Comics Review: Holiday Archie Part 3

Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #328

One last Halloween-themed digest to review with this order.  This features Betty and Veronica in some seasonal stories and some random stories.  Overall, it’s pretty good, though I don’t think anything really stands out.

 

 

The new story has Veronica earning some money by turning an unused wing of the Lodge mansion into a Spirit Halloween store.  I can actually see this.  It’s clever, but Mr. Lodge is not amused when he finds out.

 

Here’s the Archie gang at an auction.  I got a giggle out of the physical humor.

 

For that matter, here’s some more.

 

 

Once again, Josie and the Pussycats have an encounter with the supernatural.  This one, however, is not what it seems.

 

I just had to post this picture of Jughead.  If you thought wearing a sweater with an “S” on it and an improvised crown beanie was unfashionable, check out this 80’s ensemble. 

 

Veronica manages to convince Archie that Betty is a witch, which leads to the surprising (but not entirely) punchline at the end.

 

I just like this splash page by Dan Parent.  It’s well done.  Mr. Lodge finds a relaxing hobby in coloring, which predictably ends in him becoming more stressed.

 

I like how colorful these pages are with Archie and Betty performing as clowns for some children.

 

Once again, Mr. Lodge forces Veronica to get a job to stop her from draining his fortune with her lavish spending.  Of course, the experiment ends up causing Mr. Lodge to spend even more money.

 

Okay, who wants to see more of Betty and Veronica fighting?  The story is called, Cat Fight!

 

Finally, there’s this piece from probably the 60’s.  The girls are concerned about an exchange student getting all of the boys’ attention, but then get distracted themselves.  I was impressed with the artwork.  It’s by John Rosenberger, who I haven’t heard of before.  I wonder he’s done more stories.

 

Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics #299

This cover by Jeff Schultz is adorable.  That’s the best thing about this Christmas issue.  The stories are fairly average at best with nothing really standing out.  This one should probably be a pass on buying.    

 

Poor Betty.  The best she can hope for is a life-size Archie doll and she even loses him, too.  Sheesh!

 

 

Betty does see Archie with some rose-colored glasses.  I don’t know who looks worse: Betty idolizing Archie or Veronica having a low opinion of Archie, but still going out with him.  (Why does she go out with him?)

 

I’d consider this the centerpiece of the digest.  Veronica visits some relatives in Germany for Christmas.  It’s a nice travelogue of the country and their Christmas traditions.  Of course, Veronica ends up stealing away her cousin’s finance’.  She wasn’t even trying, but who can resist her?  Actually, the guy is a double cad: a philander and a gold digger.  That’s not a good combination for a husband.  Veronica did her cousin a favor.

 

Unfortunately, the theme of money and Christmas continues.  There are several stories of Veronica being shown up on her gift buying or being hopelessly out-of-touch.  It probably didn’t help to have them all together.  Too many Archie Christmas stories involve money, presents, and shopping.  It’s the worst aspects of the season.

 

Oh, my goodness!  Not everybody who used to make calls on a landline is in a nursing home now.

 

 

I love the Dan DeCarlo artwork on this, especially of Betty.  Here she is putting her stalking skills to good use.  Meanwhile, Archie is hiding in a cave trying to avoid a date. Lots of classic comedy here. 

 

Finally, a decent Christmas story.  Santa abducts Little Veronica and forces her into doing child labor in his workshop.  I have a feeling somebody could make a holiday horror movie with this premise, but I do like it.  It’s cute.

 

I didn’t know that Little Sabrina and Little Reggie were such rivals.  I think this is the second time I’ve seen them fighting each other in a story.  (Truthfully, after reading several digests in a row, it’s all starting to run together.)  If there’s more stories like this, surely high school Reggie and Sabrina should ended up becoming romantically involved.  Hold it.  I like this idea.  I wouldn’t say they’d be a great couple, but they’d be an interesting one.

 

Betty and Veronica try to help out Pop Tate by acting as waitresses at the Chocklit Shoppe.  This just gets him in trouble for exploiting hot teenage girls.  Pop did nothing wrong.

 

Finally, Betty and Veronica almost run over some kids sledding and then try to convince them to sled down a dangerous hill.  I think I’m having more fun describing these stories than reading them.  Fear not.  I’ve still got a couple more digests.  We’ll see if they go better.   

More Christmas Cards

 

I got one more nice card from my dad's neighbor, who invited us over for lunch on Christmas.  

 

Also got this incredible pair of Sherpa socks from a friend.  They are so warm and comfortable.

I'm reduced to posting feet pics.

