This one has been on my wish list for a long while. In the early 1970s, after comic artist Al Hartley became a Christian, he was recruited by the newly founded comic imprint Spire to work on their growing lineup of faith-based comic books. After initial success, Hartley reached out to Archie Comics co-founder John Goldwater to license out the Archie characters. From 1972-1982, a total of 19 Archie one-shots were created to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
One of those books was 1974's Christmas With Archie. Here, the Archie gang and the citizens of Riverdale put the 'Christ' in Christmas with visits from Santa to the local orphanage, a Christmas party at Riverdale High and some last minute holiday shopping. While the message of Christianity is tied into many of these stories, that does not mean that this was not a fun book. It was not all angels floating on clouds with harps. The opener where Archie fills the tires of his jalopy with helium and becomes a one-made holiday parade was hilarious. The 'Finding the Santa' fun page was a great challenge. I also enjoyed the look at Christmas future starring the high school cafeteria lunch lady, Miss Beazley.
Things did get a little preachy. The scene in the first story when Mr. Lodge turns on the TV to the middle of a televangelist's dissertation on appreciating teenagers was a bit on the nose. I also felt that the message of the story where Archie tries to find the perfect Christmas card for Veronica was too syrupy.
This was a book I remember owning and loving as a kid. It's the book that made me mistakenly think that Archie Comics was a Christian publisher. I had a fun trip down memory lane with this. Thanks Gordon and the rest of the fellas for it! Awesome Christmas gift, dudes!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.
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