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Archie: the best of Dan DeCarlo

by Wayne Markley

When I was young, a very long time ago, I loved DC Comics; Flash, green Lantern, Dial H for Hero, Land that Time forgot and, of course, Superman and Batman. but even as a youth, I wanted a change now and then from the superheroes and I would turn to Archie Comics. Archie in the ‘50 & ‘60s had a style that was clean, colorful, entertaining, and practically always five or six pages with a gag at the end. Or they were one page gag strips. As an adult, I learned who was behind all these fantastic stories; Dan DeCarlo, Stan Goldberg, Frank Doyle, and others. (Archie rarely give credit report to the creators back then even though marvel and DC did.) To this day I can re-read stories from that time period and it still makes me feel happy, brings a smile to my face, and lifts my spirits. We are fortunate that we live in a time when there is a revival of interest in these classic strips and there are a number of outstanding collections for those that may not have had the pleasure of reading these classics when they were first published.

I am going to talk about a number of books here, all featuring Archie and the gang. some of these books are currently available, some are available for pre-order, and a few of these books are in the limbo between being released and being available for re-order. So if you cannot find a book you see here, please check back at www.westfieldcomics.com as they’ll hopefully be there soon.

First up, let’s look at Archie: the best of Dan DeCarlo Vol. 1. I discussed this book briefly last time out, but because then I have gone back and read it a second time and it was even better than the first reading. This collects some of the best of what makes Archie so special to me. These are fun little stories featuring all of the gang, with many stories focusing on Archie, Betty, and Veronica. There are 20 stories by a variety of writers, with all the art by Dan DeCarlo. DeCarlo has an incredible skill to tell stunning stories with good girl art. but these girls aren’t Hollywood starlets; they’re the girl next door. It is an oversized hardcover that you cannot read and not feel good while reading it. You’ll even glow for hours after reading it. It is a look at a different time in world when things were much simpler and much more innocent. (Well, not really, but is feels like it was.)

The second book is not out yet, but it is coming soon; Archie: best of Stan Goldberg Vol. 1. like the Dan DeCarlo book, this is a full color oversized book featuring the best of Stan Goldberg. While Stan has a different style than DeCarlo, his work is just as joyful and heartwarming as DeCarlo’s work is. He does not have the ability to have the girl next door look like the best of the “good girl artists,” but his art has a very easy charm that is well worth the price.

Archie classic newspaper Comics

A new book that just came out the last few weeks (so check back at www.westfieldcomics.com for availability) is the complete daily newspaper Strips of Archie Comics, 1946-1948. This is a stunning collection of the Archie newspaper strips by Bob Montana. These are strips from the very early days of Archie when it was just starting to find its feel. It still had the triangle of Archie/Betty/Veronica, but it also has a lot much more jalopies, hot rods, and gag jokes. It is a stunning collection of Archie stories from a different period than the two collections above.

Archie Firsts

Dark horse has a collection coming out this Christmas called Archie Firsts. This is a hardcover book that reprints the first appearances of Archie and the gang, including Archie, Betty, Reggie, Jughead, and numerous others. all of these are the very earliest stories of Archie and the gang. Archie has always reflected America in a way comic books rarely can do, and all of these collections give you a delightful read and a look at an America we have mostly forgotten about.

Archie Americana

Archie Comics themselves publish the Archie Americana series reprinting the best of separate decades, for example best of the 40s, best of the 50s, best of the 60s, best of the 70s, and best of the 80s. for each of these decades there are two different volumes. While my love of Archie faded in the 80s as the art started to drift away from the conventional style, all of these books are a terrific sampling of Archie’s growth and changes over the years.

Archie Wedding

Finally, there’s the recent storyline where Archie got married, which has been collected into a good little trade called Archie Wedding:  will You marry Me?. This collects the seven-part storyline where Archie marries both Veronica and Betty in different “imaginary stories”. While I am not a substantial fan of the much more modern Archie material, this was a very good story which sets up a myriad of possibilities. and Archie has followed up on these stories in a new magazine called Life With Archie. In this magazine they tell two stories, continuing the what if Archie had married Veronica and what if he had married Betty. and what does Dilton’s time traveling have to finish with all of this? It is sort of like an Archie version of final Crisis, except it makes sense. It is worth you time to read the trade and the follow up in the Life with Archie Magazine.

As for a book I think is being over looked by many readers, sticking with this column’s theme, I would recommend Archie: Pureheart the powerful Vol. 1. These are a collection of the stories from 1965 forward where Archie tried to jump on the superhero grow of the mid sixties. These are fun and silly stories as each of the Archie gang has different superpowers and very identities. While these stories are pure camp, it is interesting to note that this stories started a year before the Batman TV show, which numerous people mistake as the inspiration for Pureheart and the gang. (Perhaps it was the other way around?) As always, everything in this column is my opinions and thoughts, and they do not reflect the thoughts of Westfield or any of their opinions. comments and review copies are welcome and I can be contacted at MFBWAY@AOL.COM.