Heres my choices for artist per character
Archie...Fernando Ruiz. He doesn't get enough credit for how good his Archie is.
(https://www.archiefans.com/index.php?media/file/fernandoruizarchie.418/preview/)
Betty...Dan DeCarlo. This was easy.
(https://www.archiefans.com/index.php?media/file/dandecarlobetty.421/preview/)
Jughead...Rex Lindsey. He looks like a nicer guy than most Jugheads.
(https://www.archiefans.com/index.php?media/file/rexlindseyjughead.420/preview/)
Reggie...Bob Montana. There's so many Reggies I like I'm just going with the creator already.
(https://www.archiefans.com/index.php?media/file/bobmontanareggie.419/preview/)
Veronica...Harry Lucey. This was easy too.
(https://www.archiefans.com/index.php?media/file/harryluceyveronica.422/preview/)
I'm going to separate my list by 20th Century and 21st Century (although the 1990s is obviously a period where the two generations of Archie artists overlap).
20th Century
Betty - #1 DAN DeCARLO; #2 AL HARTLEY
Veronica - #1 DAN DeCARLO; #2 HARRY LUCEY; #3 DAN PARENT (he was at a slight disadvantage, having "only" worked on her for 10 years at this point)
Cheryl - #1 DAN DeCARLO; #2 DAN PARENT; #3 HOLLY GOLIGHTLY (I was thinking of her as mostly a "modern" Archie artist, but her work on Cheryl was mainly in the 20th Century)
Sabrina - #1 should be DAN DeCARLO, but I wish he'd drawn the character more than he did in the early years. As it is, he did more Sabrina pages in the late 1990s. #2 STAN GOLDBERG; #3 DAN PARENT (1990s)
Josie, Melody, Valerie, Alexandra, Alex, Pepper, Sock, Albert and Alan M. - #1 DAN DeCARLO
Josie & the Pussycats - #2 STAN GOLDBERG
Archie - #1 BOB MONTANA (the newspaper strip, 1946-1975); #2 HARRY LUCEY; #3 BOB WHITE
Jughead - #1 GEORGE FRESE; #2 SAMM SCHWARTZ
Reggie - No one in particular. I haven't noticed any "main" artist on Reggie solo stories, nor have I read that many of them. Possibly the two names that come to mind first are GEORGE FRESE and BOB WHITE
Ginger Snapp - # HARRY LUCEY (no contest)
Wilbur - #1 DAN DeCARLO ("The NEW Wilbur", beginning in 1958)
That Wilkin Boy - #1 DAN DeCARLO; #2 STAN GOLDBERG
Madhouse Glads - #1 DAN DeCARLO; #2 STAN GOLDBERG (beginning to sound like a broken record here, but it just shows how important these two artists were)
...
21st Century
Archie - #1 PAT & TIM KENNEDY; #2 DAN PARENT; #3 GISELE LAGACE
Jughead - #1 REX LINDSEY; #2 FERNANDO RUIZ (a very strong showing mainly in JUGHEAD & FRIENDS DIGEST stories)
Reggie - #1 FERNANDO RUIZ
Chuck - #1 FERNANDO RUIZ
Dilton - #1 FERNANDO RUIZ
Betty - #1 DAN PARENT; #2 JEFF SHULTZ
Veronica - #1 DAN PARENT (...and here's where Veronica truly became his character. Full credit to Dan for fully developing her.); #2 JEFF SHULTZ
Cheryl - #1 DAN PARENT (and while Cheryl dwindled somewhat in importance following the 1990s, again, Dan deserves a lot of credit for developing her as much as she was)
Kevin - DAN PARENT (He doesn't even need a number here. It should go without saying, and I almost forgot to mention it.)
Josie & the Pussycats - #1 HOLLY GOLIGHTLY; #2 DAN PARENT; #3 GISELE LAGACE (only the one story)
Sabrina - #1 HOLLY GOLIGHTLY; #2 GISELE LAGACE (and she only drew her twice!); #3 DAN PARENT
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I need to make special mention here of Gisele Lagace. She put a very strong individual artistic stamp on these characters, in only a VERY small number of stories, while still keeping them true to the classic Archie style. That's a tough balancing act. This is true as well, to a somewhat lesser extent, of Holly G, whose work with the company was unfortunately too brief. Dan and Fernando put in more than 20 years with the company, and over the course of that span, you can see a real development of their individual styles, constantly honed over those years (particularly when the company loosened the reigns at little at the beginning of the 21st Century), but they've both contributed hundreds of pages over that span of time, so it's not surprising that they'd be among the most popular artists who are well-identified with these characters. That's true of Rex Lindsey as well.
