You Are My Candy Girl

My earliest memories of Archie comics are my mum reading them. My first contact with the gang was when I was about 6 yrs of age and my mum asked me to find the book she was reading. It’s called Archie she said. Huh? A-R-C-H-I-E.

I found it for her. Testimony that I could identify letters of the alphabet and knew what a comic book looked like.

Thus began my journey with the teenaged gang from Riverdale complete with the blonde, the money, the vain, the foodie, the jock, the nerd, the gangly, the artist and of course the all-American boy next door, Archie.

Archie and the gang brought America into our lives. They were our first introduction to hamburgers and sodas, detentions and dates, proms and tuxedos. Riverdale was meant to be representative of the ideal America of the 60’s and 70’s complete with fashions from those days (and prices). Every issue had us reading about Archie juggling his two lady loves, Jughead angling for another meal (Big Ethel angling for Jughead), Reggie preening, Betty pining, Veronica flouncing, Dilton computing, Moose flexing and Midge controlling (and of course the near human Hotdog).

This was a regular group of teenagers struggling with homework, pocket money and love. And who better than Archie to epitomise this struggle?

From the very first issue Archie has been caught between Betty and Veronica. Betty, the perfect teenage girl who can do no wrong, who worships the ground Archie walks on and knits sweaters for him, and Veronica the rich brat whom Archie worships and saves all his money to buy sweaters for. It’s a love triangle that’s been playing for decades now.

Not anymore. Archie is finally going to end the struggle and make his mind up. The 600^th issue of Archie and the gang has the teenagers all grown up and thinking of marriage, and the big question now is whom will Archie choose?

Will it be the good girl Betty who will probably be another Stepford wife and have his house always smelling of freshly baked cookies and have everything in place right from the laundry to the flower vases? Or will it be Veronica who will probably make Archie sleep on the couch every other day and with whom Archie will never have a dull day?

All over the internet people are rooting for the firebrand brunette. Apparently no one likes a goody-two-shoes.

But the best insight was from someone who thought the perfect ending would be Archie choosing to spend the rest of his life with best bud and self-proclaimed woman hater Jughead. With the world opening up to same-sex marriages, maybe it’s time Riverdale got with it too huh?

Now that’s an idea isn’t it?