Quote from: Midge Klump on June 24, 2016, 02:26:34 PM
So Archie Andrews has dated just about every girl in Riverdale and the surrounding counties, but has there ever been a story where he has gone out on a date with Ethel? I don't seem to recall ever reading something like that before.

Yes, there was a story where he took Ethel to the prom. B&V mainly shamed him into it, after the usual bout of indecision over whether he'd ask Betty or Veronica, and they both agreed to sit this prom out in favor of Archie asking Ethel.

Quote from: irishmoxie on June 25, 2016, 01:44:17 AM

Quote from: daren on June 25, 2016, 01:10:51 AM
I'm starting to think the delays are on purpose. Roberto said last year he was the holdup and I guess he was right, I thought maybe he was taking the fall so ACP wouldn't look bad but no, they've been putting out their other books on time this past year. Unless the delays are Francesco's, but if they're Roberto's why are they happening at all. Story and dialogue as simple and short as Afterlife's shouldn't take that long to write even if he has other things going on. I'm not saying that means it sucks, even though it is overrated I still like it okay and it's better than Life With Archie which was more complex and ambitious, but you would think LWA would be the book with delays, it must have been harder to write, instead it's Afterlife? I can't think of any reason why that would be unless it IS on purpose.

Logically I would think it would be the artist (Francesco) who would be the cause of delays because it takes longer to draw.

He can't even BEGIN to draw until he gets a script though. Plus he's got to draw other things to in order to earn a living and to pay the rent, and it's hard to schedule his time when he can't know when to expect an AWA script with any regularity. So there is that logic as well.

I agree with Daren, it's not a bad book but it's overrated. Paul Kupperberg had been scripting comics for decades, so despite whatever complicated plot threads had to be woven into LWA, he was a professional who knew how to make a deadline, and didn't have other commitments to television writing, either. For Aguirre-Sacasa, comics comes a distant second to his TV work (that's how HE pays the rent).

Midge gets lumped in with Ethel as gawky and gangly?      The idea that having a short hairstyle somehow makes her unattractive is ridiculous.

Yeah, that must be the reason Reggie has endured hundreds of painful beatings from Moose over the years in his attempt to make time with her. The only other girl that Reggie ever attempts to date anywhere near as frequently is Veronica. There are several stories from the 1960s that imply that Midge is the most desirable girl in Riverdale, including a few where Archie either dates her or attempts to do so. In her earliest appearances, she's always referred to as "the sorority queen", which attests to her social status as one of the most popular girls at Riverdale High -- which makes sense in light of the fact that she's going steady with Moose, who's RHS's star athlete. The context of what makes for interesting stories in Archie Comics means that steady couples like Moose and Midge and Chuck and Nancy are considered boring and thus not given that much attention, even moreso for Midge and Nancy than for Moose and Chuck.

The problem is, Midge is kind of trapped in this one gag, where every setup has some guy who either talks to her or looks at her (or at least Moose so believes), followed by the same (literal) punchline -- a beating by Moose. Midge's potential character development is pretty much imprisoned in that gag situation for as long as it endures, and it's never really gone away.

Professor Bart Beatty of Calgary University, who wrote the only serious critical examination of Archie Comics, TWELVE CENT ARCHIE, claims that Midge is his favorite character.

QuoteI've gone through waves where I've switched in the two and a half years that it took me to put this book together. I went through a long period where I decided that Moose was my favourite character, and then Midge became my favourite character.

Quote from: spazaru on June 23, 2016, 06:15:12 PM

Quote from: BettyReggie on June 23, 2016, 06:09:32 AM
I guess the girls from Josie & The Pussycats are supposed to be older if they are on merchandise already. In this Archie reboot The Archies didn't even start yet.

Josie and the Pussycats have always been older.  In the recent Archie loves Valerie storyline, they mention Archie having to go to high school while Valerie heads out on tour.

Well, Josie, Melody, and Pepper started out as high school students just like Archie and the gang. Somehow when they got a Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon series they formed a band in the comic book and just sort of stopped going to high school. Although it's just sort of vague as to when, exactly, that might have happened, since in the very first Pussycats story, when Alexander Cabot mentions Valerie's name as a potential member of the prospective group, and Melody asks "Who's Valerie Smith?", Alex replies "She's a new girl in school." -- so apparently, they're still in school when the Pussycats are first formed.

Even so, you get these weird anomalies like the following one-page gag strip from JOSIE #74 (Feb. 1974). How is it that Alexandra and Alan can be in school (and we can see Josie, Melody and Valerie in the same class - could be college, we don't know from the context) in this issue that appeared in late 1973 if they're supposed to be full-time musicians in Josie and the Pussycats? Maybe they're just taking a class at the local community college? Well, I once theorized that this gag was recycled from an older Archie script where the girl would have been Betty and the boy would have been Archie.

