Pin Up
by Unknown
Character(s): Betty
1 page

Reggie and Betty are walking along a sidewalk when they come to a movie theater. Reggie suggests they take in a movie. Betty agrees, saying Reggie can go in this one, and she'll take in the one across the street.

This story, as short as it is, is still confusing. The most obvious question that I have to ask is: Riverdale has 2 movie theaters - and across the street from each other at that? Besides that, there are 2 movie posters behind Reggie and Betty. The one closer to the door that Reggie's pointing at has the words "Horror of" in the title, but it also says "Next Week". The other poster (closer to Betty) is a Western called, I believe, "Gunslinger From Cheyenne", and it's "Now Playing". Both posters are on the same building. Are they meant to be the movies that Reggie and Betty, respectively, want to see? Am I missing something here?


"Stargazer" Parts One and Two
by Unknown
Character(s): Betty and Veronica
11 pages

Betty and Veronica are at Veronica's house. Betty likes Classy Cola, a new product of Mr. Lodge's new soda company. Unfortunately, the sales are fizzing. Betty spots "America's ultimate babe", Blondonna, on TV. She's every guy's "dreamy date"(?), including Archie's. Supposedly, she's dated "over 100 Hollywood hunks"(?!) and broken every one of their hearts. Blondonna Barnes (and her agent, Mr. Starmaker) just happens to be in the mansion. She's gonna be the new spokesperson for Classy Cola in an attempt to boost sales. The girls are excited (to say the least) to meet her. Blondonna will be staying with the Lodges to hide out from the public. Blondonna gets the girls to take her shopping where no one will recognize her (of course, Veronica chooses the Riverdale Mall, because it's "always so crowded") tomorrow. Blondonna makes a personal phone call. The next day, the trio go to the mall. Blondonna is wearing some of Veronica's clothes to disguise herself. While the trio chat (Blondonna reveals that her wild styles and heartbreaker reputation are just part of her Rock image), they're followed by a figure in a trenchcoat and hat. Blondonna decides to go shopping by herself for a while. Betty spots the figure following Blondonna. Betty and Veronica go after them but lose them. Betty says the "guy" looked suspicious. Veronica agrees and says he's also familiar, but she can't remember where she saw him. Later, Blondonna meets up with the girls. Veronica wonders to herself where Blondonna's packages from shopping are. Betty informs Blondonna about the "strange guy". Blondonna asks what guy. At Veronica's house, Veronica expresses her concerns about Blondonna to Mr. Lodge. Mr. Lodge also has concerns about her - specifically, her wild image. He wants Classy Cola to be a refreshing drink for the entire family, not just a fad drink for young fun seekers. Blondonna comes in and asks Mr. Lodge for permission to take a stroll around the estate. Mr. Lodge grants it. When Blondonna leaves the room, Veronica endorses Blondonna to Mr. Lodge. Mr. Lodge leaves the room. Betty spots the guy outside through a window. Veronica runs to tell Mr. Lodge to get Smithers to alert the police. Minutes later, Betty, Veronica, Mr. Lodge, and Smithers run outside. It's nighttime, and there's a full moon. Mr. Lodge has a golf club, and Smithers has a rolling pin and a flashlight. The police are on their way. The foursome find Blondonna and the guy. Smithers shines the flashlight on them. Veronica recognizes the guy as Zack Evans, who, Betty exposits, is the lead guitarist in Blondonna's band. Zack and Blondonna are secretly married and make arrangements to secretly meet each other sometimes. No one is supposed to know, because Mr. Starmaker thinks it'll be bad for her career. Veronica, Betty, and Mr. Lodge suggest Blondonna tell everyone. Zack agrees. Blondonna asks about Mr. Starmaker. Mr. Lodge says he'll handle him and adds that Blondonna has a long-term deal with Classy Cola. Two months later, Betty, Mr. Lodge, and Veronica watch Blondonna and Zack's commercial. They tie their love of Classy Cola to their love of each other and Rock and Roll. Mr. Lodge says that commercial boosted sales. Betty says Blondonna's fans adore her new image and that her latest release, "Rockin' Wedding Vows", is number one. Mr. Lodge is glad that everything worked out, but he guesses a lot of guys are heartbroken now that Blondonna's married. Veronica and Betty get an image of a heartbroken Archie in their minds, say that's okay with them, and slap five.

This is a pretty good story. I predicted that the mysterious figure wasn't a bad guy from his first appearance, but I still enjoyed finding out exactly who he is. I have to wonder, though, how Betty knew that he was a guy, and how Veronica found him familiar, if his face was in the shadows until near the end of the story.


