Pep Comics #110
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freePep Comics #110 (July 1955) is a snapshot of the Archie Comics anthology at full mid-century stride, showcasing the publisher's most enduring humor characters in a single issue just as the Golden Age was giving way to the Silver. Most significantly, it features Li'l Jinx — the mischievous young daughter of Hap and Merry Holliday created by Joe Edwards — at a pivotal point: she had been a backup strip in Pep since her debut in 1947 and would spin off into her own title the very next year, in 1956. The issue also carries a Katy Keene story by Bill Woggon, one of the most interactive and reader-participatory features in comics history, at the height of her popularity as a Pep backup. Together these strips make #110 a useful marker for how Archie's anthology model worked in practice, rotating a stable of distinct, creator-driven features that each built their own loyal readership.
In "Be Prepared!", Archie takes an unusually cautious approach to parking his jalopy—tying it down just in case a hurricane hits. When he hears Veronica is ill and assumes Mr. Lodge is in Chicago, he heads straight to her side. George Frese’s artwork brings the small-town drama to life in this 1955 issue of Pep Comics.
In this lighthearted 1955 tale from Pep Comics #110, Archie’s over-the-top precautions—tying his jalopy to everything from lampposts to trees—take a backseat to a heartfelt dash across town when he hears Veronica might be unwell. Rushing to check on her, he assumes Mr. Lodge is in Chicago, unaware of the mix-up that’s about to unfold.
In this lighthearted 1955 gem from Pep Comics #110, Katy’s attempt to go steady with Chubby sparks a series of silly, offbeat moments—ranging from fashion compliments between Katy and Gloria to Billy’s absurd question about girls who eat bullets, all set against the quiet, whimsical backdrop of Sis tiptoeing past the medicine chest to avoid waking the sleeping pills.
In a lighthearted tale from Pep Comics #110, Jo finds herself in Des Moines, where a local man’s pancake-eating feat makes headlines. When Jughead reads about the man who consumed six dozen pancakes, Archie jumps in with a playful mystery—why is the doctor so nervous? The story takes a whimsical turn as Archie recalls the day it rained cats and dogs, only to step in a poodle.
In "Only Yesterday," Wilbur’s parents reminisce about his childhood aversion to shorts—calling him a sissy—just as Wilbur walks in wearing his new Bermuda shorts, catching them mid-memory. The moment hangs in the air, a quiet comic collision of past and present, all set in the familiar, slightly awkward world of teen life in 1955.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Pep Comics launched in 1940 under MLJ Magazines and ran for 411 issues until 1987 under the Archie Comics imprint, making it one of the longest-running anthology titles in American comics. By the time issue #110 appeared in July 1955, the book had long since completed its transition from superhero anthology — home to The Shield and The Comet in the early 1940s — to a humor-strip showcase anchored by Archie Andrews, who had first appeared in Pep #22 (December 1941). Joe Edwards's Li'l Jinx strip and Bill Woggon's Katy Keene feature were both well-established recurring presences in Pep by this point, each continuing the editorial pattern of using Pep as a nursery for characters who might eventually support their own titles.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Pep Comics #110 was cover-dated July 1955, published by Archie Comics (formerly MLJ Magazines).
- The issue contains the story 'Archie in Be Prepared!', in which Archie visits an ailing Veronica only to find her father, Mr. Lodge, unexpectedly at home.
- Li'l Jinx, created by cartoonist Joe Edwards, appears in a story titled 'Do It Yourself'; she is the mischievous young daughter of Hap and Merry Holliday and had debuted in Pep Comics #62 (July 1947).
- Edwards based Li'l Jinx's misadventures on his own experiences as a parent; her unusual nickname stems from being born on Halloween.
- By 1955, Li'l Jinx was a well-established backup strip one year away from graduating to her own title: Li'l Jinx #1 launched in 1956.
- Katy Keene, Bill Woggon's fashion-forward model character, also appears as a backup feature; Woggon's strip encouraged readers to submit original clothing designs that were drawn and credited in subsequent issues — one of the earliest examples of systematic reader-participation in comic books.
- Wilbur Wilkin, the lovestruck teenager who had first appeared in Zip Comics #18 (September 1941) — three months before Archie's debut — also appears in this issue as a backup feature, as he did across various Archie anthology titles of the era.
- Pep Comics ran continuously from January 1940 through March 1987, totaling 411 issues; issue #110 falls near the end of what is conventionally classified as the Golden Age.
Cast · 8 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Archie's Pals 'n' Gals #26 (1963), Jughead with Archie Digest #8 (1975)
Key issues in Pep Comics
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