Thanks for sharing that Instagram link.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the series. We'll see what happens. At the very least, I like how Betty and Cheryl look.

Archie Horror's output is basically non-existent. I don't follow Dark Circle, so I'm not sure if that's doing anything. It would probably be easier to just post about these things in either All About Archie or Archie's Friends.

I've written two Betty-centered fanfics over the years. I didn't post them here, because the language and thematic content would be inappropriate for this forum, but I did post the links here, so I'll do so again:

Betty Cooper: This is Who I Am (from 1999) - Betty is forced into making a decision that will change the course of her life (and those of everyone else in Riverdale) forever - http://ldloveszh.tripod.com/mark/betty.html

Betty Cooper: Woman for All Seasons (from 2011) - the sequel; not as traumatic or blunt as the previous story, but much longer and fuller; follow Betty through her senior year of high school as she deals with life, love, and friend drama - http://ldloveszh.tripod.com/mark/betty2.html

I have a lot of hobbies, which results in me making very slow progress in all of them. Among them:

*anime - huge backlog of DVDs to watch, some dating back to 2001, sadly

*Netflix - currently watching the entire Star Trek franchise; done with TOS, TAS, TNG, DS9, and the first 9 movies; currently simultaneously watching VOY (midway through season 6) and ENT (midway through season 3); will likely find something else to watch once I'm done

*blog - currently reviewing the classic Nickelodeon series, "Hey Dude", on a weekly basis

*fanfics - got a few half-baked ideas in my head; might or might not write them

*original fiction - I've got a few series started, but they've all slowed to a crawl in favor of my novel

*video games - yeah, as if I have any free time left

*novels - got a few of them around the house, dating back years, that I have yet to get around to reading

*fan editing - I fan-edit movies (yes, there's a whole community for it on the Internet); currently trying to turn the first Terminator movie into a side-story to the 1980s anime cyberpunk classic, "Bubblegum Crisis"; also been working on a massive, extended edition of "Highlander: Endgame" for the past few years

This is a yearly post that I've made since 2008. It was very short at first but has since grown into a monster. Basically, it's a long list of what the Archie characters experienced (and didn't experience) throughout their lives, the idea being their dates of birth are advanced by one year every year, since they never graduate from high school.

I typically post the updated list on the day that the senior class graduates from my old high school (I tend to think of the timeline "sliding" or "adjusting" around graduation time, throwing the gang back to the summer before senior year). I'll repost the list that I posted last May here (which covers the current version of the gang, who would graduate in a few months as part of the Class of 2016). This'll give you something to read until the revised list (in which the gang is part of the Class of 2017) is posted in May.


Introduction:

For the past few years, I have done a sliding timeline post. Archie Comics seems to keep the main characters at around the same age (it varies here and there), so, logically, each year, the characters' birthdates are advanced by one year.

Since the senior class at my old high school graduated today, it seems the school year is over, so it's time for a lovely refresh.

According to Wikipedia, there are 3 people born in 1899 verified to still be alive:

The oldest living former U.S. President was born on June 12, 1924. The current Pope was born on December 17, 1936.

Taking into account only the people that are still alive today, there were 3 people in the world at the end of the 1800s, there were 7 people at the end of the 19th century, the oldest person at the end of the 1900s was 10, 1910s: 20, 1920s: 30, 1930s: 40, 1940s: 50, 1950s: 60, 1960s: 70, 1970s: 80, 1980s: 90, 1990s: 100, and 2000s: 110.

Needless to say, it'll be a while before we have to say the original Betty, Archie, and Jughead, introduced in Pep #22 in 1941, are dead.

For the purpose of this post, I make the assumption that the characters are graduating next year, aged 18 years old, so they were born in 1997 [NOTE: This was a typo. I meant 1998.]. I also assume the summer stories that we see in the comics occur during the summer before senior year (there are at least two comic stories that establish this), and the school-year stories occur during senior year (at least one 1970s story establishes this). I know there's at least one story where they're explicitly high school juniors, and that's the position of the official Archie Comics site (in their character profiles), so, if anything, the assumptions in this post are too conservative.

What this post attempts to do is try to figure out the characters' perspective and frame of reference for viewing the world. This can also be useful for the Archie Comics writers when writing new stories.

