49 Fun Facts About Archie Comics

Archie Andrews debuted in 1941 as a back-up feature in which superhero anthology comic?

Pep Comics. Archie began as filler behind the book's costumed heroes, squeezed them off the cover within a few years, and ended up giving his name to the whole company.

Archie was conceived as a comic-book answer to the Andy Hardy films starring which teen idol?

Mickey Rooney. Publisher John Goldwater thought a character modeled on Rooney's screen persona might sell; writer Vic Bloom and the first artist turned that notion into Archie, Jughead and Betty.

What was Archie Comics called when it began publishing in 1939?

M.L.J. Magazines. The letters were the first initials of founders Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit and John Goldwater; the firm renamed itself once its red-headed teenager had outgrown its superheroes.

Which MLJ superhero wore the Stars and Stripes more than a year before Captain America did?

The Shield. He debuted in January 1940 as the first superhero dressed in the American flag and was one of MLJ's most popular stars, until a red-headed teenager took over the line.

Which Archie Comics model, billed as America's 'Queen of Pin-Ups and Fashions', got a Riverdale spin-off series in 2020?

Katy Keene. From 1945 she wore outfits that readers designed and mailed in, with each fan credited on the page; Lucy Hale played her in the short-lived TV series.

Which video game character did Archie Comics publish a long-running comic about from 1992 to 2016?

Sonic the Hedgehog. The series reached 290 issues with its own cast and backstory, and ended only when Sega pulled the licence and took the hedgehog to another publisher.

Which MAD founder's 'Goodman Goes Playboy' parody of the Riverdale gang drew a lawsuit threat from Archie's publisher?

Harvey Kurtzman. Archie's publisher took the story's copyright in the settlement and blocked reprints for decades, then forgot to renew it, so the parody finally reappeared in 2004.

Which music act settled a 2005 Archie Comics trademark suit by guest-starring in one of its comics?

The Veronicas. Archie Comics went to court to stop the Brisbane twins using the name and ended up promoting them instead: the sisters kept it and appeared in Veronica's own comic.

Who was Archie Comics' first openly gay character, debuting in 2010?

Kevin Keller. Created by Dan Parent, he arrived in a story where Veronica falls for the new boy in town; the issue sold out and earned the first reprint in the company's history.

In 2011, Archie Comics became the last publisher to abandon which industry body?

The Comics Code Authority. Archie's own publisher John Goldwater had helped found the self-censorship scheme in the 1950s; Archie quit right after DC, and the Code was finished.

Which 2013 comic, the first title of the Archie Horror line, brought a zombie apocalypse to Riverdale?

Afterlife with Archie. It grew out of a spooky alternate cover drawn for one of the regular Archie titles, and it was the company's first comic not aimed at children.

In 2014's Life with Archie #36, how does the grown-up Archie Andrews die?

Taking a bullet for a friend. The friend was a newly elected senator who had campaigned for gun control, and the publisher said Archie 'dies as he lived, heroically'.

Which writer and artist team relaunched Archie with a new #1 in July 2015?

Mark Waid and Fiona Staples. They gave Riverdale a new look and an edgier tone and retold how the Archie, Betty and Veronica triangle began, restarting a title that had never been renumbered since 1942.

Which network picked up the live-action series Riverdale in January 2016?

The CW. The dark take on Archie's hometown was first developed at Fox, which let it go; on its new network it ran for seven seasons.

Which playwright, later Riverdale's showrunner, became Archie Comics' chief creative officer in 2014?

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. In 2003 the company hit his play about a grown-up Archie with a cease-and-desist the day before it opened; eleven years later the success of his zombie comic won him the job.

Which masked MLJ hero, revived in 2015 for the Dark Circle Comics imprint, shares his name with a Riverdale serial killer?

The Black Hood. In 1940 he was a framed patrolman clearing his name; the 2015 series recast him as a Philadelphia cop shot in the face, and the TV show gave the name to a masked murderer.

Which filmmaking duo signed on in 2025 to bring Archie to the big screen?

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. They signed on to produce a live-action film at Universal after hearing comics writer Tom King's pitch, which they said made sense as an 'event movie'.

Which Marvel vigilante came to Riverdale hunting a crook in a 1994 crossover with Archie?

The Punisher. He mistakes Archie for the criminal he is chasing, then teams up with him once he sees his error; the two publishers put the one-shot out jointly.

What is Archie Andrews's full first name?

Archibald. By publisher John Goldwater's account, the name came from an old school friend of his called Archie.

Who plays Archie on the TV series Riverdale?

KJ Apa. The producers spent four months searching the world for their Archie, yet the 18-year-old New Zealander auditioned only days before he was cast.

What does Archie call his beloved jalopy?

Betsy. The old car is a patchwork of junkyard parts that is forever breaking down, and it is Betty, a skilled mechanic, who keeps her running.

What are the names of Archie's parents?

Fred and Mary. On the TV series Riverdale, Fred was played by 1990s teen idol Luke Perry for three seasons, and the show opened its fourth with the character's death.

What is Jughead's real first name?

Forsythe. In full he is Forsythe Pendleton Jones III, and he steers clear of dating because he has seen how much trouble it gets Archie into.

What is the name of Jughead's white sheepdog?

