As far as iconic comic characters go, the denizens of Riverdale from the 84-year-old Archie series and its many iterations rank among the top in terms of characters ranging from timeless favorites to frustrating caricatures. Some characters still have their hilarious or wholesome moments, but are frequently boiled down to formulas like Moose’s “dumb jock” type in earlier Archie comics. But some characters, and endless moments bearing their name, have aged so well that they’ve been joyfully reinvented in subsequent years, like Forsythe Pendleton “Jughead” Jones III.
Jughead is just about as unassailable as Archie comics characters get across decades and iterations of writers understanding his fundamental appeal: a young lad with a slacker streak, a voracious appetite. Jughead avoids relationship drama just as much as he avoids paying attention in class, while being surprisingly clever and resourceful, often to achieve long-winded means of avoiding responsibility.
For many readers growing up, the Jughead’s Jokes comics in particular, and their corresponding strips frequently resurfacing in later Double Digests, would embody Jughead’s characters perfectly, aging quite well as Archie Andrews’ lazy best friend. Here is a selection of Jughead’s greatest comic strips over the years.
7
Easy Does It
For today’s readers, one may immediately quote Michael Bluth in Archie’s place here, the true embodiment of “I don’t know what I expected.” Archie set up a classic prank with the rookie mistake of trying to taunt somebody much smarter than him, thinking he’s got Jughead trapped under a bucket of water. It’s the sort of immediate laugh that any kid can appreciate, and frankly, Archie had it coming this time around.
6
Borrow Sorrow
A half-page gag so simple it hurts, Reggie Mantle makes the entirely-too-reasonable request for Jughead to pay him back, presumably with money or a favor, citing the promise given in writing a year ago. Considering the lengths to which Jughead goes to collect debts for a quick fix at Pop’s Chock’li Shoppe, one would assume he’s learned his lesson on paying them back.
For anybody who has friends chronically indebted to them, Reggie’s not really in the wrong here, but confronting a known slacker and a quick wit like Jughead is merely treated as a setup for a joke. Jughead then commemorates the IOU turning one year old by signing Happy Birthday. It’s perfectly stupid and an easy chuckle. Also, Reggie is definitely not getting his money back.
5
The Critic
Jughead’s asexual and aromantic trends show prominently throughout the classic Archie comics, and that includes workshopping Betty Cooper’s fashion choices to entice his friend. This particular Jughead’s Jokes strip from issue 2 feels almost less in character for Jughead himself, but in taking Betty’s words to the literal extreme, the visual gag is priceless.
The moment is an easy distillation of just how little Jughead cares to understand women’s romantic desires particularly in this era from 1967 to 1982. After all, he has made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t necessarily hate women per se in the old comics, just that he prefers food more. But Betty also tries way too hard for Archie as it is, and anybody who isn’t Jughead can see it plain as day.
4
Swipe Gripe
This one goes out to literally anybody who read Archie comics as a kid and had to experience the cringe-inducing moments of grown-ups co-opting teen or youth fads. Watch-stacking, as depicted in the comic, even has recurring instances beyond the instance shown in this strip appearing in 1969.
Adults stealing fads from teens presents itself now in the form of corporate TikTok accounts adopting trending formats, channeling real “how do you do, fellow kids?” energy. It is an observation that has aged surprisingly well, from which the kids reading it grew up to retain none of its lessons, and if one needs proof, check the stories about Michael Bay’s alleged Skibidi Toilet movie, and just how much traction it has gotten.
3
Big Gig
Jughead is fundamentally an unmotivated character, so a comic strip about him napping in front the tv, him visualizing sawing logs, is par for the course. There are so many strips about him taking advantage of parental orders “not to do anything until he finishes his homework” by simply doing nothing and napping rather than hitting the books.
So in this gag from issue 18, Jughead’s mother, Gladys Jones, tries to break him out of his funk by pointing to the motivational phrase on the wall. Visualizing a bigger log is truly the only answer in Jughead’s mind, with the character proving to be a legend among clever slacker types, whether in Western comics or even internationally with some truly lazy manga icons.
2
Paw Power
Jughead’s love for food is astonishing, with him particularly having a soft spot in his heart for hamburgers. But in the case of his pet sheepdog, the name Hot Dog was always a natural fit. Hot Dog is a peculiar character, used for plenty of cartoonish exploits including a hilarious car-driving gag in the “Hatman the Crowned Crusader” story from volume 2, issue 17. But it seems Hot Dog is just as deceptively smart as his owner.
In the “Paw Power” strip, Jughead’s got Hot Dog performing seemingly innocent tricks. But perhaps after one too many rounds of napping in front of the TV, Hot Dog wound up learning some tricks of his own at Archie’s expense. It plays up the recurring absurdity of Hot Dog in particular, taking advantage of the medium to positively floor Archie with canine-style judo.
1
Eye Guy
Perhaps the greatest, if not at least the most memorable Jughead comic strip of all time, “Eye Guy” is a perfect encapsulation of Jughead’s commitment to sleeping in class, and the ironic lengths to which he’ll go to not do anything of consequence. This comic strip has been reprinted such as from issue 9 into issue 33 of Jughead’s Jokes. Or, for younger readers, this gag even surfaced later in Double Digest installments, and it absolutely should; it’s pretty fun.
This Archie strip is so immortal it is frequently quoted or requested online in terms of the source, and even Family Guy made a direct reference to the moment where Jughead painted eyes onto his closed eyelids so he could keep sleeping in class. Putting aside the disconcerting notion where, even with the most convincing eyes possible, this would mean an eerie, unblinking, snoring stare as Ms. Grundy simply has to carry on. It’s iconic, it’s emblematic of his character, and it’s a Jughead moment every Archie fan should read at least once.
- Writer
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Bob Montana, John L. Goldwater
- Penciler
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Various
- Inker
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Various
- Colorist
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Various
- Letterer
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Various
- Publisher(s)
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Archie Comic Publications