As we enter a new cycle of Archie Comics stories, 1997 is lost; the characters never experienced it. Of course, I'm aware that people can become aware of things (music, movies, television series, video games, books, etc.) that came out before they were born, but they weren't there "as it happened", and thus these things hold no nostalgic value to them. Also, keep in mind that people generally don't remember things before the age of two (in this case, 2000).

In addition to updating the information, I have sorted it into rough chronological order as the characters would have experienced them (or, in the cases of pre-birth events, wouldn't have experienced them).

Education:

The Columbine High School massacre occured before they entered kindergarten.

They have attended school entirely in the 21st century.

No Child Left Behind went into effect before they entered kindergarten.

They attended elementary school (grades K-5) from 2003 to 2009.

The Virginia Tech massacre occured when they were in third grade.

They attended junior high (grades 6-8) from 2009 to 2012.

They started high school in 2012.

The Sandy Hook massacre occured when they were in ninth grade (freshman year).

There is likely a gay-straight alliance at their school.

The freshmen in their school were born in the 21st century.

World events:

Germany has always been one nation.

It's always been Russia, not the Soviet Union.

Poland has always been a republic.

The Americans with Disabilities Act has always been in effect.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia have always been separate nations.

The European Union has always existed.

Bill Clinton was President when they were born.

George Pataki was Governor of New York when they were born.

Christine Todd Whitman was Governor of New Jersey when they were born.

Jean Chrétien was Prime Minister of Canada when they were born.

Tony Blair was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom when they were born.

Jacques Chirac was President of France when they were born.

Aleksander Kwasniewski was President of Poland when they were born.

Helmut Kohl was Chancellor of Germany when they were born.

Boris Yeltsin was President of Russia when they were born.

José María Alfredo Aznar López was Prime Minister of Spain when they were born.

Oscar Luigi Scarfaro was President of Italy when they were born.

John Howard was Prime Minister of Australia when they were born.

They've never shared the Earth with anyone born in 1879 or earlier.

Hong Kong has always been controlled by China.

They were 2 or 3 during the 9/11 attacks and hadn't entered kindergarten yet.

They were 4 or 5 when the Iraq War began and 12 or 13 and in eighth grade when it ended.

They were 6 or 7 and in first grade when Pope Benedict XVI took office.

They were 10 or 11 and in fifth grade when Barack Obama became President.

They were 14 or 15 and in ninth grade (freshman year) when Pope Francis took office.

Economics:

Gas prices have never been below $1.00 per gallon.

Movie tickets have never been below $4.43.

A U.S. domestic postage stamp to deliver a one-ounce letter has never cost less than 32 cents.

A standard comic book from DC or Marvel has never cost less than $1.95.

Family:

Most of their parents likely went to high school in the 1980s and/or early 1990s.

Polly Cooper likely went to high school in the mid-2000s.

Technology:

What are records?

TV was always in color.

They can't imagine not having a remote control.

Microwaves and answering machines have always been around.

They've always had cable TV.

The World Wide Web is older than them.

The Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Master System, Nintendo Virtual Boy, Sega Game Gear, Sega CD, and Sega 32X have always been discontinued.

There have always been feature-length films made entirely of CGI.

Windows 98 debuted in the year of their birth.

If they're Nintendo fans, their first video game system was likely the Nintendo 64 (its debut predates them) or Nintendo Gamecube (it came out when they were 2 or 3).

If they're Sega fans, their first video game system was likely the Sega Saturn (its debut predates them) or Sega Dreamcast (it came out when they were 0 or 1).

If they're Sony fans, their first video game system was likely the Sony PlayStation (its debut predates them) or Sony PlayStation 2 (it came out when they were 1 or 2).

If they're Microsoft fans, their first video game system was likely the Microsoft Xbox (it came out when they were 2 or 3).

If they're Nintendo fans, their first portable video game system was likely the Game Boy Pocket (its debut predates that) or Game Boy Advance (it came out when they were 2 or 3).

If they're Sega fans, their first portable video game system was likely the Sega Pico or the Sega Nomad (their debuts predate them).

If they're Sony fans, their first portable video game system was likely the PlayStation Portable (PSP) (it came out when they were 6 or 7).

They grew up with DVDs (it arrived in the U.S. in the year of their birth).

