The Sweetie-Pie and the Vixen

Elizabeth Cooper, better known as Betty, is the classic, blonde girl-next-door. She is OBSESSED with Archie Andrews.

The problem is...so is her best friend Veronica Lodge, also known as Ronnie, or Ron. Although, it has been brought up in the comic over many issues that Veronica's attachment to Archie possibly stems from the fact that she just has fun taking him away from Betty with such cool ease.


Veronica is rich and beautiful. She is also entitled and spoiled. She can also be mean. She can be mean when she is with Reggie Mantle, who is a tricky little schemer, or when Betty has Archie all to herself...which is rare.

She can be nice, though. She is also always in a very good mood when shopping at the mall, which she usually does everyday sometimes with Betty.

A bad mood though, for Veronica, can come easily through fashion as well. For instance, if she and Betty happen to be wearing the same outfit at school...things could get ugly.. (i.e. Veronica has ripped or spilled paint on Betty's clothes before, or just forced her to change)




Still, Betty and Veronica remain close friends through the thick and thin...exceeeeeept when Archie is involved :)

Josie and the Pussycats

Only recently did I make an important connection between Archie, Betty and Veronica--- and Josie and the Pussycats.
Josie, Melody, and Valerie are cheetah-print garbed girls who have frequent gigs and amicable (mostly *ahem* Alex Cabot boy friends). in 1969, the Pussycats began to be featured in certain digests. And now, when I read an Archie comic and see the familiar cheetah-print bordered pages, I know there's a good Josie story coming up.
Now, here's the connection.

Betty is a blonde, middle-class girl in love with Archie (a middle-class redhead boy), but he would rather be around rich, brunette Veronica.

   

Alan M. is a blonde middle-class boy in love with Josie (a middle-class redhead girl), and she likes him too, although Alex, the rich brunette boy, pursues her--- and schemes, trying to make her like him.

So there it is. Slightly different stories, I admit. But YOU must admit that there is some connection there.
Blondes, Brunettes, and Redheads...twice. Too much of a coincidence.


Read on, Archie Fans

Chuck and Nancy

Archie comics first came out in 1941, at a time when the United States was very much a segregated country. It was only in 1947 that Jackie Robinson played his first baseball game as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and this game was around the time President Truman ordered the army to begin the process of desegregation.

So, looking back, it would not have been very odd for the readers at the time to see only light-skinned characters in Archie comics. Luckily though, Archie comics eventually ended their own segregation in the 1970s (I guess better late than never) by introducing a new character: Chuck Clayton.
Chuck is friends with the usual suspects i.e. the whole cast of Archie (everyone is friends with everyone...almost *cough cough Cheryl Blossom*) and is into sports (very good athlete) and is a cartoon enthusiast (that's what he does the most).

Nancy Woods was introduced in the late 1990s to the Archie gang. She remains the only black character in the comic besides Chuck (and the parents). Oh, and coincidentally, her and Chuck are a steady couple.

And so, while Archie broke the segregation barrier over 60 years ago, and since then have introduced a stream (though small) of characters from across the globe and of several nationalities, they still have a ways to go before they will truly be integrated. Perhaps Jughead and Kumi (origin: Japan) could become an item--I mean, with her good taste in food and Jughead's taste for...food, they could get along quite well.

Meeting the Gang

I am an avid reader of Archie Comics, and have been one from a young age. It took a few digests to become familiar with the gang, and then i was hooked.
I have to say though, after my extensive readings, I have begun to notice many things. Things other than the obvious: as in the Betty problem.
Betty, or Elizabeth Cooper, is your average girl-next-door. She is good at...just about everything. Everything---except keeping Archie.
After countless stories of Archie leaving her, (after having her fix his car, feed him, or do his homework) for Veronica. This is why the background depicts Archie looking at Veronica, and not at Betty, who unfortunately is not visible. But I'll include the full picture below for your viewing benefit:




Get with it Betty! Archie is going to treat you like this forever... seriously. No really, they don't age.
Betty should date Adam. Adam appreciates her and doesn't go running off to be with the rich girl.
Of course, there are stories where Betty deserts Archie, but in the end she is always back in his arms after he apologizes for his faults.




That was just a sample, folks.

Throughout this blog I will post about trends I notice in the comic, interesting characters, and .....Anything Archie. Because after-all, the comic is All Archie.