Bizarro Back Issues: Archie And Betty And Their Hillbilly River Adventure (1978) By Chris Sims Over the past few years, Archie Comics has been taking a shot at telling a few more serious stories. Life With Archie in particular, in which Archie’s alternate future marriages are detailed, has dealt with a lot of serious stuff, including Cheryl Blossom moving back to Riverdale after a failed stint in Hollywood so that she could be closer to her family while she underwent treatment for cancer. It’s pretty grim.But it’s not the first time Archie’s gone for a more dramatic style. Back in the ’70s, they were all over the map with that stuff, including the time that Archie and Betty went canoeing, nearly drowned and almost got murdered by hillbillies.Even though it has its origins in 1978’s Life With Archie #196, “Ride the Raging River” is reprinted in this month’s World of Archie Double Digest #18, and you have no idea how happy that makes me. I love these stories, and the originals are actually pretty hard to track down. It’s not entirely unexpected, considering that the current digests are full long-neglected second-stringers like Ginger, who’s essentially a gender-swapped Archie, or that mind-boggling stretch of stories where the gang got into forensic investigation as the “Teen Scene Investigators.”The Archie Melodramas, though, are far and away my favorite. Looking back, they seem like these strange little artifacts of their time, but for about five years, they were popular enough that Archie was devoting two monthly titles — the other being Archie at Riverdale High — to over the top teen drama, with stories of ne’er-do-well bikers, burning buildings, and the occasional rampaging bear. My personal favorite is the one where Veronica is taken hostage by a switchblade-swingin’ robber, if only for the opening caption: Light flashes off a razor’s edge as the surgical steel waves slowly back and forth like the sinister head of a deadly cobra! Archie and Mr. Lodge freeze in their tracks! Veronica stiffens in fear! Everyone has something to lose in this chilling stalemate!Read More.
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Bizarro Back Issues: Archie And Betty And Their Hillbilly River Adventure (1978)

By Chris Sims

Over the past few years, Archie Comics has been taking a shot at telling a few more serious stories. Life With Archie in particular, in which Archie’s alternate future marriages are detailed, has dealt with a lot of serious stuff, including Cheryl Blossom moving back to Riverdale after a failed stint in Hollywood so that she could be closer to her family while she underwent treatment for cancer. It’s pretty grim.

But it’s not the first time Archie’s gone for a more dramatic style. Back in the ’70s, they were all over the map with that stuff, including the time that Archie and Betty went canoeing, nearly drowned and almost got murdered by hillbillies.

Even though it has its origins in 1978’s Life With Archie #196, “Ride the Raging River” is reprinted in this month’s World of Archie Double Digest #18, and you have no idea how happy that makes me. I love these stories, and the originals are actually pretty hard to track down. It’s not entirely unexpected, considering that the current digests are full long-neglected second-stringers like Ginger, who’s essentially a gender-swapped Archie, or that mind-boggling stretch of stories where the gang got into forensic investigation as the “Teen Scene Investigators.”

The Archie Melodramas, though, are far and away my favorite. Looking back, they seem like these strange little artifacts of their time, but for about five years, they were popular enough that Archie was devoting two monthly titles — the other being Archie at Riverdale High — to over the top teen drama, with stories of ne’er-do-well bikers, burning buildings, and the occasional rampaging bear. My personal favorite is the one where Veronica is taken hostage by a switchblade-swingin’ robber, if only for the opening caption: Light flashes off a razor’s edge as the surgical steel waves slowly back and forth like the sinister head of a deadly cobra! Archie and Mr. Lodge freeze in their tracks! Veronica stiffens in fear! Everyone has something to lose in this chilling stalemate!

Read More.

Source: comicsalliance.com

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    Archie Comics is craaaaaaaazy
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