I was a huge comic book reader as a kid, and Archie comics were my absolute favorites. But I never understood one thing: One particular volume of Archie comics was named “PEP”. What kind of a name for a comic book was that? Anyone have any idea the reasoning for that name?
Unca cecil?
Hell, R. Crumb called one of his efforts Big Ass Comics. You kin call your comic book anything you want to, pal.
But your real answer may be inferred from the following definition in the Dictionary of American Slang:
pep n. Energy; vim; enthusiasm; spirit; zest; initiative; gumption; the energy and enthusiasm that come from health and high spirits. 1920: “Lot of pep.” Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise. 1953: “Pep,” the trade name of an “energy-packed” breakfast food.
Since c1915; wide use during mid-1920s. Common enough since c1930 to be considered colloq. American emphasis on youth, action, and mobility makes pep a major virtue.
I also have to point out that the characters in the Archie comics are high school students, and that “Pep” was used to describe a lot of high school activities – “Pep Squads”, “Pep Rallies”, etc. This was probably a lot more common back when they started the strip in the 1940s, but it was still true when I was in high school.
PEP comics preceded Archie, as an anthology of super-hero strips. Other MLJ comics of the time were BLUE RIBBON and TOP-NOTCH. Archie became so popular as super-heroes declined after WW II that eventually the whole publishing line was devoted to the gang at Riverdale.
If you see some of the Archie strips from the 1940s, they're pretty startling. Archie and the boys are grotesque caricatures, while Betty and Veronica are drawn in a real 'good-girl' art style, with lots of attention to their nubile high school figures.
As I recall, there was also a title in the 40s starring Captain Triumph which was called CRACK COMICS. I doubt if you'll see this revived today.Isn’t it true that Archie was Jughead’s bitch? It explains why Jughead always wore the crown. (Reference to argument in the movie “Chasing Amy”)
BTW, if you grew up on Archie comics, you would probably enjoy “Cherry Poptart” comics a lot. Definitely not for kids, though.
Chas E. if he grew up believing Archie comics, his eyes would get permanently blastified. Cherry Poptart is to Archie as Bondage Fairies is to Tinkerbell.
The author changed the name to plain Cherry to avoid potential problems with Archie comics. Her website:
Actually, it was Kellogg’s (maker of Pop-Tarts) that were giving him a hard time about the name. If Archie Comics wanted to sue they’d have all the evidence they need.
And does anyone know exactly what that crown was that Jughead wore? A Burger King paper crown? A cut-up derby? A 1945 fad no one else tried?
Jughead’s crown was an old, scissor-trimmed felt fedora .
A fad way back when.
Archies Comics did sue Harvey Kurtzman and Bill Elder for a Goodman Beaver satire called “Goodman goes Playboy”, that had Goodman and some of the Archie cast visiting Playboy mansion. In the final judgment, Archie got possession of the original artwork for the piece, and it hasn’t been seen since, except for a couple of panels that appeared in a Goodman Beaver anthology. The moral: don’t mess with Archie Comics.
I’d wager that Robert Crumb comics contained more big asses than Archie comics had pep.
Interesting comparison Askia. I’ll never look at Tinkerbell the same way again.
Dr. Hermes wrote:
I don’t know if it’s the original name, but back in the 30s and 40s at least one variety of such cloth “crowns” were called “Whoopie Caps”. You can find an ad for one at James Lileks’ site http://www.lileks.com , in the old ads section.
Padeye: So far, that makes exactly TWO of us that A) get the ‘Bondage Fairies’ reference and B) find it amusing enough to change our outlook towards Tinkerbell. Dammit, I need a new hobby.
So does that make us the only two literate perverts on SDMB?
Considering the number of anachronisms like Jughead’s hat did they ever change Archie’s car? His “jalopy” was far older than the merely pre-WWII cars that 40s and 50s teenagers could afford.
Yep. He’s got a modern convertable now.
Very different feel…
Thanks, fellas.
Now to cross off another item in my notebooks of Unsolved Mysteries...#268: Jughead's Hat.
The SDMB has been a great relief to me.You don’t have to be a pervert to love Bondage Fairies.
But it sure helps.