Quote from: Good Ole Samm on April 18, 2019, 08:34:20 pmYeah, Bolling was very good at writing, "Little Archie on Mars" being my favorite of his scripts. I totally agree with you that Archie should compile those Jughead stories into a TPB- I've got "Folly" and "Hercules" in a digest, but that'd be really cool.

Until about the late 1980s, when they stopped doing new Little Archie stories, and Bolling became one of the main writers on Betty & Me, Bolling's stories seemed to exist in some weird alternate Archie-verse. On Betty & Me, he began integrating his LA characters like Chic and Polly Cooper (and Betty's cat, Caramel) into the Betty stories. A Bolling story always tended to have a fantasy, supernatural, mystery or adventure element (like his series, "Betty Cooper, Super Sleuther" in Betty). Towards the tail end of Sabrina's original run, he took over and briefly turned it into more of an adventure-oriented title. He also really liked to do 'outdoorsman' stories (Mr. Weatherbee was obviously a favorite of his) about camping and fishing ("The Plight of the Perilous Pike"), and he loved drawing maps and always had his own unusual names for local landmarks in Riverdale (Like "Bongo Bay", and I believe it was Bolling who introduced "Pickens Park"). It's hard to mistake a Bolling-written story even in the absence of credits. In hindsight, it seems odd to me that Bolling wrote only a bare handful of stories (all of them relatively short) for Life With Archie, which was the relatively permanent home of adventure-type stories at ACP. If I had to guess, Frank Doyle must really have enjoyed the change-of-pace those type of stories offered him, and wasn't willing to give up that assignment, even though Bolling would have been perfect for the job.

Quote from: Good Ole Samm on April 18, 2019, 08:34:20 pmNever really bothered to check out the pre-code Harvey's for the most part, maybe someday. Could be something I'd quite like, although I'll always have the soft spot for the ghosts, witches and devils the publisher eventually became famous for. I get that you're not crazy about the Sacks, I guess for some the drawing style might need some getting used to.

Harvey's biggest characters, prior to the horror-comics boom, were The Black Cat (in Speed Comics and especially in her own mag, as drawn by Lee Elias), and The Green Hornet. The two big Harvey anthology titles were Speed (which also starred Shock Gibson and Captain Freedom), and Champ Comics (featuring Duke O'Dowd, the Human Meteor). Simon & Kirby seemed to be peripherally involved with Harvey off-and-on, at times editing and/or providing covers, and late in the Golden Age, after leaving DC, they tried to launch some new characters like Stuntman, Boy Explorers, and Captain 3-D, that never really took off. Other than that, Harvey tended to lean heavily on reprinting popular newspaper strips like Joe Palooka, Dick Tracy and The Phantom.

Quote from: Good Ole Samm on April 18, 2019, 08:34:20 pmI also really like the Mickeys, too. A pity I don't have enough of Floyd Gottfredson, the guy was talented. He was what Barks was to the Disney ducks.

Fortunately, Fantagraphics has reprinted all of the early Mickey Mouse newspaper strip adventure continuities from the '30s and '40s in a series of hardcovers. Cheaper and easy to find are the old Gladstone Comics from the late 1980s, many of which reprinted Gottfredson Mickey strips.

Quote from: Good Ole Samm on April 15, 2019, 09:55:58 amI can help you with this one since I have this one in my collection: it's simply called "Boots" (creative today, aren't we?), and it was originally published in JUGHEAD #115, Dec. 1964, indeed drawn by the great Samm Schwartz. GCD and digest printings of the story credit Jim Ruth for the story, but I think the great Frank Doyle actually wrote it, although it's possible Schwartz took Ruth's script and revised it a bit as he was prone to doing.

Wow, impressive. Every once in a while I come across a credit (almost always a writer) for someone who I'm totally unfamiliar with. In this case, a good example, Jim Ruth. Don't know a thing about him, and have only rarely seen his credit on a story. There have been maybe half-a-dozen or so names I've seen in credits that I'm entirely drawing a blank on, which indicates to me that their tenure with ACP must have been relatively brief. It isn't just the older stories, either... occasionally one pops up from the eighties or nineties stories. Actually, I'd probably be more likely to know who it was if it was an older story, at least if the writer had worked for other companies. And now that I think about it, I guess it's because ACP tended to employ writers (and sometimes artists) who didn't work for any of the larger comic publishers.

