Archie, Betty and Veronica welcome readers from the cover with this November 11 release date for the 2014 Christmas season.

Kicking off the season is The Christmas App, six pages of story centered around one of the latest fads of the day. Resident genius Dilton works up an ap for Archie so he can buy the right present for Veronica.

It’s puppy love in Be Kind to Animals, but pain for Mr. Lodge when he hurts his back.

Miss Grundy stays with Betty after an apartment fire in Home is Where My Heart Is.

Santa is under scrutiny in Santa Confidential when Betty’s babysitting job turns into a Q&A.

Archie fails to make any points with Veronica when he’s late picking her up for a Christmas Dance in Late Wait.

Fred is upset over the cost of the Christmas list in List Assist.

The book is fleshed out with reprints before picking up where the season left off in Archie’s Christmas Photo Album. The two-page spread offers random, candid shots of Archie and the gang.

 Santa’s Choice is a tale of cosplay; Archie in a Santa suit and Betty as a chimney.

Reggie, Archie and Mr. Weatherbee use Christmas lights to send a message to Riverdale.

Bringing the book to a close is The Elf Who Stole Christmas starring Reggie. He impersonates an elf and tries to steal the holiday.

Archie Comics began as M.L.J. Magazines, Inc., in 1939. In the beginning it was primarily a superhero company. It wasn’t until 1941 that the Archie prototype first appeared first appearing in Pep Comics issue 22 – and never looked back.

Archie Comics was ahead of its time. This advertisement, circa 1979, offered home shopping before the Internet.

Actually, this was a deal. Individual copies were $.35 each, but the thrifty buyer could net three for $1.00 or all four for $1.25 – postage and handling included.

Available were Archie’s Christmas Stockings, Betty and Veronica Christmas Spectacular, Archie’s Christmas Love-in and Sabrina’s Christmas Magic.

For those used to priority shipping and online payment options, these were the days of sending a check and/or money order and waiting for months for your item. Case in point, note the cutoff for orders: June 30, 1979.

At 150 pages, the digest is a hearty tome.

As with most Archie-holiday themed digests, the first quarter to third serves up the flavor or the season. The remainder is crowded with various reprints from throughout the years.

World of Archie Comics Double Digest issue 72 is no exception. The first few stories deal with a Halloween theme:  “Something is Missing,” has Jughead’s sister vying for the candy crown in a contest of wills and stomachs. Reggie is terrified by Jughead’s idea in “Beasties in the Night.” Reggie is the focus of more mischief in “Mad House.” Mr. Lodge adds to the local legends with an investment in fun.

“Wishy Washy” is pulled from a more recent timeline as Archie finds yearnings come true; as long as the rules are obeyed.

Archie returns in “Study Aid.” Dalton teaches the redhead there is no substitute for hard work.

In “Space Fright” no one can hear you scheme. Archie nominates Mr. Weatherbee as the first teacher in space. The two learn neither has the right stuff.

World of Archie Comics Double Digest 72

Archie dresses the part as a study partner for Moose in “Study Partner.”

The middle part of the book returns to prehistoric times for four stories. Jughead is the original Henry Ford in “Leave the Driving to Us.” Archie and Jughead are culinary cavemen in “Flame Out.” The boys learn writing can be a painful experience in “The Write Stuff.”

And, Jughead finds greed to be a cool sensation in “Fare and Cooler.”

Several one-page gags offer a breather before jumping back to “Miss Grundy’s Retirement.” The aging instructor decides she has had enough. Students and staff work to keep her in school.

“Tapir Caper” is Jughead and Archie earning the ire of Mr. Lodge.

Archie finds his pins are weak when he discovers a new girl in “Bowled Over.”

Exercise is the way to remembering in “Down Memory Lane.”

Nostalgia has the boys eager to house clean in “Komic Kooks.”

“Lucky Loser” shows misfortune is in the eye of the beholder.

Up next is “Mystery Date.” Everyone wins in the end.

Generational issues are over come in “Gap Flap” when Archie and his dad agree to disagree.

“Hit the Deck” is Mr. Weatherbee’s Pirates of the Caribbean.

Archie and Betty teach his dad a lesson in sexism in “Cooking Up a Story.”

The second “Write Stuff” proves Jughead’s composition is as edible as it is readable.

“Soup Gets the Bird” exposes Super Duck’s ignorance.

Archie goes to the ends of the Earth to accede an order in “Obedience Training.”

Finally, “Halloween Scene” closes the book. Archie is the great pumpkin treat while Reggie is falling apart.

Archie Giant Series Magazine (1954) 144

Archie and the gang from Riverdale celebrated Christmas 1966 with a traditional Archie’s Christmas Stocking. The book offered eight stories and included various pin ups.

First up is “Just Be Claus” featuring Reggie chucking snowballs at Moose.

Jughead proves two wheels are better than four – at times – in “Go Power.”

Li’l Jinx spells the Archie gang for two pages in “Early & Late.”

“The Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E.” is the centerpiece of the book. Told in two parts, the tale is an obvious homage to the then airing The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Li’l Jinx is back for her second and final appearance in “Fun in the Snow.”

