Hello everybody!

I'm a longtime Archie fan.  I've been reading Archie comics since I was 4 or 5 (I'm 29 now), and they helped me learn to read. This board looks like a lot of fun.

I have hundreds of comics and digests (although at the moment I don't have access to them because I'm in the process of moving).  I'm not really a "serious" collector--- I don't keep them in any kind of order, and I don't care much about their condition, but I just like to have them around so I'll always have a supply of light, stress-free reading.

My two favorite of Archie characters are Jughad and Veronica--- which may seem a little strange since they are sort of "opposites" personality-wise.

Actually many of my favorite stories are ones that feature some kind of conflict between Veronica and Jughead.  There are those that deal with Jughead's connoisseur-ship vs. Veronica's awful cooking; some that deal with Jughead trying in vain to convince Archie that he needs to lose Veronica and  go for Betty; some involving a fancy society party Veronica is holding but she doesn't invite the uncouth Jughead, but he manages to crash it somehow; some where Veronica was supposed to kiss Jughead for a school play and refuses; etc., etc.  All these play off the tension between their two personalities in ways that are really humorous.

Anyway, I look forward to meeting new people on the boards and discussing Archie comics!

Athena

Welcome to the board Athena.

It's always nice to see someone new join.  Feel free to share more of your thoughts about what you enjoy in the comics.  It's always fun to see what each person likes and dislikes.  I was actually very surprised to see that there are sometimes Archie comics fans who don't really like Archie but enjoy the other characters.

Anyway,I hope you enjoy reading and posting here.
Tom

Welcome!^.^

Thanks for the welcome, everyone!

I was actually very surprised to see that there are sometimes Archie comics fans who don't really like Archie but enjoy the other characters.

It seems so mean and wrong to say it, but I guess I'm one who doesn't really "like" Archie either--- I mean he's too average, not really very colorful... of course it depends on the writer.

Speaking of which--- while I certainly enjoy the artwork of Archie stories, I am even more interested in the writing (which I guess makes some sense, as I'm a grad student in literature).  Has anyone else noticed how some Archie writers have really distinctive individual styles?  For example, Bob Bolling stories have a lot of ellipses (...) and LOTS of puns and alliteration.  George Gladir stories often are organized in the form of a list of things--- for example, Betty and Veronica might be sitting at Pop Tate's listing the awful things that have happened on their dates with Archie, or the reasons they're dreading going back to school in the fall. Another writer (I'm not sure what his name is, but he's the one that writes most or all of the Lil' Jinx stories, and a lot of others with Mr. Weatherbee especially) seems to have really awkward, stilted phrasing.  I wish I could provide some quotes to illustrate this, but as I said I don't have most of my collection on hand. 

I'm sure other people here have noticed this too--- who are some of your favorite writers?

And as for artwork--- of course I really like Dan DeCarlo, and Samm Schwartz...

Welcome to the addiction of talking about Archie comics

Hey Athena! Welcome and hope you enjoy it here! And you can add me to the list of Jughead vs. Veronica stories lovers

Athena - I think some of the dislike of Archie is due in large part to the way he seems to treat Betty, how clumsy (yet lucky) he is, and ... well, that he's average too.

Speaking of which--- while I certainly enjoy the artwork of Archie stories, I am even more interested in the writing (which I guess makes some sense, as I'm a grad student in literature).  Has anyone else noticed how some Archie writers have really distinctive individual styles?  For example, Bob Bolling stories have a lot of ellipses (...) and LOTS of puns and alliteration.  George Gladir stories often are organized in the form of a list of things--- for example, Betty and Veronica might be sitting at Pop Tate's listing the awful things that have happened on their dates with Archie, or the reasons they're dreading going back to school in the fall. Another writer (I'm not sure what his name is, but he's the one that writes most or all of the Lil' Jinx stories, and a lot of others with Mr. Weatherbee especially) seems to have really awkward, stilted phrasing.  I wish I could provide some quotes to illustrate this, but as I said I don't have most of my collection on hand. 

I'm sure other people here have noticed this too--- who are some of your favorite writers?

And as for artwork--- of course I really like Dan DeCarlo, and Samm Schwartz...

I think in their own special way, all the Archie artists have that special something that sets them apart from the crowd, yet brings life to Archie and the gang.  I admit to being a huge Samm Schwartz fan myself as well, but I do appreciate the classics as done by Dan DeCarlo and Harry Lucey.

And, actually, if you're lucky enough to be on the same time they are, Dan Parent, Bill Galvan, and Fernando Ruiz are all members here.  There's also a man named Rik that posts previews of upcoming comics, so we're never left out of the loop.