I love Gisele's Betty & Veronica & Reggie.
I also The Kennedy's take on Betty & Veronica.
Rex Lindsey did the best Jughead & Reggie.
I also love Fernando's Reggie especially in Life With Archie.
Dan Parent & Holly G draw the best Cheryl & Jason.
Samm Schwartz did the best Jughead. I like Harry Lucey's Archie. DeCarlo's Betty and Veronica are gorgeous. His Reggie is also very good. Fernando Ruiz also draws a good Reggie.
Quote from: Original Sin on April 30, 2016, 01:49:43 PM
Samm Schwartz did the best Jughead. I like Harry Lucey's Archie. DeCarlo's Betty and Veronica are gorgeous. His Reggie is also very good. Fernando Ruiz also draws a good Reggie.
I agree. Also, there's something special about Al Hartley's Big Ethel, if you ask me.
Whenever I think of Reggie, I'm torn between Dan DeCarlo and Harry Lucey's wavy haired version!
Also, Joe Edwards' Mr. Weatherbee brings fond memories... as does Al Hartley's.
Let's not forget, Erica Henderson draws a perfect Betty! :tickedoff: lol!
Archie: Ruiz.
Jughead: Rex Lindsey.
Betty: Shultz. Just like his body language and facial expressions the best with his character along with great art.
Veronica: Fernando Ruiz. A close second is Schultz because of the facial expression and body language, but Ruiz does that with her too.
Reggie: Fernando Ruiz. Love that sneer.
Moose: Ruiz. I was thinking Lindsey, but I like how much wider and taller he is when Ruiz draws him.
Midge: Shultz. Fernando Ruiz is a very close second here.
Dilton: Fernando Ruiz
Cheryl Blossom: Fernando Ruiz. He never drew her all that much, but I really like his version. Holly G is a close second.
Trula Twyst: Rex Lindsey.
Chuck: Goldberg. Ah, before he became an artist and had an attitude and hung with Archie and was fun.
Nancy: Dan Parent.
Ethel: Lindsey
Pop Tate: Rex Lindsey
Toni Topaz: Fernando Ruiz.
Dede Dias: Fernando Ruiz.
Marcy: Dan Parent.
Mr. Lodge: Rex Lindsey.
Mr. Weatherbee: Goldberg.
Flutesnoot: Goldberg.
Ethel: Lindsey. It's a good compromise between not good looking and quirky. Shultz made this a hard decision.
Hot Dog: Lindsey.
Beazley: Ruiz because he draws her with stubble which makes me laugh.
Mr. Lodge: Fernando Ruiz. Ruiz does really great with characters with glasses.
Kevin Keller: Ruiz.
Josie and the Pussycats: Gisele.
Sabrina: Gisele.
Raj: Ruiz
Wendy Weatherbee: Ruiz
Chunk: Ruiz version is funny.
Tomoko: Dan Parent
Sheila Wu: Tim Levins. Yeah, I know he's only drawn maybe one Archie story...but I just liked it
Archie and Reggie --Harry Lucey
Betty and Veronica--Dan DeCarlo or Bob Bolling
Jughead --Samm Schwartz
Josie and the Pussycats---Dan DeCarlo
Though I like many I have a soft spot for DeCarlo and Lucey for most characters and Sammm Schwartz for Jughead.
I miss Stan Goldberg's art on all the charcters. Dan Parent does a great Kevin but I saw Gisele did a Kevin which was adorable. I loved how The Kennedys made Betty has a longer ponytail in the last Archie Issue & they changed Veronica's hair too. Even though they are not original Archie artists but Thomas Pitilli made me this gorgeous Reggie commission because I told him what I wanted him to draw. I wanted Reggie looking in the mirror but his reflection of sadness because he feels like alone. And Gabbie Gross did a awesome commission of both Reggie & Betty in her style . I wanted her draw a scene from Archie #1. Gabbie is a huge Reggie Mantle fan. I have told her a few times she should do the Reggie comic, she said she would love to.
