Quote from: Captain Jetpack on November 22, 2019, 06:56:52 amNot sentimental moments in Archie comics.

Have you have a special time in your life, when Archie Comics were important?

My late Mother taught me to read, with her 1950s vintage, coverless Archies.

I began collecting Archie Comics when I was 10 years old. As I was traveling to visit my grandparents in Ohio, my family stopped at multiple antique stores throughout the weekend road trip. During one of those stops, I made my first purchase - Archie's Double Digest No. 14 - with my hard-earned babysitting money. I originally gravitated towards the comic book's bright illustrations, as I didn't care for reading then, but I soon fell in love with the zany antics of Archie and his friends. I spent the summer reading Archie in the newspaper with my grandpa, visiting local comic shops with my dad and uncle, and trading toys for comics with my cousins and friends. My mom's best friend later gave me her collection of Archie digests, so I was on my way to becoming a collector shortly after thereafter. I've been collecting off and on for over 20 years now, and I can definitely say that Archie will always remind me of my childhood memories.

I picked up Betty and Me #1 ($10), Josie and the Pussycats #45 ($2), and Pureheart the Powerful #1 ($8) at a small comic and toy show.

Archie Complete Set (5) ReAction Figures by Super7

"From Super7, Archie and the gang are joining the ReAction retro figure line. Based on the classic comic series, each Archie ReAction figure stands 3.75 inches tall and features five points of articulation (Release Date: December 2019/January 2020)." 

What do you think? I love the packaging! I may have to get two sets, so I can open one!  

Photos of the BendEm figures - Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica - are now viewable on Amazon. They'll be in stores (and available online) in December 2019 - January 2020.

As mentioned, I've gradually been converting my home office into my comic/toy room, and, as part of my Archie collection is still on display at a local museum, I've only completed about half of the room so far, but it's coming along nicely! 

I hope to buy at least one additional Billy Bookcase (Ikea) for the other side of the room and find a solution to display my 2000+ comics. I also plan to frame original art and a few posters. And I'll definitely share more photos when it is complete!

(EDIT) I can't seem to embed the photos in this thread, but you can check out my progress, including close-up photos of each shelf, on my recent Instagram post - Do you you have a comic or toy room?

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on August 16, 2019, 02:00:11 am

Quote from: archiecomicscollector on August 15, 2019, 07:18:30 pmI do love The Archies by Marx Toys, c. 1975 though. I have a complete set - carrying case, dolls, jalopy and outfits. I wish they would have made additional characters, especially Josie and the Pussycats and Sabrina.

Having a line of toy figures that represents a fairly broad cross-section of the classic Archie Comics characters is the unattainable dream (so it would seem, at least for now). Up to this point, it seems like the most you can hope for is 4 or 5 figures. As of now, you could go with the Dark Horse 'sirocco' statuettes, or the JM Croce/BendEm bendy figures. I'm hoping they add some additional characters to the bendy line-up.

Even with all the action figure lines (both mainstream and toy-collector focused) today, we're more likely to see an extended line of RIVERDALE figures (if someone hasn't already done one) than anything from classic Archie. I don't even count the Funko Pop stuff, because it's... "non-representational" I guess is the best word. Or maybe "interpretive", in the design-y sense. I feel like the "designer vinyl" type figures are okay as a way of extending the range of collectibles available to fans of characters from Marvel, DC, and the many movie/TV franchises whose iconic characters have already been done to death many times over as "standard-type" action figures, but I want figures that are representational, source-accurate, and look as much like the characters on the comic page translated into 3 dimensions as possible, so making Pop vinyl figures of those characters when there still has never been a toy line with a decent range of Archie Comics characters seems almost criminal. Articulation or poseability isn't even a main concern, since Archie characters aren't "action heroes" -- a line of faithfully-sculpted PVC figurines would do just fine.

Hey, here's a decent-looking line of busts (though still not as faithful as I'd like them to be) that I stumbled across on an image search. Produced in 2006-2007 by Diamond Select LLC, these were limited to 1,000 pieces and originally retailed for $45. Anybody got any of these?

I do have this set of Archie Comics Busts by Diamond Select Gifts, c. 2006-2007 in my collection! I never saw them in stores, but I picked up most of them at a local antique store last year (Note - I have the originally boxes and numbered certificates too).

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on August 15, 2019, 10:45:42 am

Quote from: Terry1 on August 15, 2019, 08:57:53 am

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on August 15, 2019, 04:07:36 am

Quote from: Terry1 on August 12, 2019, 03:38:27 amMy personal favorite is this vintage Jughead statue in a tin box from Dark Horse.

Or as I like to call him, "SCARY Jughead". This early prototype version of Juggie was definitely in need of some serious tweaking before he could become a beloved character. As a kid, if you saw this guy walking down the sidewalk towards you, you'd cross the street or turn the corner hoping to avoid losing your lunch money. Pretty shady-looking.

See, what I love about this is that it's old, original, Bob Montana Jughead!  Unapologetically ugly.  I think the same toy designers kind of chickened out when they did Archie: the box design is OG Bob Montana Archie, but the actual figure is closer to the contemporary Archie.  I feel like this was a blunder on their part:  it was supposed to be CLASSIC Archie, and to me, that means Bob Montana.

