Jughead with Archie Plus Betty & Veronica & Reggie, Too #2
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThis issue is one of the earliest entries in what became Archie Comics' long-running digest format experiment of 1974, a publishing pivot that would define how the Archie line was consumed for the next three decades. By packing 160 full-color pages into a compact, magazine-sized format, Archie tested whether the digest could serve as a newsstand staple alongside traditional comic books — and the answer proved overwhelmingly yes, with the series running continuously until 2005. The inclusion of Li'l Jinx backup material by Joe Edwards is also notable: her one-page strips, a staple of Archie anthologies since her 1947 debut, demonstrate how the digest format was designed to preserve and circulate the company's deep library of humor characters alongside its flagship Riverdale cast.
In "A Private Affair," Archie confides in Jughead that his feelings for Veronica have become too hard to hide, prompting Jughead to suggest discretion. Taken by the idea, Archie then proposes to Veronica that their romance remain a secret between them—just a private affair.
In "The Old Bawl Game," Archie’s aversion to crying women sets off a mischievous plan when Reggie and Betty sneak onions into Veronica’s humidifier, hoping to test just how far their antics will go. With Jo caught in the middle of the prank and the air thick with tears and laughter, the line between joke and chaos starts to blur.
In "Flower Power," the gang rallies to cheer up Mr. Weatherbee after his hospitalization, pooling their money to buy him flowers. Sent to deliver the gift, Jughead’s well-meaning but famously clumsy delivery takes a turn that leaves the group convinced the principal has tragically passed — all while the real story unfolds in the hospital room.
In "Take a Chance," Archie’s heartache over love leaves him unable to sell raffle tickets, but when Betty and Reggie enlist Veronica to give him a pep talk, things start to turn around—only to shift when the other boys suddenly find themselves drawn to Veronica instead.
In "The Unkindest Cut," Veronica’s well-intentioned attempt to hem Betty’s skirt goes hilariously awry, leaving the hem uneven and the fabric askew. Now, Betty must walk home with a comical, backward tilt just to keep her skirt from dragging—her posture a testament to the absurdity of teenage fashion mishaps.
When Archie’s latest prank accidentally knocks over a laundry cart, Mr. Weatherbee is left without pants just as the school board arrives for an inspection—leaving him to scramble for a solution while Jo, the ever-practical desk jockey, steps in to help manage the chaos.
In "Brain Food," Jughead’s attempt to go on a diet backfires when his mind starts to fade—proving that his legendary appetite isn’t just about hunger, but about fueling his brain. When his intelligence begins to slip, Miss Grundy uncovers the surprising truth: Jughead’s body turns food into brain power, not fat.
In "Well Placed Point," Archie confidently claims he can win over any girl, prompting Jughead to randomly select a name from the phone book as a challenge. Archie sets off to court the girl, determined to prove his charm—though whether he’ll succeed or end up in a laughably awkward situation remains to be seen.
In "Directions Please," Betty and Veronica go head-to-head in a classic rivalry showdown, each trying to win Archie’s attention with their own signature style—Betty with homemade cookies and a sweet, old-fashioned charm, Veronica with a glamorous dress and a dash of perfume. When their plans collide at Archie’s doorstep, chaos unfolds as one’s baking meets the other’s glamour in a messy, hilarious collision of intentions.
In "Jack of All Trades!", Archie finds himself in a clever game of sabotage when Reggie rigs his car to fail—only to discover Archie had already outsmarted him by secretly rigging it first. With both boys trying to outwit each other over a single day’s use of the car, the prank escalates into a high-stakes test of who can truly claim the title of jack of all trades.
In "Poise Will Be Poise," Veronica's admiration for men with poise sets off a playful scheme when Reggie and Betty attempt to sabotage her relationship with Archie by engineering a series of increasingly awkward mishaps for him. The story unfolds with classic teen chaos as the pranksters’ antics threaten to unravel Archie’s cool — but will their plan actually work?