Quote from: daren on April 30, 2016, 03:38:26 AM
Heres my choices for artist per character
Veronica...Harry Lucey. This was easy too.
(https://www.archiefans.com/index.php?media/file/harryluceyveronica.422/preview/)
That is one freaking hot Veronica :smitten:
I think so. :)
Quote from: BettyReggie on April 30, 2016, 08:52:47 AM
I love Gisele's Betty & Veronica & Reggie.
I also The Kennedy's take on Betty & Veronica.
Rex Lindsey did the best Jughead & Reggie.
I also love Fernando's Reggie especially in Life With Archie.
Dan Parent & Holly G draw the best Cheryl & Jason.
I agree with all of this BettyReggie.
I like most of the other choices especially Bob Montana for Archie, Dan DeCarlo for Wilbur, Cheryl, Sabrina, all versions of Josie, Veronica and Reggie, Samm Schwartz for Jughead, Dan Parent for Kevin, Cheryl, Betty, Sabrina, Nancy and definitely Veronica, Joe Edwards for Mr. Weatherbee, Al Hartley for Betty and Mr. Weatherbee, Harry Lucey for Archie and Reggie, Goldberg for Chuck and a lot of the teachers...ACP should make prints with all the different artists' version of each character to use on shirts and other stuff.
Quote from: BettyReggie on April 30, 2016, 08:50:26 PM
I miss Stan Goldberg's art on all the charcters. Dan Parent does a great Kevin but I saw Gisele did a Kevin which was adorable.
You mean this one?
(https://www.archiefans.com/index.php?media/file/veronicaandkevinbygiselelagace.427/preview/)
The "Ugly Characters" (The Bee, Miss Grundy, Prof. Flutesnoot, Miss Beazley, Miss Haggly, Mr. Svenson): Stan Goldberg. He had a cartoonier style than Dan DeCarlo, and it WORKED.
Betty: Dan DeCarlo- just the EXACT perfect curl to her ponytail. Never mind the fanservice :) .
Veronica: Either Dan DeCarlo or Harry Lucey. I only ever read the "Bad Lucey" stuff as a kid (his art style had kind of shifted over the years, maybe with age. I'm not sure, but it was weaker), but seeing the "Good Lucey" years was an eye-opener.
Jughead: Samm Schwartz's is classic, but I like the more childlike Jughead Fernando Ruiz draws best. It best "catches" the way he currently is. Doug Crane also did a very good "disheveled Jughead".
Reggie: I think I have to go with Bob Montana, after seeing his stuff up there. He has a CLASSIC "Evil Sneer" going on.
Cheryl Blossom: Dan DeCarlo (I mean, come on).
The Josie Gang (She's Josie/Josie & The Pussycats): Dan DeCarlo again.
Trula Twyst: Rex Lindsey. He's the only one who could ever get that HAIR right. Curly hair is REALLY tough to draw, as is Trula's distinctive nose. As much as any Archie artist owned a character, Rex owned Trula.
Kevin Keller: Dan Parent (well duh).
Quote from: Jabroniville on May 02, 2016, 01:26:43 AM
Bob Crane also did a very good "disheveled Jughead".
Bob Crane?
Quote from: Jabroniville on May 02, 2016, 06:00:28 AM
Quote from: daren on May 02, 2016, 02:35:19 AM
Quote from: Jabroniville on May 02, 2016, 01:26:43 AM
Bob Crane also did a very good "disheveled Jughead".
Bob Crane?
Sorry- meant Doug Crane.
For a while there (late 1980s/early 1990s), it seemed like Doug Crane drew almost as many Betty stories as Rex Lindsey later drew Jughead stories. The trouble was there was a big variation in what the final artwork looked like, depending on what inker was assigned to finish the work over his pencils. Sometimes, when someone like Henry Scarpelli inked him, the results looked quite good. Other times, when someone like Ken Selig inked him, not so good. If he'd been assigned consistently good inkers, I'm convinced that Doug Crane's work would have been ranked higher by Archie fans in general.
This could be the best interpretation of Sabrina I've ever seen. Give Gisele her own Sabrina title!
(https://www.archiefans.com/index.php?media/file/sabrina-by-gisele.439/)
Quote from: HarryLuceyFan on May 02, 2016, 05:30:38 PM
This could be the best interpretation of Sabrina I've ever seen. Give Gisele her own Sabrina title!