They were 2 or 3 when the first iPod and iTunes debuted and 4 or 5 when Windows support was added.

Music on cassette tapes is a distant memory. Most of the major U.S. music companies had discontinued them when they were 4 or 5.

They've always had cell phones.

YouTube debuted when they were 6 or 7.

They were 6 or 7 when the Microsoft Xbox 360 debuted.

The last major Hollywood motion picture that was released on VHS in the U.S. came out when they were 7 or 8. The final standalone VCR from JVC came out, and the last major truckload of prerecorded VHS tapes were shipped, when they were 9 or 10.

YouPorn debuted when they were 7 or 8.

They were 7 or 8 when the Sony PlayStation was discontinued and the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 debuted.

They were 8 or 9 when the first iPhone debuted.

They were 9 or 10 when the Microsoft Xbox was discontinued.

They were 11 or 12 when the first iPad debuted.

They were 11 or 12 when Netflix started offering a stand-alone streaming service.

They were 13 or 14 when the Nintendo Wii U debuted.

They were 14 or 15 when the Sony PlayStation 2 was discontinued and the Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One debuted.

Pop's would have Wi-Fi and coffee to compete with Starbucks.

The gang is wired. They're able to text each other via cell phone, watch the latest music videos on YouTube or on televisions in the mall's food court, and use their laptops wherever there's Wi-Fi access.

Pop culture:

Celebrities that are older than them:

Kylie Jenner
Rebecca Black
Olivia Holt

Songs that predate them:

Candle in the Wind '97 - Elton John
I'll Be Missing You - Sean Combs & Faith Evans and 112
Barbie Girl - Aqua
MMMBop - Hanson
Abuse Me - Silverchair
As Long as You Love Me - Backstreet Boys
Everybody (Backstreet's Back) - Backstreet Boys
My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
Takes a Little Time - Amy Grant
Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
Walkin' on the Sun - Smashmouth

Television series that predate them:

Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
Mighty Ducks
Gargoyles
Dangerous Minds
The City
Martin
The Disney Afternoon
Homeboys in Outer Space
Coach
The Burning Zone
Roseanne
Dark Skies
Married... with Children
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
The Mask: Animated Series
The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat
Duckman
X-Men
The Big Easy
The Incredible Hulk (1996)
Power Rangers Turbo
Beavis and Butt-head (original series)
The Magic School Bus
Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?
Men Behaving Badly

Movies that predate them:

Titanic
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Men in Black
Tomorrow Never Dies
Air Force One
As Good as It Gets
Liar Liar
My Best Friend's Wedding
The Fifth Element
The Full Monty
Jackie Chan's First Strike
Beverly Hills Ninja
Metro
Meet Wall Sparks
Dante's Peak
Fools Rush In
Vegas Vacation
Rosewood
Donnie Brasco
Jungle 2 Jungle
Private Parts
Selena
Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie
Chasing Amy
The Saint
Anaconda
Murder at 1600
Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion
Volcano
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Con Air
Speed 2: Cruise Control
Batman & Robin
Hercules
Face/Off
Contact
George of the Jungle
Good Burger
Spawn
Air Bud
Free Willy 3: The Rescue
Cop Land
Event Horizon
Steel
G.I. Jane
Leave It to Beaver
L.A. Confidential
Soul Food
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Starship Troopers
Bean
Mad City
The Man Who Knew Too Little
Anastasia
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Alien: Resurrection
Flubber
Good Will Hunting
Scream 2
Amistad
Home Alone 3
MouseHunt
Jackie Brown
The Postman
Mr. Magoo
An American Werewolf in Paris
Boogie Nights

Rap music has always been mainstream.

The Mega Man Internet fandom has always existed.

There have always been at least five major networks.

Starbucks has always been nationwide.

Cartoon Network has always existed.

O.J. Simpson has always been absolutely, 100% not guilty - but still liable.

E3 and GameFAQs have always been around.

Disney Channel has always been a regular cable channel.

Princess Diana, Brandon Tartikoff, Burgess Meredith, Don Messick, Chris Farley, The Notorious B.I.G., James Stewart, and John Denver have always been dead.

Shannon Elizabeth, Gerard Butler, Orlando Bloom, Katie Holmes, and Jennifer Garner have always been acting.

The Captain N Internet fandom has always existed.

Women have always been kissing each other on television.

