World of Archie Double Digest 23

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.