Betty and Veronica: The Leading Ladies of Riverdale

(Hardback)

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Description

We think we know Betty and Veronica, but we dont. Far more than just Archies girlfriends, the girls have grown beyond simple archetypes to become compelling, relevant characters for each new generation over the past eighty years.

Betty, Veronica, and the rest of the Riverdale gang appear to be frozen in time in Archie comic books. They are perpetual high schoolers, recycling the same basic plotlines over and over in their wholesome, small-town American world. However, there is much more to Betty and Veronica than the broad stereotypes and clichd storytelling suggests.

In Betty and Veronica: The Leading Ladies of Riverdale, Tim Hanley explores the complexity behind these two iconic characters. We know Betty and Veronica as Archie's girlfriends, but that's just the beginningthey are their own women with evolving motivations and aims. From fighting over Archie to tackling womens lib to chasing down serial killers on Riverdale, their friendship has endured and grown through decades of shifting characterizations and social change. Exploring their past offers unique insights into the ways life has progressed for young women over the past eighty years, and shows us the hidden strengths and secret depths of these pop culture icons.

Featuring full-color comic book cover art that spans nearly eight decades of publishingalong with behind-the-scenes accounts of creative decisions and historical insights into their many incarnations across various mediathis bookprovides a vibrant exploration of Betty and Veronicas many adventures throughout their long, intriguing journey in popular culture.

Reviews

Hanley takes a deep, well-researched dive into the history of Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge, analyzing their original appearances and exploring their many iterations since. He contextualizes their characters evolution within the cultural shifts of each decade (1950s domesticity, 1970s feminism) and shows how, in the publishers effort to tweak their formulaic high jinks, the girls both followed and subverted gender roles. * Booklist *
Hanley surveys the history of the two BFFs, beginning with Bettys first appearance in Pep #22 (December 1941) and following through to the third season of Riverdale on the CW. Not only does the book give the reader a good sense of Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodges evolving place in pop culture over the decades, including their appearances beyond the comic book page, but it also offers illuminating insight into the crystallization of the pairs personalities. * ComicsBeat *
Chapter by chapter, Hanley relates the history of the company from the perspective of Betty and Veronica being its major characters rather than Archie. Its a fascinating way to look at things. While they remain essentially the same in the comics until recent years, the text follows their variations on radio, in TV pilots, on records, in Al Hartleys parallel world Christian Archieverse, and in animated cartoons, all with details and trivia likely to be new to even the most hardcore Riverdale buff. Yes, the current TV teen super-soap is covered as well. * Forces of Geek *
Tim Hanley has delivered another engaging comic book history filled with insider stories, cultural context, and a massive serving of nostalgia. Betty and Veronica is easy reading and it's lots of fun. This is a book nearly any comic fan will enjoy. . . This is a great book for Archie fans, of course. But its also a nice option for anyone looking for an entertaining and accessible piece of comic book history. * The Comic Book Yeti *
Tim Hanley has this gift to dive deep into the history and legacy of pop culture creations you think you know. Betty and Veronica is his best example of that yet: informative, funny, and fascinating, Tim Hanley is one of the best pop culture writers working today. -- Maria Lewis, journalist, author
If you want to know about the female comics characters who have captivated readers from the Golden Age forward, Tim Hanley is your guy. His book Betty and Veronica moves these characters out of Archies shadow to shine a spotlight on their development in comics, radio, and television over the past nearly 80 years. Hanleys thoughtful analysis provides insights for fans of the Archie mediaverse as well as pop culture scholars, as he shares how creative forces (sometimes) worked in conjunction with broader social phenomena to shape their representation. Betty and Veronica have been part of my life for nearly 50 years (Im a Betty by the way), and Hanleys book let me know I still have much to learn. -- Carol Tilley, comics historian and 2016 Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards judge

Author Bio

Tim Hanley is a comic book historian and the author of Wonder Woman Unbound (2014), Investigating Lois Lane (2016), and The Many Lives of Catwoman (2017). His work has also appeared in the Atlantic, Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Comics Journal. As a boy, he had a stack of Archie Comics digests taller than he was, and this remains the case today even though he is considerably taller now. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.