Porn and erotic fiction have always been freely available on the Internet.

They were born during Season 9 or 10 of "The Simpsons".

They were born during Season 8 or 9 of "Beverly Hills, 90210".

They were born during Season 8 or 9 of "Law & Order".

They were born during Season 6 of "Highlander" or during "Highlander: The Raven".

The Saved by the Bell of their childhoods was The New Class (Goddess help them). They were born during Season 5 (reruns) or 6.

They were born during Season 6 or 7 of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine".

They were born during Season 4 or 5 of "Babylon 5".

They were born during Season 4 or 5 of "Star Trek: Voyager".

They were born during Season 4 or 5 of "Party of Five".

The first Stephen King book published in their lifetime was "Bag of Bones" or "The Girl Who Loved Tom  Gordon".

The first James Bond movie released in their lifetime was "The World Is Not Enough" (#19), starring Pierce Brosnan.

The first Halloween movie released in their lifetime was "Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later" (#7) or "Halloween: Resurrection" (#8).

The first Friday the 13th movie released in their lifetime was "Jason X" (#10).

The first A Nightmare on Elm Street movie released in their lifetime was "Freddy vs. Jason" (#8).

The first Highlander movie released in their lifetime was "Highlander: Endgame".

The first Batman movie released in their lifetime was "Batman Begins".

The first Disney Princess introduced in their lifetime was either Mulan or Tiana.

The first Disney theatrical animated film released in their lifetime was either "Mulan" or "Tarzan".

The first Star Trek movie released in their lifetime was "Star Trek: Insurrection" or "Star Trek: Nemesis".

The first Mario (platform) game (starring him) released in their lifetime (in the U.S.) was "Super Mario Bros. Deluxe" on the Game Boy Color or "Super Mario Advance" on the Game Boy Advance.

The first Castlevania game released in their lifetime (in the U.S.) was either "Castlevania Legends" on the Nintendo Game Boy or "Castlevania" on the Nintendo 64.

The first Mega Man games released in their lifetime (in the U.S.) were either "Mega Man Legends" on the Sony PlayStation or "Mega Man X5" on the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and PC.

The first Final Fantasy game released in their lifetime (in the U.S.) was either "Final Fantasy Tactics" or "Final Fantasy Anthology" on the Sony PlayStation.

The first The Legend of Zelda game released in their lifetime (in the U.S.) was Ocarina of Time, Link's Awakening DX, or Majora's Mask.

The first Street Fighter game (excluding updates) released in their lifetime (in the U.S.) was "Street Fighter Alpha 3", "Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact", or "Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike".

The first Mortal Kombat game released in their lifetime was "Mortal Kombat Gold".

The first Sonic the Hedgehog game released in their lifetime (in the U.S.) was "Sonic Adventure".

The first Resident Evil game released in their lifetime was either "Resident Evil 2" or "Resident Evil 3: Nemesis".

The first Kiss albums released in their lifetime were "Psycho Circus" or "Sonic Boom" (studio) and "Kiss Symphony: Alive IV" (live).

The first Bruce Springsteen album released in their lifetime was "The Rising".

The first Michael Jackson album released in their lifetime was "Invincible".

The first Madonna album released in their lifetime was "Ray of Light" or "Music".

The first Metallica albums released in their lifetime were "S&M" (live) and "St. Anger" (studio).

The first Sheryl Crow albums released in their lifetime were "Live from Central Park" (live) and "The Globe Sessions" or "C'mon, C'mon" (studio).

They grew up with anime. Sailor Moon has been fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight since before they were born.

They might have been born after Harry Potter enrolled in Hogwarts (in the U.S.) and were 8 or 9 when he killed Voldemort (theatrically, they were 2/3 and 12/13, respectively).

The first Backstreet Boys album released in their lifetime was "Millennium".

They grew up on "Pokemon". It premiered in the U.S. in the year of their birth.

The Marvel movie franchise began (with "Blade") in the year of their birth.

'N Sync released their first album in the year of their birth.

The Wild Things series started in the year of their birth. They were 11 or 12 when the latest movie, "Wild Things: Foursome", came out.

FanFiction.Net was founded in the year of their birth.

"Sex and the City" premiered in the year of their birth and ended when they were 5 or 6.