"It's a Scream"
by Unknown
Character(s): Betty and Veronica
6 pages

Betty is reading a book on how to find inner peace and tranquility. She tells her mom that petty things are not going to bother her anymore. Veronica calls and asks what Betty's going to wear to the dance tonight. Betty bought a new dress and has to pick it up. She'll stop by and show it to Veronica. On her way to the dress shop, Betty knocked over by a runaway dog and its owner. Her hair, which she'd just washed and set, is ruined. The boy apologizes, but then Betty takes responsibility for it. Betty gets the dress but then is splashed with water by a passing car. Betty takes responsibility for it. She arrives at Veronica's house and shows the dress to her. Veronica says it's tacky, suggests Betty get her money back, and suggests she wear another dress. Betty asks Veronica what she (Veronica) is going to wear. Veronica says she hasn't given it any thought and leaves the room. Betty notices the exact same dress hanging on a door. Betty leaves Veronica's house angry but says she'll remain calm. When she arrives home, her mother informs her that Archie's mother called and said he was sick, so he won't be able to take Betty to the dance. Betty excuses herself, goes in the backyard, and stomps on her book and screams.

This is an okay story. The extremes of Betty brushing off things that would genuinely upset anyone and then taking out her pent-up rage on a book was kind of amusing.


Money Matters...Not!
by Unknown
Character(s): Veronica
5 pages

Veronica is riding in a car with a guy named Marty. He stops for gas. Veronica offers to pay, since he drove her to the mall. Marty refuses to accept her money and buys $3.00 worth of gas. Veronica thinks that Marty is new in town but has old-fashioned ideas about money. Marty and Veronica say they like each other, but Marty says Veronica's wealth ends up getting them special treatment. The gas station attendant then recognizes Veronica and offers to wash Marty's window. Marty drops Veronica off at home, and they decide to have a picnic at a nearby lake tomorrow. Veronica wants to have her chef prepare stuff, but Marty decides to make some stuff and suggests Veronica make some peanut butter sandwiches. Veronica goes inside and writes in her diary, liking the idea of Marty refusing to let her pay for anything. The next day, Marty arrives on his bike. His car broke down, and he doesn't have enough money to get it fixed just yet. Veronica says they'll take her sports car. Marty asks if they could cycle. Veronica agrees. At the lake, Marty suggests they picnic on an island. Veronica agrees and wants to rent a boat. Marty still has two dollars and decides to rent an old canoe. They paddle to the lake. Veronica agrees that it was a good deal. When they sit down to eat, Marty is happy that, for once, Veronica being the richest girl in town will have nothing to do with how much fun that they have. Veronica agrees but then thinks she better not tell Marty that her dad owns this island.

This is a very nice story. Veronica seems perfectly reasonable here. Except for being rich, she seems like Betty - even writing in a diary and having an orange cat.


"Just Be Yourself"
by Unknown
Character(s): Betty
5 pages

Betty is at the laundromat, doing laundry. An ad guy spots her and offers her a role in a TV commercial. He gives the script to her to take home and study. Later, at home, Betty is looking at herself in a mirror and trying out different voices. Her dad walks in the front door and tells her to just be herself. The next day, at 8:00 AM, they film the commercial for "Blast" Detergent. They do 26 takes, but Betty keeps messing up her lines. Betty sits down and says "It's no use! I can't do this!" The cameraman asks the ad guy if he should stop taping. The ad guy is surprised that the camera's still rolling and tells him to keep on taping. He tells Betty that they can use the tape of her that they've already shot. Betty exclaims "Really?! That's terrific! Great! I can't believe it!" A few weeks later, Betty bursts into her house and tells her parents that her commercial will be on in a few minutes. The commercial goes as follows: Betty: "It's no use! I can't do this!" Ad guy: "Don't be discouraged! I'll wash those clothes in new 'Blast'! Now! What do you think of your laundry?" Betty: "Terrific! Great! I can't believe it!" Betty's dad says that was some really good acting. Betty says he was right, hugs him, and says "All I had to do was be myself!"

This is a nice story. It kind of feels like a Betty's Diary story. Betty got to be on TV. I'm confused about the first take of the commercial, though. Betty didn't screw up her lines - at least not that we saw.