Quote from: Midge Klump on June 24, 2016, 10:23:55 AM

I hope so, but what I really hope is the book will be a great and a good representation of those 75 years.

Well, technically only 70 of those 75 years. The hardcover is a Deluxe Edition of THIS book, previously released in 2011, so we know the contents already as far as the story selection goes.

Quote from: Midge Klump on June 24, 2016, 09:07:43 AM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on June 24, 2016, 05:50:56 AM
This is the third (at least) time this book has been solicited. Let's hope it actually sees publication this time around. I'm curious to see what is going to make it "deluxe" -- better paper, coloring, some additional text pieces, or whatever.

What do you think is the hold up for this making it to the shelves?

Hard to say. Lack of large enough pre-order numbers? Or just a lack of cash flow? They recently solved the latter problem with some outside financing, so maybe it'll happen this time, who knows.

This is the third (at least) time this book has been solicited. Let's hope it actually sees publication this time around. I'm curious to see what is going to make it "deluxe" -- better paper, coloring, some additional text pieces, or whatever.

Quote from: Midge Klump on June 23, 2016, 09:49:39 PM

Quote from: invisifan on June 23, 2016, 09:40:52 PM
Welcome — hoping your stay is a long and pleasant one 

Given your interests I'm curious if you are aware of the relationship that's been established in Afterlife with Archie between Ginger (Lopez) and Nancy?

First thanks for the welcome.

I haven't read the Afterlife series, but I am aware of the relationship that is being worked up between Ginger and Nancy and I think it is fantastic. The struggle that these young girls and boys who are going through these issues of coming out of how they feel inside can only be made a little more comfortable even reading it in a comic book. I know when I was 15 years old and I knew who I was but scared as hell to come out to people I loved reading and seeing stories about celebs going through similar issues. Awareness is always important in my book.

Nothing against gay characters in comics (Kevin's book is great), but I hate the way it's handled in AWA. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa just gives the whole relationship a creepy vibe (but that's true of most of the new angles he's introduced to established characters, and I hate the way he's handling Veronica too).

I mean, yes, it's supposed to be a horror comic, but the way the Ginger/Nancy thing is written, it comes off as distasteful in the same way that he's painted Mr. Lodge as a philanderer and Cheryl and Jason as an incestuous relationship. In the first place, it's not portrayed as a particularly healthy relationship. Their affair is closeted, with Nancy still nominally in a relationship with Chuck, and Nancy's relationship with Ginger is not entirely a balanced one either. Ginger is far more committed, and seems to be pressuring Nancy, who, as far as I can tell, may be what you'd call "bi-curious", and Nancy's lack of committment is causing a seething undercurrent of anger and resentment on Ginger's part. And unfortunately, with everything else going on in the series, it's not something that's been given the space to be dealt with in any depth. It would be a lot easier to accept if RA-S had just made them an openly gay couple -- or if closeted, at least with both of them on the same page as far as how the relationship was working. The fact that Ginger clearly wants this relationship more badly than Nancy does, who may not be entirely comfortable with it or ready for it, and is pressuring her over it and feeling anger and resentment instead of patience and understanding doesn't exactly speak well of her, and there's the lingering feeling that Ginger's anger and resentment over the situation may be foreshadowing... something, I'm not sure exactly what. While that may be an understandable and not unrealistic bit of characterization, it's not as though representation of gays in comics is so common that everyone's going to find it acceptable. To the contrary, it would seem to add fuel to the fire to those who view gays as somewhat predatory... ugh. The jury is definitely still out as far as Nancy's definite sexual orientation (gay, bisexual, or bi-curious), which she may not be entirely sure of yet. Not exactly what I'd hold up as a shining example of LGBT diversity in comics.

Quote from: irishmoxie on June 23, 2016, 01:25:50 PM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on June 23, 2016, 01:12:56 PM
Some of those exclusive variants look great. Especially the Flying Colors Comics (Dez Taylor), Rick's Comic City (Sam Payne), and Stadium Comics (Marco D'Alfonso) covers. I'd love to see any of those guys draw an entire issue.

All you did was pick out the "Classic Archie" variants. 

No, all I did was pick out the ones that looked GOOD to me. 

Here's a couple of covers where the artist of this "New Look" take on Midge and Moose got the original concept right.

Some of those exclusive variants look great. Especially the Flying Colors Comics (Dez Taylor), Rick's Comic City (Sam Payne), and Stadium Comics (Marco D'Alfonso) covers. I'd love to see any of those guys draw an entire issue.

Quote from: Midge Klump on June 23, 2016, 12:44:37 PM
My girlfriend and my Mom are the main ones who compare me to Midge. My girlfriend because she sees my digests all over the house and sometimes glances through them. Yes I will get her to be a fan someday. My Mom because she saw me grow up with Archie comics. To be honest I don't see it other than I have short dark hair. I am extremely short and Midge is not.

