Contemporary Collectibles by Linda Rosenkrantz

Word has leaked out that Archie Andrews is about to propose after dilly-dallying between blond good girl Betty and slinky brunette Veronica for over 65 years: He's about to get down on one knee and propose to Veronica. The fact that this story — to become official in the September issue of Archie Comics — has already been featured on CNN shows what a hold this comic book trio still has on the public imagination.

Archetypal American adolescent Archie Andrews first appeared in the December, 1941 issue No. 22 of Pep Comics — a perfect sociological moment in time. This was the period when teenagehood was emerging as a distinct phenomenon, with characters like Andy Hardy in the movies and Henry Aldrich on the radio, and real-life kids jitterbugging and doing the Lindy Hop.

The comic book creation of Bob Montana and Joe Edwards — who were teenagers themselves— it featured not only Archie and the girls, the wholesome Betty Cooper and the glamorous heiress Veronica Lodge, but his beanie-wearing, not-too-bright pal Jughead Jones, his rival Reggie Mantle, and the student population of Riverdale High School, all of whom hung out at Pop's Chok'lit Shop. (Riverdale was based on Montana's hometown of Haverhill, Mass.) Archie's inability to choose between the two girls has been the triangular cornerstone of the plot for all these years — except for a period in the mid-1990s when he was distracted by old flame Cheryl Blossom, who gradually faded out of the story line.

December 1941 was the month the United States entered World War II, and Montana and Edwards were both drafted soon after. The comic continued without them until their return in 1945, by which time the character was a great success, now the star of his own eponymous Archie Comic. Archie became the most popular human, as opposed to superhero, character in the history of the comic books.

He moved beyond his original format into to a newspaper strip, paperback books, radio programs and a succession of animated TV shows. The newspaper strip was also drawn by Montana, who continued to do so until his death in 1975.

The radio show "The Adventures of Archie Andrews" ran for the most part on Saturday mornings from 1945 to 1953. Swift meat products was its principal sponsor. In animated form, Archie later had a long run on television, starting with "The Archie Show" in 1968, and continuing on to "The New Archies" in 1987, becoming a fixture on Saturday morning TV. The 1987 show featured the character's bubble gum rock band, The Archies, actually an assemblage of anonymous studio musicians, which even had a monster record hit with the song "Sugar, Sugar."

The prime collectible category is of course the comics -an original copy of Pep No. 22 in good condition now sells for four figures. But there are other items as well, many of them Post Cereals premiums. Among them are a 1952 "Archie Pin-Up Calendar," a 1950s Comic Book Club kit including a cello button and a press card; a 19-inch stuffed cloth Archie doll; and a 1969 Jughead felt beanie offered as premium by Post Raisin Brain and Post Toasties.

The Saturday morning TV shows produced a hefty selection of collectibles on their own. The most desirable include a 1968 Archies car model kit in a box by Aurora and a battery-operated Archies plastic jalopy made in 1975 by Marx, who also produced Archie, Betty ,Veronica and Jughead dolls; plus a 1969 steel The Archies lunch box with plastic bottle by Aladdin, and juice glasses bearing such words as "Archie taking the gang for a ride" and "Betty and Veronica Fashion Show."

Linda Rosenkrantz has edited Auction magazine and authored 18 books, including "Cool Names for Babies" and "The Baby Name Bible" (St. Martin's Press). Visit her baby names website at http://nameberry.com. She cannot answer letters personally. To find out more about Linda Rosenkrantz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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