"Surprised Party"
by Unknown
Character(s): Betty and Veronica
5 pages

Betty and Veronica are at Veronica's house. Veronica finds a recipe for lemon meringue pie in a magazine and decides to bake one for Archie as a surprise. After some bantering, Veronica goes to the store for ingredients, and Betty goes with her. On the way, they meet Archie, and Veronica warns Betty to be careful of what she says. Betty accidentally lets Archie know. Archie finds it humorous rather than nice, so Veronica yells at both of them. Betty keeps accidentally blabbing more details to Archie. Veronica goes to the store alone. Archie figures out that Veronica is baking a pie for him, which shocks Betty(?!). Later, at Veronica's house, Veronica ruins the pie. Archie and Betty arrive. Archie asks where his pie is. Veronica says it's really for Betty and throws the pie in Betty's face.

This story is kind of cute. It's an older story (maybe from the 1950s or 1960s), judging by the artwork. Betty is particularly dense and loose-lipped here, though.


"Poor Little Rich Girl"
by Unknown
Character(s): Betty and Veronica
6 pages

Betty and Veronica are at Veronica's house. Veronica tells Betty that she shouldn't be envious of her, because money can't buy happiness. If you take away all of her things, she's a girl just like Betty. Betty keeps pointing out that Veronica still has Archie. Mr. Lodge comes into Veronica's bedroom and asks her to mail an urgent letter for him. Before she leaves, she tells Betty to try on her new sheath (dress). Betty tries it on, looks at herself in Veronica's full-length mirror, and thinks she'd give her "eye teeth"() to change places with Veronica. Betty bumps into a footstool and falls over on her head. Betty thinks up a scheme of pretending to have amnesia, looking in Veronica's bag, and finding that she's Veronica Lodge. Betty goes downstairs. Veronica arrives with Archie, who she ran into. Betty says she fell on her head and declares that she's Veronica Lodge. Archie points out the real Veronica. Betty shoves the "impostor" out of the house (Archie goes with Veronica). Veronica believes Betty's story, but Archie just wants Veronica to get her dad to throw Betty out. Veronica says it might make Betty's condition worse and wants to warn her dad to play along. Betty overhears this and grins. Mr. Lodge has his doubts, because "There's nothing smarter than a dumb blonde". Betty calls her "old pal" Reggie to gloat about what she's done and says that Veronica is his. Mr. Lodge overhears this and decides to teach Betty a lesson. He makes Betty wear work clothes and do a lot of chores, giving the impression that, when Veronica's friends aren't around, Veronica does the housework, so Mr. Lodge can make money by not paying servants. Betty escapes out of a window and runs away, much to Mr. Lodge's glee. Betty runs over to Archie and Veronica and gives Archie to Veronica, telling Archie to take care of "this poor little girl" and telling Veronica that she won't try to get Archie anymore. This leaves Veronica and Archie confused. Later, Reggie runs up to the "evil genius" and asks where the "ex-heiress" is, so he can get a date. Betty beats up Reggie and walks away. Reggie says the money went to her head fast.

Betty is a complete creep in this story. I wanted to call her something else. She's selfish. She's criminal. As Veronica said in the previous story, Betty is "the nastiest best friend a girl ever had for a best friend". The two stories seem to be from the same era, too, judging by the artwork. Even if Betty did do something so mean, her mistake was gloating about it on the phone. Apparently, Reggie is her "old pal", which means that they're two of a kind. I love the lesson that Mr. Lodge teaches Betty, but I gotta say he's generous for not calling the police and having Betty arrested. And why does Betty beat up Reggie at the end? It wasn't his idea. She brought all of this upon herself. Betty Cooper, man; nobody messes with her - not even Chuck Norris. My final comment is that this story ends the love triangle. Yes, ends it. Betty gave up. Veronica won. If it wasn't for the fact that each story is set in its own little universe, the writers would have a tough time trying to re-establish the love triangle - not that they need to, of course; the stories are better without it.


There is then a 1-page "Classic Veronica" puzzle where you put the ovals in numerical order to find out why Veronica is always on the phone with boys: "Because she's a real operator!"


"Target Tactics"
by Unknown
Character(s): Veronica
1 page

Reggie has a dartboard set up outside with girls' names on it. Reggie suggests Archie let the dartboard decide who will be his date tonight. That way, Archie gives "all the girls in town" a chance. Veronica says that's a coincidence, because she was just about to suggest the same thing. According to her, why should she monopolize all of Archie's affection? She wants Archie to throw the dart at her target, though, which has fewer girls' names and a much larger area for Veronica's name. This surprises Archie and Reggie.

There's not much to this story. It's cute. It seems to be from the same era as the previous two, judging by the artwork. Apparently, going by Reggie's dartboard, there are only around a dozen girls in town. It's also interesting that Veronica makes Betty the bullseye on her dartboard.


