"Party Puzzle" - A Reggie Christmas Tale

This is going to be another example of how one character can take center stage in a story that is originally credited to another character.  For Day #19 of the PEP CULTURE ADVENT CALENDAR, this is a story that is listed as being an Archie story...but the unsung hero is Reggie Mantle!

Yes, that is correct.  Reggie Mantle.  The man who is known for April Fools Day pranks, extreme vanity, and going after other people's girlfriends.  The man that perhaps is one of the most selfish people to exist in the town of Riverdale.  And yet, as this story proves, even the most devilish of people can have the largest heart - especially at Christmas.

This story originally appeared in the Archie Giant Series Magazine title "Archie's Christmas Stocking #535".  I always loved the Archie's Christmas Stocking title because I find that some of the greatest holiday stories have appeared here.  It sort of makes me wish that it was still continuing...though if it had, we'd probably be at like issue #950 or something like that.

This is a story called "Party Puzzle", and the setting is the local hospital.  The children's ward, to be exact.

You know, I have to say that it must be incredibly hard to be a child stuck in the hospital at Christmas.  But one of the things that I love is that hospitals do everything they can to make the experience as comfortable as they can for children who are patients during the holidays.  The nearest children's hospital near where I live is the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, and I know they go all out with Christmas decorations and Christmas parties, and doing everything possible to bring smiles to patients faces.

And that's what Archie, Betty, Reggie, and Jughead are trying to do.  They picked up a Christmas tree and have donated it to the children's ward.  The goal is to decorate it later and hopefully place a few small gifts underneath it.  Whatever happens though, the kids are really excited to have something inside of their ward that actually makes it seem more like Christmas and less like a hospital.  It certainly is a start to making the best of a bad situation.

The only thing that could make it better would be having a huge party with gifts and treats...but I suppose that every hospital has a budget that they have to work with, and in the year 1983, it looks like it will be slim pickings this year.  If only an angel would walk through those doors.

Okay...instead we'll have to settle for a used car salesman named Jolly Jim John.  Or, he could be a new car salesman.  Either way, he sounds like some sort of snake oil salesman.  The kids in the hospital may recognize him and give him respect and joy, but Archie and his friends have him pegged right from the start.  It's also a bit of a story that kind of stereotypes used car salesmen, so if there are people out there reading this who do sell cars for a living, know that this story is not meant to be a personal attack.

(Hey, with all the controversy surrounding "Baby, It's Cold Outside", I figure that I'd cover all my bases.)

But, let's give Jolly Jim John a chance.  It is Christmas and he has an idea to bring Christmas cheer.  In his hands, he has a gift for the children in the hospital - a gigantic jigsaw puzzle that has three thousand pieces.  If the kids put it together, he will pay for them to have the greatest holiday party ever seen inside of a hospital.  But there's a slight catch...

Yep.  The kids have less than twenty-four hours to put together a three thousand piece puzzle.  If they succeed, Jolly Jim John will spring for the refreshments and presents for all of the children to enjoy this Christmas.  If they fail, then they will not get a single thing.  It seems like Jolly Jim John is going to be a Christmas hero, but in reality he is a complete Scrooge.  He purposely gives the children a next-to-impossible task just so he can promise them the world, and then he takes it away when they don't succeed just so he can get out of paying the final bill.  It just goes to show you that Jolly Jim John is a major creep.  And Archie and his friends all know it.

The children, on the other hand, are more optimistic, and they immediately get to work trying to solve the puzzle...but it is still quite a challenge.  And as the gang leave the hospital, Archie vows to never give Jolly Jim John any business whatsoever, while Betty is visibly upset knowing that the children will be so disappointed.

But Jughead manages to cross the line when he actually compares Jolly Jim John to Reggie, as he claims both of them have hearts carved from the same block of cold, hard, stone.  This sets Reggie off, and he takes off in a huff, never to be seen the rest of the day.  I suppose Jughead might have felt some satisfaction uttering zingers to Reggie, but it appears to me that his words have sort of lit a fuse underneath Reggie.  I wonder what it all means?

The sun sets on another day, and early in the next morning, Archie, Betty, and Jughead return to the hospital to check and see how the kids did putting together the puzzle.  Betty just hopes that they managed to even put together half of the puzzle.

Not only did they put together half the puzzle...but they put together the other half as well!  The kids finished the puzzle in just the nick of time and they will get their holiday party after all!  Financed completely by Jolly Jim John...who probably isn't going to be all that jolly when he gets the final bill.  Though, given that the party is for a children's hospital, he could at least get a tax break on it.  Oh, and that special 3,000 piece puzzle that they had to put together?  You'd think that given the holidays, it would have been a Christmas tree puzzle, or a painting done by Thomas Kinkade.  Instead, it's a portrait of Jolly Jim John.  Wow.  That guy has a bigger ego than Reggie.  And speaking of which, we haven't seen Reggie since his fight with Jughead the day before.  Everyone wonders where he is...at least until one of the patients comes out and tells them the answer.

Reggie Mantle.  Holiday hero.  You see, Reggie might talk the talk about being the most sneakiest, and stingiest person in the whole world...but one thing you can also say about him is that he is a softy underneath that exterior...especially when it comes to kids.  For Reggie was so upset at Jolly Jim John's scheme, and upset that his friends would hold such bad thoughts about him that he made a beeline towards the hospital and stayed the whole night helping the kids put the puzzle together.  The kids would never have finished the puzzle by themselves, so Reggie made sure that the puzzle would be put together so that the kids would have the holiday party they so deserved.  It's a wonderful story that really shows Reggie in a new light, and it was very much appreciated.  Even Jughead has to admit that Reggie did a good thing - even though Jughead is still mad at Reggie for doing such a good thing that Jughead can't insult him next Christmas!

You know, let's just end this story off, and let Reggie get some sleep.  The guy has earned it.  Besides, tomorrow I'll be featuring a story that was drawn by one of my favourite Archie artists...and it's a story that kind of makes me wonder what Archie sees in Veronica Lodge.