Archie comics have always had a finger on the pulse of teenage trends, tapping into the current clothing styles, slang, and interests of its young protagonists. The publisher had many successful titles in the 1960s, including the main Archie title that followed the clumsy, bighearted teenager as he navigated the world around him.
Archie’s Pals ‘n’ Gals, which began in 1952, thrived in the ‘60s. The book broadened the character-focus to follow not just the adventures of Archie Andrews, but also his group of friends like Jughead, Betty, Veronica, Reggie, Moose, and others. The book focused on teenage identity and architypes in the publisher’s signature family-friendly way.
Life with Archie debuted in 1958 featuring more stories per issue than some of the standard Archie comics. The title had flexible storytelling with some “real life” scenarios, as well as fantastical tales. Sometimes it was about the love triangle between Archie, Betty, and Veronica, and other times, Archie and the gang were secret agents or superheroes.
Riverdale started to really rock when The Archies band was introduced in 1967. The bubblegum pop quintet was led by Archie on guitar and vocals, Jughead on drums, Betty on percussion and vocals, Veronica on keyboards and vocals, and Reggie on bass. Inspired by The Monkees, the fictional band appeared in comics and in The Archie Show animated series. The band went through the typical bumps in the road as they attempted to keep everyone focused on the music, tried to get their big break, and interacted with eccentric characters in the music industry.
Josie, the frontwoman of Josie and the Pussycats, was introduced in 1963 as a comic strip turned comic book. She’s Josie, later renamed Josie, told stories about her groovy and fashionable group of high school friends. After a few years, the title was revamped to Josie and the Pussycats with Josie and bandmates Melody and Valerie. By removing Josie and the Pussycats from their hometown and high school and sending them on a world tour, the book’s subject matter broadened and redefine its premise. They moved a bit left of the fashion-frenzied Katy Keenes and just right of the fierce and infallible superheroines, representing the everyday girls who wanted to make music.
As superheroes were seeing a resurgence in popularity, Archie’s superhero characters came to the forefront in the imprint Mighty Comics Group. Noting the popularity of the Batman TV series, the Archie heroes were revamped for campier, humorous storytelling, which fit well with the publisher’s overall slate of titles.