The first A Song of Ice and Fire novel released in their lifetime was either "A Clash of Kings" (#2) or "A Storm of Swords" (#3).

The first Vampire Diaries novel published in their lifetime was "The Return: Nightfall".

They were 0 or 1 when Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera released their first albums.

They were 0 or 1 when the American Pie series started and 13 or 14 when the latest film came out.

They were 0 or 1 when The Veronicas formed and 7 or 8 when their first album debuted (in the U.S.).

The Star Wars of their childhoods was Episodes I, II, and III.

"Mobile Suit Gundam Wing" premiered in the U.S. on Cartoon Network's Toonami when they were 1 or 2.

They were 1 or 2 when "Gilmore Girls" premiered and 8 or 9 when it ended.

They were 2 or 3 when Eden's Crush came out with their singles and sole full-length album.

They were 2 or 3 when the Lord of the Rings film trilogy started and 4 or 5 when it ended.

They were 2 or 3 when "Yu-Gi-Oh!" premiered in the U.S. and 8 or 9 when it ended.

They were 2 or 3 when "Smallville" premiered and 12 or 13 when it ended.

They were 3 or 4 when Here TV premiered.

They were 3 or 4 when "Birds of Prey" premiered and 4 or 5 when it ended.

They were 3 or 4 when the "Resident Evil" film series started.

They were 3 or 4 when the "Gossip Girl" book series started and 12 or 13 when it ended.

They were 4 or 5 when Evanescence released their first album.

The first Terminator movie released in their lifetime was "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines". It came out when they were 4 or 5.

They were 4 or 5 when the first Black Eyed Peas album featuring Fergie was released.

They were 4 or 5 when "The Walking Dead" comic book series started.

They were 4 or 5 when the "Underworld" film series started.

They were 4 or 5 when "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon" premiered in Japan and 6 or 7 when it ended. Perhaps they or their parents downloaded the fan-subbed episodes as they became available on IRC.

They were 5 or 6 when Facebook debuted.

They were 5 or 6 when "Winx Club" premiered (in the U.S.).

They were 5 or 6 when The Bride killed Bill.

They were 5 or 6 when "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" was released (in the U.S.).

They were 5 or 6 when "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" premiered (in the U.S.) and 7 or 8 when "2nd GIG" ended.

They were 5 or 6 when "The L Word" premiered and 10 or 11 when it ended.

They were 6 or 7 when "Queer Eye for the Straight Girl" premiered and ended.

They were 6 or 7 when Logo TV premiered.

They were 6 or 7 when Tyler Perry released his first movie.

They were 6 or 7 when The Pussycat Dolls released their first album, 9 or 10 when the second album was released, and 11 or 12 when the group disbanded.

They were 6 or 7 when Bella met Edward and 9 or 10 when they got married (theatrically, they were 9/10 and 13/14, respectively).

The Angry Video Game Nerd debuted on YouTube when they were 7 or 8.

They were 7 or 8 when Taylor Swift released her first album.

They were 7 or 8 when Sasha Grey started her adult film career and 11 or 12 when she retired.

They were 7 or 8 when the "Pretty Little Liars" book series started and 15 or 16 when it ended.

They were 8 or 9 when "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society" was released (in the U.S.).

They were 8 or 9 when "Bionic Woman" premiered and ended.

They were 8 or 9 when Colbie Caillat released her first album.

They were 8 or 9 when Girlicious formed and 12 or 13 when they disbanded.

They were 8 or 9 when "Gossip Girl" premiered and 13 or 14 when it ended.

They were 8 or 9 when "Mad Men" premiered and 16 or 17 when it ended.

They were 8 or 9 when "The Big Bang Theory" premiered.

They've been going Gaga for the Lady since they were 9 or 10.

They were 9 or 10 when Katy Perry released her first mainstream album.

They were 9 or 10 when the Marvel Cinematic Universe started with "Iron Man".

They were 9 or 10 when "The Hunger Games" came out and 11 or 12 when the series ended (theatrically, they were 13/14 when the first film came out).

They were 9 or 10 when "Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight" premiered and 10 or 11 when it ended, the last two episodes available exclusively online.

Michael Jackson died during their summer vacation before they entered sixth grade (junior high).

They were 10 or 11 when "Watchmen" came out.

