Mr. Lodge

Hiram Lodge is the wealthy, patrician father of Veronica Lodge, introduced in the pages of Pep Comics in 1942. A self-made millionaire, he is perennially skeptical of Archie Andrews' suitability as a suitor for his daughter.

Few supporting characters in American comics have proven as enduringly essential as Mr. Lodge — a Golden Age original who first stepped onto the page in 1943, conjured by Harry Sahle, and has been a fixture of Archie Comics ever since. Over more than eight decades and 674 catalogued appearances, this Riverdale institution has anchored titles like Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica, Veronica, and Archie itself, sharing those pages with beloved icons like Jughead Jones, Reggie Mantle, and Mr. Weatherbee. Nine of his appearances carry key-issue status, a testament to how central he's been to the moments that matter in Archie history. If you want to understand the full sweep of what makes Riverdale tick — from the Golden Age through today — Mr. Lodge is absolutely worth your attention.