Quote from: irishmoxie on December 30, 2016, 09:43:36 PM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on December 30, 2016, 02:45:32 PM
JUGHEAD & ARCHIE WINTER ANNUAL #24

Any good stories ie Boldman? I'm debating on whether to buy this or not. The last Jughead digest was really good.

There are several Boldman/Lindsey Jughead stories in this one (I didn't count them, but I don't have it here right now; I'll go back and look and let you know later), and several Fernando Ruiz-drawn stories too, as well as the usual expected older Samm Schwartz stories, and a mish-mosh of others.

JUGHEAD & ARCHIE WINTER ANNUAL #24 has the 5-page Jughead story "Resolution Solution" that you can add to your list of New Year's stories. I'd read that story somewhere before.

Juggie's New Year's resolution is to eat healthy, suggested by his parents in order to set a good example for Jellybean. With Jughead, it's all one way or another, so he stops eating all junk food, red meat, etc. and goes vegan, but he begins feeling tired, and then sick. Finally, his parents take him to the doctor, who forces him ("doctor's orders") to start eating burgers and fries again, and Jughead reverts to his old ways (and his old health), but not before Pop Tate is stuck with 50 crates of spinach.

Since I've been reading a few older Jughead's Double Digests lately, it seemed like every other story in the new Winter Annual was one that I'd read just recently.

JUGHEAD & ARCHIE WINTER ANNUAL #24

Quote from: irishmoxie on December 25, 2016, 12:39:32 PM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on December 25, 2016, 05:58:34 AM
Where is there a collection of Valentine's Day stories, that's what I'd like to know. New Year's, 4th of July, Easter, and Thanksgiving don't particularly excite me too much as themes for Archie Comics stories.

http://www.comics.org/searchNew/?q=archie+valentine%27s+day&search_object=all

After sifting through that list on GCDb, and eliminating the listings for covers, letters or text pages, fan art, advertisements, stories featuring The New Archies, Little Archie, and L'il Jinx, and 1-page (or less) gag strips, plus multiple reprint appearances of the same story, I pared down that listing to 15 actual stories, the longest of which is the recent 10-page "That's Some Val-entine!" (Part 3 of "The Many Loves of Archie Andrews", featuring Valerie Smith of the Pussycats, from B&VDD #239, Feb. 2016). The rest are 5 or 6-pagers. For a company that has published 75 years worth of stories about teenagers, a large percentage of which involve dating in some way, that seems like a ridiculously low number of Valentine's Day stories (one of those, by the way, is a Sabrina story). Of course, the percentage of Archie Comics stories that have been indexed on GCDb is ridiculously low to begin with, compared to other publishers like DC and Marvel, but still...

BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #249 - Fun new lead 5-page story by Dan Parent. Seems like it barely got started before it was over. Lately I've been craving some longer stories. I don't think there were any other stories in here (apart from the Sabrina reprint section) that I hadn't read before.

JUGHEAD'S DOUBLE DIGEST #106 (Oct. 2004), #114 (Sept. 2005), #115 (Oct. 2005), #118 (Feb. 2006) - Nothing too notable in these, but I like seeing the then-recent (possibly even new at the time) Jughead stories drawn by Fernando Ruiz. There always seems to be at least 2 or 3 of those in every issue. I think Jughead is the character I most associate with Fernando. While I would probably admit to preferring the Craig Boldman/Rex Lindsey team on Jughead (they are pretty difficult to beat in my estimation), the short stories both written and drawn by Fernando are a close second. I would say that he seems to have written only about half (or less) of the Jughead stories he drew, so there are all sorts of other writers, George Gladir probably being the most prominent.

Taking a little break from trying to finish watching the rest of ASTRO BOY.

A few days ago I watched BATMAN: THE RETURN OF THE CAPED CRUSADERS, which is an animated feature sequel to the 1966 Batman TV series, starring the voices of Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar. Alas, the voices of the Penguin, the Riddler, and the Joker have been replaced, since Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin, and Cesar Romero are no longer with us. It was good, but not great. The vocal impersonations of the now-deceased actors are passable if you don't think about it too hard, but there are a number of visual choices the animation producers made which spoil the illusion of a sequel, as does a background score which - when it chooses to evoke the original BG music score of the TV series by Nelson Riddle and Billy Mays, is good - but too often it segues back into the mode of the more cinematic, dramatic music scoring heard in the DC animated series & features of the 1990s-2000s. While that music is fine for those cartoons, here it breaks the mood and doesn't feel true to the spirit of the 1966 TV series. Overall this had the potential to be a much bigger train wreck than it turns out to be, but while most aspects of it are decent, it falls short not so much in the animation itself, the voice acting, or the script/plot, but in the details. There are just a number of puzzling choices made by the producers that make me wonder "Why??"

