ARCHIE COMICS #1 - On newsstands November 1942

Before he left for military duty, Bob Montana was able to get Archie's own title up and running. It would end up being one of the longest running series that continues to this day.

Other than a couple of Bob Edwards funny animal stories, Montana would handle the art (no one's sure who wrote it, though Montana did a lot of his own writing) for the entire issue.

Montana set the tone for what Archie would become, and you can see in some of these early stories, elements that would be a part of it for a long time.

Undercover Archie moment: Ugh... 

As far as I know Judy (and Jerry) Price, introduced in this issue, have yet to make a reappearance! Next time I see Dan Parent, I'm going to bring this up!

Bob Montana's humor just cracks me up...

A reprint of Archie Comics #1 is available here:

PEP COMICS #42 - On newsstands July 1943

Harry Sahle was now writing and drawing Archie in Pep Comics as Bob Montana was headed off to boot camp and then World War II (actually, Montana would be fortunate to be stationed in New York during his military stint and still be able to contribute part time to the series).
   Sahle had co-created the Black Widow for Timely Comics a few years earlier (not to be confused with the modern day character), and would later go on to create the teen humor character Candy for Quality Comics, which he worked on for most of the characters 12 years there.

(Side note: The Black Widow character debuted in Mystic Comics #4, August of 1940, and is considered comics' first costumed, super powered female protagonist. She was a supernatural anti-hero who gathered deserving souls for Satan!)

Sahle's first few Archie stories had featured Jughead as Hitler, a story where Betty and Veronica didn't even appear (Pep #40), and another where Veronica showed up for just a few panels.  By the looks of Pep Comics #42, somebody must've told him to 'spice it up'!

Here, you can tell, Sahle put some extra effort into the splash page, adding some sex appeal with the humor:

Compare that to the previous issue splash page:

Somebody at MLJ had obviously given Sahle some 'pointer's' on what Archie stories were all about!

Veronica making her point to Archie's mom.

This baby picture of Archie, and Veronica's reaction to it, cracked me up:

Sahle would take much of what he learned at MLJ doing Archie and translate it to Candy at Quality Comics a few years later:

PEP COMICS #41 - On newsstands June 1943

If you've ever wondered about the focus of Archie Comics in the early days... if what I've uncovered here was unintentional on the publisher's part, or just one of those things the artist did to spice it up for himself.... look no further than this ad in PEP COMICS #41. They obviously thought more than just kids were reading these comics...

PEP COMICS #39 - On newsstands March 1943

Art by Harry Sahle

Bob Montana had drawn the first 15 of 17 Archie appearances in Pep Comics*, the first Archie appearance on the cover for Pep Comics (#36), and all of Archie #1 and 2. So it must have been quite a surprise to see a mew artist on Pep Comics #39!

(Actually, probably not. Nobody really thought about such things at the time!)

In Harry Sahle's first story, Archie and Betty make a Hitler dummy for throwing baseball's at in order to help the sale of War Bonds. When Jughead decides he'd make a better looking Hitler than the dummy, the inevitable happens!

Yeah... this might not make it past an editor in this day and age...

*Red Holmdale did Pep Comics #34 and 35 while Montana worked on Archie #1 and 2

 BOOK REVIEW: 
ARCHIE - THE COMPLETE DAILY NEWSPAPER COMICS 1946-1948

By Bob Montana

328 pages - $39.99 srp - Hardcover - IDW Publishing
B&W with some supplemental material in color 

Honestly, if I had to get rid of my Archie Hardcover books and could keep only one or two, this would be one of my choices. It's a fun read from start to finish, each strip is a separate gag, but Bob Montana weaves continued story lines throughout and they make it so much more enjoyable.

You get the summer vacations, the Christmas stories, situational events, football season... it makes it, for me anyway, more satisfying and allows you to follow the characters as they interact over a period of time.

Bob Montana, who obviously I'm a big fan of, improves right before our eyes week after week, year after year. The gags are there, the puns are funny, the situations are classic, and of course, the girls are sexy and fun. 

IDW's design and quality is top notch making it a winner all around.

And naturally their's plenty of Undercover Archie moments!

Here's an early one of Veronica's shower silhouette (from Feb 18, 1946). You don't see this in Archie anymore!

And from January 3, 1948...

Betty is crazy in love as always and full of suggestive ideas! (from June 17, 1947):

When I say crazy in love, I mean it! (from March 8, 1946)

Here's an example, not only of Betty using her head to get Archie's attention (That's Jughead holding a stuffed Moose head behind the bushes), but you can also see an example of the progression of Montana's work from the previous early panel. (From July 18, 1947)

Some may find it annoying, but they sure get a lot of laughs out of Betty chasing Archie! Sometimes it even works out for her.... well, sort of.... (from December 30-31, 1947)

Ultimately though, all Veronica has to do is give Archie an occasional kiss (something we don't see much of anymore) and it keeps him on a leash (from December 23, 1947):

(and from June 27, 1946)

Even when Miss Grundy has somehow managed to pull Archie away from the girls, Montana still makes their appearance a highlight of the strip. (from June 14, 1946):

And some of the names.... (from Jan 14, 1948)

Here's the infamous 'Bone Up' panel. Yes, this is how it was published (from December 16, 1947):

And this infamous phrase as well, exactly as published. I know for a fact, you won't see Archie using this phrase in anything currently published! (from April 2, 1947)

And there is the famous football strip that runs for several weeks, where Archie gets knocked out before a big game, and Betty, fearing he'll be called a coward for not showing up, suit's up for him to play the game! 

Ah, that Bob Montana was a genius! No wonder everyone read the newspaper back in those days! (from November 8-9, 1946)

I found this in my search for material on the book: An original strip of Bob Montana's art! (from June 4, 1946)

Always available at Amazon! 

PEP COMICS #31 - on newsstands July 1942

Another well done Bob Montana splash page. Veronica is in yellow:

In this scene, Archie gives Veronica a ride to the airport after the swim meet, where she changes out of her swim suit into her street clothes in the back seat. "No peeking Archie! Keep your eyes on the road!" Archie seems a bit uncomfortable.
Note: My interpretation of the term 'Upper Berth' is the top bunk in a cruise ship cabin...

PEP COMICS #30 - on newsstands June 1942

Out of all of these early Archie's that I've gone through and read, this scene probably took me by surprise the most! Obviously 'Escort Agency' had a different cultural meaning back in 1942, but I love that line about how 'Betty sure is popular since she started wearing slacks!"

Of course, as good of an idea as this sounds to Archie, his first client ends up being Miss Grundy!