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Archie Comics history Trivia Challenge

Started by DeCarlo Rules, September 30, 2017, 04:21:46 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

DeCarlo Rules

Just for fun, let's see if anyone knows the answer to this.


Question 1)  Other than ARCHIE, what is the name of the longest-running (according to total number of issues) ongoing title which Archie Comic Publications has had in its entire history?

Question 2)  How many years did that title run (+/- 6 months)?

Question 3)  How many issues of that title were published before it was cancelled?



Important Note:  Any title that was cancelled, but then restarted again immediately with a new #1 issue is ineligible for inclusion by adding up the number or issues in more than one volume of the title. This leaves out such obvious contenders as JUGHEAD and BETTY AND VERONICA. Good luck! If no one gets it, I'll reveal the answer next week.

Purgatori


DeCarlo Rules

#2
Quote from: Purgatori on September 30, 2017, 06:32:56 AM
I'll offer

1 - Pep
2 - 47 years
3 - 411

PEP would be the correct answer only if we were going by the number of years it was published, because PEP was published for the longest time (apart from ARCHIE) without being reset to a new volume #1. What I'm looking for is the series that was published continuously and produced the most issues without duplicate issue numbers.

One more clue: The series that produced the most issues in its run before being cancelled began after PEP, but continued to be published after PEP was cancelled, and wound up with more issues published than 411, even though it was only in continuous publication for less than 47 years. LAUGH is another series that was cancelled with its 400th issue, and then renumbered to a new volume #1, which ran for an additional 29 issues, so if I were allowing that, LAUGH would have beat PEP (as would JUGHEAD and BETTY AND VERONICA). But the answer here is a series which ran continously for more issues than PEP without being reset to a new volume #1.


rusty

If you're thinking of Archie Giant Series which ran from 1954-1992  (38 years), it actually produced fewer issues than Pep.  It ended with issue #632, but there were two gaps.


It skipped from #35 (Oct 65) to #136 (Dec 65)


and it skipped from #251 (Oct 76) to #452 (Dec 76)


I'm not sure why they skipped these numbers, but it means that there were only 332 issues in the series as opposed to 632.


I find it interesting, though, that Archie Giant Series actually continued a variety of canceled titles, including Pep (5 issues) and other titles such as Josie, Little Archie, Archie's Pals n Gals and Archie and Me.

DeCarlo Rules

#4
Quote from: rusty on October 03, 2017, 04:34:13 PM
If you're thinking of Archie Giant Series which ran from 1954-1992  (38 years), it actually produced fewer issues than Pep.  It ended with issue #632, but there were two gaps.


It skipped from #35 (Oct 65) to #136 (Dec 65)


and it skipped from #251 (Oct 76) to #452 (Dec 76)


I'm not sure why they skipped these numbers, but it means that there were only 332 issues in the series as opposed to 632.


I find it interesting, though, that Archie Giant Series actually continued a variety of canceled titles, including Pep (5 issues) and other titles such as Josie, Little Archie, Archie's Pals n Gals and Archie and Me.

You're right. I knew about the gap of 200 missing issues between 251 and 452, but I didn't know that was the second time they skipped ahead!

Which really makes me wonder what the deal was with that. I can see it happening once, because someone just goofed, and then once the issue was published, rather than try to correct it, they just went on with the mis-numbering as if nothing had happened. If it happened twice, then it seems like it was done deliberately somehow -- but for what possible purpose or to what advantage? It isn't like some of those cases where a comic book series continued on from the numbering of a previously-published cancelled series, for the purpose of saving the company from having to file with the PO for special mailing rates for subscriptions.

And I just bought 3 of those Archie Giant Series issues of PEP. Josie hung around for nearly the complete run of AGS, but Sabrina only got 2 issues shortly after her own title was cancelled (almost like they were using up inventory stories), and other series like the Madhouse Glads, That Wilkin Boy, and Reggie & Me got no issues at all in the AGS run. In the mid-to-late 1980s AGS was used to to test the waters for later series like Betty's Diary, Archie's Explorers of the Unknown, and Jughead's Time Police.

What strikes me as particularly weird about making PEP part of the AGS series is that there was nothing that appeared in PEP when it was still being published that was unique to that particular title. Those stories could have appeared in any of the Archie-related titles. Then again, AGS had some rotating issues like Betty & Veronica Spectacular, World of Archie and World of Jughead which didn't have any particular theme to them, unlike the seasonal ones. Sometimes I suspect the whole point of AGS was to make it look like the company published a dozen more titles than they really did, because apart from things like Josie, Christmas Stocking, or Summer Fun, most of the contents were indistinguishable from what you'd find in any random issue of Archie, B&V, or Jughead.

irishmoxie

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on October 03, 2017, 07:36:08 PM
Quote from: rusty on October 03, 2017, 04:34:13 PM
If you're thinking of Archie Giant Series which ran from 1954-1992  (38 years), it actually produced fewer issues than Pep.  It ended with issue #632, but there were two gaps.


