Archie's Pal JUGHEAD #28

Jughead in Drag?

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD #28  cover-dated February 1955, on newsstands December 15th, 1954, with cover art unknown, but my guess is George Frese)

I love when pop culture of the day appears in these stories... even though Alcatraz had been around since the 30's and had housed 'media sensation' criminals like Al Capone and 'Machine Gun' Kelly, it would be a big year for the prison in 1955, with the release of the book 'Birdman of Alcatraz' by Thomas E. Gaddis.

That came AFTER this issue though. The prison was at the height of its notoriety at the time, and in the Vocabulary of American culture.

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD #28  cover-dated February 1955, on newsstands December 15th, 1954, with art by Harry Lucey and story by Frank Doyle)

This story was most recently reprinted in Archie Comics Digest #25 (August 1977)

Jughead has always been my favorite Archie character. His appetite cracks me up...

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD #28  cover-dated February 1955, on newsstands December 15th, 1954, with art by George Frese)

This story was most recently reprinted in the UK Edition of Archie Annual #10 (1956)

Normally it's Reggie with all the wisest of cracks, but this being Jughead's book, he gets to take center stage! 

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD #28  cover-dated February 1955, on newsstands December 15th, 1954, with art by unknown, but my guess is George Frese)

This story was most recently reprinted in Archie's Double Digest #11 (July 1984)

And he's got some good one's in this issue...

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD #28  cover-dated February 1955, on newsstands December 15th, 1954, with art by....unknown)

This story was most recently reprinted in Archie's Double Digest #11 (July 1984)

Jughead in drag? 

Yep. It's a scheme by Reggie to win first prize at the Costume Dance, and that prize is a dinner for two at the best restaurant in town....

Oh, and Open Eyed Jughead Alert!

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD #28  cover-dated February 1955, on newsstands December 15th, 1954, with art by Bill Vigoda)

This story was most recently reprinted in Archie... Archie Andrews, Where Are You? Comics Digest Magazine #4 (November 1977)

  

Sometimes there are scenes in Archie Comics that you just DO NOT expect to see...

So it's a Cinderella Party and someone has to fit into a Size 14 shoe to win. THAT'S Jughead's size...

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD #28  cover-dated February 1955, on newsstands December 15th, 1954, with art by Bill Vigoda)

This story was most recently reprinted in Archie... Archie Andrews, Where Are You? Comics Digest Magazine #4 (November 1977)

  

Needless to say it doesn't work! A FEMALE at the school also has Size 14 Feet!

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD #28  cover-dated February 1955, on newsstands December 15th, 1954, with art by Bill Vigoda)

This story was most recently reprinted in Archie... Archie Andrews, Where Are You? Comics Digest Magazine #4 (November 1977)

 

And my favorite of the book:

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD #28  cover-dated February 1955, on newsstands December 15th, 1954, with art by Samm Schwartz)

This story was most recently reprinted in the UK Edition of Archie Annual #10 (1956)

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  Archie's Pal JUGHEAD Annual #3

I'll Be a Monkey's Uncle!

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD Annual #3  cover-dated 1955, on newsstands December 31st, 1954, with cover art unknown, but my guess is Bill Vigoda)

Jughead falling in love? Not after Archie explains what could be the worst possible scenario...

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD Annual #3  cover-dated 1955, on newsstands December 31st, 1954, with art by Harry Lucey and story by Frank Doyle)

This story was most recently reprinted in Jughead's Double Digest #14 (December 1992)

Jughead is pretty good at making Hand Shadows, but...

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD Annual #3  cover-dated 1955, on newsstands December 31st, 1954, with art by Samm Schwartz)

In today's world, this would be humor too dark for comedy. Ugh. To me it's funny. They still use this over-the-top CLEARLY symbolic behavior to convey a feeling in manga nd anime. Maybe that's why I read more of THAT than American comics...

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD Annual #3  cover-dated 1955, on newsstands December 31st, 1954, with art by Bill Vigoda?)

Jughead comes up with a costume idea for Reggie (for $5), and creates a spaceman outfit out of long underwear and a fish bowl. Yep, they used to make them that way! The long underwear with an open flap in the back for bathroom use was commonly called a union suit. The flap itself was often referred to as an "access hatch", "drop seat", "fireman's flap", or "crap flap”!

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD Annual #3  cover-dated 1955, on newsstands December 31st, 1954, with art by George Frese)

The only time I'm aware this has been reprinted was in the UK edition of Archie Annual #9 (February 1956) in black and white.

Reggie finds out that Moose's real name is Marmaduke, and him and Archie laugh about it, but then wonder what Jughead's real first name is. He isn't telling, so they go to City Hall and pay the dollar to get told it's 'Henry'. f course we see that the check is Jughead's Uncle, and Jughead thanks him and hands him a cigar, his Uncle declaring, "The Pleasure Was All Mine, Frothingham!"

No. That would NOT be Jughead's real name, lol. It would later be revealed as 'Forsythe Pendleton Jones III'.

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD Annual #3  cover-dated 1955, on newsstands December 31st, 1954, with art unknown, by Harry Lucey and story by Frank Doyle)

This story, also, the only time I'm aware this has been reprinted was in the UK edition of Archie Annual #9 (February 1956) in black and white.