The original idea was that Moose is this hulking giant of a guy, and Midge is supposed to be petite. It just makes it look funnier that they're a couple if they're such physical opposites. That sort of got lost over the years, but it's inherent in her name, "Midge" (as in "midget"). If you don't believe it, look at Moose's previous girlfriend from the early 1950s -- the character from whom Midge essentially evolved. Her name was Lottie Little.

Quote from: Barbaric William Dreadbeard on June 22, 2016, 09:21:19 AM
WISH THEYD GET NEW COVERS FOR THE DIGESTS, ALL BUT ONE ARE RE-USED COVERS :ANGRY: :TICKEDOFF:

Not reused. These two covers were supposed to appear on digests that were solicited last year, but they never made it. By the time the original issues they were solicited for came out, Halloween was long past, so they never actually got used.





This latter one was supposed to appear on the cover of last years ARCHIE'S FUNHOUSE DOUBLE DIGEST #17. That was solicited before the frequency of the title was downgraded to 6 times per year, instead of the former 10 times per year. I think by the time #17 came out it was January of this year.



Looking forward to this one for Halloween... YES, that IS a re-used cover.

Quote from: irishmoxie on June 23, 2016, 05:16:43 AM
I didn't really understand the story at all and I haven't read much of Magick Chicks. I liked Fernando's story better. The art is great in all of Pixie Trix's comics but I think I just don't get or like Dave Lumsden's writing style.

I guess that pretty well proves the point I was trying to make. If by "soft reboot" they meant "jump-on point", then this story isn't very accessible to new readers. You need to know too much backstory going into it to understand what's going on.

Let's see, where did I leave off...?

Monday 06/20:
BETTY AND VERONICA SUMMER ANNUAL #244

Tuesday 06/21:
WORLD OF ARCHIE JUMBO COMICS #60
INVINCIBLE #0 (2005)
DARK HORSE PRESENTS: (THE ONCE AND FUTURE TARZAN) #23
LORDS OF THE JUNGLE #4 (of 6)
THE TWILIGHT ZONE: THE SHADOW # 3 (of 4)
STEAM WARS PRINCESS LEGENDS #1
ALL NEW CLASSIC CAPTAIN CANUCK #2
DARK NIGHT: A TRUE BATMAN STORY HC OGN by Paul Dini & Eduardo Risso
ARCHIE'S PAL JUGHEAD ARCHIVES VOL 2 HC

Wednesday 06/22:
JUSTICE LEAGUE #51 & 52
ACTION COMICS #958
FLASH (2016) #1
WONDER WOMAN (2016) #1
DETECTIVE COMICS #935
AQUAMAN (2016) #1

... Already starting to lose interest in a couple of those newly-"Rebirth"ed DC universe titles. FLASH and AQUAMAN were both kind of 'meh'. I think #52 was the last of the current JUSTICE LEAGUE series, and it was (oddly) kind of a prequel to ACTION COMICS #957 (which came out a couple of weeks ago). #51 was a semi-confusing fill-in issue in which remnant characters from different prior iterations of the DC universe appeared, which just leaves you scratching your head as to what that was all about. Maybe it'll be followed up on elsewhere, or after the JUSTICE LEAGUE REBIRTH #1 issue comes out, who knows? That issue #51 Justice League team seemed to have the old Superman (which is to say, the New 52 Superman, the one they started with) in it, so it had to have taken place before his recent death. The DC Universe is just a confusing place sometimes. ACTION COMICS is still interesting to me, with Lex Luthor putting on an S-shield symbol on his power armor, and attempting to take the deceased Superman's place (meanwhile, over in the regular SUPERMAN Rebirthed title, it's the old pre-New 52 DCU Superman taking his place). They meet in this issue, and have some conflict over that. DETECTIVE COMICS has Batwoman leading a team of Gotham-centric Bat-spinoff characters that includes Spoiler (Stephanie Brown, daughter of minor Bat-villain The Cluemaster), Orphan (Cassandra Cain, one of the former Batgirls), Red Robin (Tim Drake, formerly Robin III), and Clayface II (Matt Hagen). While the idea of having a title with a permanent assemblage of Bat-allies is the kind of no-brainer that makes you wonder why it never happened before, I have to question the inclusion of bat-villain Clayface. I can see where they'd want at least one character with actual superpowers, but if they wanted a monster-type guy, Man-Bat (a.k.a. Kirk Langstrom) was definitely the way to go. While Matt Hagen's origin seems kind of tragic, he's always been presented as pretty irredeemable bad guy, so his inclusion smacks of a really arbitrary, illogical editoral decision. The non-inclusion of the better-known and more popular Batman sidekicks Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) was sort of understandable as they both have their own teams (Titans and Birds of Prey, respectively).  Don't know how long I'll stick with these books, as I'm already thinking about dropping FLASH and AQUAMAN from my reading list. I might stick with ACTION, DETECTIVE and WONDER WOMAN for a few more issues.