I always liked Bolling better as a writer than as an artist. I'd rank Kathleen Webb right near the top echelon of writers, too. She was to B&V what Boldman was to Jughead, IMO. And Al Hartley's way under-rated as both a writer AND an artist, IMO. I agree with your choices of JUGHEAD'S FOLLY and JUGHEAD'S FANTASY, though -- ACP really ought to collect all of those in a trade paperback. Those are to the early Silver Age what JUGHEAD'S TIME POLICE was to the late '80s/early '90s.

I also like the Disney Ducks (and Mickey) comics and MAD and Looney Toons (and Spongebob and Ren & Stimpy), but totally drew a blank on Gravity Falls and Oggy and the Cockroaches (sounds like a good name for a band, though). My obsession with Harvey Comics is for the pre-Code ones (actually, the pre-horror ones, too) -- but for some perverse reason I find that Baby Huey and Hot Stuff appeal to me in a casual sort of way, while I can just skip Casper, Wendy and Richie Rich (and Sad Sack just creeps me out -- it's the drawing style).

SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH #1 - Well, what do you know. It's just a different version of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, by a different creative team. Still a horror comic, though. I guess it's one way to get out of the fact that they've got a hit Netflix Sabrina series, based on a comic book that they no longer publish. They can't publish it unless Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa makes the time to actually write it (and let's face it, if he's going to do work, that's the least profitable use of his time, for him). So ACP gives us someone else's alternate take on a horror version of Sabrina, because they can't afford to pass up the opportunity to cash in on the profile-raising character-awareness the video (almost said "TV" there) series is generating. Maybe I'd have liked it better if this one had come first.

Quote from: SAGG on March 26, 2019, 10:23:03 amI wonder now, the styles: Schultz is similar to DeCarlo (B&V). Ruiz to Schwartz. The Kennedys to Lucey. Parent, his own? 🤔

Dan Parent worked closely with Dan DeCarlo (over his layouts) in the beginning, and his own style evolved gradually after being closer to DDC's at first, although he always had his own idiosyncrasies. Funny you say Schwartz for Ruiz, as I would have said Lucey more than anyone else... but also more "his own" than anything else (especially since working on Archie's Weird Mysteries). Remarkably, Jeff Schultz' style has changed hardly at all since his earliest work, always closely modeled on the DDC style. The Kennedys started out sort of nondescript, and then more recently began studying Lucey's style very carefully.

Personally, I plan on taking a pass on purchasing future volumes in the ARCHIE COMICS PRESENTS series such as ARCHIE AT RIVERDALE HIGH and ARCHIE AND ME. The first volumes in those two series weren't all that great. I'm still waffling over whether to purchase a Book 2 collection of EVERYTHING'S ARCHIE.

Where the heck is the ARCHIE 1 collection? What about an ARCHIES collection, beginning with the earliest stories of the 3-man combo from Life With Archie? What about a book of the earliest VERONICA stories? And what the hell do they have against poor JUGHEAD?

Quote from: Tuxedo Mark on March 22, 2019, 09:39:05 am

Quote from: Oldiesmann on March 21, 2019, 07:26:58 pm

$12.99 US/$14.99 CAN
6 x 9" TR
120 pp, Full Color
Direct Market On-Sale Date: 6/12

Yes, this trade paperback collection of a reprint series is all-new!

Not only is it NOT all-new, but weren't those same stories just part of THIS recent collection?



Let's do a little simple math here. ARCHIE MODERN CLASSICS had 256 pages (which included all of 2018's new Archie digest 5-pagers, as well as the B&V ones), for a cover price of $9.99. The above-pictured B&V FRIENDS FOREVER collection contains only 120 pages of stories, for a cover price of $12.99. Admittedly, by the time this collection comes out it may contain 30 pages or so of B&V stories that didn't quite make it into the Modern Classics book that came out in January.

Now here's some previews of more coming distractions:



LITTLE ARCHIE'S LUCKY DAY
Archie Comics is proud to present our first picture book for little readers! This title follows the footsteps of great children's books like Corduroy and Where the Wild Things Are as being a modern classic for little ones to enjoy. Featuring full page illustrations and easy-to-read text from the masters of DC Comics' kids books.

Archie's wildest day ever starts with a cat eating his homework - and things just get crazier from there! But this isn't just an ordinary cat, and this certainly won't be an ordinary day for Little Archie and his friends. Join in on the fun adventure from the superstar comics team Art Baltazar and Franco (Tiny Titans, Action Cat and Adventure Bug)!

