Phenomenal Digest, actually. A ton of the reprinted stuff was great.

Not really feeling the "New Look" story, if only because the whole "Girl on the baseball team" controversy kind of dates things. How many schools out there actually have this issue?

But the other stuff is good. A great DeCarlo-drawn bit with Betty exaggerating an ankle sprain for Archie's attention. A MODERN Cousin Leroy appearance is a surprise (and we actually see where HE lives, instead of just being some visiting pain in the buttocks). There's a fun Ron & Mrs. Lodge story where they go gallavanting across Europe to find a missing earring while poor Mr. Lodge has to sit there and take it. The "thieves try to follow them around to rob them" subplot is kind of a backdrop to an actual fun relationship between Ron & her mom, and the art makes Hermione look younger and hotter that *I* can ever recall seeing. Which artist handled this, anyways? It looks semi-modern.

DeCarlo-drawn bikini stuff as well. Well that makes this an insta-seller for me. There's a nice Cheryl & Betty Becoming Friends story as well. Can't say I share Tuxedo Mark's appreciation for a possible romance here (I mean, aside from the obvious 'girls kissing is hot' aspect, of course), but it's nice to see them being friends. Did they ever develop this any further? And I'm curious as to the artist here as well.

And a funny gag strip involving Archie thinking Ron wanted him to douse her in water. Big mistake.

This is easily one of the better Digests I've read in a long, long time. Almost all of the reprinted material was great.

There's a fun Ron & Mrs. Lodge story where they go gallavanting across Europe to find a missing earring while poor Mr. Lodge has to sit there and take it.

That story confused me. Are they looking for *the* missing earring or simply an exact replacement for it?

If the former, how does Hermione know she lost it in Europe? If the latter, surely, this is excessive, even for a Lodge woman.

Veronica could take a pic of the earring that they have, post it online, and wait for someone out there to find a match.

There's a nice Cheryl & Betty Becoming Friends story as well. Can't say I share Tuxedo Mark's appreciation for a possible romance here (I mean, aside from the obvious 'girls kissing is hot' aspect, of course), but it's nice to see them being friends. Did they ever develop this any further?

Yes, but I'm not sure how much that it was acknowledged outside of Cheryl's solo title (if at all).

There was a story where they were on the beach and got into an adventure or whatever, and it turned out to be a set-up by a low-budget film director to get them to "star" in his film. Cheryl was able to get everyone paid for their roles. The ultra-cute Betty/Cheryl hug is a bonus.

There's a story where Cheryl borrows her mom's magic 8 ball to play around, and she takes its "No" response to her question of if she's more beautiful than Betty way too seriously. She invites Betty over for a makeover / fashion shoot for her teenzine, "Fresh" (the concept being two friends hanging out and giving makeovers). After hanging out for a bit, Cheryl intentionally buries Betty under lots of make-up and is disappointed when the 8 ball still gives her a "No" answer. Betty places her hands on Cheryl's shoulders and asks what's wrong. Cheryl explains. Betty says Cheryl shouldn't listen to a magic 8 ball. The two of them laugh it off and walk elsewhere (probably to the bathroom to get Betty cleaned up). I believe this story was reprinted recently.

There's a story where Betty invites Veronica and Cheryl to the Super Duper Cooper Christmas, but both rich girls plan fancy Christmas parties that end up failing, so they eventually show up at Betty's house, and everyone has a great time.

There's a story where Cheryl and Betty have started a bodyguard service to protect celebrities, and, at Betty's insistence, they bring Veronica on-board to have a set of three hair colors.

There might be more friendship stories that I'm forgetting at the moment.

And I'm curious as to the artist here as well.

Script & Pencils: Holly G!
Inking: Rudy Lapick
Lettering: Bill Yoshida
Coloring: Barry Grossman

I'll add another two stories that are more general Cheryl-is-friends-with-everyone stories:

Cheryl decides to throw a party while her parents are out of town. She calls Archie and has him round up "the gang". Apparently, Cheryl is now part of "the gang". When the party's over, Betty specifically thanks Cheryl for a nice time as she leaves.

Cheryl is the manager of The Archies and gets a gig for them in Australia. She, Betty, and Veronica share a tent while camping in the Outback. At the end of the story, Cheryl joins the band on the stage.

We watched an episode of Degrassi in either middle school or high school. We also watched an episode of "21 Jump Street". I guess these were meant to be "educational" episodes, but they were more likely an excuse for the teachers to not teach.

Anyway, at the time, I had no idea that Degrassi was Canadian.