Archie’s Joke Book #18, September 1955
Whether in a classroom, or stuck at home in front of a computer, the school year is indeed upon millions of kids and their folks.
And lets face it, when you’re a kid, the school calendar is much more important than the “yearly” calendar.
Archie comics was one of the few publishers that frequently employed the calendar to its advantage. New stories (or reprints for that matter) were typically timed to Christmas Vacation, Summer Vacation, camp time, and of course, school years.
In hindsight, Archie’s publishing schedule was similar to the merchandise planning of a department store. You have to stay ahead of the seasons.
And since the Archie gang were teens, school played an oversized role in the storytelling and gags.
Appropriately, here is a great one pager by Bob White. Sure the gags are corny, but 65 years ago they were probably the bee’s knees. (Actually, they were probably groaners then, too.)
But we grinned. And the cartooning is terrific.
(White credit confirmed by my friend, the late, great, Victor Gorelick, Archie’s EIC, who passed away earlier this year. Damn you, 2020.)
