| Issue | #472 |
| Published | September 1978 |
| Frequency | Twice in Jan., Sep., Oct., and Dec.; once in March, April, June and August |
| Cover Price | 0.35 USD |
| Pages | 36 |
| Editing | Richard H. Goldwater |
| Characters | Archie Andrews; Betty Cooper; Jughead Jones; Veronica Lodge; Reggie Mantle; Ethel Muggs |
| Synopsis | Betty, Veronica and Ethel huddle up and go over their game plan for the pickup beach football game. |
| Genre | Teen; Humor; Summer |
| Pencils | Dan DeCarlo |
| Inks | Dan DeCarlo |
| Colors | Barry Grossman |
| Letters | Bill Yoshida |
| Characters | Betty Cooper; Veronica Lodge; Jughead Jones; Archie Andrews; Pop Tate; Alice Cooper |
| Synopsis | Betty tells Veronica that she's going to change. Veronica responds by saying that some people have room for improvement, and starts to tell Betty everything she should change - the way she dresses, her make-up, her hair, etc. Betty tells Veronica to knock it off. She's happy with those things and the change she's talking about is her new campaign to win Archie. After doing a "scientific analysis" of all the people Archie likes best, Betty has decided that she's going to be the female version of Jughead, since Archie's always hanging out with Jughead - except that she's going to skip the part where she has to hate boys. Betty then goes to find Jughead to "observe" him and decides she has to slouch, eat lots of burgers and dress sloppily. Betty and Archie toss a baseball around, and Veronica shows up. Betty and Veronica both seem to be impressed at how well Betty's plan seems to be working, when Archie asks Veronica to go for a walk through the park. When Veronica asks if he's talking about all three of them, Archie responds by saying of course not - Betty won't mind. She's a "good ol' boy". Archie tosses the baseball to Betty and walks off with Veronica. In the last panel, Archie's telling Veronica that Betty has changed and is "comfortable - like an old shoe". As they're walking off, we see a baseball flying towards Archie's head. |
| Genre | Teen; Humor |
| Script | Frank Doyle ? |
| Pencils | Dan DeCarlo |
| Inks | Jim DeCarlo ? |
| Colors | Barry Grossman |
| Letters | Bill Yoshida |
| Characters | Li'l Jinx; Hap Holliday |
| Synopsis | Li'l Jinx runs into the house, covered in mud. When her dad looks at her angrily (for tracking mud all over the floor), she asks what's wrong now - she wiped her feet... |
| Genre | Children; Humor |
| Script | Joe Edwards |
| Pencils | Joe Edwards |
| Inks | Joe Edwards |
| Colors | Barry Grossman |
| Letters | Joe Edwards |
| Characters | Betty Cooper; Archie Andrews; Jughead Jones (bottom gag only); Reggie Mantle (bottom gag only) |
| Synopsis | Two typical four-panel gag strips. In the first strip, Betty is at the Chocklit Shoppe looking rather upset. When Archie asks her what's wrong, she says she's feeling lower than a bald tire, so Archie asks if she'd like to see a movie, which perks her up. In the last panel, Betty is seen sitting on a couch while Archie shows her home movies of him and Veronica. The the bottom gag, Archie, Jughead and Reggie are sitting in a car, and Betty wants a ride, but Archie and the guys don't want her to because there's no room and Reggie wouldn't be able to shift if she sat on their laps. Archie tells Jughead to slam the door, which he does. As they're driving off, Reggie mentions that Betty is screaming, and Archie says that you'd think she couldn't take the bus. In the last panel, a close-up of the car door reveals a ripped-off part of Betty's dress stuck in the car door. |
| Genre | Teen; Humor; Gag |
| Script | Michael Gallagher ?; Bob Montana |
| Pencils | Dan DeCarlo; Bob Montana |
| Inks | Joe Edwards |
| Colors | Barry Grossman |
| Letters | Joe Edwards |
| Notes | Bottom gag appears to be from the 1950s. Occupies the bottom half of the page with the Li'l Jinx strip occupying the top half. |
| Characters | Dilton Doiley; Archie Andrews; Moose Mason |
| Synopsis | An ad encouraging readers to order Archie Comics Digest #32 for $0.75 (including shipping). |
| Notes | Offer expired on December 31, 1978. Occupies the top half of the page. Bottom half is the standard "3 for $1.00 Checklist". Sometime within the next 6 months, prices rose to $1 for digests. |
| Characters | Archie Andrews; Jughead Jones |