  

If you ever want to know the difference between Archie Comics and some of the competitors, THIS is a classic example of it. Frank Doyle writes a story that... well, Jughead finds some monkey extract and says it's supposed to give you a pep, and so they decide to give Mr. Weatherbee a drop. Meanwhile an organ grinder loses his monkey that just so happens to be wearing a suit like Weaterbee's and... As crazy as it sounds, Harry Lucey's art pulls it off.

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD Annual #3  cover-dated 1955, on newsstands December 31st, 1954, with art by Harry Lucey and story by Frank Doyle)

I love this reaction!

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD Annual #3  cover-dated 1955, on newsstands December 31st, 1954, with art by Harry Lucey and story by Frank Doyle)

    ALSO the only time I'm aware this has been reprinted was in the UK edition of Archie Annual #9 (February 1956) in black and white... a couple of great stories here that NEED to be Reprinted!

Advertising for the Annuals! (Inside front cover)

Archie Comics was in full swing!

(Archie's Pal JUGHEAD Annual #3  cover-dated 1955, on newsstands December 31st, 1954, with art by Various)

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  Archie's Girls BETTY and VERONICA #17

Debutant's and Danger!

For some reason I find Veronica saying 'Jackass' so much funnier (or unexpected) than if it would have been Betty... seeing Archie's reaction (and thinking it's about him)... this is a cover that still makes me laugh out loud!

(Archie's Girls BETTY and VERONICA #17 cover-dated March 1955, on newsstands December 17th, 1954, with cover art unknown, but my guess is George Frese)

The nearby rich girl school is called 'Van Snewt', Veronica is throwing a party, Archie can't wait to go and Reggie, as always, has a wisecrack.

(Archie's Girls BETTY and VERONICA #17 cover-dated March 1955, on newsstands December 17th, 1954, with art by George Frese)

And of course, Archie is Archie... did they really talk that way back then?

(Archie's Girls BETTY and VERONICA #17 cover-dated March 1955, on newsstands December 17th, 1954, with art by George Frese)

Some people think this dark sense of humor that younger people have these days is a new thing... Archie Comics shows us it's NOT. Story by Frank Doyle with art by Harry Lucey (credits provided from the reprint in B&V Friends Double Digest #237).

(Archie's Girls BETTY and VERONICA #17 cover-dated March 1955, on newsstands December 17th, 1954, with art by Harry Lucey)

Even with adding an extra M to his name, Samm Schwartz is often times left to take a back seat to Harry Lucey, Dan DeCarlo and others, but... Samm was a master at over the top action comedy!

His work would get more refined over time (which is a good thing), but it never lost its slapstick comedy action!

(Archie's Girls BETTY and VERONICA #17 cover-dated March 1955, on newsstands December 17th, 1954, with art by Samm Schwartz)

And Bill Vigoda... he's the senior Archie artist at this point, having been with the company since 1943. I really like how he framed this whole sequence...

Moose is a controversial character in this day and age - seen as an abusive boyfriend to Midge - but back then it made for some funny, over the top, situations.   

(Archie's Girls BETTY and VERONICA #17 cover-dated March 1955, on newsstands December 17th, 1954, with art by Bill Vigoda)

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 ARCHIE COMICS - November/December 1954

(PEP COMICS #107 cover-dated January 1955, on newsstands November 10th, 1954, with cover art unknown, but my guess is Bill Vigoda)

One of the characters that they feature in Pep is Wilbur, a book that lags behind most of the other Archie titles. Here, Writer/Artist Joe Edwards manages to get the word 'asinine' in an Archie Comic!

(PEP COMICS #107 cover-dated January 1955, on newsstands November 10th, 1954, with art by Joe Edwards)

An AD for Wilbur, disguised as a comic book story...

(PEP COMICS #107 cover-dated January 1955, on newsstands November 10th, 1954, with art by ?)

Joe Edwards would do a fair amount of Wilbur stories but... that's a George Frese cover. I'm a big fan of Freses's work, and he sure was a workhorse in his day, but... I wonder why Archie Comics never much mentions or remembers him?

Laurie looks different than Betty, but Linda sure does look like Veronica.... and this joke... WOW! How'd they get away with that???

(WILBUR COMICS #59 cover-dated March 1955, on newsstands December 17th, 1954, with art by George Frese)

The book is almost all one page or half page gags with a variety of artists. The one multi-page story features a scene that would be viewed as a bit Politically Incorrect in this day and age!

(WILBUR COMICS #59 cover-dated March 1955, on newsstands December 17th, 1954, with art by George Frese)

The first issue was a whopping 15 cents (and 52 pages), but it must've not sold as well as they hoped, because issue #2 is 36 pages and 10 cents. Didn't help apparently, as this would be the last issue of Archie's Mechanics.

(ARCHIE'S MECHANICS #2 cover-dated 1954, on newsstands December 15th, 1954, with cover art by Bill Vigoda?)

There was actually a tremendous amount of useful information in these - everything from how to make a umbrella cover from old neck ties to how faucets work - but I guess it just didn't go over. No gags or stories at all...

(ARCHIE'S MECHANICS #2 cover-dated 1954, on newsstands December 15th, 1954, with art by various)

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