It skipped from #35 (Oct 65) to #136 (Dec 65)


and it skipped from #251 (Oct 76) to #452 (Dec 76)


I'm not sure why they skipped these numbers, but it means that there were only 332 issues in the series as opposed to 632.


I find it interesting, though, that Archie Giant Series actually continued a variety of canceled titles, including Pep (5 issues) and other titles such as Josie, Little Archie, Archie's Pals n Gals and Archie and Me.

You're right. I knew about the gap of 200 missing issues between 251 and 452, but I didn't know that was the second time they skipped ahead!

Which really makes me wonder what the deal was with that. I can see it happening once, because someone just goofed, and then once the issue was published, rather than try to correct it, they just went on with the mis-numbering as if nothing had happened. If it happened twice, then it seems like it was done deliberately somehow -- but for what possible purpose or to what advantage? It isn't like some of those cases where a comic book series continued on from the numbering of a previously-published cancelled series, for the purpose of saving the company from having to file with the PO for special mailing rates for subscriptions.

And I just bought 3 of those Archie Giant Series issues of PEP. Josie hung around for nearly the complete run of AGS, but Sabrina only got 2 issues shortly after her own title was cancelled (almost like they were using up inventory stories), and other series like the Madhouse Glads, That Wilkin Boy, and Reggie & Me got no issues at all in the AGS run. In the mid-to-late 1980s AGS was used to to test the waters for later series like Betty's Diary, Archie's Explorers of the Unknown, and Jughead's Time Police.

What strikes me as particularly weird about making PEP part of the AGS series is that there was nothing that appeared in PEP when it was still being published that was unique to that particular title. Those stories could have appeared in any of the Archie-related titles. Then again, AGS had some rotating issues like Betty & Veronica Spectacular, World of Archie and World of Jughead which didn't have any particular theme to them, unlike the seasonal ones. Sometimes I suspect the whole point of AGS was to make it look like the company published a dozen more titles than they really did, because apart from things like Josie, Christmas Stocking, or Summer Fun, most of the contents were indistinguishable from what you'd find in any random issue of Archie, B&V, or Jughead.


I'm still trying to figure out whether PEP or Pals n Gals had any unique Josie or Sabrina stories.

DeCarlo Rules

#6
Quote from: irishmoxie on October 04, 2017, 07:58:11 PM
I'm still trying to figure out whether PEP or Pals n Gals had any unique Josie or Sabrina stories.

Josie stories began appearing in both PEP and LAUGH Comics the same month that JOSIE #1 came out (from March 1963 through May 1965). After that, Josie shorts began appearing in ARCHIE'S TV LAUGH-OUT, then back to PEP for a 3 issues in 1974, 3 issues in 1975, 1 in 1982 and 1 in 1986. After that, back to LAUGH Comics for #400 (the final issue) and then in LAUGH (Vol. 2) #1-29, then to ARCHIE & FRIENDS.

Sabrina shorts began in ARCHIE'S MADHOUSE, moved to ARCHIE'S TV LAUGH-OUT with its first issue, then when it ended to LAUGH (Vol. 2) #1-29, and when that ended to ARCHIE & FRIENDS #2-15. Sabrina's appearances in PEP were very irregular -- she appeared in issues #345 (1/2-page gag), 382, 389, 398 (1-page gag), 407, & 411 (the final issue). Prior to Vol. 2 of LAUGH, she had appeared in issues #380 (1/2-page gag), 394 & 399 of LAUGH Comics, before it ended.

That covers all of their runs as regularly reoccurring features in the anthology titles. Josie appeared in ARCHIE'S PALS 'n GALS #23 (Winter 1962-63) in the 6-page "Tongue Twister" and in ARCHIE'S PALS 'n' GALS #194 (in the 1-page "Say Cheese!"). Sabrina's appearances in ARCHIE'S PALS 'n' GALS were limited to 1/2-page gags in #189, 193, 202, 213, 217, & 224 (and a 1-pager in #214). Both Josie and Sabrina could show up in any of the anthology titles, but it was as a very occasional feature, or more likely as a 1/2 to 2-page gag filler. To be honest, either of them were more likely to show up in a 1-page Hostess advertisement, or a house ad. I'm working up an index of Josie and Sabrina stories in the anthology titles. TV LAUGH-OUT is the only anthology title to have both Josie and Sabrina stories for the majority of its 106-issue run, although it varies issue by issue as to whether the stories are 5-6 pagers or 1/2-page to 1-page gags (issues #1-17 were the only ones to have any Sabrina stories longer than 6 pages).

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