Fortunately, I'm off this weekend, so you can expect new blog entries for the next two days anyway.
Since Saturdays are random days, I can pick whatever subject I want to talk about. And I think I'll choose a story that was reprinted in one of my latest acquisitions.
The story first appeared in "Betty and Me #22", and I find it incredibly hard to believe that this story will be turning fifty years old this year. Then again, I find it hard to believe that I'm going to be thirty-eight this year.
The story is just one of many that appear in the newest series of "Archie Comics Presents" books. The "Betty and Me" volume is just one of many titles that exist in the series so far, and this book contains the best stories from the first 40 issues of this title. Considering that this title ran for 200 issues from 1965-1992, this is merely scratching the surface. The "Me" in this title, of course, refers to Archie, as every single story in this collection features Archie.
Now, whether or not Betty succeeds in dating Archie in every single one of these stories...well, that's up to you to find out. But one thing you can count on is that at some point, Veronica will try to come in between Betty and Archie.
Much like in the case of today's story - "The Waitress".
It seems as though Pop Tate has a little bit of extra cash to hire some help. It's not that unusual for Pop Tate to hire people to help him. I know that Archie has pitched in a couple of times...and of course, Jughead would love nothing more than to pitch in provided he gets paid with cheeseburgers in advance. This time, it's Betty's turn to play waitress, and Pop seems pleased with his hire. I would be too, as Betty is kind, courteous, and does what she is asked of her.
Do you want to know who isn't happy? Veronica. Seems like Veronica and Archie have a date together at Pop's and once Veronica learns that Betty is working there, she really goes out of her way to make sure that she is the customer from hell.
If you ever needed a reminder of just how spoiled rotten Veronica could be in the late 1960s, here's your proof. It's fairly obvious that she is only acting this way to prove how important she is, and to try and get under Betty's skin. It's just that the way she goes about it is so obnoxious, she makes Veruca Salt look like Pollyanna.
(Or, if you want a more recent example, she makes Kylie and Kendall Jenner look like the Teletubbies.)
To Betty's credit though, she stays cool and calm under pressure, and shows a ton of professionalism while on the job. If anything, the person she is really getting to is Pop Tate, who is visibly seething over Veronica's nasty attitude. Archie, of course, just sits there and does nothing, because he probably is thinking that if he intervenes, he won't have any dates with Veronica for ten whole years.
Veronica finally stops insulting Betty enough to place an order for two super duper specials. I'm not sure what exactly goes into a super duper special, but the Chocklit Shop has always been known for tasty desserts, so I'm sure it'll be a sweet treat. Betty slightly loses her professional edge when she comments that Veronica will ruin her diet with one of those sundaes, but this only makes Veronica furious and she officially files a complaint against Betty for being too direct. I'm sure Pop Tate takes the complaint in stride, but is secretly laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.
I'm thinking that by now, Archie is even noticing how unreasonable Veronica is being and actually tries to speak up about it.
Big mistake, Archie. There's a huge part of me that thinks that this love triangle that Archie's been involved in for over 75 years really could have ended if Archie could remove his rose coloured glasses and see just how shrewish Veronica is. But then, part of the reason why Archie comics have lasted over three-quarters of a century is BECAUSE of Archie's waffling. Maybe that's why the side of his head looks like a waffle.
Eventually, Veronica calms down enough for Pop Tate to finish making his famous super duper specials. At this point, I'm sure Betty would rather walk across lava from a spewing volcano than serve Veronica, but since she's still on the clock and working for Pop Tate, she really doesn't have much choice. She places Veronica's sundae on the table in front of her, and she turns to give Archie his...
...setting the stage for Veronica to deliberately cause a mess on the table, giving her another reason to complain about the horrible service that Betty has provided her. Oh, for the love of poundcake, this is getting to be a bit much. It's a miracle that Betty hasn't creamed Veronica with her serving tray yet. But Pop Tate has a solution. He will remake Veronica's sundae and serve it to her himself. What could possibly go wrong?
Wow. Turns out Pop is an even worse server than Veronica thinks Betty is. Now Veronica has ice cream in her hair and all over her dress. I mean, that's a Paris original that Pop Tate ruined! How dare he? Oh, and look at Archie trying to help Veronica by following behind her like a lovesick dog. You know, there are times in which I wonder if Archie deserves to be the center of all this love and affection. As for poor Betty, she probably feels terrible that Pop Tate thinks that she's no good as a waitress, and she feels bad that Veronica was the victim of an unfortunate accident.
So what did we learn from today's tale?
1. Always show respect to your server at a restaurant.
2. Always be professional, even if the customer is clearly in the wrong.
3. Never anger the man who owns the ice cream shop. NEVER.
Veronica always brought out the misogynist in Frank Doyle...and in a lot of Archie comics readers.
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