"I Spy, You Spy"
by Unknown
Character(s): Betty and Veronica
6 pages

Betty and Veronica are at Betty's house, watching a romantic movie in Betty's bedroom. Betty leaves to get more popcorn for them. Veronica sees Betty's diary unlocked and reads it. She finds it hilarious. Betty returns and is angry but holds off on doing anything. After the movie, Betty invites Veronica over to watch the sequel tomorrow night. After Veronica leaves, Betty musters up a little creative writing. The next night, during the movie, Betty leaves for more popcorn. Veronica sneaks another peek in "the saga of Betty Cooper". Veronica reads an elaborate story about Betty being a foreign spy and wanting to bring Archie back to the homeland. Betty is standing outside and cracking up. Veronica excuses herself and goes to warn Archie. After Betty calls Archie, Archie fills in his parents, and Betty calls the Lodges. Veronica arrives at Archie's house and asks for Archie. His dad says he's off somewhere in a hurry with Betty. After Veronica leaves, Mr. Andrews feels guilty, but Mrs. Andrews says Mr. Lodge wants to teach her a lesson. Veronica goes home to get her parents' help, but Smithers says they're off with Betty and Archie. Veronica freaks out and believes she's "a victim of Agent Betty Cooper". Mr. Lodge, Archie, and Betty come out of the next room, busting Veronica. Veronica excuses herself to go to bed, but Mr. Lodge asks her if this little adventure teaches her something about invading others' privacy. Veronica says yes: if you're going to snoop in someone's diary, make sure that the door is closed. This worries Betty.

This is a cute story, but I find it hard to believe that Veronica, who, according to herself, has known Betty since they were little kids, could fall for such a ridiculous story.


"Trivial Pursuit!"
by Unknown
Character(s): Betty and Veronica
5 pages

Veronica and Archie are at Veronica's house. Veronica can't go for a ride in the country with him today, because her dad wants her to entertain one of his client's children. Archie is immediately jealous, but Veronica angrily says it's a girl. Archie is immediately in love and decides to help. They go inside, and Archie finds out it's just a kid named Megan Stewart. Megan is rude to Veronica and Archie. Mr. Lodge reminds Veronica to take Megan somewhere. Veronica forces Archie to come along, threatening to see less of him and more of Reggie. Veronica has Archie drive over to Betty's house. Veronica dumps Megan there. Betty makes brownies, and then they play the home version of the TV game show, "Top Trivia". It's a board game. Betty and Megan have a great time. At 5:00 PM, Betty takes Megan back to the Lodge estate. Megan says her dad will love to meet somebody that plays "Top Trivia" as good as she (Megan) does. It turns out that Megan's dad is the producer of "Top Trivia" on TV. He gives his card to Betty and tells her to stop by the studio tomorrow to arrange the details. When Veronica and Archie return, Veronica is shocked to learn that Betty will be on TV. When Betty and Megan leave, Mr. Lodge suggests that he and Veronica watch "Top Trivia" on TV.

This is a cute story. Betty does seem to be better with kids than Veronica is. Other board games that Betty has are Parcheesi, Monopoly, and Checkers.


"It's My Party!"
by Unknown
Character(s): Betty and Veronica
5 pages

On Friday, Betty's parents are leaving to go to a lake for their anniversary for the weekend. Alice is worried about leaving Betty alone and suggests that she stay with her (Betty's) grandmother, but Betty would rather stay at home and have Veronica over. Veronica immediately calls and gets confirmation that Betty's parents have left. Veronica comes right over to arrange a party, because "Every teenager has a party while their parents are out of town". Moose, Midge, Judhead, and Reggie (and perhaps Archie) are some of the guests. Betty's mom calls to say they're coming back tomorrow morning instead of Sunday night, because it's not quite as peaceful as they remember there. After the party, it's after midnight, and Betty's house is trashed. Veronica calls a bunch of businesses and has Betty's house fixed by morning. Betty's parents arrive and believe that Betty repainted the living room and got new furniture for their anniversary. Betty goes along with that.

This is a cute story. It's amazing what Veronica can do with money, and it's nice that Betty didn't tell the truth to her parents and went along with the cover-up.

***review continued in next post***

I thought that the first few pages of #150 were incredibly well done, and I liked the layout very much.  Come to think of it, a lot of the "collectors issues" have really surprised me, like in Tales From Riverdale #1, where the first quarter of the book was done like a yearbook.

Definitely a must-have for all Archie collectors...and one book closer to the new debut of Betty and Veronica in issue #151.

Just 2 weeks to go!