I’ve always been really into Archie Comics, specifically those digests that used to sell for about 75¢ back in the seventies. At the time I just liked the stories. They were funny, witty, and at times pretty humanitarian in their storytelling.
As a kid, I would buy the books sporadically, mostly whenever I had extra change to purchase one…still, over time we accumulated a lot of ‘em, and me and my brothers and sister would regularly flip through the books whenever we needed something to read while snacking or relaxing. The Archie books became part of my childhood.
As I got older, I realized how valuable these books were to me, and I tried to see how many back issues I could find at flea markets, used bookstores and rummage sales. I did manage to acquire quite a few especially at used bookstores like Rainbow’s Books.
It was only after this point of my mass consumption of Archie that I started to be able to tell which stories came out in the 40’s, which came out in the 50’s and the 60’s and 70’s.
It was the stories from the Sixties and Seventies that really caught my eye, and as I got older, I finally began to appreciate the talent involved with the strip. Some of the art was just FANTASTIC, and you can see where current artists like Los Bros Hernandez got their influences from!
Harry Lucey
I started noticing that the art that featured Archie and the gang in the sixties had a real specific style to them. I could TELL that it was ONE artist drawing all of them. This was the artist that first drew the Archies as a band, and even the characters had real “sixties” style about them-Reggie even had sideburns! That artist turned out to be Harry Lucey, and MAN this guy could draw chicks…no one has ever drawn Betty cuter! The wild gestures he creates for the scenes are so dynamic and fun-In fact, Lucey is probably my favorite Archie artist of them all!
Among other things created during Harry's reign, most significant are the first appearances of both Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Chuck Clayton! Sabrina looked VERY Kim Novak back then!
Samm Schwartz
I also started noticing that a lot of my favorite stories that featured Jughead were all drawn in this retro reedy-thin style, and the guys all had high-water pants that showed their socks. I found out that these Jughead stories were drawn by artist Samm Schwartz, another great illustrator. He also had a flair for drawing gals, and his version of Midge Collins is the best as far as I’m concerned. Along with writer Frank Doyle, they created some of the FUNNIEST stories!
Al Hartley
Once in a while there would be certain Archie stories that dealt with peace, caring and loving your neighbor. I’d always notice that the artist’s style-He really had a flair for drawing Betty with real flaxen fluffy hair. Well, I found out that the artist/writer was a guy named Al Hartley, who was a strong Christian, and he’d slyly work gentle Archie stories into the strip. He even got permission to produce a few Christian-based Archie comics under the Spire Label.
Dan DeCarlo
And then there’s Dan DeCarlo.The Mighty Dan DeCarlo!
What can I say about him that hasn’t been said already. He’s the guy credited with redesigning the Archie Characters into the contemporary versions of we know and love today. He also created Josie, and later Josie and the Pussycats. Yes, the guy created Melody! And...Oh, how this guy could draw GIRLS!
I especially love his artwork in the mid-seventies, where Betty and Veronica were dressing like extras in Three’s Company. I call these the “Red Ribbon in Ronnie’s Hair” phase. Whenever Veronica would get exasperated, he would draw these lines on her cheeks to indicate flushing with rage, and I think it’s just hilarious!
Dan was also resposible for creating one of my favorite one-shot characters, a gorgeous uber-vixen named Virginia Cleary for the story "State Of Mind"! Yow! Yes, Virginia, slutty girls DID exist in Riverdale! Hahahahahahaha!
The artwork all of these artists do is just terrific, and you can easily follow the story without even reading the word bubbles a lot of the time. I especially love when the artist goes out of his way to draw relaxed poses or shocked or angry reactions...they’re too funny!
It was this appreciation of the art involved that made me decide to expand my collection to try and get some of the original Archie comics. I wanted the ones that featured some of the stories I loved! Unfortunately (and obviously), most of these came out when I was like one to four years old, so it’s slow in collecting, but each time I SCORE and find an issue with a beloved story from my childhood, it’s like striking gold!