Merry Christmas Cards

Just a few cards this year for Christmas.

 

Starting at the top, Aunt Judy, Uncle Don, and Tucker sent me a card and a gift certificate for Buffalo Wild Wings.  In the middle is a card from a co-worker.  Lastly, there's a Thank You card from one of my dad's neighbors.  I'd given her a craft truck with a Christmas tree in the back.  I bought it from another co-worker, who makes holiday crafts.  I've bought three different displays from her.  I should have taken a picture of them.  They're pretty awesome.

NM State Aggies vs Eastern NM Greyhounds Women’s Basketball 12-20-24

I used my final day off for the year to go to today’s Aggie Women’s Basketball game against the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds.  Why not?  It was a super nice day and I had plans for after today’s 2:00pm game.  For some reason, I thought this was a Kid’s Day game.  Ron and I went to one once and half the Pan-Am Center was filled with kids (12-18-19 with 1,600 in attendance).  This was not the case today, though.  School’s already out for Christmas.  There was a group of tall high school girls outside the arena that I guessed were a team.  Except them and a few little kids, that was about it.

 

The doors to the Pan-Am were almost unattended.  Inside, there was a bored Concessions worker.  (I’d give him some business, but I had plans.)  The Cheerleaders, the Sundancers, PA Ed, and Pistol Pete were there.  I looked for Jack Nixon.  He called last night’s Men’s win over Northern New Mexico and he said he’d be here as a fan.  I didn’t see him, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.  The crowd was light at 438 officially.  At times, I could hear myself applauding.  The Cheerleaders were working it, but seemed slightly embarrassed.  ENM did have a knot of fans behind their bench. 

 

Since both Aggie teams had swept the Lobos, the Men had had a blowout road loss to Texas and began a five-game home stand with a close win over Utah State and a blowout win over NNM.  The Women had had two road losses.  Today, they were playing without Fanta Gassama, their star forward.  She was in sweats and holding a clipboard for the game.  She didn’t look hurt, but that doesn’t mean anything.  Noah Garcia started in her place.  ENM’s tallest player wasn’t playing either.  Surprisingly, they had a few international players, including a girl from Moscow.  The team is 10-1 this season.      

 

First Quarter

The scorecard didn’t add up again.  This is kind of annoying.  I think I’m paying attention, but I’m apparently not.  ENM blocked Molly Kaiser and Noah to start the game.  Noah came back with a layup under the basket.  After Sylena Peterson committed a foul, she made a block.  Loes Rozing made a steal and Sy converted that into a layup.  Sylena always seems to play harder to make up for mistakes.  Molly made her first jumper, but ENM came right back with a fast break basket by Kaitlyn Edmondson.  Molly made a layup and then drew a foul to make it, 11-4 Aggies, with 5 minutes left.

 

Jaz Salon came in for ENM.  She was the shortest player on the court at 5’3.”  She did hold up Lucia Yenes on a fast break, but was otherwise pretty overmatched.  Tylie Jones made a steal with a layup off Jaz.  Anna Csenyi hit a 3 to make it, 20-6 Aggies, with 2 minutes left.  Molly made a steal on an inbounds and was fouled.  She missed one of her free throw shots and was completely disgusted with herself.  I’m not sure if she had a streak going.

 

Anna and Tylie worked on a steal, which led to a Jaila Harding 3.  Jaila quickly drained another 3 right after.  A t-shirt whizzed by me, as Pistol Pete did a “Tees for Threes” toss into the crowd.  The Aggies were up, 29-8, after 10 minutes of play.

       

Second Quarter

Loes and Greyhound Julieta Ceja nearly came to blows fighting over a rebound to start the quarter.  Victoria Barrera on ENM took a charge from Sianny Sanchez-Oliver and drew a big cheer from her teammates on her bench.  Molly was called for block and was laid out flat on the floor.  Loes and Julieta fought again over a rebound.  It wasn’t quite personal to this point. 

 

Tylie made a nice move in the lane for the first Aggie points of the quarter to make it, 31-12, with 5 minutes left.  Noah and Jaila had steals and Loes made a layup off that second steal.  Greyhound Nataya Lockette made a great slash move for a bucket, 35-16 Aggies, with 3 minutes left.  Tatiana Platonova, ENM’s Russian player, connected on a layup with a foul.  She missed the free throw, which was unfortunately a common occurrence for the Greyhounds today.  I was expecting their team to at least be competitive in their free throws.