The original Jughead design definitely reflects that "Dead End Kid from the wrong side of the tracks" influence. I think the initial idea there was to make him quirky or have 'strange talents' as a counterpoint to that street urchin, lower-class look, and initially he's not too bright. Kind of a Popeye approach. When you think about it, Popeye pretty much broke every rule there was for a series protagonist. An older not-at-all-handsome guy with a huge jaw and tattoos, missing an eye, and smoking (something in) a corncob pipe. Eventually things went in kind of a totally different direction for Jughead's character, though they certainly kept the quirky/strange talents part.

Those pinback buttons are miles apart from the tin box art, too.

I don't have much to speak of for Archie merch, just a couple of recent things, because I sort of got a late start on Archie Comics (basically fleeing from Marvel and DC in the past 5-6 years). It certainly seems like the prime period to focus on is the decade from 1968-1978, when there was a much greater variety of Archie collectibles to choose from. My personal favorites are the (again, pretty recent) Mattel Betty and Veronica dolls. Light years better than the Marx or Praying Mantis versions of B&V. BUT it has to be admitted that a big percentage of Archie licensed merch is pretty crappy. They just took the money, and didn't care if the licensee was putting out a quality product. Ever see those ugly-as-sin Remco action figures of the Mighty Crusaders from the 1980s? This was shortly after the time Kenner was putting out the DC Super Powers figures, and Mattel was putting out the Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars figures. Still crude by comparison to today's action figures, but at the time, those were top quality. But those Remco Crusaders figures... ugh!

I also love Mattel's Betty and Veronica dolls.

I've avoided buying Playing Mantis' Betty and Veronica dolls for a really long time. Aside from being a poor depiction of B&V, I've noticed so many resellers are trying to sell them for far more than I think they are worth. 

I do love The Archies by Marx Toys, c. 1975 though. I have a complete set - carrying case, dolls, jalopy and outfits. I wish they would have made additional characters, especially Josie and the Pussycats and Sabrina.

Quote from: Terry1 on August 15, 2019, 08:53:54 am

Quote from: archiecomicscollector on August 14, 2019, 09:04:10 pmI love it all (and I have a lot)! 

But I'd have to pick Archie's Car Featuring Archie, Veronica and Hot Dog by Aurora Models c. 1969 - 1971. It was my holy grail for a long time, and, I'm happy to report, I added it to my collection last year.

A more sentimental favorite though is The Archie Doll c. 1973, as it was my first Archie collectible, and a Christmas gift from my parents.

OMG.  I just spent an hour looking at your IG.  AMAZING.  You probably have the best Archie collection in the world.  I saw an exhibit Nancy Silberkleit was showing and she had less stuff than you. 

I love that the car still has the instructions.  So vintage!  And that doll, how have I never seen that before.

Thanks! I've definitely focused more on collecting vintage Archie merchandise, and, as no one has compiled a collector's guide, I continue to find new items. The hunt continues... 

I love it all (and I have a lot)! 

But I'd have to pick Archie's Car Featuring Archie, Veronica and Hot Dog by Aurora Models c. 1969 - 1971. It was my holy grail for a long time, and, I'm happy to report, I added it to my collection last year. 

A more sentimental favorite though is The Archie Doll c. 1973, as it was my first Archie collectible, and a Christmas gift from my parents.

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on August 02, 2019, 07:11:08 amThe DC figures of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern looked familiar. I already have a boxed set (along with Batman) of those figures, which are based on artist Darwyn Cooke's designs for DC's New Frontier limited series (set in the early 1960s). Batman from the Animated Series is a different design (by Bruce Timm).

It's cool that they'll have Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica -- but no Reggie or Hot Dog? And they'll have Daphne, Scooby-Doo, Shaggy and Velma -- but no Fred? They're absolutely ruining my dream crossover series of ARCHIE MEETS SCOOBY-DOO! Gotta get those anyway. And they made a Harley Quinn figure, but no Poison Ivy? Now I can't play HARLEY & IVY MEET BETTY & VERONICA, either. Aw, shucks!

The comic book characters I'd MOST like to own as a bendable figure? Plastic Man, Elongated Man, or Mister Fantastic -- with extra long arms and legs. I don't think they've ever made any of those.

They may have plans to extend the line (and include those characters in the second set), but, unfortunately, there isn't a lot of information about them online.

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on August 02, 2019, 07:17:45 amStatues... WAY too expensive. So if I were to buy one (unlikely) I'd have to absolutely be in LOVE with the design to slap down those kind of bucks. Not these, I'm afraid. Maybe if they hire Dan Parent to do the designs for them.

I reached out to Icon Heroes on IG about their plans for classic Archie statues, and they said "we would love to possibly for later in 2020."

And, speaking of the New York Toy Fair, Bend-Ems also shared a sneak peak of bendable Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica figures, which will be in stores this fall. Will you be picking up a set?

Icon Heroes announced Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Riverdale merchandise at the New York Toy Fair (February 2019), and provided a sneak peak of some of their statues at SDCC (July 2019) - Jughead The Hunger, Sabrina, and Vampironica. 

What do you think? I really like the Sabrina statue, but I hope (fingers crossed!) they also make classic Archie statues.

I've already shared a few items from my Archie collection on this thread, so I thought some of you might be interested in seeing part of my collection on display at the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures in Kansas City, MO. Toys Inspired by Archie and the Gang will be on display through December. 

I'm currently reading Jughead The Hunger Verses Vampironica (#2), Jughead's Time Police (#1), Blossoms 666 (#4), Red Sonja and Vampirella Meet Betty and Veronica (#2), Sabrina The Teenage Witch (#3).