Hardcover | $14.99 | 32 Pages | 9 x 7
May 07, 2019




ARCHIE & SABRINA'S HALLOWEEN COLORING BOOK
Archie and Sabrina team-up for a spook-tacularly fun coloring book!

It's the ultimate treat for those looking to get colorful! Everyone's favorite teenage witch joins the fun as the whole Riverdale gang is back for a Halloween-themed coloring book. There are plenty of costumes, candies and creatures to customize in this latest entry! Plus, each image has an intricate background pattern to add to your color experience. The possibilities are endless and the fun never stops!

Paperback | $9.99 | 128 Pages | 7-1/4 x 10-7/8
Oct 01, 2019



The following titles are all forthcoming volumes in the ARCHIE COMICS PRESENTS... series:



BETTY & VERONICA SPECTACULAR VOL. 2 is the second in a chronological collection featuring the magazine-format series spotlighting Riverdale's iconic duo. This is presented in the new higher-end format of Archie Comics Presents, which offers 200+ pages at a value while taking a design cue from successful all-ages graphic novels.

Betty & Veronica take on the world in this series of once-quarterly stories! See how B&V tackle the world of fashion, prep for the red carpets of Hollywood and still have time to finish their homework!

Paperback | $10.99  | 224 Pages | 5-1/4 x 8
Jul 23, 2019




ARCHIE AND ME VOL. 2 is the second of a chronological collection of titles featuring the classic series. This is presented in the new higher-end format of Archie Comics Presents, which offers 200+ pages at a value while taking a design cue from successful all-ages graphic novels.

For 161 issues, Archie's craziest interactions with Riverdale High principal Mr. Weatherbee were showcased in this classic series. Now the first dozen are collected here!

Paperback | $10.99 | 224 Pages | 5-1/4 x 8
Aug 13, 2019





KATY KEENE  Since the 1940s, fashion model supreme Katy Keene has enthralled audiences with her own self-titled series as well as Katy Keene Pin-Up Parade and Katy Keene Fashion Book Magazine. Readers have followed her adventures on the runway as well as her intriguing romances. Best of all, Katy Keene was one of the first interactive comic book series, inviting readers to send in fashion suggestions of their own that were turned into pin-ups and paper dolls that they could cut out and keep! This fully-colored edition features her high-fashion-hijinx!

Katy Keene, model/actress/singer extraordinaire, has been an inspiration for the fashion-conscious for years! Now, Archie Comics is pleased to bring you a collection of some of Katy's most wonderful stories! Katy certainly has her hands full with the Hollywood lifestyle she has. Glitz and glamour, famous boyfriends and runway rivals make for quite a balancing act! Can she keep it together and keep her fans wowed?

Paperback | $10.99 | 224 Pages | 5-1/4 x 8
Sep 17, 2019





WORLD OF ARCHIE VOL. 1 is the first of a chronological collection of titles featuring the classic series. This is presented in the new higher-end format of Archie Comics Presents, which offers 200+ pages at a value while taking a design cue from successful all-ages graphic novels.

Archie takes on dinosaurs, cowboys and the wilderness in the collection of the '90s series! Join him on a journey throughout the world and beyond!

Paperback | $10.99 | 224 Pages | 5-1/4 x 8
Oct 29, 2019




EVERYTHING'S ARCHIE VOL. 2 is the second of a chronological collection of titles featuring the classic series. This is presented in the new higher-end format of Archie Comics Presents, which offers 200+ pages at a value while taking a design cue from successful all-ages graphic novels.

Back in the days of Saturday morning cartoons, The Archies ruled both TV and radio. While "Sugar, Sugar" was on the airwaves, you could also read the band's adventures in this classic series -- reprinted here again for fans young and old alike!

Paperback | $10.99 | 224 Pages | 5-1/4 x 8
Dec 17, 2019

Just out of curiosity, I tried searching for "Katy Keene" under "books" on Amazon. I wasn't expecting a great lot of results, but to my surprise, I got more than 3 pages of relevant returns. Admittedly, from page 4 onward most of those are Amazon z-shops sellers with various out-of-print/collectible back issues. But an awful lot of people are selling print-on-demand collections of old public domain KK comics.

I'd be a lot more inclined to buy a "throwback variant" if the COVER ARTWORK (and not just the logo) were the "throwback" concept here. And as it is, why is this the only cover that isn't ARCHIE & SABRINA? Why isn't Sabrina's classic cover logo on there as well? So I'm inclined to just "throw it back".

MMMmmmm... pie.