Hot Dog. The shaggy mutt started out as Archie's pet before settling in with Jughead, and in 1990 he starred in five issues of a comic of his own.

Who plays Jughead on Riverdale?

Cole Sprouse. The former Disney Channel child star had stepped away to study archaeology at New York University and work on digs, and Jughead was his return to acting.

What kind of hat is Jughead's crown-like 'beanie'?

A whoopee cap. Boys of the 1930s made them by cutting the brim of a man's felt fedora into points and turning it up; the style is now so tied to him that it is also called a Jughead hat.

Betty Cooper was named for a real woman who briefly dated which Archie co-creator?

Bob Montana. Betty Tokar Jankovich dated the artist at 18 and ended it herself, feeling she wasn't educated enough for him; at 94 she told a reporter she had no regrets.

Which Riverdale girl has spent decades trying to win over a reluctant Jughead?

Big Ethel. Ethel Muggs has long nursed a crush on a boy who only has eyes for lunch; in the 2013 zombie comic it is an undead Jughead who goes after her.

Who plays Betty on Riverdale?

Lili Reinhart. After five discouraging months in Los Angeles she had moved back home and nearly given up acting, then sent in a last-minute audition tape for Betty.

What are Betty's older siblings called?

Chic and Polly. Both have left Riverdale, Polly to work as a news reporter in San Francisco, which leaves Betty, the youngest, as the only Cooper child still at home.

Which red-haired rich girl arrived in 1982 as a third love interest for Archie, after Betty and Veronica?

Cheryl Blossom. She and her twin brother vanished from the comics after only two years, but the character came back, and Madelaine Petsch made her a star of the TV series Riverdale.

What nickname does Veronica have for Archie?

Archiekins. Riverdale's richest girl keeps using her money to lure him away from her best friend Betty, and the three-way tug of war has never been settled.

What are Veronica's parents called?

Hiram and Hermione. Hiram Lodge is the richest man in Riverdale and dreads every visit from the accident-prone Archie, and the TV series Riverdale reimagined the whole family as Latin American.

Who plays Veronica on Riverdale?

Camila Mendes. She was the last of the four leads to be cast, a newcomer still months from graduating at New York University, and Veronica was her first television role.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch first appeared in 1962 in which Archie humor comic?

Archie's Madhouse. Her creators meant the story as a one-shot and were surprised when readers asked for more; she turned up only off and on for years before cartoons and a sitcom made her a star.

What are the names of Sabrina's two witch aunts?

Hilda and Zelda. In the 1970s cartoon the two aunts brew Sabrina themselves when a potion goes wrong; the 1990s sitcom rewrote her as half-mortal and gave the family the surname Spellman.

Why was Salem Saberhagen turned into a cat?

For attempting world domination. The backstory was invented for the 1990s sitcom; in the original comics Salem was an ordinary witch's cat who could not even talk.

Who played Sabrina in the 1990s sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch?

Melissa Joan Hart. When the sitcom spun off a cartoon, her younger sister Emily took over as Sabrina's voice while Melissa played both of the aunts.

Which artist created Josie and the Pussycats?

Dan DeCarlo. He named Josie after his wife, and when a film version was on the way he sued for a creator's share; the publisher ended their 43-year working relationship.

Which Archies song was Billboard's No. 1 single of 1969?

Sugar, Sugar. Sung by anonymous studio musicians for a Saturday-morning cartoon, it spent four weeks at No. 1 and finished 1969 ahead of every single by a real band.

Who sang lead vocals on The Archies' recordings?

Ron Dante. A session singer hidden behind a cartoon band, he recorded as the Cuff Links in the same year, overdubbing both the lead and the backing vocals himself.

Which music mogul took charge of The Archies' records after being fired from The Monkees?

Don Kirshner. The Monkees had rebelled at being micromanaged; with a cartoon band, any session musician who tried the same could simply be replaced.

Which instrument does Reggie Mantle play in The Archies?

Bass. Reggie is Riverdale's vain prankster, forever trying to steal Veronica away from Archie, though the great love of his life is himself.

What is the name of Riverdale's soda shop?

Pop Tate's Chocklit Shoppe. The soda fountain is the hub of the gang's stories, and more than once the plot has turned on saving it from Veronica's tycoon father.

Which Massachusetts town did the original Archie artist say inspired Riverdale High?

Haverhill. The strip's first artist went to high school there in the 1930s and drew on its teachers and students, while the publisher pointed to Hiawatha, Kansas, where he had worked as a young reporter.

Who is the principal of Riverdale High?

Mr. Weatherbee. Waldo Weatherbee, 'the Bee' to his students, keeps falling victim to Archie's clumsiness, which is why Archie knows the detention room so well.

What is Moose Mason's real first name?

Marmaduke. Big Moose is Riverdale High's star athlete and its worst student, a gentle giant who turns dangerous only when another boy talks to his girlfriend Midge.

Which Riverdale High brain, an amateur inventor, aces every class but gym?

Dilton Doiley. He turned up in 1942 under the name Theodosius Tadpole, and the gang has leaned on his brains, and his home-made gadgets, ever since.

Which animation studio produced The Archie Show for CBS in 1968?

Filmation. The studio put a pop song in every episode to echo The Monkees, and the formula worked so well that it kept making Archie cartoons for another decade.