This morning I started watching SCOOBY-DOO: MYSTERY INCORPORATED, which aired on Cartoon Network a couple of years back. This is a complete reboot of the original series, but a good one. By that I mean it gives its viewing audience credit for some intelligence, and tries to give the characters a little actual development and flesh them out a bit, and while they do get a lot of mileage out of self-mockingly referencing "...and I would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for those meddling kids!" in every episode, this version of S-D is nowhere near as mind-numbingly formulaic and repetitious as the original series was. While the greatest mystery of the original premise is never solved (i.e., how can a dog talk, read, and have an almost-human level of intelligence), we do find out some things about Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, and Velma. This series established that they are teenagers in high school (although I haven't seen an episode where they're actually in school yet) and live in a town named Crystal Cove, self-proclaimed as "The Most Hauntedest Place on Earth". We meet all of their parents, which goes a long ways towards explaining why they are all such weird kids. We find out that Daphne and Velma are both pining away with unrequited romantic feelings for Fred and Shaggy, respectively (Fred is just completely oblivious, while Shaggy is totally devoted to Scooby). And there is an ongoing subplot running through the entire series of 52 episodes.

Quote from: BettyReggie on December 28, 2016, 05:13:09 AM
I just read my digital copy of Life With Kevin #3. It was adorable. I love this version of Kevin. I love that the comic is done in blue. I hope they keep it that way & not change the color of the comic.

I hope that if this story is ever offered in a print format it is in full color. Either that or just print it as a coloring book, and I'll do it myself. Not that it looks like it will ever be offered in a paper version, so I'm just rambling. Archie Comics really doesn't want MY money anyway.

JUGHEAD'S DOUBLE DIGEST #95 (Aug 2003), #97 (Oct 2003), #100 (Mar 2004)
ARCHIE ANNUAL COMICS DIGEST #47 (1985), #48 (1986), #68 (Apr 1997)
ARCHIE COMICS DIGEST #97 (Aug 1989)
EVIL DEAD 2: DARK ONES RISING #3 (of 3)
RED TEAM: DOUBLE TAP #6 (of 9)
SIXPACK & DOGWELDER: HARD-TRAVELIN' HEROZ #5 (of 6)
DARK KNIGHT III: MASTER RACE #7 (of 8 )
DETECTIVE COMICS #947
WONDER WOMAN #13
GREAT LAKES AVENGERS #3
ROM #6
G.I. JOE (2016) #1
SUPER POWERS #2 (of 6)
SCOOBY-DOO TEAM UP #21
FUTURE QUEST #8

Never mind all that. I'm still waiting for a proper Archie animated series. The first one (produced by Filmation) came the closest, but that isn't saying much. Of the main five characters, about the only one whose personality came even remotely close to being captured by the cartoon was Reggie (at least he could be relied on to pull underhanded tricks and prank Archie). Did we see comical situations caused by Archie's accident-prone nature, his inability to choose between Betty & Veronica, his constant chasing after various girls, his misadventures working various jobs in an attempt to make enough cash to date Veronica? What about Archie's behavior constantly landing him in Detention, or him being a constant thorn in Mr. Lodge's side? What about Archie constantly chasing Veronica, while Betty constantly chased Archie? We did not see anything like that. Did we see episodes based on the contrasting nature of B & V's personalities? We did not. Did we see episodes based on Jughead's mooching, his willingness to do anything if there was a food reward involved, or his concentrated effort to avoid work? We did not. Did we see intense contests between Archie & Reggie over dating Veronica or Reggie's constantly outclassing Archie as more well-dressed, better in sports, with a nicer car and plenty of spending cash; B & V's rivalry over Archie, and the lengths each might go to, to gain the upper hand over the other; or the battle of wits between Jughead and Reggie? We did not. Besides the music, all we ever saw were generic comedy situations. That and lots and lots of Hot Dog's antics. The Filmation people absolutely loved Hot Dog... it was practically his show. Not surprisingly, since they were the ones who invented him.

Videogame character franchises aren't "evergreen" in the same sense as most ongoing fictional characters are. Their popularity waxes and wanes according to how the popularity of their most recent game sequels rank. Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog are very old franchises for videogame characters, so that makes them "nostalgia properties" analogous to the toy franchise licensing comic book titles published by companies like IDW (G.I. Joe, Transformers, etc.). Those comics are mostly being purchased by adults with fond memories from their childhood of those characters, but the age of the character franchise itself is an important sales factor -- as the audience for those characters grows older, many if not most of them will slowly stop reading comics, or at the very least, cut back on the ones they read substantially, so if the franchise is not picking up younger, newer readers along the way, sales will eventually drop off to the point where publishing the title is no longer viable.

I do agree that the Archie Action imprint is a good one for developing some of the more action-oriented versions of characters that are actually owned by ACP, because the cost of paying a licensing fee to the rights holders of videogame character francises is overhead that must be subtracted from the profit made on each title.

Any receive any Xmas gifts of Archie comics, digests, trade paperbacks, hardcover books, DVDs, merchandise, or anything?