| Synopsis | Readers can check off their favorite titles and return the order form with their payments to get three titles for $1.00 or individual titles for $0.35 each. |
| Notes | This month's titles: Archie's T.V. Laugh-Out #62; Archie and Me #105; Betty and Me #97; Reggy and Me #109; Sabrina #49; Mad House #114; Reggie's Jokes #47; Jughead's Jokes #61; That Wilkin Boy #44; Josie #98; World of Archie #473; World of Jughead #475. Last two issues were part of the "Giant Series". Offer expired on December 31, 1978. Occupies the bottom half of the page. Top half was the "Think Small" offer. |
| Characters | Hiram Lodge; Veronica Lodge; Betty Cooper; Archie Andrews; un-named guest of Mr. Lodge |
| Synopsis | A guest, possibly a business associate of Mr. Lodge, is inside the Lodge mansion, talking to Mr. Lodge. He complains that pools are attractive nuisances and act like a magnet to the worst elements in town (ie, teenagers). In the next panel, Archie shows up to join the girls, bringing his skateboard along to perform some tricks. Once again, Mr. Lodge's annoying friend complains - "young people are all miserable creatures, but BOYS are the worst!". Archie is seen climbing up the ladder to the diving board with his skateboard. At the top, Archie hops on his skateboard and goes flying off the diving board into the water. Mr. Lodge's friend once again complains about the behavior of Archie and his friends, as Betty is seen flying into the water, with a skateboard nearby, presumably by performing the same trick as Archie. Next, Veronica tries it, which again leads to disapproval from Mr. Lodge's friend, who complains that they're providing the atmosphere for a cheap carnival. In the next panel, Archie is once again climbing up the ladder to the diving board with his skateboard. Veronica says they've seen that one, but Archie says they haven't, as he does an handstand on the skateboard and goes flying off the diving board into the pool. Back inside, Mr. Lodge's friend is still complaining, saying that if it were his place, he'd soon call a halt to "that boisterous behavior", as laughter is seen coming from outside. Mr. Lodge goes outside briefly to ask them to do something "a bit less strident" while he and his guest are talking (most likely as an attempt to get his guest to shut up). Back inside, Mr. Lodge's guest is now complaining that he's allergic to the chemicals in the pool water, to which Mr. Lodge replies "That figures!". Finally, the guest decides to leave, but not before suggesting that Mr. Lodge fill in the pool and grow cucumbers. As he's leaving, the guest is looking at Archie and his friends and thinking that they're noisy nuisances, not noticing Archie's skateboard. He steps on the skateboard and goes flying, yelling for someone to stop him as the pool water will destroy his sinuses. Mr. Lodge yells for someone to stop him, and, thinking quickly, Betty kicks over a patio table, causing it to roll right in front of the guest, as he slams into it, knocking himself out. Betty apologizes saying that it was the only thing she could think of on the spur of the moment, but Mr. Lodge says that if she'd thought for a month, she couldn't have improved that. Clearly he is happy that this man has finally shut up. |
| Genre | Teen; Humor |
| Pencils | Dan DeCarlo |
| Inks | Joe Edwards ? |
| Colors | Barry Grossman |
| Letters | Bill Yoshida |
| Notes | Throughout the story, it is quite clear that Mr. Lodge is annoyed with his guest's comments. |
| Characters | Archie Andrews; Veronica Lodge; Betty Cooper; Jughead Jones; un-named female cousin of Dilton's |
| Synopsis | Archie stops by Veronica's, carrying a piece of paper and telling her that he needs help. Before he can explain the problem, Veronica goes into a big spiel about how Archie would be absolutely lost without her, behind every man is a woman helping him, woman has always needed man, etc. Archie, apparently annoyed at Veronica's spiel, simply says "that's all great", and goes on to explain the problem - an equation with improper fractions. Since he's apparently not too good at improper fractions, and Veronica took the same math courses, he's hoping she can help him. She says she generally tries to stay away from anything improper, but she'll help him - what are friends