| Issue | #354 |
| Published | October 1979 |
| Cover Price | 0.40 USD |
| Pages | 36 |
| Editing | ? |
| Characters | Archie Andrews; Betty Cooper; Chuck Clayton; Dilton Doiley; Jughead Jones; Veronica Lodge; Moose Mason; Waldo Weatherbee |
| Genre | Teen; Humor |
| Characters | Valerie Brown; Josie McCoy; Melody Valentine; Several un-named guys |
| Synopsis | An ad for Hostess Fruit Pies. Josie is going to the beach with Valerie and Melody, and has three things that she needs to compete with Melody - a new bikini, fancy sunglasses, and a bag full of Hostess Fruit Pies. |
| Notes | Ad appears on the inside front cover. Characters' last names taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josie_and_the_Pussycats_(comic). |
| Characters | Archie Andrews; Un-named bakery worker; un-named sidewalk cementer; un-named bully; Betty Cooper; Veronica Lodge; Jughead Jones; Reggie Mantle |
| Synopsis | It's the anniversary of the day that Archie fell in love with Veronica, and he's going out of his way to show his love for her. He buys a nice heart-shaped cake for her, then trips over a guy laying cement on the sidewalk and promptly ruins the cake. He then gets the idea to carve a heart with their initials into a tree - only to get beaten up by a bully who thinks that Archie is dating his girl Velma Logan. Finally, Archie carves a giant heart into the sand at the beach, with Veronica's name in it. As he's calling Veronica to come see his masterpiece, Betty sees the heart and gets upset. Archie then carves a similar heart for Betty, but she is still upset because the one he made for her is smaller than the one he made for Veronica. When Veronica arrives, she is mad at the heart Archie made for Betty. Archie tries to show Veronica the "big" heart he made for her - only to find out that the tide had washed it away, so now Veronica is mad at him too. As he's walking down the beach, upset at what's just happened, Jughead and Reggie ask him to join him for a card game. When Archie finds that they're playing hearts, he runs off screaming. |
| Genre | Teen; Humor |
| Characters | Moose Mason; Midge Klump |
| Synopsis | Midge's trash compactor isn't working, so Moose compacts it for her. |
| Genre | Teen; Humor; Gag |
| Characters | Archie Andrews; Veronica Lodge |
| Synopsis | Veronica and Archie lying on the beach. Veronica mentions some bad traits of Capricorns to Archie. When Archie asks if Capricorns have any good qualities, Veronica says that they have only one - they know how to choose the perfect girlfriend. |
| Genre | Teen; Humor; Gag |
| Notes | Three-panel gag strip occupying the top half of a page. Shared with Archie's Gag Bag strip. |
| Characters | Archie Andrews; Jughead Jones |
| Synopsis | Two four-panel gag strips featuring Archie and Jughead. |
| Genre | Teen; Humor; Gag |
| Notes | Occupies the bottom half of the page (top half is "Horoscope Scoop"). |
| Characters | Archie Andrews; Veronica Lodge |
| Synopsis | Readers must find their way through a maze to help Archie (dressed as a knight) rescue "Lady Veronica" from the castle tower. |
| Genre | Puzzle |
| Characters | Betty Cooper; Veronica Lodge; Miss Geraldine Grundy; Bubbles McBounce (cameo); Cheerleaders with last names of Wilson, Washington and Kelley (first names not known); Hiram Lodge; Archie Andrews; Jughead Jones |
| Synopsis | The tryouts for the cheerleading squad have just been announced. Betty and Veronica are both going to try for captain of the squad. Seeing the girls practicing, Mr. Lodge mentions that boys were on the cheerleading squad when he was young, and that he was captain of the squad as Archie and Jughead arrive. At the girls' request, Mr. Lodge shows them some cheers (and almost hurts himself in the process). Veronica asks for Archie's comments, and Betty's feelings are hurt, so Archie quickly says that they were both great. Archie and Veronica head off to pick up Veronica's designer cheerleading outfit. The next day after the tryouts, Betty catches up with Archie and Jughead as they're leaving school, and proudly announces that she's the captain. When Archie asks where Veronica is, Betty informs them that she didn't try out because it was raining and she didn't want to get her outfit wet. |
| Genre | Teen; Humor |
| Notes | On the first page, several girls are shown, each having their last name on her shirt. In the lower right-hand corner, a larger girl is shown wearing a shirt with "McBounce" on it. |
| Characters | Veronica Lodge |
| Synopsis | Veronica is shown in various poses sporting fashions suggested by readers. A box in the lower right-hand corner tells readers where they can send their fashion ideas. |
| Genre | Fashion |
| Characters | Li'l Jinx; Charley Hawse; Greg; un-named (little league) baseball players |
