Dan DeCarloCritiques

In this issue, we can see how competitive Cheryl is remarkably where she and her brother Jason need to do volunteer work for their Sociology class. Cheryl doesn't want to be outshine so she tries to surpass everything that Jason does.

What Cheryl wants, Cheryl gets; that's what we know about Cheryl Blossom. But there are a lot of times that what she and her brother plans backfires to them.

There are 3 stories in this issue entitled Summer Daze, B&V Catch The Wave and B&V Surf's Up. The first story is the longer one and most probably the funniest because of how silly Archie was during their summer vacation. The 2 stories of Betty and Veronica are also hilarious especially the Catch The Wave.

The second volume of collected "Archie" stories illustrated by Dan DeCarlo, one of the best "Archie" artists. Most of these were written by Frank Doyle. The stories range from the late '50s to the early '70s, and while most of them are enjoyable fluff, a few atypically show less frivolous sides of the gang -- not always to the benefit of the story. For example, one story has Archie sticking up for Betty when Veronica is playing a cruel practical joke on her. Another has Archie turning Veronica down for the faithful Betty, when he sees that while he is a prize in Betty's eyes, to Veronica and Mr. Lodge he is something of a patsy. The final story, from the early '70s, is a serious one in which the Archies band is drafted, and makes it clear to a young draft-dodger that while they oppose the war in Viet Nam, they also reject the anarchic views of those who would defy the government by resisting the draft by any but peaceful means. It's a disturbing story that makes it clear that "Archie", at least during this era, was produced by Establishment types who failed to understand the ideals of the day's young people, and only saw "Archie" as a means to convincing them that while it was OK to oppose the government's decisions, it was not OK to defy them.½

Dan DeCarlo was among the best of the "good girl" artists for Archie Comics, with a clean and graceful line and a way of portraying Betty and Veronica (especially Betty) that melted my youthful heart back then. The stories are pretty decent, and we also have the first stories here with Josie and Sabrina the teenage witch. But it's the art that sells these... that, and youthful nostalgia.½

An excellent collection of naughty gag cartoons from Humorama done by none other than Dan Decarlo (1919-2001) of Archie fame.

Some may find it hard to believe that the big name comic artist behind the wholesome Archie series also did risque cartoons prior to that. His excellently rendered ladies, resembling more risque versions of Betty and Veronica, are worth seeing! Nobody can draw ladies today quite like Decarlo did.

Dan DeCarlo's girlie gag strips manage the impressive task of balancing the saucy with the silly, and by (mostly) avoiding outright nudity and explicitly sexual situations, his gags end up being more charming and less prurient. His drawings of women are always voluptuous, and his renderings of men considerably less so, giving a certain power and dignity to his females. In the end, that's what makes these strips worth reading today - despite their cheeky objectification of women, these panels depict men as even bigger schmucks, and the careful balance so essential to the war between the sexes is elegantly maintained.