Guest Post - Archie at Riverdale High 1 Review

 

Doug: Good day, and thanks for dropping in on yet another wonderful post contributed by our readers. Today your tour guide is none other than Redartz, who is going to take us through something dear to all comic book lovers -- a #1 issue! In this case he's going to let us drop in on perpetual high school Archie Andrews and friends, circa the early 1970's. Now if that isn't prime BAB territory! So strap in, kids -- this one's sure to be full of light-hearted fun.

 

 Archie at Riverdale High #1 (August 1972) 

Redartz: We are venturing into some largely uncharted territory today, outside the realms of Marvel and DC, and also leaving the genre of costumed adventurers! In that spirit, I will begin with a little background information for those who may be less familiar with “America's Favorite Teenager”.

Archie first appeared in Pep Comics #22 (December 1941), making him of age with such Golden Age icons as Batman and Captain America. Throughout the following decades Archie, along with his growing cast of characters, appeared in many comic magazines. In fact, by the 70's, he was featured in so many titles he could rival Richie Rich for space on the spinner racks! One thing these many titles had in common (besides the main cast of characters, of course) was their format:  they generally contained two or three short humorous stories and a couple of  single-page gag strips.. From time to time there were  more adventurous tales, such as those involving Archie's superhero identity  “Pureheart the Powerful” ; yet these stories were still went for the funnybone.     

             
This brings us to our subject today. Archie at Riverdale High (or ARH, for brevity's sake) was intended to be a departure, featuring stories of adventure and drama more serious than had been previously attempted. Another title,  “Life With Archie”, had also begun to feature some weightier stories by this time. But in the case of ARH, this was the purpose from the get-go.

             
A brief interlude: for many years, the creators behind Archie comics were not credited in the books, making identification challenging. Many thanks to the Grand Comic Book Database for the information on the artists and writers for this issue. Indeed, even they are not certain of the identity of the cover penciler, speculating it likely was Stan Goldberg (a name familiar to Marvel fans as a colorist of note). Rudy Lapick is credited as the inker. 

The cover's top third is taken up with the logo (appropriately designed ; looks like they took it off the back of a jersey). The feature story is portrayed with a blue-bordered inset panel featuring Archie and “Pop” Tate ( owner/proprietor of the Choklit Shoppe, Riverdale's chief hangout spot); showing Pop as he tells Archie of the impending loss of the store. The resulting standoff is depicted in the main cover area. Artistically the linework is clean, and follows the traditional Archie house character design. Yet the cover strikes me as a little busy: five word balloons and a blurb! Also, that logo, while striking, might have been better served with a solid-color background. The figures and school building seem to add to the visual overload.

“You Can't Win 'Em All”, story by Frank Doyle, art by Harry Lucey

This is a fairly straightforward sports story, with rivals Archie and Reggie Mantle competing to win the company of Betty and Veronica at the planned Victory Dance following the championship baseball game against Central High.  Unfortunately for Riverdale's team, the Central players score in the first inning! Riverdale manages to prevent any further scoring through the succeeding innings, but is unable to score. To make matters worse, the news is spread that Coach Kleats will be facing a transfer if Riverdale fails to win the championship! So things look glum as the team trails heading into the 9^th. Inning. At this point, things start to brighten for Riverdale (and Coach Kleats) as the team manages to load the bases. Then, with two out, Archie comes to the plate. Down two strikes, Archie launches a grand slam for the win!

Yes, the ending was pretty predictable; Coach's job is safe and Archie gets the girls. In a typical teen humor book, one really wouldn't expect anything different. Two points of interest about this story, however:

First, the description of the game action was pretty accurate. References to a sacrifice and working the pitch count show that writer Doyle is familiar with America's pastime. In fact, much of the story reads like the play-by-play from a radio announcer. I  wonder how many readers actually understood the term “Texas Leaguer”...

Second, the artwork by Harry Lucey is worth mention. I consider him the 'Sal Buscema' of Archie comics. Lucey's figures are simple and streamlined, and effectively express the exaggerated action of humor strips. He has a lightness to his line, his backgrounds minimal. Contrast this to Stan Goldberg ( perhaps we can call him the John Romita Sr. of Archie), who displays a heavier, curvier (?) style as shown in the second story. Lucey's artwork is frequently featured in Bronze age (and earlier) Archie stories, particularly when more physical action is depicted. 

“Second Chance”, writer Harry Doyle, pencils Stan Goldberg, inks John D'Agostino

The cover feature opens with Archie entering the Choklit Shoppe, only to find “Pop” Tate in despair. It seems the entire block upon which the shop sits has been condemned! Jughead enters, thinking it all to be a joke; but realizes the gravity of the situation upon reading the legal notices Pop has been given. When Jug asks how this can be, Pop informs him that the 'powers-that-be ' can do whatever they want (ah, cynical adulthood!).

The news spreads across Riverdale, bringing disbelief that the iconic Choklit Shoppe is soon to be history. It also brings Archie and his friends back to the shop to learn who gave the orders to level the building. They learn that the Greystone Building Corporation is responsible, and so proceed to pay the Corporation a visit. To the kids' dismay, however, they are informed that Greystone is committed to “progress”, in the form of a brand new building complex. In fact, the representative ushers the group out the door while dismissing their concern as “sentimental hogwash” (I presume this gentleman was not a public relations man..).

As if things weren't bad enough, upon hitting the sidewalk Archie's friend Dilton runs up to give them more news: Pop has barricaded himself in his shop and is ready to be demolished along with it! Indeed, the wrecking ball is ready, and the crew chief seems willing to put it to immediate use, Pop or no Pop (a bit melodramatic, yes; he could be Snidely Whiplash in disguise). Archie warns him that to proceed would amount to murder, so the wreckers decide to hold off for one more night. 

This gives Archie and friends a little hope- they head for Veronica's father, Hiram Lodge (the most powerful man in town). Surely he can prevent the destruction of the Choklit Shoppe! But no, when they first attempt to persuade him to intervene, he gives them the same answer they got from Greystone. That is, until they actually told Mr. Lodge the ultimate victim of said progress. Now Hiram gets on the phone to his troubleshooter, trying to track down the source of the construction plan. Even he has difficulty unraveling the trail of holding companies, so they take the final step: put it on the computer ( yes, that was a big step, in 1972; today five minutes with a smartphone could have clarified everything)!

Well, as it turns out, the man at the top of the command chain is Mr. Lodge himself. Thus a quick visit to the worksite sends the demolition crew packing, and the group into Pop's to celebrate. As with the first story in this issue, the ending could have been seen coming; we all know Pop's will continue to serve up sundaes and burgers till doomsday. Yet the story kept my interest, and I recall as a twelve-year-old reading it and enjoying the melodrama. Doyle and Goldberg played it straight, eschewing the jokes and gags. At the time this comic was on the stands, my favorite tv show was “Emergency”; I tuned in weekly to see what crazy rescues and potential disasters were looming. This title, Archie at Riverdale High, offered the same plate of ever-changing high drama ( soon to appear were stories featuring blizzards, broken elevator shafts, near drownings, etc.). So , at least for me, the book delivered what it promised. This was the first Archie comic I followed religiously, and actually the first comic I ever collected from issue #1. Of course, within two years I'd leave it behind for Marvel, but at the time this comic was tops on my list. It still holds a special sentimental spot up there, even now...