An ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION of the seminal Archie Comics title…
Pep Comics #1 (Jan. 1940). Art by Irv Novick.
By PETER BOSCH
It started with a superhero dressed in a red, white, and blue patriotic costume and ended with comics’ favorite teen. From the Shield to Archie, the years 1939 to 1987 were always memorable in Pep Comics (later just Pep).
Pep Comics #1 went on sale Nov. 16, 1939 — 85 years ago. The Shield, the comic’s leading character, predated Captain America by about a year and was to become MLJ’s favorite hero. In that issue, he got a start fighting saboteurs but, though the various foreign agents in different stories were from made-up countries, it was clear the bad guys were really the Nazis. By the Issue #22 cover, there was no more pussyfooting around it, even though the start of World War II was still months away.
Pep Comics #22 (Dec. 1941). Cover art by Novick.
Unbeknownst to all, though, while the Shield, the Hangman, and Dusty the Boy Detective were battling the Axis menace on that cover, inside the issue there was an intro to Archie Andrews, a character that would, a few years later, put the superheroes in mothballs. At the time, though, the heroes kept up their patriotic fight against those who would destroy our democracy.
Pep Comics #27 (May 1942). Art by Novick.
But the change did come quickly, starting with Pep Comics #36 (Feb. 1943), as Archie became a predominant figure on the covers.
Pep Comics #36 (Feb. 1943). Art by Bob Montana.
Another example of this is the Shield and the Hangman are shaded almost to the point of being non-existent on the cover of #42 (Sept. 1943), which was promoting the new Archie Andrews radio program that began that year (and ended in 1953).
Pep Comics #42 (Sept. 1943). Art by Montana.
House ad from Pep Comics #54 (Sept. 1945) when the Archie Andrews radio program switched from the Blue Network to NBC.
Soon, the heroes would only occupy cameo circles on the cover. And starting with #51 (Dec. 1944), it was Archie only, even though the Shield, the Black Hood, Captain Commando, and others were still the main stories, and Archie had only the back-up feature.
Pep Comics #51 (Dec. 1944). Art by Bill Vigoda.
It was a foreshadowing, however, of what would come just one issue later when various humor characters began to push out the heroes one by one, until the Shield himself, the comic’s original star, was gone after #65 (Jan. 1948).
Over the decades, Pep Comics went through a number of alterations, including dropping “Comics” from the title and a company change of name from MLJ Magazines to Archie Comic Publications Inc. While the eternal triangle between Archie, Betty, and Veronica still was the main theme, the title would incorporate popular trends happening in other fields, such as a series of humorous sci-fi and horror covers in the early 1960s.
Pep #151 (Nov. 1961) and #155 (June 1962). Art by Bob White.
Around the same time, Archie Publications was also creating new superheroes (as well as reviving heroes from MLJ’s past). In addition to appearing in their own titles, Pep featured a dozen backup tales with the Jaguar, the Fly, and Fly Girl for a short while. And even Pureheart the Powerful (Archie as a superhero) got a story in Pep #187 (Nov. 1965).
Top row: Pep #151 (the Fly) – Script: Robert Bernstein. Art: John Guinta. #157 (the Jaguar) – Script: Unknown. Art: John Rosenberger. Bottom row: #158 (Fly Girl) – Script: Bernstein. Art: John Giunta. #187 (Archie) – Script and art: Unknown.
And then came the Archies. Sugar, sugar, everybody!
As it has been pointed out in other 13th Dimension columns, some Archie comics seemed a little risqué. Add Pep #385:
Pep #385 (Aug, 1982). Art: Stan Goldberg.
A monumental issue, #400 had Archie and the crew going to the Archie Publications’ office to visit the actual writers, artists, and other staff members.
Pep #400 (May 1985). Pencils: Dan DeCarlo. Inks: Jim DeCarlo.
And then came the March 1987 issue, #411. The title was at an end, but without any fanfare or even an interior notification to the readers. However, Pep did go out the same way it came in, with a character dressed in the colors of the American flag.
Pep #411 (Mar. 1987). Pencils: Dan DeCarlo. Inks: Undetermined.
While the regular series was done, there were still a handful of Archie Giant Series to come that had a Pep/Pep Comics title, plus there is a remarkable online Pep Digital collection with thousands of pages of story reprints from various Archie titles over the decades.
Which just goes to prove, we always need a lot of Pep in our lives!
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MORE
— 13 ARCHIE/MLJ SUPERHERO COMICS Facsimile Editions We’d Like to See. Click here.
— 13 Historic ARCHIE COMICS Facsimile Editions We’d Like to See. Click here.
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13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. A sequel, about movie comics, is coming in 2025. Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in Hollywood.
November 16, 2024
Fun post. Love that cover for PEP 151, also like the way Jughead was drawn on the cover for PEP 42.