Jughead’s Double Digest (1989) 183

Short of the National Anthem, stars and stripes or mom and her apple pie, what’s more American than a hamburger?

Add a slice of cheese and you have today’s non-holiday.

National Cheeseburger Day pays respect to America’s favorite sandwich topped with a square of coagulated milk protein casein.

Stories of how the cheeseburger came to be and who created the handheld miracle date back to the 1920s. Lionel Sternberger receives credit for adding the extra topping at his father’s sandwich shop in Pasadena, CA, in 1926.

That story is challenged by a Los Angeles eatery called O’Dell’s who stated they put it on the menu in 1928. Kaelin’s Restaurant in Louisville, KY, takes credit for creating the cheeseburger in 1934.

Humpty Dumpty Drive-In of Denver, CO, does hold the distinction of having patented the sandwich name in 1935.

Jughead’s Double Digest (1989) 183

For those Steak n’ Shake enthusiasts, owner Gus Belt also applied for a trademark in the 1930s.

National Cheeseburger Day was one of our first non-holiday features with Action Comics 454 in 2019.

So, it’s kind of nice to service this under appreciated delicacy with someone who knows how to eat; Jughead.

Short of Shaggy and Scooby or Garfield, not many four-color favorites can slam back the food the way Archie’s sidekick can. This cover is a generic representation of the chowhound in action, but also a good representation of today’s non-holiday.

Jughead’s Double Digest is as massive as some of its namesake’s sandwiches. The Double Digest is a meaty 256 pages. Or, at least it was in the beginning. It would trim back to more weight conscious – and economical – 160 pages in later years.

The book began as a quarterly publication in 1989 before ramping up to 11 issues a year even featuring new material. It would be replaced by Jughead and Archie Double Digest in 2014. It was marked the last solo Jughead title.

If sitting down with a double dose of reading and eating material, remember to wipe your fingers so as not to soil the comic book.

Oh, and see if McDonald’s is still offering its double cheeseburger for $.50 today. They did last year.