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Archie's first appearance, in '' Pep Comics '' #22 on December 22 , 1941 , was drawn by Bob Montana , and written by Vic Bloom . Archie was conceived by John L. Goldwater , who some believe was influenced by the Andy Hardy movies starring Mickey Rooney . HISTORY Archie Comics started out in 1939 as MLJ Comics, named after the first initials of its three founders Morris Coyne, Louis Silberkleit and John L. Goldwater. Early MLJ titles featured generic Superheroes , remembered in the lore of comic collector's trivia. '' The Shield '' was the first flag-themed superhero, a year before '' Captain America ''. '' The Comet '' was the first superhero killed in the line of duty. The '' Hangman '' (the ''Comet's'' younger brother) might be the most brutal superhero of the 1940s. ''Roy the Superboy'' preceded '' Superboy '' by half a decade, and '' Steel Sterling '' was dubbed "the Man of Steel" before '' Superman ''. None remained popular. ''Archie'' began as a back-up feature replacing '' Madam Satan '', and within a year was a hit. So much so that by 1946 , MLJ changed its name to Archie Comics. In 60 years Archie still hasn't graduated from High School . Over the years Archie Comics has published innumerable Archie Spin-off s and variant series. Some of the odder series feature Archie and his friends cast as superhero versions of themselves or playing spies in a parody of '' The Man From U.N.C.L.E. ''. In addition, some series such as ''Life With Archie'' and ''Archie at Riverdale High'' which featured straight adventure and/or mystery stories. In addition in the 1970s and 1980s, the Archie characters were authorized for use in a series of Christian comic books written and drawn by Al Hartley for Spire Christian Comics . Several attempts have been made to revive MLJ's original superhero line, without success. Today Archie Comics would rather forget its superheroes, but occasionally some appear in their comics, if only for the sake of maintaining a trademark. ''Archie'' was adapted into a Saturday Morning Cartoon series by Filmation , '' The Archie Show ''. Archie Comics sued music duo The Veronicas in 2005, stating that they had broken copyright laws because of the name of their band. Archie Comics and Sire Records (The Veronicas record company) have resolved their problems. THE ARCHIE "UNIVERSE" ''Archie'' is set in the small town of Riverdale,Californa. The comics' principal characters are as follows:
Aside from very basic characteristics, many of the characters' traits and even personalities change from strip to strip, usually depending on the writer. For example, usually Archie is very good at any given sport but sometimes he is the worst player on the team. In one strip, Jughead has a very strong interest in Anime , which helps him meet a girl who becomes his friend. Jughead's anime obsession and new friend, however, are gone in all subsequent strips. In certain strips, Betty does not mind being Archie's second choice as long as she gets a date with him sometimes, but in other strips she is insulted when Archie considers her a second choice and responds with either anger or sadness. In addition, sometimes it's depicted that Veronica dominates Archie's love interests and Betty plays a distant second fiddle, while other times both girls seem to have Archie split 50/50 in a heated love triangle. Even though Archie's main love interests are Veronica and Betty, he often goes on dates with many other girls, the vast majority if not all only appearing once and never again. Veronica and Betty also often go on dates with other boys that only appear once. There are some similar inconsistencies regarding the source of the Lodge's wealth; some stories depict Mr. Lodge as a self-made man who grew up in a poor part of Riverdale (who thus wants his daughter to study in a public high school to avoid making her a snob) and others depict the Lodge family as "old money" with a long history of wealth and a gallery of pictures of famous wealthy relatives. Reggie Mantle is usually portrayed as being part of the gang (as a character that's sometimes mean and rude, but deep down is really a good person), but in many other strips he is depicted as an outsider and is an antagonist of Archie and the gang. Each character has numerous relatives that have appeared once and never again. Other details will conflict between any two given stories. In ''Archie's Double Digest #165'', Archie states that it takes a half-hour to drive from his house to Veronica's, which greatly contradicts the numerous previous implications in other strips that Veronica's mansion is only a few miles away from Archie's house. The complete absence of established Canon is an often noted aspect of Archie Comics and may be a turn-off to fans from other comics who are accustomed to an established comic universe with strict canon. See also: Common themes in Archie Comics The following are stories or story elements that often come up in Archie comics.
SUPER HEROES The Archie Comics line published the occasional dramatic action-adventure Superhero comic. ;1940s
;1960s (published as Archie Adventure Comics, Radio Comics, and Mighty Comics )
(Hangman and The Wizard become villains during that period) ;1980s (published as Red Circle Comics )
Archie would later license their superheroes to DC Comics for use on the !mpact imprint in the 90s. ''ARCHIE'' SPIN-OFF TITLES
OTHER SERIES PUBLISHED BY ARCHIE COMICS
ARCHIE COMICS IN TECHNOLOGY The Archie Search Engine and Veronica Search Engine were named after the characters Archie and Veronica, while the Jonzy's Universal Gopher Hierarchy Excavation And Display is named after Jughead. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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