“The Gift” proves to Reggie it is better to give than to receive.

Betty, Veronica, Reggie and Archie team up for “Handlebar Happiness.”

Reggie returns for the final story in “Gift Tift,” learning he can’t spoil a good gift.

Pin ups and one-page cards take up the remainder of the book.

Though given a seasonal solicitation, the series was part of the rotating title listed in the header. Christmas issues were offered in issues one through six, 10, 15, 20, 25, 31, 137, 144, 150, 158, 167, 179, 190, 203, 216, 228, 240, 452, 464, 476, 488, 500, 512, 524, 535, 546, 557, 567, 579, 592, 605, 617 and 630. To add to the confusion, numbering skipped issues 36 through 135 and 252 to 451. This was replaced in 1992 by Archie’s Holiday Fun Digest running 12 issues.

The eternal teens of Riverdale celebrate another Christmas with four stories for the 2018 season.

Archie Christmas Spectacular (2018) 1

Archie and Jughead embark on an entrepreneurial endeavor in the lead tale, “One Person’s Trash.” The boys find money can be made in repurposing garbage pail finds. It comes to naught when an uninvited partner crashes the party.

“All Aboard” is a story about wish fulfillment that ends with the adage, “be careful what you wish for.”

Santa’s daughter returns to Riverdale in “The Last Noelle.” Santa isn’t pleased, but Mrs. Claus understands the solitude of living at the North Pole.

Finally, “Jingles’ Jangled” has the impish elf as an unwelcome house guest when his powers are remanded by a jealous acquaintance. Jughead finds Jingles’ hidden talents tasty and is sorry to see him leave.

Hard to believe there are still stories to be told about Archie and crew after 77 years, but the kids live on.

Archie pushes his Christmas wares in this late ’70s house ad.  To this day, Archie Comics continues to be a prolific publisher of holiday themed stories.

Archie Giant Series Magazine 228

Following a formula of saccharine story telling, Riverdale’s eternal teens celebrated the 1974 Christmas season in the Archie Giant Series imprint under the subtitled Archie’s Christmas Stocking.

Always entitled Archie’s Giant Series, the first six issues, beginning in 1954, appeared under the Christmas Stocking imprint. During the run, lasting until 1992, the subtitle would shift to reflect the intent of the book.

By issue 228 Archie and the gang had moved into the 1970s. The era was signified – and simplified – in fashion and vernacular only. The stories remained rooted in their innocent origins of the 1940s. Watergate, Vietnam war and any other concerns of the day were absent short of the first story, “Brownie Points.” Even corporate greed is candy coated as Santa’s favorite elf, Jingles, is recruited to bring American pride back to the factory floor.

The rest of the 52-page book is devoted to strife such as Jughead’s tender stomach and Pop’s decision to fly south for the winter.

Halloween ComicFest Jughead the Hunger

Dust off some vintage Ben Cooper plastic or custom create a four-color favorite, Halloween ComicFest 2018 is heading to local comic book retailers Oct. 27.

The perennial event, in its seventh year, features the lure of free comic books and costume contests. Various publishers have provided a sampling of wares in both full-size and mini comic books.

One of this year’s offerings is from Archie Comics: Jughead the Hunger.

The title first grew fangs in a one shot in March of 2017. Response was positive enough that it became an ongoing series the following October, the first to bear the Archie Horror imprint. The Hunger is the third in line of Archie Comic’s monster mash-ups featuring beloved characters behind Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, respectively.

The Hunger unleashes lycanthropy in Riverdale in exponential fashion. Meek and mild Betty Cooper’s follows her birthright as a werewolf hunter. Archie is enlisted.

All you need to know to dive into a darker side of white bread America.

At a 192 pages this digest weighs in at one big read.

Most of the book consists of Christmas stories, but not all, so be warned.

Included are:

• “The Visit” – A gold button makes Archie wonder if his dream was real or not.
• “Tree Trouble” -Mr. Lodge, Archie and Veronica go back to nature for a Christmas tree.
• “The List Price” – Veronica receives the gift of Christmas from Betty.
• “One Last Gift” – Archie’s dad learns giving comes from the heart.
• “Wisecracker” – Christmas is a time of affection and confection for Archie and Betty.
• “Merry Merchant” – Pops finds Santa has no head for business.
• “Never too Late” – A donation saves Christmas for Archie.
• “Christmas Miss” – The Lodges realize the Christmas spirit.
• “Santa’s Cause” – The Riverdale gang learn there really is a Santa Claus.

C’mon, what red-blooded American male wouldn’t wanna live in Riverdale? Plenty of beautiful women, cheap food and grown-ups who rarely interfere with your personal life. And, this has been going on since 1941.

Okay, it’s a little different now. After the new millennium entered its teens things began to change and Archie Publications diversified with more relevant material. In 2013 Afterlife with Archie joined the zombie apocalypse conga line. A year later the company would delve deeper into the horror genre with The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Jughead the Hunger in 2017.

Still, for almost 70 halcyon years Riverdale was an oasis of teenage dreams in American culture.

And, they weren’t afraid to celebrate Christmas.