Pep #196

From the Archie Series stable comes this August 1966 installment of Pep, and the cover — penciled by Dan DeCarlo and inked by Rudy Lapick — sets up a wonderfully absurd boxing-ring scenario: the enormous Moose squares off in red trunks against a much smaller opponent while a referee in green issues the cautionary warning, "Remember, Moose… no hitting below the belt!" — a gag that lands all the harder given the size mismatch. The packed crowd of Riverdale familiar faces laughing from the stands (and the gang perched playfully along the title logo above) give the whole scene that lively, anything-goes energy that made Pep a staple of 1960s humor comics. At just 12 cents, this issue also features the interior story "My Plain Old Self," illustrated by John Rosenberger.