Pep Comics#27

Cover: Irv Novick

Pep Comics #27

May 1942 · Archie · 0.10 USD

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★ 1st appearance — Dilton Doiley

About this Issue

Pep Comics #27 (May 1942) sits in the heart of Archie Andrews' formative run, arriving just five issues after his debut in #22 and one issue after Veronica Lodge's introduction in #26, making it part of the rapid-fire assembly of the Riverdale cast that would eventually transform MLJ Magazines into Archie Comic Publications. The issue's Archie story — in which a hapless class-president campaign ends with Archie accidentally winning the election — is an early example of the reverse-psychology and accidental-success comedic structure that became a hallmark of the franchise for decades. Its placement in the middle of the 1942 wartime run also captures the fascinating dual identity of Pep Comics at its peak: superpatriotic hero fiction (The Shield, The Hangman) sharing anthology space with the small-town teen humor that was quietly displacing it.

Contains 8 stories

Fight for the Free French

14 pp · Superhero

Lecure (villain, introduction, death)the Nazis (villains)Paul (introduction, death)his grandfather (introduction)Sir Winston Churchill (guest-star)Charles DeGaulle (guest-star)

The Ruby of Death

11 pp

Keith Morgan (villain, introduction, death)the Vinegaroon (villain, introduction, death)Marvil (villain, introduction, death)The Grand Lama (introduction)

Nip Van Twinkle

8 pp

Rip Van Twinkle (introduction)Katrinka Van Twinkle (introduction)Juliana Van Twinkle (introduction)

The Musical War

6 pp

The Japanese (villains)

Incident at a Russian Bazaar

6 pp

The Japanese (villains)

Archie for Class President!

8 pp · Humor, Teen

Archie AndrewsBetty CooperMay Tadpole (introduction)Theodosius Tadpole (introduction)Streaky ShoreVeronica LodgeMr. Weatherbee

Shanghaied in Sao Paulo

5 pp

President of Sao Pauloa gang of kidnappers (villains)

Case of the Killer Falcon

6 pp

A game warden (villain, introduction, death)Jack Nevers (introduction, death)Billy Nevers (introduction, death)Lord Blithely (introduction)Davidson (introduction)

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Good) $1,138

CGC 9.0 · 1 in census $26,978*

CGC 8.5 · 1 in census $18,835*

CGC 8.0 · 1 in census $15,280*

CGC 7.5 · 1 in census $11,856*

CGC 7.0 none in existence

CGC 6.5 · 1 in census $7,557

Show all 18 grades ▾

CGC 6.0 · 1 in census $7,151*

CGC 5.5 · 1 in census $6,261

CGC 5.0 · 2 in census $5,753

CGC 4.5 · 2 in census $4,879*

CGC 4.0 · 3 in census $3,809

CGC 3.5 · 2 in census $3,252

CGC 3.0 · 3 in census $3,252*

CGC 2.5 · 1 in census $2,802

CGC 2.0 · 2 in census $2,305*

CGC 1.5 none in existence

CGC 1.0 none in existence

CGC 0.5 · 1 in census $1,162*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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CGC 3.5 $5,050 1 listing

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History

By May 1942, Harry Shorten had recently taken over as editor of Pep Comics from Abner Sundell, steering the title through its wartime issues while Archie — conceived by publisher John L. Goldwater and drawn by artist Bob Montana, with scripting by Vic Bloom — was still a backup feature rather than a headliner. Montana, who based the Riverdale milieu in part on his experiences at Haverhill High School in Massachusetts, was actively building out the cast during this period; Goldwater's original creative vision drew on the Andy Hardy film series starring Mickey Rooney as a model for relatable all-American teen comedy. Montana would leave MLJ for military service in late 1942, meaning issue #27 falls among his last Archie entries before a wartime hiatus.

Trivia · 8 facts

Published May 1942 by MLJ Magazines, Inc. — the fifth Archie appearance in Pep Comics, following his debut in issue #22 (December 1941).
The Archie story features a Riverdale High class-president election: Betty's outburst at an assembly inadvertently nominates Archie, who campaigns against himself but wins anyway through reverse psychology.
The Archie Comics Wiki lists Waldo Weatherbee (Riverdale High's principal) among the featured characters in Pep Comics #27, making this one of his very earliest appearances in the title, though sources dispute whether his first *named* appearance is here or in Jackpot Comics #5 (Spring 1942).
Other anthology features in the issue include The Shield & Dusty, The Hangman, Sergeant Boyle, The Jolly Roger & His Sky Pirates, and Bentley of Scotland Yard — a snapshot of MLJ's full Golden Age lineup.
Bob Montana, who drew the Archie strip, based character likenesses on people he knew from his time at Haverhill High School in Massachusetts; he departed MLJ for WWII military service shortly after this issue.
Harry Shorten had recently assumed editorial control of Pep Comics (from Abner Sundell) around issues #22–23, and was guiding the title through its wartime superhero-to-humor transition.
Veronica Lodge had debuted just one issue prior, in Pep Comics #26 (April 1942), making #27 the second issue to feature what would become the complete Betty-Archie-Veronica love-triangle dynamic.
Original interior artwork from Pep Comics #27 by Bob Montana has been documented at auction, confirming Montana as the penciler on the Archie feature in this issue.