(https://www.archiefans.com/index.php?media/file/sabrina-by-gisele.439/)
Sabrina's gotten thrust firmly into the horror titles realm ... but of course they are unrelated, so a third unrelated title to even the balance wouldn't hurt (not that there's a hope they'd do it) ... but maybe Josie? Gisele likes her too ::)
Quote from: HarryLuceyFan on May 02, 2016, 05:30:38 PM
This could be the best interpretation of Sabrina I've ever seen. Give Gisele her own Sabrina title!
(https://www.archiefans.com/index.php?media/file/sabrina-by-gisele.439/)
Is this a commission? I love it.
Quote from: invisifan on May 02, 2016, 07:35:43 PM
Quote from: HarryLuceyFan on May 02, 2016, 05:30:38 PM
This could be the best interpretation of Sabrina I've ever seen. Give Gisele her own Sabrina title!
(https://www.archiefans.com/index.php?media/file/sabrina-by-gisele.439/)
Sabrina's gotten thrust firmly into the horror titles realm ... but of course they are unrelated, so a third unrelated title to even the balance wouldn't hurt (not that there's a hope they'd do it) ... but maybe Josie? Gisele likes her too ::)
I don't think we've seen the last of Sabrina yet. I would love to see Gisele do a Josie series...even a thinly veiled copy/parody of The Pussycats.
I forgot all about Doug Crane, it seems like Betty suited his style though.
Quote from: HarryLuceyFan on May 02, 2016, 05:30:38 PM
This could be the best interpretation of Sabrina I've ever seen. Give Gisele her own Sabrina title!
(https://www.archiefans.com/index.php?media/file/sabrina-by-gisele.439/)
She does the best Salem too.
I'm convinced that the way to go for a Sabrina or Josie comic is to package the material and market it in partnership with a major book publisher, as an original graphic novel series (maybe something like a 100 page story). Gisele's versions of Sabrina and Josie look modern and classic at the same time, and seem like they would have the best chance of grabbing a chunk of that traditional market for Archie readers, tween-age girls. Get them into bookstores with the promotional clout of a major book publisher behind them. Might not hurt to produce the book in the same format as a manga paperback, so it could be racked in that section (and also in the section where they rack the Archie trade collections).
Quote from: HarryLuceyFan on May 02, 2016, 05:30:38 PM
This could be the best interpretation of Sabrina I've ever seen. Give Gisele her own Sabrina title!
(https://www.archiefans.com/index.php?media/file/sabrina-by-gisele.439/)
Thanks, HarryLuceyFan!
I wouldn't say no to working on more Sabrina AND Josie & the Pussycats. They have my number. They just have to call. :)
Fernando Ruiz is my favorite Archie artist on all the major characters and even the secondary characters. Also the stuff Gisele did on the Reversedale issue and other work was absolutely amazing. Her distinct style really made those issues shine.
Quote from: Midge Klump on June 23, 2016, 07:59:47 PM
Fernando Ruiz is my favorite Archie artist on all the major characters and even the secondary characters. Also the stuff Gisele did on the Reversedale issue and other work was absolutely amazing. Her distinct style really made those issues shine.
You're at the right place for sure — they both post here — have you seen Gisele's work at Pixie Trix comics? Great stuff (more adult though) and available as free web comics (though print editions are also sold) — you'd definitely find them worth the read I'd think.
Quote from: invisifan on June 23, 2016, 09:47:15 PM
Quote from: Midge Klump on June 23, 2016, 07:59:47 PM
Fernando Ruiz is my favorite Archie artist on all the major characters and even the secondary characters. Also the stuff Gisele did on the Reversedale issue and other work was absolutely amazing. Her distinct style really made those issues shine.
You're at the right place for sure — they both post here — have you seen Gisele's work at Pixie Trix comics? Great stuff (more adult though) and available as free web comics (though print editions are also sold) — you'd definitely find them worth the read I'd think.
Menage' is a great comic. I haven't picked up Eerie Cuties yet or Magick Chicks. She is a fantastic artist.
Quote from: Midge Klump on June 23, 2016, 07:59:47 PM
Fernando Ruiz is my favorite Archie artist on all the major characters and even the secondary characters.
Thanks, Midge!