Three things:
First, why is it that the women that the gang try to set Jughead up with are always redheads? As with yesterday's post, I'm really starting to wonder about Jug and his desires for his best friend. Whether or not the writers knew it, through this interpretation we're seeing a good deal of the anger that, at the time, would have suffused the queer community, such as it was. Is Jughead a closeted gay man, hateful because he's unable to live the life he wishes? Perhaps.
The inside of the cover features one of my favourite ads from old comics: Charles Atlas. Of course I have an affection for this little comic strip, as it's the origin of one of my favourite superheroes, Flex Mentallo. Whenever I see this comic in an old issue I'm reading, it's like a little bit of the Doom Patrol coming back to say hi. My son and I have decided that, should Flex show up on the TV series, it has to be either Dwayne Johnson, Terry Crews, or John Cena. I'm okay with any of those choices.
The third thing: this is a terribly, terribly sexist comic. Setting aside the queer reading of Jughead, one also has to wonder if he was the character through which the writers at Archie Comics got out their anger toward women. This comic features two regular-length stories (approx. 5-8 pages) that are horrendously sexist. The first is Jughead giving women lessons on how to treat a boy on a date. It's amusing, but definitely playing on the consideration that women simply aren't as smart as men. Jughead's been known to say this himself every now and again. The last story in the issue is about a "Girl Watching" competition that Jughead almost wins through...disinterest, somehow? The descriptions of the women, as the men "spot" them, are awful: "A pony tailed yellow parka"; "A blue stretch pants flopper." All based on appearance, and with no concomitant "Boy Watching" competition going on.
The last story does have a kind of sweet ending. Jug spots Ethel on her way toward him and runs, forfeiting the competition, and allowing Archie and Reggie to win the competition. To thank her, they take Ethel out for dinner, and it's one of the few times we see Big Ethel happy and sympathetically. I've always thought that she's one of the worst put-upon characters in Archie Comics, so a happy ending for her is a lovely treat.
"Young lady, my methods work only on normal teen-age boys like myself!"
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