# He's not half the Moose he used to be... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428 "2015-01-20T23:44:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/1 "2015-01-20T23:44:03Z")
Some people have commented on this… Moose, of the Archie comics, isn’t quite the same as he once was. He doesn’t say “D-uh” as he used to or act as stereotypically dull - witted as he once did. Has Mr. Mason been the victim of the Politically Correct Police? ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/2 "2015-01-21T00:13:39Z")
I don’t read Archie too much (although I’ll be first in line to buy Archie vs. Predator), but I think they’ve toned Moose down a bit as he’s become more of a sympathetic character and less of a dumb jock stereotype. I think that’s been going on for quite some time now. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/3 "2015-01-21T00:53:23Z")
A recent storyline in Archie comics involved Archie sacrificing his own life to save his buddy, Kevin Keller, from an assassin who was angry that Kevin, an openly gay, married veteran, had just been elected to Congress. A parallel title has a spell by Sabrina the Teen-aged Witch going awry, causing a blood-drenched zombie apocalypse led by an undead Jughead to overrun Riverdale. The same comic features (or at least strongly implies) an incestuous relationship between siblings Jason and Cherryl Blossom. But yeah, the \*big \*change in the comics is that the dumb guy isn’t written quite as dumb as he used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/4 "2015-01-21T01:08:54Z")
I think there was a storyline that explained Moose. His school difficulties stem from his being dyslexic. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/5 "2015-01-21T01:55:06Z")
Yeah, and it seems that backfired–it gave the impression that they were calling dyslexics stupid. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/6 "2015-01-21T03:39:54Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Yeah, and it seems that backfired–it gave the impression that they were calling dyslexics stupid. ☹ Political correctness backfiring?!?! Who’d ah’ thunk it! 😃 And Archie Comics is still in print?!? ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/7 "2015-01-21T04:01:27Z")
They’ve also had stories that dealt with his quick temper and his possessiveness towards Midge. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/8 "2015-01-21T04:03:00Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > A recent storyline in Archie comics involved Archie sacrificing his own life to save his buddy, Kevin Keller, from an assassin who was angry that Kevin, an openly gay, married veteran, had just been elected to Congress. Archie also began a relationship with Valerie (of Josie and the Pussycats). In addition to showing he has options beyond Betty and Veronica, this is Archie’s first interracial relationship. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/9 "2015-01-21T14:27:57Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Political correctness backfiring?!?! Who’d ah’ thunk it! 😃 > > And Archie Comics is still in print?!? Every time I see one at the supermarket I have to wonder who buys them. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/10 "2015-01-21T14:34:42Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Every time I see one at the supermarket I have to wonder who buys them. With stories like Jughead-led bloody zombie apocalypse, maybe I should be reading it. It ain’t the Archie I grew up with. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/11 "2015-01-21T14:39:30Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > A recent storyline in Archie comics involved Archie sacrificing his own life to save his buddy, Kevin Keller, from an assassin who was angry that Kevin, an openly gay, married veteran, had just been elected to Congress. > > A parallel title has a spell by Sabrina the Teen-aged Witch going awry, causing a blood-drenched zombie apocalypse led by an undead Jughead to overrun Riverdale. The same comic features (or at least strongly implies) an incestuous relationship between siblings Jason and Cherryl Blossom. Are these stories in the main publication’s continuity (not that Archie comics ever had much in the way of continuity) or are these just publishing stunts? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/12 "2015-01-21T14:49:04Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Are these stories in the main publication’s continuity (not that Archie comics ever had much in the way of continuity) or are these just publishing stunts? Neither. Archie’s death(s) was(were) the final story arc of Life With Archie, a title that featured two potential futures (one where he married Veronica, one where he married Betty), which ran from 2010 to 2014. Afterlife With Archie is currently about midway through its second year. (I haven’t read it since they left Riverdale (not due to lack of interest, I just kept missing the issues so now I’d have a huge backlog), but I think the zombie apocalypse is pretty much entirely backstory, now…last I heard Sabrina was being married off to Cthulhu.) ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/13 "2015-01-21T15:40:21Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Political correctness backfiring?!?! Who’d ah’ thunk it! 😃 > > And Archie Comics is still in print?!? Here’s the [Darker and Edgier](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DarkerAndEdgier) video version: [Riverdale](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djRAiiFlCy8). (Hilarious!) ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/14 "2015-01-21T16:11:22Z")
Who or what is Cthulu? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/15 "2015-01-21T17:11:36Z")
One of the [Ancient Ones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu). ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/16 "2015-01-21T17:25:44Z")
I followed that link. Cthulu looks as repulsive as the monster in the movie _Alien._ ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/17 "2015-01-21T17:49:00Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I followed that link. Cthulu looks as repulsive as the monster in the movie _Alien._ Now you’ve hurt his feelings. He was hoping he looked worse. You will be eaten slowly. Much like the Sarlacc. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/18 "2015-01-21T18:37:39Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I followed that link. Cthulu looks as repulsive as the monster in the movie _Alien._ Actually, that sketch makes him look like he’s sitting on the toilet. Presumably taking an eldritch and unspeakable dump. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/19 "2015-01-21T18:45:50Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > …A parallel title has a spell by Sabrina the Teen-aged Witch going awry, causing a blood-drenched zombie apocalypse led by an undead Jughead to overrun Riverdale. The same comic features (or at least strongly implies) an incestuous relationship between siblings Jason and Cherryl Blossom… I got that from the library and read it just this weekend! Definitely not the Archie I remember from my youth: [Amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/Afterlife-Archie-Riverdale-Roberto-Aguirre-Sacasa/dp/1619889080/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421865730&sr=8-1&keywords=afterlife+archie) > [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > They’ve also had stories that dealt with his quick temper and his possessiveness towards Midge. Only since, like, always. > [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Actually, that sketch makes him look like he’s sitting on the toilet. Presumably taking an eldritch and unspeakable dump. My favorite Cthulhu portrait: [http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/81/53/09/815309298a17ac11bc974fc7378cea1c.jpg](http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/81/53/09/815309298a17ac11bc974fc7378cea1c.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428/20 "2015-01-21T18:52:36Z")
[Cyclopean.](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cyclopean) I think one might legitimately describe Cthulhu’s stool as cyclopean. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-half-the-moose-he-used-to-be/710428.md?page=2)