for? Just as Archie's about to explain the situation more, Veronica calls Betty and says she's sending Archie over, and asks Betty to help him out. As Archie is leaving, Veronica looks out the window and thinks Archie's a birdbrain - he should know that Veronica would have failed math if it weren't for Betty's help. Archie is running off to Betty's, as she quickly gets her hair done, puts on makeup, etc. Betty takes one look at the problem, gives Archie the answer, then flops down on the couch saying "And NOW what would you like to do darling?". Veronica them looks in a nearby window and yells at Betty, calling her "Madam Black Widow" and saying that Archie wants to open the door and trot on back to her place where he belongs. Betty and Veronica continue to argue for three more panels, and then realize that Archie's gone. They go outside, but still can't find him, which then makes Betty ask why he'd have a math problem in the middle of summer. They go to find Jughead, since he always knows what Archie's doing. Jughead tells them that he can't imagine why Archie would have a math problem in the middle of summer - unless it's Dilton's cousin. He explains that she's a math nut and likes to play with numbers. In the last panel, we see a beautiful girl, presumably Dilton's cousin, sitting under a tree, and Archie laying near her with his head in her lap. She seems to be impressed that Archie got the answer, and Archie simply says "it's nothing when you know how". |
| Genre | Teen; Humor |
| Script | Frank Doyle ? |
| Pencils | Dan DeCarlo |
| Inks | Jim DeCarlo ? |
| Colors | Barry Grossman |
| Letters | Bill Yoshida |
| Notes | Dilton's cousin is not given a name in this story. |
| Characters | Betty Cooper; Veronica Lodge |
| Synopsis | A regular feature where readers can write letters to Betty and Veronica, asking for advice. The editors pick a couple of letters, have Betty and Veronica "answer" these letters, and print the letters in the magazine, with the answers. |
| Script | Eda Edwards [as Betty and Veronica] |
| Pencils | Joe Edwards |
| Inks | Joe Edwards |
| Colors | Barry Grossman |
| Letters | Joe Edwards |
| Notes | This was a regular feature in the "Betty and Veronica Spectacular" issues of the "Giant Series". It has now become a regular feature in several titles - "B & V Spectacular", "Betty and Veronica", "Betty" and "Veronica". Recently, a similar feature was introduced where boys can write to Archie and Jughead for advice, although readers have asked for Archie or Jughead to answer letters in the past. |
| Characters | Betty Cooper; Veronica Lodge; Marty |
| Synopsis | Betty and Veronica are trying to enjoy a nice quiet day on the beach by themselves so they can work on their tan. They spread out their blanket and within 5 minutes, are interrupted by a guy named Marty, who seems to think he's the greatest thing on earth ("When the sun goes down - Marty shines!"). Betty and Veronica are annoyed at him, and quickly chase him off. They no sooner get back to tanning when a Frisbee lands on Veronica's butt. They pick up their blanket and go rent a couple of inflatable rafts, and head out to the ocean, hoping they can be alone. Shortly thereafter, another guy shows up asking if they want company. Betty and Veronica then leave the ocean, deflate the rafts, and drive off to have them filled with helium. Betty still doesn't understand what's going on as they head back to the beach. In the last panel, we see Betty and Veronica happily laying on the rafts, floating high above the beach, with the rafts tethered to Veronica's car, which is now parked on the beach. Betty wonders out loud about what would happen if some hang gliders were to show up, and Veronica says she wishes Betty hadn't said that. A crowd is gathering below, as people try to figure out what they're doing. |
| Genre | Teen; Humor; Summer |
| Pencils | Dan DeCarlo |
| Inks | Jim DeCarlo ? |
| Colors | Barry Grossman |
| Letters | Bill Yoshida |
| Notes | This is a classic example of something being done in comic books that isn't possible in real life. According to numerous websites, a cubic foot of helium is only enough to lift 28 grams - approximately 0.06 pounds. Therefore, there is no way an inflatable raft filled with helium would float with someone laying on it. |