They were 10 or 11 when "Glee" premiered and 16 or 17 when it ended.

They were 10 or 11 when "The Vampire Diaries" premiered.

They were 10 or 11 when School Gyrlz (later known as Forever) formed, 11 or 12 when they released their first album, and 13 or 14 when the group disbanded.

They were 11 or 12 when "Pretty Little Liars" premiered.

They were 11 or 12 when "The Walking Dead" television series premiered.

They were 11 or 12 when the remake of "I Spit on Your Grave" came out.

The Star Trek of their childhoods were Deep Space Nine (Seasons 6-7), Voyager (Seasons 4-7), Insurrection, Enterprise, Nemesis, and Star Trek (2009).

The Charlie's Angels of their childhoods were the theatrical films. They came out when they were 1/2 and 4/5, respectively.

The Transformers of their childhoods were Beast Wars (episode 32 onward), Beast Machines, Robots in Disguise, Armada, Energon, Cybertron, the first two live-action films, and Animated.

The G.I. Joe of their childhoods were Spy Troops, Valor vs. Venom, Sigma 6, Resolute, and The Rise of Cobra.

The Power Rangers of their childhoods were Turbo (possible reruns), in Space, Lost Galaxy, Lightspeed Rescue, Time Force, Wild Force, Ninja Storm, Dino Thunder, S.P.D., Mystic Force, Operation Overdrive, Jungle Fury, RPM, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (re-versioned).

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of their childhoods were The Next Mutation (episodes 16-26), the 2003 4Kids animated series, the 2007 "TMNT" CGI film, and Turtles Forever.

Music artists of their pre-teen years: Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, Britney Spears, Eden's Crush, Black Eyed Peas, Evanescence, Pussycat Dolls, Taylor Swift, Fergie, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Marie Digby, Ke$ha

The Charlie's Angels of their teenage years was the short-lived reboot series. It came out when they were 12 or 13.

They were 12 or 13 when Nicole Scherzinger released her first solo album and 15 or 16 when she released her second one.

They were 12 or 13 when "Game of Thrones" premiered.

They were 12 or 13 when "Divergent" came out and 15 or 16 when the series ended (theatrically, they were 15/16 when the first film came out).

They were 13 or 14 when the revised editions of the Fifty Shades trilogy were published (theatrically, they were 16/17 when the first film came out).

They were 13 or 14 when the "Lost in Praha" adult short film, starring Ariel, came out.

They were 13 or 14 when "Girls" premiered.

They were 13 or 14 when "The Legend of Korra" premiered and 15 or 16 when it ended.

They were 13 or 14 when the Hobbit film trilogy started and 15 or 16 when it ended.

They were 14 or 15 when "I Spit on Your Grave 2" came out.

They were 15 or 16 when "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal" premiered.

They were 15 or 16 when Belle Knox started her adult film career.

They were 15 or 16 when the first two films of "Ghost in the Shell: Arise" were released (in the U.S.).

The Star Trek of their teenage years is "Star Trek Into Darkness".

The Transformers of their teenage years are Prime, Rescue Bots, the third and fourth live-action films, and Robots in Disguise (2015).

The G.I. Joe of their teenage years are Renegades and Retaliation.

The Power Rangers of their teenage years are Samurai, Super Samurai, Megaforce, and Super Megaforce.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of their teenage years is the 2012 Nickelodeon animated series and the 2014 live-action film.

Music artists of their teen years: Carly Rae Jepsen, Ellie Goulding, Lorde, Meghan Trainor, Ariana Grande

Besties with benefits is totally a thing.

Betty is more likely to share her problems on Facebook, LiveJournal, Tumblr, and YouTube, rather than writing them down in a diary. Privacy? What's that? If she does keep a diary, it'd likely be on a flash drive, not in a book.

