Laugh Comics / Laugh #77
Laugh Comics #77 (1956) is a prime example of Archie Publications' mid-Silver Age anthology model at full throttle, packing a single 36-page issue with no fewer than five ongoing character features — the Riverdale gang, Katy Keene, Wilbur Wilkin, Li'l Jinx, and Pat the Brat — under one cover. That breadth of content on a single dime made Laugh one of the most reader-friendly showcases in American humor comics and helped cement the anthology title's role as the engine that kept secondary Archie characters alive between their own solo appearances. The issue arrived at the exact moment Li'l Jinx was transitioning from a long-running backup strip into her own standalone title (1956–1957), making issues like this one part of the bridge moment for that character's elevation within the Archie line.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Laugh Comics launched in 1946 — continuing the numbering of Black Hood Comics with issue #20 — and ran for over 400 issues, serving throughout its history as one of Archie's primary anthology showcases for the Riverdale cast and co-features. By 1956, the title was a well-oiled Silver Age machine featuring rotating creative teams: stories in and around issue #77 carry credits for writers and artists including Frank Doyle, Dan DeCarlo, Harry Lucey, Bill Vigoda, Joe Edwards, and Bill Woggon, reflecting the broad stable of talent Archie deployed across its humor line at the time.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published October 1956 by Archie Publications as part of the long-running Laugh Comics anthology series (vol. 1), which began in 1946 and ran over 400 issues.
- The issue features a Li'l Jinx story ('In a Lather') scripted and drawn by Joe Edwards, starring Jinx and her father Hap Holliday — Edwards was the sole creator of Li'l Jinx, who had first debuted in Pep Comics #62 (July 1947).
- Li'l Jinx's appearance here came during the exact window (1956–1957) when the character graduated from anthology backup features to her own standalone Li'l Jinx title, making this issue part of her highest-profile period.
- Katy Keene appears in multiple features across the issue, with stories scripted and drawn by Bill Woggon (under pen names including Hazel Marten and Cassie Bill) — Woggon's Katy Keene was the 'Pin-Up Queen' of the Archie line, famous for incorporating reader-submitted fashion designs.
- Wilbur Wilkin and Laurie Lake appear together (story: 'Gentlemen to the End,' art by Joe Edwards), as does Slats Morgan, reflecting the Wilbur feature's long co-tenancy in Laugh Comics dating back to the title's earliest issues.
- Pat the Brat appears in gag strips ('Tasty Examination,' 'Service with a Smile'), an ongoing humor feature that had its own spin-off title (Pat the Brat, Archie, 1956 series) running concurrently with this issue.
- The Archie/Betty/Veronica/Reggie/Jughead gang stories include art by Dan DeCarlo and Harry Lucey, two of Archie's defining Silver Age pencilers, with scripts attributed to Frank Doyle.
- The issue runs 36 pages in full color at a cover price of ten cents, typical of Archie's Silver Age anthology format.
Cast · 19 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Hap laughs with the mailman about Li'l Jinx's past hijinks, but he spanks her when she reveals she just broke a window.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).