Archie Americana Series : Best of the Seventies [Paperback]

Paul Castiglia (Editor) (Author), John L. Goldwater (Author), Victor Gorelick (Author)

Book Description

Series: Archie Americana Series

The swinging seventies- a time of transition in America, as the nation strived to find its feet in the aftermath of the turbulent social upheaval that was the sixties. Once again, the youth of America led the charge- enjoying the latest fads and fashions, while speaking out for change. Ever timeless, Archie and his friends came along for the ride, exploring both the fun and mores of the times with their unique brand of humor, as only they could! Journey back with us now in this eagerly anticipated volume.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

George Gladir is an American comic book writer, primarily known for his work with Archie Comics, he co-created Sabrina the Teenage Witch, with artist Dan DeCarlo. He became a full-time comic book writer in 1959, doing one-page gag fillers for Archie Comics Archie's Joke Book and other titles. His first confirmed credit is the gag page "Sign Language", drawn by Dan DeCarlo, in Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica #59

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Archie Comic Books (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879794055
• ISBN-13: 978-1879794054
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.2 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #666,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE FANTASTIC FADS OF THE 1970'S, August 1, 2005

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Archie Americana Series : Best of the Seventies (Paperback)

Archie Americana the Best of the 1970's is, I think the best of all the Archie Americana series of trade paperback collections because it does the best job of capturing the look and feel of its decade. The 1970's was perhaps the most eclectic and trendy decade in American history with a new fad coming along every few months to capture the imagination of Americans. Archie comics marched right along in time to all the changes the 1970's brought from protests to disco. This volume collects 17 Archie stories that will make readers year for the days of pet rocks and CB radios. Shirley Jones, Mrs. Partridge herself introduces this volume.

In "Protest" from 1970, Archie is on the warpath and wants to get a sit-in protest staged with the rest of the gang. The only trouble is that Archie can't seem to find a cause to protest but merely wants to protest because the rest of the country is. Too bad for Arch that everyone if Riverdale seems relatively happy.

"Bubble Trouble" features "The Archies" band in action. You can almost hear them singing "Sugar Sugar". When an editor of a music magazine calls their music "bubblegum music" Archie is not happy and goes to see the editor to voice his displeasure. You wonder how much fun the writer had with this story since the Archies WERE about as bubblegum as you could get.

In "No Fuel like and old Fuel" the gang finds themselves paralyzed by the energy crisis of the mid-1970's. When Archie cannot get any gas to take Betty & Veronica on a picnic, he and Jughead cleverly make do by attaching a sail from Mr. Lodge's boat to sail to the park. But what happens when it's time to leave and there is no wind?

"You Came a Long Way Baby" finds Archie, or rather Betty and Veronica tackling the subject of Women's liberation in this tale from 1975. Of all people, Miss, I mean Ms. Grundy leads the way!

In "Bi-centennial Banter" the boys are working on their Bi-Centennial pageant when the girls, who had been excluded from the festivities, strongly display how many women played important roles in the fight for independence as well.

"Over and Out" highlights one of the great fads of the 1970's the CB radio craze. We all remember that don't we? Arch and Veronica are staying in touch with oh-so-cute little handle names, not knowing that everyone is listening into their conversations.

"Video Vexation" features another great fad and one that has actually survived and grown to this very day...the video game fad. The boys are so into playing "Pong" that they begin to lose interest in the girls...until the girls turn out to be better players...

"Costume Caper" Pop culture comes home full tilt. While not mentioning it by name, a costume party features several people dressed in Star Wars costumes. Arch wins when he accidentally dresses up as "C3PO"

As with the other Archie Americana books there are also cover galleries featuring some of the classic covers from the 1970's. If you lived during this era like I did, you'll be certain to get a lot of laughs at looking back at some of the ridiculous fads and fashions of the wonderful decade of the 1970's.


Reviewed by Tim Janson

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting time-capsule of the 1970's, August 7, 2004

By 

Sibelius (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Archie Americana Series : Best of the Seventies (Paperback)

The 'Archie Americana' series continues on with this book highlighting the best stories from the 1970's. This book seems to take an intersting focus featuring stories with a heavy 1970's specific pop-culture bent that gives this book an almost time-capsule'ish feel capturing the trends/fashions/slang and even politics of this most colorful of contemporary decades. For example, we get references to 'Star Wars,' in an amusing Halloween costume contest story, disco dancing (of course) and even a delightfully quaint story on the rising popularity of videogaming (Pong) and a bit of gender wars as the girls attempt to unseat the boys from the throne of videogame dominance. While this book may seem different in that the general storylines seem to deviate from the standard Archie-esque plotlines (love triangles, archie-reggie rivalry, etc.) it's interesting to note a shift in tone as this comic series attempts to keep intact a teen audience shifting their attentions away from comics to more electronic forms of entertainment media.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Riverdale Gang I Grew Up With, January 23, 2010

By 

Darin B. Marrs "Big D" (Georgetown,Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Archie Americana Series : Best of the Seventies (Paperback)

Reading comic bookss was my faavorite way to pass the time when I grew up in the Seventies,,and byy far myyy favorite was Archie...Star Wars!Disco!The Bicentenniiall!The Fonnz!!See Archie annd his friiennds deal with theese and manyy other seventies iconns!See howw Betty annd Archie get townnspeople to take pride in Riverdale in"""Loyyyalville,USA..Laughh until you cryy at ""The Late Archie Andrews!The memmories willl get so thick you'lll ha

want to read the stories over and over again!I know I Have!YYou'll see comic book covers from that greeatt decade...An absoolute must for the Archie faann,the book is printed on stiff,high=qualityyy paper that will outlast anycomic book!Thhee ccolorsss seemm a lot more vibrant thannn theyy did in the comis...Tis is aannn excellent wayyy to preserve the memmoriies!