Not a dream! Not a hoax! Not 1959! Archie and… Valerie?
Sweet Christmas. Daaaamn.
A few thoughts:
- Archie, you already can’t choose between Betty and Veronica.
- The first person to say anything about Archie chasing strange pussy gets punched in the neck.
- I don’t envy Archie Comics the amount of bigoted hate mail they’re going to get from a certain segment of the populace. And I applaud them for doing it. There are some people that deserve to be pissed off.
- On the other hand, maybe they’re hoping to increase sales because they’ll be bought for bonfires.
- This could be a very interesting story. Not to be confused with Stories, the 70’s one hit wonder best know for the song “Brother Louie”, which applies very well here. In fact, all you have to do is change Louie to Archie and see how little things have changed in 35 years:
She was black as the night
Archie was whiter than white
Danger, danger when you taste brown sugar
Archie fell in love overnight
Nothing bad, it was good
Archie had the best girl he could
When he took her home
To meet his mama and papa
Archie knew just where he stood
Archie Archie Archie, Archie
Archie Archie Archie, Arch-I
Archie Archie Archie, Archie
Archie Archie you’re gonna cry
There he stood in the night
Knowing what’s wrong from what’s right
He took her home to meet his mama and papa
Man, he had a terrible fright
Archie nearly caused a scene
Wishin’ it was a dream
Ain’t no diff’rence if you’re black or white
Brothers, you know what I mean
Archie Archie Archie, Archie
Archie Archie Archie, Arch-I
Archie Archie Archie, ArchieArchie Archie you’re gonna cry
PR after the jump.
Two of the greatest bands in comic book history hook up like never before when Josie and the Pussycats come to town to tour with The Archies. However, more than music is made on one starry night outside Archie’s home, when there’s a kiss that could change Riverdale forever. Is it possible that the pure-hearted, red-haired lead of The Archies is really falling in love with Valerie, the beautiful bassist/songwriter of Josie and the Pussycats? What will happen to Betty and Veronica? “It Starts with a Kiss” is the beginning of a tale to be continued. Don’t miss out while the world watches to see if Archie and Valerie have what it takes to make their love survive. Look for part one in Archie #608, hitting stores this April!
Can I at least make a joke about Valerie opening for Archie? Please?
They're leaving out what to me is one of the most important pieces of information: who's the writer?
10 Reasons Archie can't handle a Black girl.10. His car is a piece of shit.9. He's got freckles8. He lives with his parents.7. He's a virgin.6. His best friend has a eating disorder5. Reggie would try his best to 'hit that' 4.He's 70 years old3. The moment he heard hard core hip hop he would throw up.2. The moment home boys heard 'Sugar, sugar' Archie would be shot….and the number 1 reason Archie Andrews could not handle a black girl…1. He does not have a job.
Oh no you didn't!(I'm not sure of the relevance of that comment, actually; I just think it's something one is supposed to say in these circumstances.)PAD
Close, Peter but the correct comment use under such circumstances ( accompanied by a wave of a finger) is…OH NO you did-ANT!When you get a sec go read my last michaeldavisworld piece, I mention you in all your greatness. Happy New Year.
But you forgot that she's gorgeous and alot of guys will do anything to make a relationship with a beautiful woman work, regardless of how ill-suited they are to eachother.
Michael DavisIf Shawn from Boy Meets World who came from a trailer park can successfully get with a black girl, than so can Archie.
Yep!
How the hell do I follow that?Surely she's going to send him inside, outside, upside-down…
Vinnie,NOBODY can follow Peter David…dammit.
That's true. The joy of restraining orders.PAD
Eh. Let's hope the following issue has one/both of Betty and/or Veronica hooking up with Josie and/or Melody in retaliation. Seriously, while I appreciate the "groundbreaking" aspect of this involving pure vanilla Archie, well, my oldest interracial niece is 18.5 years old, and interracial relationships are pretty common in comics, tv, movies, etc. Yes, there are still idiots out there who have problems with such, but this is pretty far from groundbreaking these days.
For a character who seemed stuck in the 50's forever, this is pretty important. Remember, it took South Carolina until 1998 and Alabama until 2000 to officially amend their states' constitutions to remove language prohibiting miscegenation. In the respective referendums, 38% of voters in South Carolina and 41% of voters in Alabama voted against removing these laws. And and Louisiana Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell refused to perform an interracial marriage just three months ago.
Here is the real controversial aspect of that image."Is it possible that the pure-hearted, red-haired lead of The Archies is really falling in love with Valerie, the beautiful bassist/songwriter of Josie and the Pussycats?"That's not a bass guitar Valerie has. It has 6 strings not four. Well it has 6 tuning cranks, It appears to have only 5 strings.
Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention routinely plays a five string bass – a beautiful piece of wood, i might add; almost makes me want to learn to play one (if i could afford it), just because it's so cool looking. (Which is sort of how the former Mrs Elvis Costello became the original bass player in the Pogues, come to think…)And i've seen more than one six-string bass.Granted, either of those options would probably be more than Valerie could afford (unless the Pussycats are selling a lot of CDs), but they're not at all uncommon.BTW – may i direct your attention to this image, or, for that matter, this one?
Just sort of following on to my thought about the cost – in the 1990 Cropedy Festival Programme, Peggy was selling two of his custom-made five-string basses. I'm remembering the numbers as being in pounds – and the *cheaper* one was a thousand.
Doctor Wertham would have had a field day with the shadow of that guitar…
Good point about the six-string bass. And Josie Wales and the Pussycats is hilarious
Echos of "I am Curious…Black!" with Lois Lane using a Kryptonian device in order to 'pass for black' for an exclusive story! Also, I remember the story where The Vision & Scarlet Witch raised a stir in the Marvel Universe. At least this has the potential of being truly controversial! I'll look out for the fireworks!
I always liked the Valerie Character. I was surprised to see Archie comics taking this step..but why not? Valerie is level headed where B & V aren't. Seems his parents didn't mind..so go with it!! Yay, Val!