COMIC BOOKS: Archie 1955
Published 12:00 pm Saturday, January 25, 2020
Archie as Elvis.
OK, maybe not as Elvis, but as a groundbreaking rock & roller in the 1950s, yep.
That’s the premise of the five-part miniseries, “Archie 1955.”
The fifth and final installment hits the streets Feb. 12.
Imagining Archie Andrews as a rocker isn’t too far of a stretch for folks who followed him and the Riverdale gang back in the late 1960s.
The animated Archie, Jughead, Veronica, Betty and Reggie had a hit as The Archies with “Sugar, Sugar.” Granted, “Sugar, Sugar” was one of the band’s bubble-gum pop songs and the actual vocals for the Archies were supplied by Ron Dante and Tony Wine backed by session musicians.
The Archies was part of the Saturday morning cartoon “Archie Show” from 1968-73.
“Archie 1955” has been a more serious story but still a bit of a romp for Archie fans. Writers Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn, joined by artists Ray-Anthony Height, Joe Eisma, Rick Burchett, Glenn Whitmore and Jack Morelli, are some of the creative talents who also produced the World War II era mini-series “Archie 1941.”
Good stuff for readers to find the monthly installments. Or wait a few months for the full run to be released as a trade paperback collection.
Given the success of “1941” and now “1955,” will Archie 1960s be the next stop?