I figure that since the old one might be dead (is there any hope of recovering the old stuff?), we may as well take stock of what the BEST "Missing Topics" had. I used to post on here a LOT, but as the original content trickled and I'd said my piece on most of the history, there was less talk about and I kind of faded away. I remember a lot of really fascinating discussions going on, however.

I liked the polls.

I liked reading the full stories. The image gallery was great 

I loved What have done today? & Important days for us Archie Fans & Show us your Archie Collection & What Comics & Books are you reading?

I remember seeing one called "Which character smells the worst" and now I'll never have a chance to put my answer: DILTON. He must reek of every chemical known to science.


There's a chance we might get the old site back, Oldiesmann is having a friend look into it, but it's just a chance.

I liked the story/panel threads for characters, particularly "The Betty is Crazy Collection" and "Best of Jughead" also, the epic Jughead/Veronica feud thread. 


I joined this forum when posting was a bit slower but I did like the discussion threads e.g. What do you think the gang is up to ten years later? If x/y married... etc.

The Betty is Crazy collection. Panel of the Day. What did you do today?

Quote from: daren on May 03, 2016, 03:25:10 AM
I remember seeing one called "Which character smells the worst" and now I'll never have a chance to put my answer: DILTON. He must reek of every chemical known to science.


There's a chance we might get the old site back, Oldiesmann is having a friend look into it, but it's just a chance.

  I never came across that thread. I would have loved to have read everyone's comments.
I can't imagine anyone smelling bad. Just the boys after football practice.

I'm more of a fan of the discussion threads. I read the ones featuring the comics occasionally.

I really enjoyed Melody's Malapropisms.

I too enjoyed the Crazy Betty thread, it's a shame that it got lost in the Server Purge along with other favorites, like the polls and my Archie Multiverse theory thread.


I also liked the Sabrina Battle Royal thread too.

Quote from: daren on May 03, 2016, 03:25:10 AM
I remember seeing one called "Which character smells the worst" and now I'll never have a chance to put my answer: DILTON. He must reek of every chemical known to science.

It might seem like I'm making a habit of disagreeing with you, but really that's not the case. My logical argument would be that Dilton is smart enough to conduct his experiments with volatile chemicals and gases wearing the proper personal protective equipment, and so would be the least likely (among RHS students) to be the worst-smelling (unless it was an issue of personal hygiene, but there's no indication in any of the stories that Dilton is neglectful of this). Dilton has his own lab, and is very familiar with lab safety protocols and all of the various types of protective gear. Dilton is certain to be the only student at RHS that can boast ownership of his own chemical hazmat and biohazard suit(s) - they might be two different suits or one suit that combines features of both, probably with a self-contained pure air supply. These would be made of chemical resistant, non-permeable materials. After he has used the suit and he's exited the laboratory, he knows he needs to remove it and place it in a container for later decontamination and scrubbing. Knowing Dilton's interest in every conceivable disciple of the physical sciences, he probably owns an anti-radiation suit as well.

It's true that there have been stories where Dilton has made miscalculations in his experiments and inventions (he is a genius, yet not infallible either). Most of these experiments and inventions involved the sciences of mechanical engineering and physics. He knows his basic science principles well, but when dealing with new experimental devices there are always random factors (some completely unforseeable) that he may have failed to account for in his equations. There are gray areas involved with any new invention or any science principle that isn't yet well-understood, so they involve a certain amount of trial and error, and adjusting the balance of the physical forces involved in the initial hypothetical mathematics. When it comes to basic Chemistry and Physics at the high school level, however, Dilton can just breeze through the courses, and in fact is eminently qualified to teach either of those classes at RHS. At Chemistry he's a whiz, because the chemical properties of elements and the chemical reactions between them have been well-known to science for ages, and the Periodic Table isn't about to change. They're just going over stuff that he's already committed to memory, anyway. There's no doubt that Dilton will be named valedictorian of his graduating class at RHS. In the digital exclusive DILTON miniseries, he was offered a chance to transfer to a school for gifted youths, but he ultimately decided to turn down the opportunity to remain at Riverdale High. Why? He values the social experience he's getting at Riverdale by being among people his own age, and teenagers from different backgrounds and with different interests, and he wanted to remain with his friends. Dilton doesn't want to just socialize with other geniuses closer to his own I.Q.

Now, if we're still discussing the topic of Chemistry, who do we know that has the worst safety record in the history of Professor Flutesnoot's chem lab? Archie Andrews, that's who. He causes the most accidents with chemicals in the lab, so he gets my vote as the one most likely to accidentally create a foul chemical odor, and of course Archie NEVER wears the proper personal protective gear, so any pungent fumes he creates are likely to cling to the fibers of his clothes, or possibly get in his hair or skin cells.

The other potential candidate for worst-smelling would be Jughead. There are several stories I can recall where Mrs. Jones frets over her son's inability to keep his clothes clean due to his sloppy eating habits. Since Jughead eats a LOT of food every day, and at least a portion of the variety of foods he consumes are bound to have some unpleasant food odors, that makes him a likely suspect in the worst-smelling category. Another point seldom dwelled upon is the fact that Jughead eats far more meals a day than the average person, yet how often do you see him brushing his teeth or using mouthwash? There are at least a few stories as well where Jughead's reluctance to take baths is noted. That and the fact that he spends a lot of time hanging around with and touching Hot Dog. Large dogs with long hair can attract and hold a lot of odors, and there are a few stories where I can recall it mentioned that Hot Dog was in need of a bath because he smelled bad, and of course, he's going to avoid that as well. The combination of a lot of different food stains on his clothes (which can attract bacteria), not bathing as often as his mother would like, and spending a lot of time hanging around a big dog that smells are all factors that aren't doing Jughead any favors in this sweepstakes. The other day there was a story I read where Jughead's mother wanted him to buy a new pair of shoes, because the sneakers which he was wearing were practically falling apart. At one point he had to remove the sneakers, and Archie was shown picking one up with two fingers, holding it away from himself. Smell wasn't mentioned specifically in the story, but Archie had that disgusted look on his face like when you're forced to touch something smelly and dirty like garbage. There seem to be quite a number of stories that remark on Jughead's reluctance to part with his old worn clothing. While that doesn't constitute proof that they smell, you have to wonder how many food stains those clothes have absorbed over the years. It pains me to say all this, because Jughead is definitely one of my favorite of all the male characters.

As a result of my like for him making me not want to conclude that Jughead is the worst-smelling, I must instead search for another candidate. If it doesn't turn out to be Archie (seems unlikely, due to his known mojo as a babe magnet), then I have to find someone else. But who could it be? If a character in Archie Comics was particularly foul-smelling, wouldn't we know that because everyone would avoid being around him? Then it occurred to me that if you never let yourself get close to a certain person, you'd never know how bad-smelling they were. There's one character in Archie Comics that everyone avoids anyway, so if they all try to get away from him, they'd never even get close enough to remark on how bad he smelled. That one person would be... JINX MALLOY.

Some of these threads are probably still on the wayback machine. You could recopy them.

^ Some are, but most of the pics are broken. If you just want the writing then it's fine but if you want to see all those cool panels then the wayback machine's worthless.