I don’t think any comic book of the ’70s had as much insane shit in it as Archie at Riverdale High. And that’s saying a lot, because we are talking about the ’70s here. But this title, launched in the early ’70s as a home for “serious” stories focusing on academic or athletic issues, packed an impressive number of WTF moments into its bi-monthly issues. You could pick up an issue at random and find: Archie beats up the members of a rival school when they “touch his body with a Central High towel”; a famous painter agrees to paint Mr. Weatherbee on condition that Archie will pose for him in the nude (which he does); Archie infiltrates another rival high school in drag; Archie uses special-effects technology to convince everyone that a kid is actually a superpowered alien named “Nazda.” Many of these stories were also full of floridly melodramatic captions, a possible throwback to Frank Doyle’s early days writing and drawing “Space Rangers” and “Wambi, the Jungle Boy”.
You can make an argument for the higher weirdness quotient of Life With Archie, where Archie spent the ’70s battling Satanic, child-murdering teddy bears, but that title always had fantasy/alternate-universe stuff. But what happens to a kid’s brain when he picks up a comic about high school adventures and is treated to a story like this one, where Betty loses her memory, wanders off and becomes a mud wrestler? And then the only way for Archie and Jughead to save her is for Jughead to disguise himself as a woman, and what is it with this title and men in drag, anyway?
I turned this into an embeddable YouTube video because it’s just easier to post that way. The Hector Berlioz music is just meant to speed the story along and the choice is not of any significance, though I take pride in the fact that the big cymbal crash coincides with the key moment in the whole story: Jughead’s realization that Archie wants him to make The Supreme Sacrifice. Which, as I mentioned, involves drag.
That story pretty much speaks for itself. I do want to point out one thing that has haunted me since young me encountered this in a digest. Understand, I don’t believe in nit-picking the plot holes in anything, let alone comic books. Pointing out every plot hole as if each one is some kind of crippling flaw is almost as bad as pointing out every continuity goof in a movie. All that said:
This previously-unknown kid who goes to the carnival — he has to be a new kid because they couldn’t let any of their regulars willingly go to such a “sleazy outfit” — sees a girl from his school who has been missing for days, maybe weeks. His first statement after recognizing her is “I’ve got to call Archie.” I’m just saying, if this guy thinks he should call Archie before notifying the police… or her parents… or even the principal… then he is so dumb that he probably walked into an open manhole as soon as this story was over. And that explains why we never saw him again.
The other important lesson from this comic is that you can learn a lot about characters from what they say when Jughead throws them Helluva Far™. Betty says “EEP!” like all good-hearted people. Stan Snavely exclaims “AIEEE!,” like some Jonny Quest villain. That’s how we know he’s evil.
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Just once I’d like to see an archie-like comic in which it occurs to somebody that rather then attempting a clever ruse involving drag, they could just call the police.
But did she really have amnesia or was she just faking it (even to herself) in order to go off and be dirty for a while?
And maybe the guys like to find scenarios that require them to go in drag. It was the 70s after all.
Jughead is the “greatest woman hater of all time”? Well, that explains something…
Holy crap, I remember this story. And I love how everyone from Riverdale has to be constantly commenting on how sleazy the carnival is–because THE TENTS HAVE PATCHES!!!! It’s not at all like one of those well-run regular carnivals, run by professionals to be clean and conforming to union rules, and with not a single whiff of female sexuality!
Part of me thinks this was all a massive Xanatos Gambit on Betty’s part. I don’t buy the amnesia story one bit. Not only was she trying to lure both her obsession (Archie) and her rivals (Veronica, Jughead) into some sort of deathtrap (so she could ‘save’ Archie but not the others), Betty was at that carnival learning occult skills from Madame Klisma, a supposedly run-down third-rate fortune teller who was in truth the current incarnation of Baba Yaga, in hiding from from a certain Sorcerer Supreme…
Mythic!
It’s sweet that Jughead can only defeat Betty because she is tired.
Man, every time Betty falls, she lands square on the bottom of her jaw. Seems like there’d be broken teeth and blood all over the place.
Continuity Error:
At 3:43, Archie is clearly paying with two bills, which means he is paying at least 2 dollars.
At 4:39, the sign says “Admission 50 c”
@chris
I noticed that too!
This is a common misunderstanding by people unaware of the fact that at one point Mr. Lodge attempted to create his own currency. Archie is paying with two twenty-five cent Lodgebills, or “Ronnies” as the slang goes.
Mr. Lodge eventually had to pay massive fines to the Department of the Treasury as a result of this.
Have you seen that the USPS is now going to immortalize all this with a stamp?
http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/01/04/comic-strip-postage-stamps-coming-in-2010-for-calvin-and-hobbes/
@Chris – I think MGK’s explanation makes the most sense (the Lodgebill experiment may have been nipped in the bud by a Richard Rich/Oliver Warbucks cartel in league with the government), though he might just be distracted. Observe his vacant expression, followed by an unconvincing “we came all this way, we really should make sure.” He may not remember why they’re there in the first place, let alone how much things cost.
@Laurie
I’m less intrigued by the stamp and more concerned by the fact that through many decades and many great cartoonists’ versions of that same scene, Veronica consistently drinks with her eyes closed.
When she finally opens her eyes and discovers that she’s been sharing soda-germs with two other people for 50+ years, there will be a revenge spree that makes Betty’s look like cute kiddie rampages by comparison.
While I prefer the art of the 1950s/60s in Archie, I think the crack-influenced stories of the 1970s were the highlight of the line.
Including the Chick-inspired bible stuff… I think that was early 70s.
Wow — I remember this one from when I was a kid!
Though even in drag, calling the rail-thin Jughead “Juggie” is a bit of a stretch, doncha think?
I love how Archie’s all melodramatic with “I would never bring a date here!” but then he’s really into the wrasslin’.
“Of course we came this far! We should really make sure!”
Cue Archie’s attempted wet t-shirt contest.
Did anyone else notice,
A. Sleazy street and Crud drive
B. Archie seems quite intrigued by the thought of Betty developing bulging muscles
C. The Furry at the carnival, I cannot be the only one who noticed him and his “dog”
D. Sploosh as a mud wrestling sound effect, they knew what they were doing with that one. Sploosh.
I wonder how the story would have ended if Jughead had killed Betty when he tossed her out of the ring.
@Lia,
You can’t kill Betty. It’ll be another gambit by her to go into hiding once more, and work on another plan to seduce Archie and destroy her rivals once and for all…
I think we’re all missing an important point here – this is important character developing exposition. It’s why Betty Cooper uses booby traps when she’s actively trying to kill Archie, rather than confronting him head-on; she knows she could easily get Archie, but now there is fear and doubt in her mind about whether she could take Jughead.
And that fear is all that is keeping him alive.
Oh come on. Of course the kid calls Archie – to rub it in. “You think you’re so great because you’ve got two girlfriends? Well, one of them’s living her own Duran Duran video on the edge of town!”
THEN he calls the police.
“There is fear and doubt in her mind about whether she could take Jughead”
Absolutely true.