Real-world Archie Comics timeline:

The gang was born after the following series had concluded and one-shots had debuted:

(Adventures of) Katy Keene (Comics, a.k.a. Vol. 1)
(The Adventures of) Little Archie (Giant Comics)
Archie 3000!
Archie and His Pals in The Peer Helping Program
Archie and Inspector Sammy Terry
Archie and Me
Archie and His Friends Help Raise Literary Awareness in Mississippi
Archie and His Pals in...the Peer Helping Program!
Archie and the History of Electronics
Archie and Inspector Sammy Terry
Archie Annual
Archie and Pureheart the Powerful / Archie as Captain Pureheart
Archie at Riverdale High
Archie Giant Series Magazine
Archie's Activity Comics Digest Magazine
Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica
Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica Annual
Archie's Ham Radio Adventure
Archie's Joke Book Magazine
Archie's Mechanics
(Archie's Pal) Jughead (first series)
Archie's Pal Jughead Annual
Archie's Pals 'N' Gals
Archie's R/C Racers
(Archie's Rival) Reggie / Reggie and Me
(Archie's) Riverdale High
Archie's Super Hero Special
Archie's T.V. Laugh-out
Betty and Veronica Annual Digest Magazine
Betty's Diary
Betty's Digest Magazine
Cheryl Blossom Special
Cheryl Blossom (first miniseries)
Cheryl Blossom (second miniseries)
Cheryl Blossom (third miniseries)
Chilling Adventures in Sorcery (as Told by Sabrina)
Christmas and Archie
Everything's Archie
Ginger
Jackpot Comics
Josie and the Pussycats
Jughead as Captain Hero
The Jughead Jones (Comics) Digest (Magazine)
Jughead's Baby Tales
Jughead's Diner
Jughead's Fantasy
Jughead's Folly
Jughead's Jokes
Jughead's Pal Hot Dog
Jughead's Time Police
Katy Keene 3-D
Katy Keene Annual
Katy Keene Charm
Katy Keene Comics Digest Magazine
Katy Keene Fashion Book Magazine (Vol. 1)
Katy Keene Fashion Book Magazine (Vol. 2)
Katy Keene Glamour
Katy Keene Pin-Up Parade
Katy Keene (Special, a.k.a. Vol. 2)
Katy Keene Spectacular
Laugh (Vol. 3)
Laugh (Comics, a.k.a. Vol. 2)
Life With Archie
Li'l Jinx
Li'l Jinx Giant Laugh-Out
Little Archie Comics Digest Annual/Magazine
Little Archie In Animal Land
Little Archie Mystery Comics
The New Archies
The New Archies Comics Digest Magazine
Pep (Comics)
Reggie's Revenge!
Reggie's "Wise Guy" Jokes
Sabrina The Teen-Age Witch (a.k.a. Vol. 1)
Sabrina's Halloween Spooktacular / Sabrina's Holiday Spectacular
(She's) Josie (and the Pussycats)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meet Archie
That Wilkin Boy
To Riverdale and Back Again
Top-Notch (Laugh) Comics / Laugh Comix (a.k.a. Vol. 1) / Suzie Comics
Veronica's (Passport) Digest Magazine
World of Archie

The gang was born after the following other media came out:

the Archie Andrews radio show
the various Filmation series
the various Hanna-Barbera series
The New Archies
Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again
the Riverdale High prose novels
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV movie)

The gang was born after the following issues came out:

Archie (Comics) #466
Archie & Friends #26
Archie Annual Digest Magazine #65
Archie Comics Digest (Magazine) #148
Archie...Archie Andrews, Where Are you? Comics Digest Magazine #109
Archie's Double Digest (Quarterly) (Magazine) #95
(Archie's Pal) Jughead (Comics) (second series) #99
Archie's Pals 'N' Gals Double Digest Magazine #26
Archie's Story and Game Digest Magazine #38
Betty #56
Betty and Veronica #118
Betty and Veronica Comics Digest Magazine #87
Betty and Veronica Double Digest Magazine #65
Betty and Veronica Spectacular #26
Cheryl Blossom #7
Jughead With Archie Digest (Plus Betty & Veronica & Reggie, Too!) #133
Jughead's Double Digest Magazine #46
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (one-shot)
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Vol. 2) #8
Veronica #70

The "Baby Tales" storyline is older than them.

The "Love Showdown" storyline is older than them.

One of their comic books has never cost less than $1.50.

One of their digests has never cost less than $1.95.

One of their double digests has never cost less than $2.79.

The gang was born during season 2 or 3 of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and were 4 or 5 when it ended.

The gang was 0 or 1 when my fanfic, "Betty Cooper: This Is Who I Am", portraying them as high school juniors, came out.

The gang was 0 or 1 when "Sabrina: The Animated Series", portraying Sabrina as a preteen, premiered and 1 or 2 when it ended.

