Archie Firsts

by Robert Greenberger

In the first issue of the new Life with Archie: The Married Life, Betty laments that all the boys — Henry Aldrich, Richie Cunningham, Zach Morris, Troy Bolton — she’s dated since Archie married Veronica were clones of her true love. It’s one of the few genuine moments in Michael Uslan’s script and pays homage to the template Archie Andrews has been a part of since his introduction in 1941.

Through the years, there has always been the all-American boy, the nice guy who is not quite perfect, skilled in some things, awkward in others but the one who inspires trust in others. The archetype was developed as America was slowly emerging from the Great Depression and adolescents could go back to focusing on school and play, not working to put food on the table. Beginning with Clifford Goldsmith’s Henry Aldrich in the 1938 play What a Life, an idealized teenager was created and gave the boys going off to war just a few years later something to dream about. Aldrich’s success led to the Mickey Rooney Andy Hardy film series and it was inevitable someone would create a comic book character in the same mold.

Bob Montana hit pay dirt when he created Archie Andrews and the gang at Riverdale High School, appearing first in Pep Comics #22 (December, 1941) and Jackpot Comics #4. He quickly went from backup feature to cover feature and in short order, shoved out the dramatic heroes and villains, making room for expanding cast of supporting characters.

Those pivotal introductory stories are now being gathered for the first time in Dark Horse’s hardcover collection Archie Firsts. Archie’s Pep debut is included along with the complete Archie #1 (Winter 1942-1943), the entirety of Archie’s Girls Betty and Veronica (1950); Reggie Mantle’s arrival from Jackpot Comics #5 (Spring 1942) plus all the Reggie stories from Archie’s Rival Reggie #1 (1950), and all the Jughead stories from Archie’s Pal Jughead #1 (1949). Non-Archie features appeared in Archie #1 and Betty & Veronica #1 but won’t be collected here.

These initial stories have a certain charm and simplicity to the art and humor. Archie was gangly and bucktoothed, infatuated with both the rich girl Veronica Lodge and the attractive “girl next door” Betty Cooper. His best pal is the eating machine, Jughead Jones and his rival for the girls’ attention is well-rounded athlete and walking ego Reggie. If there’s anything unusual about the social dynamic it’s that despite some of the characters having siblings, they are barely mentioned or seen for decades. The focus was squarely on this unusual social circle long before cliques became the recognized norm.

You can see the cast filling out as each filled a niche in the high school social order. Of the core group, the spoiled rich girl Veronica was added last (Pep #26), setting up the eternal triangle from the very first story when Archie accidentally asks both girls to the same school dance. The contrast between the two was far sharper at first with Betty excellent with domestic skills but struggled with homework, getting aid from Jughead while Ronnie never had chores and thought cooking was for the staff.

Much as the girls were rivals, Archie needed a foil and Reginald “Reggie” Mantle III was added, although was named Scotty in his introductory cameo appearance before being renamed Reggie in his second appearance. Whereas Archie was clumsy, Reggie was smooth, a multi-sport star who appreciated his good looks (sporting a comb long before Ed “Cookie” Byrnes). Since Archie needed a best friend to lament his feelings to, Jughead, a.k.a Forsythe Pendleton “Jughead” Jones III was the perfect best pal, even more awkward and socially shy. Quietly the brains in the group, he hid that behind lazy behavior, but could always be counted on in a pinch.

Yes, the humor can feel dated, but these stories are also a window into how the adults of the 1940s wanted the world to exist for their children. The art is a joy to watch evolve and the character interactions truly set the pace for all others to follow.