Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica #278

The cover of this 1979 Archie Comics Group issue says it all: Betty looks on with wide-eyed curiosity as a very confident Veronica stands beside a wildly gaudy dragon-shaped clock — a birthday gift from Archie, as the card on the counter makes plain — and cheerfully admits she exchanges every single present he gives her. Dan DeCarlo's clean, expressive linework captures the girls' contrasting personalities perfectly, with a small heart-filled vignette of a lovestruck figure tucked into the upper corner for good measure. With Frank Doyle scripting and the DeCarlo duo on art, Betty and Veronica #278 delivers the kind of breezy, sharp comedy that made this series such a reliable delight.