Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics #309
We’re almost through my two Archie orders. At this point, I don’t remember what comics went with which order. I saved the Christmas and winter comics for last. This digest is okay. You get some Christmas and it’s certainly less heavy-handed than issue #299. There’s some winter stories and other random stories. It’s not bad, but nothing really stands out. Buy this if you really need more Christmas comics.
One thing that helps this digest is the inclusion of Archies’ Christmas spirits Jingles, Sugar Plum, and Noelle. Somehow, I don’t get tired of Christmas stories with these characters. (Also, I love the stories where the kids somehow end up at the North Pole helping Santa.)
Sugar Plum is also featured in a longer story. It’s like a Christmas romance movie. Actually, I could see this ending up being lifted for the plot of one of those movies. We’ll call it, A Sugar Plum Romance.
A new story features Fly Girl. Archie Comics has been doing these random superhero stories since last year. I think it’s to keep up the copyright on the characters. This one features sort of manga-inspired art. It’s cute, but it’s too bad it’s only five pages.
Betty and Veronica get an “A” for creative problem solving here. (I’m trying to be positive. I think they’ve been hanging around Archie too long if they’re coming up with these kind of schemes.)
Here’s a story featuring an outsider’s view on Betty and Veronica’s competitive natures. It would seem bizarre that they’re best friends.
I love this. Dan Parent does a really great job on pinups.
Veronica daydreams about her future success, which revolves around Archie. Somehow, she’s just got a thing for Archie and wants to keep him away from Betty. It’s that competition thing again.
This story was maybe a little too real. Chuck Clayton gets a swelled head from being a football star. His dad, the coach, decides to teach him a lesson. Having Chuck act like this all the time would be interesting, but make him incompatible with the other characters.
Speaking of swelled heads, down-to-earth Betty gets a date with a super vain movie star. Strangely, if the date had been with Veronica, it probably would have ended the same.
This compares the girls getting ready for their day. (Why does Betty have a Jughead doll?)
It’s finally come to this. Veronica canes everyone like she’s from Singapore. Physical comedy doesn’t age.
Archie Milestones #26: Jughead Winter Wonderland
Isn’t this Bill Galvan cover awesome? It’s pure fun. I’d planned on looking for it on the newsstand, just based on the cover. Instead, I added it to the order so it would qualify for free shipping. (It was also cheaper getting it from Archie than getting it at Barnes & Noble.)
The Milestone title is the Jughead comic and is all reprints and generally themed. I enjoyed three previous issues of this title last year (2-23-23, 7-4-23 Superheroes, 11-24-23 Christmas). Jughead has been gifted with some really talented artists over the years. From Samm Schwartz’s spare, but amazingly animated style to Rex Lindsey’s highly detailed work to Fernando Ruiz’s appealing cartoonish figures, the character has been pretty fortunate.
This winter-theme issue, however, doesn’t hit well. There’s some good stuff, but mostly it kind of falls flat. Even though the Lindsey’s art looks great, the stories aren’t worthy. I will say, especially for these winter stories, you kind of wish you could live in Lindsey’s Riverdale. It’s so detailed and pleasant-looking. I don’t think I’d recommend this issue overall, except for the cover.
Here’s Schwartz doing what he does best: great physical comedy.
Mr. Lodge doesn’t do well here.
Al Hartley adds some whimsy with Hot Dog.
Hartley also draws this story with Archie declaring his love for Veronica in snow sculptures. (Don’t worry. She’s able to warm him up.)
This is probably the funniest story in the digest just conceptually. The UGAJ is a girls’ organization dedicated to capturing Jughead’s affections to keep him from becoming a bad influence on the other boys. (Jughead doesn’t take girls out on dates and just lies around and eats.) I’ve seen a couple of these stories. This organization needs to be needs to brought back into modern stories. It might be more relevant now than ever.
This poor dog. In another story, the family treats him badly and he hides until they go searching for him. I can’t understand this. How awesome would be it be to have this smart of a dog? The only thing better would be a talking dog, like Scooby Doo or Astro from the Jetsons.
Oh, my God! Don’t look! It’s the Christmas Story flagpole bit all over again. Obviously, the boys didn’t see the movie.
Here’s a couple of action pages by Lindsey.
And a great pinup.
This Little Jughead story probably has the best gag in the digest.
We finish with some kisses. It’s like one of those Christmas romance movies (again). Actually, a spoof of one of those movies starring Jughead would be great.
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