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Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Forsythe "Jughead" Jones.
Archie's first appearance, in Pep Comics 22, December 1941, was drawn by Bob Montana, and written by Vic Bloom. Archie was conceived by John L. Goldwater, who some believe was influenced by the Andy Hardy movies starring Mickey Rooney.
History
Archie Comics started out in 1939 as MLJ Comics, named after the first initials of its three founders Morris Coyne, Louis Silberkleit and John L. Goldwater.
Early MLJ titles featured generic superheroes, remembered in the lore of comic collector's trivia. The Shield was the first flag-themed superhero, a year before Captain America. The Comet was the first superhero killed in the line of duty. The Hangman (the Comet's younger brother) might be the most brutal superhero of the '40s. Roy the Superboy preceded Superboy by a decade, and Steel Sterling was dubbed "the Man of Steel" before Superman. None remained popular.
Archie began as a back-up feature replacing Madam Satan, and within a year was a hit. So much so that by 1945, MLJ changed its name to Archie Comics. In 60 years Archie still hasn't graduated from high school.
Over the years Archie Comics has published innumerable Archie spin-offs and variant series. Some of the odder series feature Archie and his friends cast as superhero versions of themselves or playing spies in a parody of The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
Several attempts have been made to revive MLJ's original superhero line, without success. Today Archie Comics would rather forget its superheroes, but occasionally some appear in their comics, if only for the sake of maintaining a trademark.
Archie Universe characters
- Archibald "Archie" Andrews
- Betty Cooper
- Veronica Lodge
- Forsythe "Jughead" P. Jones
- Reginald "Reggie" Mantle
- Dilton Doiley, the nerd
- Moose Mason, an athlete who is not so good in his studies and possessive about his girlfriend
- Midge Klump, Moose's girlfriend
- Chuck Clayton, an athlete
- Ethel Muggs, an unattractive looking teenager who always tries to win over Jughead, albeit unsuccessfully
- Aquarius, student, a hippie
- Ms. Beazley, the cook in the school cafetaria
- Mr. Waldo Weatherbee, the principal, popularly referred to as 'The Bee'
- Ms. Geraldine Grundy, a teacher
- Mrs. Hagley, a teacher
- Mr. Hiram Lodge
- Professor Flutesnoot, teacher
- Nancy Harris, Chuck's girlfriend
- Pop Tate, owner of the Choklit Shoppe
- Cheryl Blossom
- Coach Kleats
- Coach Clayton
- and all of the teenagers' parents.
Super heroes
The Archie Comics line published the occasional dramatic action-adventure superhero comic.
- 1940s
- Shield
- Dusty (Shield's Sidekick)
- Comet
- Mr. Mystic
- Black Hood
- Hangman
- The Wizard
- Roy the Superboy (Wizard's sidekick)
- The Web
- Steel Sterling
- Mr. Satan
- Red Rube
- The Fox
- Black Jack
- Captain Flag
- 1960s
- The Fly
- Fly-Girl
- Jaguar
- Lancelot Strong
- Shield II
(Hangman and The Wizard become villains during that period)
Direct spin-offs
- Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
- Josie and the Pussycats
Other series published by Archie
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Katy Keene
Archie comics in technology
The Archie search engine and Veronica search engine were named after the characters Archie and Veronica, while the Jonzy's Universal Gopher Hierarchy Excavation and Display is named after Jughead.
External links
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