up in the middle of a spy mission after purchasing a pair of earrings. Again, plot contrivance, but at least you can learn a lot about Japan reading this story!
Veronica is accompanying her father to Tokyo, Japan, where he is on a business trip. And Mr. Lodge arranges for an American-born tour guide named Rob to show Veronica around town. At first, the two have a hard time getting along as Veronica sees Rob as being a nerd, and Rob has no tolerance for spoiled brats. But as Veronica and Rob get to know each other, they find that they might have misjudged each other. And Veronica finds that she might need Rob's help more than once when she accidentally gets caught up in the middle of a spy mission after purchasing a pair of earrings. Again, plot contrivance, but at least you can learn a lot about Japan reading this story!
And
finally...
#1 - VERONICA IN HOLLYWOOD
Now,
this story was written during a time in which there were copyright protections
in place, so names had to be changed. For
the sake of argument, I'll write the changed names out here...you can probably
figure out who and what the pop culture references are from there.
Someone has stolen the Sapphire Slippers that famed actress Jody Wreath wore in the movie "The Wizard of Ooze", following an auction where they were recently sold. Veronica and Mr. Lodge must find a way to not only locate the thief, but also find a way to convince the buyer of the slippers to display them in a museum. With help from Timmy, the stunt double of actor Tom Hunks, Veronica sets out to find the truth. The culprit ends up being someone unexpected, their motive is actually quite heartwarming, and in the end, Veronica does something incredibly unselfish. But I've said too much. If you want to check out this story, it was also reprinted in Veronica's Passport Digest #2.
Someone has stolen the Sapphire Slippers that famed actress Jody Wreath wore in the movie "The Wizard of Ooze", following an auction where they were recently sold. Veronica and Mr. Lodge must find a way to not only locate the thief, but also find a way to convince the buyer of the slippers to display them in a museum. With help from Timmy, the stunt double of actor Tom Hunks, Veronica sets out to find the truth. The culprit ends up being someone unexpected, their motive is actually quite heartwarming, and in the end, Veronica does something incredibly unselfish. But I've said too much. If you want to check out this story, it was also reprinted in Veronica's Passport Digest #2.
In
fact, if you can get your hands on the Veronica's
Passport Digest series (which changed to Veronica's Digest from issues
3-6), a lot of the first eighteen issues of Veronica's title were reprinted in
those books. In fact, the first issue
of the series contains the first three issues of Veronica, as well as a new
adventure where she goes to Hong Kong where Mr. Lodge plans on unveiling a secret
project that utilizes Hong Kong's main industries.
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