 

Lucia fought her way down the lane for a basket.  She then made a steal and passed to Madi Gewirtz, who flipped in a jumper.  Lucia got another assist to Sy for another jumper.  Lockette sunk in a 3 and Madi made a layup to finish the half, 43-22 Aggies.     

 

Halftime

For halftime, the young girls team came out on court and was honored.  They won the local city league and were undefeated this season.  Last night’s Men’s Basketball game featured the annual Christmas Toys for Tots Teddy Bear Toss, where fans toss Teddy Bears on the court at halftime. 

 

While writing this, I’m sort of watching a surprise UTEP Men’s Basketball game that’s on TV.  I didn’t notice this on the schedule.  It’s the Sun Bowl Tournament.  Their halftime show was an acrobatic basketball stunt team doing high-flying dunks.  (By the way, there at the Don Haskins Center, both teams were on court for the Anthem, unlike at the Pan-Am Center.) 

 

I’d feel cheated about the halftime show, but Pan-Am video screen did show a cool classic Christmas movie and TV clip montage to the tune of All I Want for Christmas Is You.  No disrespect intended to the teams, but this was the highlight of the game for me.  (That and this really hot chick they showed on Dance Cam.)

 

Third Quarter

Molly was back in after sitting out most of the second quarter.  She began with a layup.  Tylie and Sylena both put in 3’s.  Meanwhile, Barrera made two attempts at a wide open shot under the basket before making one.  53-25 Aggies with 7 minutes left. 

 

Molly was fouled and hit two throws.  She was then fouled on a layup and missed another free throw.  Molly flapped her arms in anger.  She’d get a couple more tries at nail and convert on them.  Usually, a Cheerleader will say, “Guns Up!” before an Aggie free throw attempt.  A little girl in the stands kept jumping her in saying it first. 

 

Lockette made a rebound on a shot made with 1 second on the clock.  She converted it into a layup.  Tylie came back with another 3 to make it, 60-27 Aggies, with 4 minutes left.  Lockette responded with a 3.  There was a Media timeout.  The Cheerleaders handed out some little Bundt cakes to the crowd from a sponsor.  I almost sold out for one, but I was already working on a gifted loaf of banana bread at home. 

 

Diarrah Sissoko came in for the Aggies and made a free throw for her first point.  Tylie took a charge on defense.  Both teams traded steals and Jaila came away with a 3.  Greyhound Daci Smith caught fire at the end of the quarter with a pair of 3’s, both at the buzzer.  68-36 Aggies.   

 

Fourth Quarter

Emma Dasovich came in for the Aggies and made a layup.  Madi got an assist to her for another layup.  Barrera came back with a coast-to-coast layup.  Molly started the quarter.  She missed her third free throw (keeping in mind that she made 9 in basically 2 quarters of play) and came out angry.  Lucia comforted her on the bench.  I also saw Lucia being pretty supportive and instructive with her teammates on court. 

 

Greyhound Tonka Jaksic made a 3 and a fast break layup.  75-43 Aggies with 5 minutes left.  In the Media timeout, the girls team, sitting at courtside, was on Emoji Cam, along with even their coach.  Tylie and Anna both had steals in the final minutes.  Jaksic made another 3.  Marta Guilera came in late and was, I guess, the last Aggie player available to play.  They tried to get her a shot, but she didn’t make it.  Aggies win, 77-46!  Poor Marta.  As the team went around the court after the game, she was crying.  Hopefully, she’ll get another chance to play. 

 

Nataya Lockette led the Greyhounds with 10 points.  Kaitlyn Edmondson had 7 points and 7 rebounds.  They only shot 33%, 26% on 3’s.  They were a terrible 6 for 17 on free throws.  They had 10 second chance points, 18 points in the paint, and 24 bench points.  Honestly, for a blowout, ENM played pretty well, they just kept making bad shots and not converting on free throws.

 

For the Aggies, of course, Molly Kaiser led with 21 points.  She didn’t even play that much.  It was almost too easy for her.  Tylie Jones exploded for 14 points and 8 rebounds.  Jaila Harding hit 3 3’s for 13 points.   

 

The Aggies shot 47% and were 38% on 3’s.  They were 14 of 20 on free throws.  How about this?  28 points in the paint, 26 points off turnovers, 20 fast break points, and 41 bench points (not surprising there).  The Aggies took care of business here.  Coach Adams didn’t seem to get too upset about anything.  We are concerned about Fanta Gassama not playing, though.

 

Yeah, I’d like to say I enjoyed this, but I was sitting there by myself watching an uncompetitive game and feeling kind of miserable.  I’m really feeling some Christmas blahs.  Also, I’d been craving a Whataburger for the last three weeks and I’d designated today as the day after the game.  I found myself watching the clock a lot.  Every minor delay by the refs was kind of excruciating. 