In "Prisoner's Song," Veronica tricks Betty into playing prisoner for a day so she can slip out and meet Archie—only for Mr. Lodge to catch on and throw a wrench into her plans. With the mansion’s walls closing in, the girls must navigate a web of deception, each trying to outwit the other while staying one step ahead of the elder Lodge.
ComicBooks.com Value
Find on ebay
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The series launched in March 1974 with issue #1 and this second issue followed in May 1974, both published by Archie Comic Publications under the wordy banner title 'Jughead With Archie Plus Betty and Veronica and Reggie, Too!' — a title that was shortened to simply 'Jughead With Archie' beginning with issue #3 in the indicia. The digest format itself was a conscious strategic choice: after roughly thirty years of standard comic books, Archie's editorial team repackaged the gang's adventures in a smaller but far thicker format, and issue #2 drew on the studio's established creative stable — writers Frank Doyle and Sy Reit, and artists including Samm Schwartz, Harry Lucey, Dan DeCarlo, and Joe Edwards — recycling strong material from prior Archie and Jughead solo titles.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published May 1974 by Archie Comic Publications; cover-dated the second issue of the short-lived 'Jughead With Archie Plus Betty & Veronica & Reggie, Too' banner before the series renumbered under a shortened title from issue #3 onward.
- 160 full-color pages in the compact digest trim size (approximately 4⅞ × 6⅞ inches), representing one of the earliest issues in what became the 'Jughead With Archie Digest' run that continued to issue #200 in 2005.
- Li'l Jinx appears in the one-page story 'Small Change!' — written, penciled, and inked by her creator Joe Edwards — continuing the tradition of including the character (who first debuted in Pep Comics #62, July 1947) as a backup feature in Archie digests.
- Li'l Jinx's father Hap Holliday appears in 'Small Change!' alongside her; Hap is one of the character's core supporting cast members, established as her long-suffering father since the strip's earliest years.
- Key creative contributors indexed to this issue include Frank Doyle (script), Samm Schwartz (pencils/inks/letters), Harry Lucey (pencils), Dan DeCarlo (pencils), Rudy Lapick (inks), and Joe Edwards (full art on Jinx strips).
- The issue features an unusually large ensemble cast — Archie, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Jughead Jones, Reggie Mantle, Mr. Lodge, Mr. Weatherbee, Miss Grundy, Pop Tate, Moose Mason, Midge Klump, and Li'l Jinx — making it a comprehensive showcase of the Riverdale universe as it existed in the early Bronze Age.
- Stories in this issue include 'Brain Food' (Samm Schwartz, 8 pages), in which Jughead's attempt to eat normally makes him less clever, and 'Flower Power' (Frank Doyle/Samm Schwartz, 8 pages), as well as shorter gag strips featuring the full cast.
- The series' numbering was directly continued by the long-running 'Jughead With Archie Digest' title, confirming that these first two issues functioned as a pilot run for what became one of Archie's most enduring digest franchises.
Cast · 14 characters
Reprints
↩ Reprints Archie's Joke Book Magazine #22 (1956), Archie's Pal Jughead #36 (1956), Archie's Joke Book Magazine #24 (1956), Archie's Joke Book Magazine #29 (1957), Archie's Joke Book Magazine #30 (1957), Archie Comics #92 (1958), Archie Comics #93 (1958), Archie Comics #98 (1959), Archie #106 (1959), Archie #107 (1960), Archie's Pal Jughead #58 (1960), Archie's Pal Jughead #62 (1960), Archie #112 (1960), Archie's Pal Jughead #65 (1960), Archie's Pal Jughead #67 (1960), Archie #119 (1961), Archie #121 (1961), Archie #128 (1962), Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica #88 (1963), Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica #91 (1963), Reggie #18 (1965), Reggie and Me #21 (1966), Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica #139 (1967), Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica #141 (1967)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.