The Jug Is Up

I’ve always had a fondness for Archie Comics (and Harvey Comics, too, but that’s another post!) since I first discovered comic books as a seven year-old. I can’t exactly pinpoint the reason why. I guess I would point to the artwork of such greats as Dan DeCarlo, Harry Lucey, and Bob Bolling as a major factor. No matter the reason, Archie and the gang have wormed themselves into my heart so I still grab some Archie comics from time to time to keep in touch with my Riverdale nature. Recently, Jughead has been my Archie comic of choice mainly due to the amusing writing of Craig Boldman. In my opinion, there is no great Archie artist working at the moment, but Rex Lindsey and Rich Koslowski (of The 3 Geeks fame) handle the series well with some nice character work and interesting panel layouts.

Out of pure whimsy, I recently got a five issue subscription to Jughead and issue #177 was my first issue of the subscription. In honor of this, I’m going to do some Jughead blogging!



The Cover: Doesn’t really stand out to me and the gag is feh tho it is nice to see Jughead wearing his mysterious “S” shirt.

“Judge Jughead”: In this issue’s first story, Jughead is punished by Mr. Weatherbee for eating in class. His punishment? Serving as the judge for the school’s grievance court. Of course, nothing good comes out of this. Not the best Jughead story, but certainly not the worst.

“Yes Man”: Archie is tired of Jughead constantly nay saying his bad ideas so Jughead tries to be positive concerning Archie’s harebrained schemes. When Archie plans to take Veronica and another girl to the Ice Festival at the same time, Jughead supports his friend all the way. Disaster then occurs, but Veronica takes her wrath out on Juggie when Archie tells her the needle nosed one approved of his idea. Overall, a fun story and definitely the best one in this issue. Bonus points for showing Jughead wearing a fur vest ala Sonny Bono.



“The Watcher”: Despite having the opportunities to do cool stuff with his friends, Jughead is stuck babysitting his baby sister, Jellybean (And, yes, he really does have a little sister despite the fact she doesn’t share the Jones nose like the rest of her family. If I was Jughead’s father, I would demand a blood test). However, his babysitting gig saves him from going out with Big Ethel which makes Jughead very happy. An average story with some unnecessary thought balloons for Jellybean.

“The Beat Goes On”: In the final story for this issue, Ms. Grundy (Uh, I always thought she was Miss Grundy. When did that change?) doesn’t approve of Jug’s constant drumming, but other members of the faculty find some use for it (Why does that sound kind of dirty?). Another humdrum (Is that pun intended?) story, but I like it because it features cranky lunch lady Ms. Beazly and I always believe cranky lunch ladies make all comics better.

My Grade: B-

One by One, I'll Knock You Out

Working Stiff: I've been working some overtime for the past couple of weeks which is always nice on the wallet. I've been helping out in the shipping department, packing orders into boxes and sending them on their way. It's basically a pretty simple job, but it does involve a lot of standing which can be difficult on a fat cartoonist's legs, but I'm adjusting.

My Pain (Non-Leg Related): It can be frustrating to have a quick wit and a slow mouth.

As Seen on TV (Good): I recently saw the first two episodes of Dexter and I enjoyed them immensely. Michael C. Hall plays a serial killer that targets other killers in Miami while working for the police department as a blood splatter expert. Hall is strangely likable as an emotionally hollow man. Finally Showtime has a show worth watching!

As Seen on TV (Bad): Charlotte Rae wearing a pink wig in a commercial for Trivial Pursuit.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: Like the fabled Samson before him, Eric Whetsel recently had all his hair chopped off. Unlike Samson, a woman named Delilah wasn't responsible for the act. That duty went to a barber named Fred.

Programming Note: Though I promised Jughead blogging last time, I'm afraid that may have to wait for a bit. Sorry, Archie fans!

Stagy

Good-bye, Columbus Day: So did anybody celebrate the day we honor the man that gave us Adventures in Babysitting?
Besides bank employees and the postal service? I know I didn't get the day off. Is Columbus Day really necessary? Of all of the American holidays, it is truly the appendix.

Stage Tom: I went to an audition at the Muncie Civic yesterday and I think it went pretty well. Definitely an improvement from my bombtactular audition last year. There weren't many people when I arrived though I did bump into some familiar faces (Hello, Shaun! Hello, Barry!). I did a short monologue from Greater Tuna and I was prepared to sing a song from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, but I didn't see an accompanist about so I stuck to the monologue. It went quick. I guess we'll see if anything comes out of it.


Austin City Limits: According to my last phone conversation, Eric is now working at Dell, Brad has become a security guard, and Tim did some more extra work for Friday Night Lights. They bought a washer for twenty-five dollars last Sunday and Eric is learning some Spanish with the help of his fellow co-workers.

Eric's Spanish Word of the Day: Guero

Speaking of Which: I just bought Beck's new album. How about you?

Next Time: Jughead blogging!

All Work and No Play

Work: I actually worked some major overtime this past week which makes me very happy. One of the sad things about Touchy Feely Fotos (and there are many!) is that the only time you can make real money is when you're working overtime and that doesn't happen very often. At least, in my department.

Alias: If I was a Harlem Globetrotter, I would call myself Meadowlark Cherry.

Pain: I had the misfortune of overhearing a couple of my fellow co-workers reenacting their favorite scenes from Madea's Family Reunion. Damn you, Tyler Perry!

As Seen on TV (Good): I just got done watching the season premieres of Veronica Mars and Lost (Thanks again, Nick!) and it was tasty TV fun. Looking forward to next week's episodes.

Who's The Boss?

Company Retreat: Well, I missed the big presidential briefing the other day at Touchy Feely, but I caught a glimpse of the prez as he and his entourage toured the plant, occasionally chuckling about something. It's always a delight to hear overpaid people laugh.

As Seen on TV (Good): The first two new episodes of The Office were very enjoyable, especially the episode concerning the unfortunate outing of Oscar. The kiss at the end was so painfully awkward and wrong on so many levels, but brilliantly funny. Definitely a show firing on all cylinders. Plus Jenna Fischer is a sweetie!

As Seen on TV (Feh): I wasn't too impressed by the second episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I enjoyed some of the dialogue and it does have a great cast, but it didn't really grab me. For some reason, I can't buy Amanda Peet as a network president and most of the scenes felt too stagy for my taste. I never got enthralled by Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing and I think that's going to be true about Studio 60, too.

Credit where Credit is Due: Special thanks to Nick Grove for being my TiVo man!