| Synopsis | Li'l Jinx is visiting Charley. As Charley offers her a piece of pie, he trips over the kitchen rug, falls on his face, and the pie lands on his head. While Charley is cleaning himself up, Li'l Jinx mentions that he's the star pitcher on his baseball team and that she's surprised that he's such a klutz. She then mentions that she's heard athletes on TV talk about taking up dancing to help with their coordination, and invites Charley to take a few lessons at her dance school. At the dance school, Li'l Jinx escorts Charley to the dressing room, telling him to put on any costume that fits him. Moments later, Charley emerges wearing a tutu. When Li'l Jinx tells him what it is, he is embarrassed and runs to the dressing room to take it off. When he learns that the zipper is stuck, he puts on an overcoat and tries to get home without anyone seeing him. On the way, he runs into Greg, who has been looking for him, because Charley is supposed to pitch in their championship game. Before Charley has a chance to explain, Greg pushes him out onto the mound and removes the overcoat - prompting the opposing team to burst out in laughter. Charley is angry, and thinks about what will happen when he finds Li'l Jinx. Later on, Charley is seen running towards Li'l Jinx, who is bracing herself, trying to avoid getting pounded by Charley. Charley kisses her on the cheek and thanks her for helping his team win the game - the other team was so busy laughing at Charley that they got creamed. |
| Genre | Teen; Humor |
| Script | Joe Edwards |
| Pencils | Joe Edwards |
| Inks | Joe Edwards |
| Letters | Joe Edwards |
| Notes | Greg's last name is not known. Charley's last name based on information from Wikipedia and various other Li'l Jinx strips in which he has appeared. |
| Characters | Archie Andrews |
| Synopsis | Top half of page features the latest first- and second-place articles from club members. The first-place article is on friends, and the second-place article is about coin collecting. The bottom half of the page is an ad containing more information about the Archie Club and a coupon that readers can send in (along with 50 cents) if they wish to join the club. In return, they will get an "official press card" and a 4-color button. |
| Notes | This was a regular feature in Archie comics for 40+ years. Members of the club could send in a short article on a subject that interested them. The best ones were printed in the comics, with the winners getting cash prizes. At the time, first prize was $6 and second prize was $4. |
| Characters | Archie Andrews; Jughead Jones; Veronica Lodge (all depicted in "Mount Rushmore" style next to Abe Lincoln). |
| Synopsis | An ad for Jughead with Archie Comics Digest #35. Readers could order the comic for 75 cents plus 25 cents postage by sending the money in along with the order form that could be cut out of the page. |
| Notes | It's amazing how cheap things were back then! |
| Characters | Archie Andrews; Jughead Jones |
| Synopsis | An offer to get any three comics on the checklist for $1.00 ("or single titles for 40 cents each!"). Readers filled out the attached order form and returned it with the appropriate money to receive their chosen titles. |
| Notes | This was on the bottom half of the page with the "Jughead with Archie" offer. Titles on the checklist: T.V. Laugh-Out #71; Archie & Me #114; Betty & Me #106; Reggie & Me #118; Sabrina #56; Mad House #118; Jughead's Jokes #66; That Wilkin Boy #46; Josie #100; World of Archie #485; B & V Spectacular #486; World of Jughead #487. Based on the issue numbers, the last three were probably part of the "Giant Series". This particular offer also expired on January 31st, 1980. Readers did not need to include any additional funds for postage and handling. |
| Characters | Jughead Jones; Veronica Lodge; Betty Cooper; Leroy (Veronica's cousin); Reggie Mantle; un-named bully and his girlfriend; un-named snack shop employee; Forsythe P. Jones II, Jr.; Gladys Jones |
| Synopsis | Jughead and the gang are enjoying a day at the beach. Jughead is seen reading a book called "Ventriloquism - The Art of Voice-Throwing", and tells Leroy that it will add a little excitement to their lives. After Betty refuses to let Jughead sample her lunch basket, Jughead starts throwing his voice. First he makes a basketball that Betty is holding talk to her, then he makes it sound like Reggie is hitting on a bully's girlfriend and insulting said bully (resulting in Reggie getting pounded). Finally, he makes it sound like a seashell that Veronica is listening to is asking if she wants to hear some juicy gossip. He then tries to convince Betty that they're hearing things because they're hungry, and even makes it sound like something in the picnic basket is talking. Just as he's about to bite into a beef sandwich, the sandwich "yells" at him to stop eating it and its "brother sandwiches", at which point Jughead runs off screaming. Leroy then reveals that he was the one making the sandwich talk, and the gang realizes what was really going on. They reward Leroy by treating him to all the ice cream he wants at the snack shop. Back home, Jughead's parents are trying to figure out why he turned pale when his mom offered him a sandwich. |
| Genre | Teen; Humor |
| Notes | In this comic, Leroy is portrayed as a nice, well-behaved kid, instead of the brat and prankster that he usually portrays in more recent comics. No indication is given in the story that he's Veronica's cousin, but this is the only logical explanation - it explains how he knows the gang and why he's hanging out at the beach with them. |