Quote from: Tuxedo Mark on March 23, 2019, 07:58:59 pmHairstyle doesn't matter much for Betty. I've seen her with a ponytail, pigtails, hair down (yes, even in modern stories), and even short hair - all in the classic comics. And Riverdale has has with her hair down in addition to the ponytail. So that's not really an issue. What is an issue is she had apparently just gotten a whiff of Moose Mason's sweaty gym socks.

Actually, it does matter. Within the reduced set of artistic cues that define the "Archie style", there are really only TWO ways of distinguishing one pretty girl from another - her hair and her facial features/expression. The hair consists of both the color and the style. Alter either one of those, and you reduce the chances of positive identification of that character. Especially when you're playing fast and loose in drawing the character's facial expression, making it one that's completely atypical for that particular character. What's going on here is that the range of identifiers that signify the character "Betty" have been reduced to just "yellow hair". That's TOO little to go on.

Additionally, this is a single image. The done-in-one gag panel in which ALL the visual information must come from a single drawing. You can get away with altering Betty's standard ponytail hairstyle in a single multi-page story, because you get to establish a whole range of drawings of the character. That makes each individual panel (in which you can play with the limits of what visually identifies the character) less important, and in addition to that, you establish a context for that particular story, and get a chance to display the character's personality over the course of the story as the primary confirmation of the identity of "Betty".

In defense of the Kennedy brothers, I have to say that the quality of their work as cartoonists in the humor genre has improved 1000% over the course of the last 20 years. I'm not sure what, exactly, spurred the brothers on to new artistic heights, but I first began noticing it in the wake of their work on the LIFE WITH ARCHIE magazine series. Somehow that lit a fire under their butts. I truly believe they ARE, more than any other artists employed by ACP, the true heirs to the legacy of the rather specific Archie style blazed by Harry Lucey. I'm not just talking about their ability to draw sexy attractive cartoon girls -- when you really study their art, you can tell that they've taken to mastering the real "animation-on-paper" aspects of the comic medium. Their mastery of time & space, as applied to slapstick comedy, is truly amazing. Bodies float or fly, trip or tumble, end-over-end, in an almost balletic display of aerial acrobatics. Body language, attitudes and facial expressions are incredibly well-defined. Background details are rich with what MAD's Will Elder deemed as "chicken fat"... the sort of visual detail that may add nothing to the story itself, but makes the world of the comic come alive. They're paying close attention to fashion as well, in a way that virtually no other ACP artists do. I mean, Dan Parent used to pay a lot more attention to that sort of thing when he had the time and luxury to do so -- but not as much these days, except on those special projects Like Archie Meets Batman '66, or Your Pal Archie. That's part of Dan DeCarlo's legacy of contribution to teen humor comics. When you look at the Kennedys' work from 20 years back, it's... unremarkable. I mean, there was nothing technically WRONG with it. It's... "perfectly acceptable". There just wasn't anything to say about it -- like that page of art by Chic Stone with the snowman that we just saw above. It's okay, but nobody's going to notice it, or linger on it to study it. So I guess the Kennedys are forcing us to NOTICE them, and some people don't like that. Blend in with the crowd, don't stand out -- be bland but steady and dependable. Frankly I prefer the Kennedy brothers of today, not yesterday. Lest you think this is just a Kennedy love-fest, I will point out that their work in the horror genre is nowhere near as well-developed as their humor work. There's nothing WRONG with it, it's just... unremarkable. But then I'm judging it by different standards, the standards that have been set for outstanding work in the horror genre.

Yes, they were ALL new stories... once upon a time.

Hurrah for summer fun covers! Cheryl may look off-model on that Kennedy bros cover (it looks like he's trying to draw the TV version of Cheryl), but not nearly so much as Betty ( ... I mean, the blonde who I presume by default has to be Betty ... ), who is practically unrecognizable in facial expression or hairstyle as being Betty.

It's ACP's own damn fault though. They let the newer artists just draw whatever they want, and there's no real 'standard version' or 'character model sheet' to go by anymore, so you can't blame the Kennedys if they're getting loosey-goosey doing their 'impression' of the characters now.

I definitely gotta get that Robert Hack Jughead cover!

Vulgar?? 

Yet when Lucey and DeCarlo did it, it was somehow okay, but if the Kennedys do it today... well, NOW it's just "awful and cheap". And what in bloody blazes does a page of Chic Stone drawing the gang making a snowman have to do with anything??

THIS (this kind of criticism) is EXACTLY what's wrong with comics today. Yeah, you really ARE a prude.