The gang was 0 or 1 when "Archie's Weird Mysteries", portraying them as high school teenagers, premiered and 1 or 2 when it ended.

The gang was 2 or 3 when the "Josie and the Pussycats" movie came out.

The gang was 3 or 4 when "Sabrina: Friends Forever", portraying Sabrina as turning 13 years old, came out.

The gang was 3 or 4 when "The Archies in Jugman", portraying them as high school teenagers, came out.

The gang was 4 or 5 when "Sabrina's Secret Life", portraying Sabrina as 14 years old, premiered and 5 or 6 when it ended.

They were in fifth grade (elementary school) when the Freshman Year storyline came out.

They were in sixth grade (junior high) when the wedding storyline came out.

They were in sixth grade (junior high) and out of school for the summer when the second Freshman Year storyline came out.

They were out of school for the summer after sixth grade (junior high) when Archie started dating Valerie.

They were in seventh grade (junior high) when the "Twilite", "Battle of the BFFs", "New Kids Off the Wall", "Jughead Jones: Semi-Private Eye", and "Queen B" storylines and "face-off!" story came out.

They were out of school for the summer between seventh grade and eighth grade (junior high) when Kevin Keller was introduced.

They were out of school for the summer between seventh grade and eighth grade (junior high) when my fanfic, "Betty Cooper: Woman For All Seasons", portraying them as high school seniors, came out.

They were in eighth grade (junior high) when the "Gaga For Baba", "The X Factor vs. American Idol", and "Geek Face-Off!" stories and "Movin' In" storyline came out.

They were in eighth grade (junior high) when the fan-made "Riverdale" movie trailer came out.

The "Archie Marries Valerie!" storyline came out during the summer before they entered high school.

They started high school after the following series had concluded and one-shots had debuted:

Archie & Friends
Archie Annual Digest Magazine
Archie Comics Digest Magazine
Archie...Archie Andrews, Where Are you? Comics Digest Magazine
Archie's Pals 'n' Gals Double Digest Magazine
Archie's Story and Game Digest Magazine
Betty
Betty and Veronica Comics Digest Magazine
Betty and Veronica Spectacular
Cheryl Blossom
Jughead With Archie Digest (Plus Betty & Veronica & Reggie, Too!)
Laugh Comics (one-shot)
Pep Comics Featuring Betty & Veronica (Free Comic Book Day)
Sabrina (the Teenage Witch, a.k.a. Vol. 3)
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Vol. 2)
Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the Archies
Tales From Riverdale Digest Magazine
Tales From Riverdale Featuring Archie & His Friends
Veronica

They started high school after the following other media came out:

Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV movie)
Sabrina Goes to Rome
Sabrina Down Under
Archie's Weird Mysteries
Sabrina: The Animated Series
Josie and the Pussycats (2001 film)
Sabrina: Friends Forever
The Archies in Jugman
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV series)
Sabrina's Secret Life
The Archies Christmas Album Featuring Betty & Veronica
the xoxo, Betty and Veronica novels

They started high school after the following issues came out:

Archie #634
Archie & Friends Double Digest Magazine #17
Archie Double Digest #230
Archie's Pal Jughead #213
B&V friends Double Digest #226
Betty and Veronica #260
Betty and Veronica Double Digest Magazine #202
Jughead & Friends Digest Magazine #27
Jughead's Double Digest Magazine #182
Kevin Keller #3
Laugh (Comics) Digest Magazine #137
Life With Archie: The Married Life #20
World of Archie Double Digest #19

Anyone have anything else?

We never did get the RPG up and running on the old board, partly because no one wanted to be Archie. Might as well remove it.

I'm Tuxedo Mark. I was originally the second member to join this forum, way back in 2006.

I've been an Archie fan since 1990. My mom had bought me two digests back in the day. Later, I started buying my own comics (as well as selling some). I've got a pretty big collection (for my room, anyway).

My favorite characters are Betty Cooper and Cheryl Blossom. I have every issue of all of Cheryl's miniseries and her long-running solo series.

More recently, as I've been looking to control my spending, an appearance by Cheryl determines whether I buy a digest or not.

I also have all of the "Riverdale High" prose novels and the three "xoxo, Betty and Veronica" novels.