Where is there a collection of Valentine's Day stories, that's what I'd like to know. New Year's, 4th of July, Easter, and Thanksgiving don't particularly excite me too much as themes for Archie Comics stories.

Quote from: SAGG on December 24, 2016, 12:39:13 AM
I think the writers were being cute here, and thought they were being clever, with the old Saturday morning cartoon version of Josie and the Pussycats, with the villain and all. I thought the way the Josie/Alexandra angle was being played had an interesting take: On the surface, from Josie's POV, Alexandra was the bad gal, but then Alexandra turned the tables, and made Josie really to be the one who's fault it was. However, I don't think Josie was really using Alexandra's money because they'd still be "friends" now just for the money angle where Josie could ride the gravy train. Josie basically used Alexandra, but not for the money. I think Josie just grew apart from her, but didn't let Alexandra know how much Josie's drifting hurt Alexandra, who grew resentful...

That's all well and good as cake frosting. That is, if it just adds some additional level of interest or depth to a story that primarily exists to be fun or funny and entertaining, because the latter is really the only reason I need to read Archie Comics. I'm not looking for serious character interaction as the primary reason for reading. It's all secondary to a story that interests me for what's happening -- the events and ideas in the story. The only thing that makes me want to read Archie Comics as opposed to some other comics that might have stories about interesting events and ideas is for relaxation and amusement, and they are entertaining to me only insofar as they they take my mind off the boring day-to-day grind, and leave me with a feeling of having had a little fun or a chuckle.

If I want something else from a comic book, I can easily read about Batman keeping the people around him at arms' length and alienating them emotionally by being controlling and/or distrustful, but I don't even particularly care to read about that anymore.

Many people get depressed about their problems in the dead of winter, and especially around Christmastime, when it seems easy to glance around at other people you know (or who you see on TV) whose lives seem like they must be easier, or who seem happier than you. At times like these it's helpful to have a clear perspective on where your own personal problems fall on the true scale of human misery, but for an accident of birth in time and space.

• Instead of a cold, you could have AIDS, cancer, the ebola virus, a congenital deteriorating nerve disease, or just be slowly starving to death.


• Instead of dealing with a car with mechanical problems, you could be dealing with the sudden death of a beloved spouse or close family member or friend, or the loss of an arm or a leg.


• Instead of having unpaid bills piling up, you could be another man's slave, a political dissident being imprisoned, tortured, or crucified for your beliefs, or an innocent Jew in Nazi Germany whose entire worldly possessions have been confiscated who's being sent with your whole family to a concentration camp.


• Instead of facing a bad quarterly review, you could be facing the Spanish Inquisition, a firing squad under Josef Stalin's regime, a lynch mob, or be unjustly sentenced to Death Row.

These are not flukes in human history, nor are they things of the past that no longer happen somewhere to someone, or will never happen again. We're talking about millions upon millions of people that were affected by those few examples I chose to mention, and these are only a few of the more recognizable examples of people with REAL problems. For every one of the recognizable examples, there are tens of thousands of unknown or forgotten tragedies and other examples of true human misery, each of which affected vast numbers of people, and it's only the luck of the draw that you happened to be born in the time and place that you were, and free of thousands of potential health problems that severely reduce the span and quality of human life. From any realistic perspective, you are one of the lucky ones.

There's something to think about at Christmas.

On the plus side, these are all temporary problems. You just have to deal with them. You will suffer through the cold, and then get well again. You will have the car fixed, or if it's something like a head gasket problem, write it off as not worth fixing, and find another car. That of course will add to your unpaid bills, but there will always be unpaid bills somewhere, or if not they're just lurking around the next corner. It's not like you just got news from the doctor that you have only months left to live, or a loved one is in a similar situation. We all have to weather the crapstorm once in a while, so don't think you're the only one. Concentrate on whatever positive things you have in your life that make it worth living, no matter how small those things might seem. You just have to suck it up and work your way through it. Each of us has different issues to deal with in life. Some other guy might have a great job, a brand new car, plenty of money in the bank, and still be worse off, with bigger problems than you, unless you're facing a death sentence. Take some Nyquil and get plenty of sleep and try to rally yourself. These things won't go away by themselves, so it's up to you whether you're going to do something about it or just wallow in the misery of it all. Most of us have been there in some way at one time or another, so don't let the aggro and adversity defeat you. Hold fast to whatever it is inside that makes life worthwhile, and things will get better eventually. Not without some suffering on your part, but whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. These problems will eventually be nothing but a fading bad memory, but you'll still be there.

Seriously. Hang in there, and have the best Christmas you can under the circumstances.

EDIT: In a weird case of synchronicity (have you ever noticed how there are never any non-weird cases of synchronicity?), as I was typing this reply the following Random Image (from SAGG's gallery) appeared over at the top of the left-hand sidebar:


I guess I will save you the trouble of reading this story and just tell you the answer to Archie's question. The correct answer is entropy, Archie. Trillions of years in the future, as applied to the entire universe, and everything in it (can't say that anyone gets any special treatment, at least).