 

Finally, I got my Whataburger.  It was delicious and the fries were great.  I’ve heard Whataburger uncharitably called, “McDonald’s with bigger portions,” but they put a little extra flavor in their burgers to get you to come back.  Well, at least I enjoyed the meal.  We’ll probably be picking up some more basketball next year with some conference games.    

Comics Review: Halloween Archie Part 2

Archie Showcase Digest #20: Archie’s Halloween Special

This Showcase and the previous one were both released this year and were priced at $9.99.  However, this one from October seems about 20 pages smaller than the earlier one from June.  I guess they couldn’t justify another price increase and had to make cuts somewhere.  That said, this digest was more Halloween fun.  It features some classic stories, Sabrina stories, and a lengthy horror movie homage.

 

This starts off with this spooky-looking story drawn by Harry Lucey.  Don’t worry.  No blood is drawn.

 

There were a couple of non-Archie stories.  I presume they’re from the title Mad House.  I’m surprised there hasn’t been a reprint volume of the comic.  It’s where Sabrina debuted in.

 

The centerpiece of the digest is Twilite, an Archie version of Twilight.  Basically, Veronica gets involved with a new student who’s a vampire, who’s fighting another new student who’s a werewolf.  Actually, the most fantastic element of this story is how passive Archie is about losing Veronica to this pale guy with a nasty overbite.  

 

 

 

 

The two-part story is more dramatic (or melodramatic) than funny.  I feel like Veronica was pleased to finally be offered a more serious role in an Archie story.  It’s okay.  I’m not sure if Bill Galvan’s art style was the best choice for this kind of story, but it’s pretty good.  Once again, the characters are pliable enough to work in any story situation.       

 

I have to protest.  Here they are putting Melody in danger in this spooky story.  She seems to be the designated damsel in distress in any scary Josie and the Pussycats story (except for that one where Josie gets possessed, (7-18-24).  Don’t worry.  It’s all just a misunderstanding.

 

There’s a couple of stories from Sabrina’s Gravestone Heights 91313 era.  Actually, I’m not sure how many stories there are from that “era,” but I’ve seen a few.  (I got a big Sabrina trade with this order that I’ll be reviewing later.)  It’s an interesting concept. 

 

 

There’s a more traditional Sabrina story also with her running a supernatural advice column.  The art is by Holly G and the story is fun.  I’d like a volume of all of Holly’s work on Sabrina and Josie.

 

There’s a couple of Archie Weird Mystery stories.  One is of them is the Archie gang doing a Scooby Doo-like story.  This story was in a Best of volume, which I reviewed but can't find on the blog.  It’s still a very tongue-in-cheek homage.

        

Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #354

This regular issue of Archie features a new story and some classic Halloween-themed stories.  There are also a couple of football stories, an election story, and some random stories mixed in.  It’s not as seasonal as the previous digest.  It’s okay with a few highlights (though one is a classic).

 

The new story features Sabrina with the Archie gang with Rex Lindsey’s detailed, energetic work.  Showcase #20 above features a couple little ghost characters on the cover.  I didn’t know they were actual characters, Trick and Treat.  Sabrina’s rival, Amber Nightstone, has turned the mischievous ghosts to evil and Sabrina has to change their minds.  Unfortunately, this is just a five-page story, so there’s not a lot of character development here.

 

Here’s a classic 60’s Betty and Veronica story.  The young ladies look very fashionable, as always.

 

This is a little two-page gag.  It’s cute.

 

Okay, here’s my favorite story.  Though only six pages, it was so unexpected, I couldn’t resist it.  Archie goes to New York City and meets several 90’s TV sitcom characters.  I wish this one were longer.  You could feel the love for the characters, even in passing.

 

One of the football stories was a longer one.  Archie finds out that Mr. Weatherbee was once a star football player.  Later, Archie is in the big game and makes a bad play.  The Bee helps him out with a life lesson.  This was reasonably touching. 

The TV homage continues in this dream sequence with Mr. Andrews.  You could have the Archie gang stranded on a deserted island and make a series out of it.

 

Here’s a couple of gags from the 50’s.  Pretty funny.

 

Little Archie isn’t my favorite, but this is a pretty good gag.

 

Finally, here’s a big panel of chaos by the Kennedy Brothers.  As always, it’d be great to see this full-size.  These guys were great Archie artists.

 

There’s still Archie reviews to come.