The year is 1958. The month is June. The teenagers of small-town America are filled with a nebulous sense of rebellion against repressive sexuality and social convention. It was inevitable that some business genius would make money off their forbidden longings. A proto-beatnik named Forsythe P. Jones opens his own “escort service,” which involves not only renting himself out to all the women of Riverdale, but wearing any disguise that suits their kinky fantasies. He even tries to expand the business by taking on Reginald Mantle as a sort of junior gigolo, to take up with women who are too scary for the boss to handle himself.
I’ve once again done the embeddable YouTube video thing, but some of the panels are hard to read in this format, so you can also click here to see the story with the original page layouts. (For those who care about such things, Archie comics had a lot more panels in the late ’50s and early ’60s than they had before or after. Sometime in the ’60s most of their artists switched to a rule whereby there couldn’t be more than six panels per page.)
Also, an important principle that Dan DeCarlo followed in his ’50s prime was that girls’ skirts must be flowing in the breeze whenever possible. Riverdale must have been some windy town.
One thing I’ve been wondering for years is whether “It sounds creamy!” was actually a slang phrase of the time or if it’s just a vaguely dirty-sounding substitute for “dreamy.”
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In the history of disturbing Archie comics, this is one of the most disturbing. Jughead the gigalo.
Because obviously an English Country Gentleman is a common sight at Riverdale High School.
And Moose, domestic violence at the ready.
I’d just as soon go back to the homicidal Betty Cooper…..
Betty desired a “riverboat gambler.” In 1958.
Good to see that even when she isn’t violent, her relationship to reality is strained and distant at best.
I sure wouldn’t want to be Reggie. Not only does Moose get him, but you know Betty’s already scheming to do him damage herself.
“This is my date? And I’ve got to PAY?” Oh, someone’s gonna pay alright.
(And it happens at 3:33 in the clip. Maybe in 1958 Betty was still only half a devil…)
I don’t think it’s the wind so much as it is the ladies sashaying their hips at every available opportunity. Notice how their hair stays perfectly coiffed? The women know what they’re doing.
You know what’s disturbing? I’ve read all of these Archie stories that have been posted on MGK.
Also, apparently girls in the 50s had very, very low standards, if the characters Jughead creates are their ideal men.
So. Jughead, the guy who isn’t too keen on women at this point, becomes a jiggalo? Yeah…that totally makes perfect sense. 😛
Why do I get the sense that this may have just been an elaborate plot by Jughead to get Reggie face kicked in by Moose (again)?
I don’t know in what sense Archie Comics was using “creamy.” However, think of a certain line from the original lyrics to “Greased Lightning” — hint: It’s not “The girls’ll scream!”
That sure sounds like a euphemism to me.
Mind you, though, “Grease” was done 20 years later, so the slang might have been perfectly innocent back in the 1950s.
Is it just me, or did that “distinguished older gentleman” look disturbingly like Veronica’s dad?
Jughead Jones pleases the ladies… by any means necessary.
Well, Veronica has always been a Daddy’s Girl.
The strange thing is that Jughead isn’t even into girls. But maybe that’s part of his appeal– they get to show off their fantasy date to their friends, while knowing he won’t be making any moves on them.
I wonder if this all a cover for his secret Gay dating service? And where is Archie during all this? Hhmmm…
Not sure which was more disturbing: the immediate shock of watching Jughead prostitute himself, or the gradual realization that I’m listening to “Mack the Knife” as I read it.
BR: 1958 riverboat gambler = MAVERICK = James Garner
Dierna: Could be worse; he could be a Juggalo (Google it)
Actually, I prefer the page layouts to a YouTube video, as I can read them at my own speed, take my time over them if I want to, etc.
I got the feeling this was about 14-year-old girls playing pretend. Yes, they’re older than 14 (va-voom!) and they’re paying Jughead for dates… which apparently involve no naughty stuff or, given this is Jughead, barely-naughty stuff like kissing. Or this is just another weird Archie comic.
But wow, the girls were hot stuff back then. The dresses look sexier than the barely-dressed clothes those darn whippernsnappettes prance around in these days. Now get off my lawn!
Also, nobody recognizes it’s Jughead? Even with that nose, visible through every disguise?
Nobody recognizes Superman in a suit and glasses.
Of course, Jughead didn’t know what he was getting into, until Mrs. Lodge came by to hire his personal services….
Long story short, Jughead ended up in stir for five to ten on solicitation and public indecency.