First off I grew up reading the Archie comics. I would beg my mom when we went to the grocery store to buy me them. I read and reread them until they fell apart. That said I love this look into Betty and Veronica. They were not just boy crazy teens, They had lives and hobbies. It discusses their background. OVerall if you care looking for comics to read this is not the book. If you want a look at Betty and Veronica over the years then this is the way to go. Very well researched and very well written.

I grew up reading about Archie et al.'s shenanigans as my piano teacher left out copies to read before the start of your lesson. My favourites were reading about Betty and Veronica and their adventures! As an adult, I enjoy watching "Riverdale" as a guilty pleasure TV show because of the nostalgia factor from being a kid.

This book provides an interesting insight into the history of the Archie Comics series, its numerous attempts to reinvent themselves, the problematic nature of having 40+ year old men writing as female teenagers, and the development of the series. If you loved Archie comics and especially Betty and Veronica's storylines, then you'll want to read this book! The monograph goes in chronological order from the very beginning of Archie Comics through Pep Comics all the way to cult-favourite, Riverdale TV show.

Also as a kid, I never noticed that Betty and Veronica were drawn the EXACT same except for their hair! However, all the guys (Archie, Reggie, Jughead etc.) are drawn with different physical traits.

OK, I must confess that I read a lot of Archies comics growing up. This one was the first in a long time.This issues is about the Lovely Betty and Lovely Veronia. They don't just chase Archie around, thy do indeed have liveams. They often volunteer, solved crimes, and and take the time to take up Women's Lib Movement. They have changed a whole lit since I have read Archie comics. I am going to have to read them again. This one is a great read. It is ready to read and I highly recommend it.

First, thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the eARC I received in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I will not be using this for a course simply because I ordered it for a college audience and now I teach at a high school.

I loved the text, however, and have already recommended some of my former colleagues, particularly the "comics as lit" professor, give it a look. It was really fascinating and I loved how it placed a very familiar comic into a social context.

"Betty and Veronica: The Leading Ladies of Riverdale" by Tim Hanley is a well-researched look at the ladies in the world of Archie comics. This history of the characters Betty and Veronica covers the entire span of Archie comics, from the debut of Archie and friends, including Betty, in "Pep" comics in 1941, to the current issues. Also discussed are the radio and TV shows up to and including "Riverdale" that featured the characters in Archie’s universe. According to the author, Betty and Veronica underwent changes in both themselves and in their relationship with each other throughout the decades. They have always been rivals for Archie’s attention and affection, and sometimes had a contentious relationship with each other; the author discusses how cruel Veronica could be toward Betty during different periods of the run of the comics. But he also discusses times when they worked together and supported each other, especially during the 1970’s when feminism was at the forefront of current events. He also discusses some other timely social and political issues that were addressed in the comics, such as Vietnam.

The book includes full color cover art. I would have liked to have seen some inside pages of comics.

This is an entertaining, informative look at the history of Betty and Veronica within the Archie comics universe. It broadly covers the general trends of comics and the history of the many Archie publications. Those of us who grew up reading Archie comics will enjoy looking back at how the characters of Betty and Veronica developed and changed over the past 80 years.

Thank you to Rowman & Littlefield Publishers and NetGalley for this digital review copy.

Betty and Veronica: The Leading Ladies of Riverdale, from the famous Archie Comics. These women have been around for over 80 years. What we thought we knew, is only the surface. This new release delves into Archie's girlfriends from their introductory archetypes in the early 1940s to their relevant characteristics of today. They have come a mighty long way!

"Betty pined for Archie while Archie pined for Veronica, and that was the full extent of their roles." ~ 11%

Chickadee put me on to Archie Comics when I was wee little. I have always loved Betty and Veronica's relationship—be it rivals or besties. I thought I knew all there is to know about them. Welp, this new release by Tim Hanley proved otherwise. There is complexity behind these two iconic characters. The storylines may revamp with social change but the core of these women stay the same. With full color art within essays, the adventures of Betty and Veronica are detailed along with backstory and motivation behind their journey over decades.

"No matter when you first encountered the duo, certain aspects were constant. Betty Cooper has always been a blonde. Veronica Lodge has always been a brunette. Betty was the kindhearted girl next door from her very first appearance. Veronica was the snobbish rich girl. Betty was devoted to her redheaded neighbor. Veronica was intrigued by the boy, yet fickle." ~ 1%

Does this not accurately describe Betty and Veronica? You have to read this book to learn more about why these women carried these roles. The fan in me is pleased with Betty and Veronica! If you are an old fan of the leading ladies of Riverdale or you just flip through the latest double digest while waiting in the grocery store checkout, this new in-depth book will be an addition to your collection. Pick it up!

Betty and Veronica were created as feuding girlfriends of Archie, in Archie Comics. They have gone through many changes during the decades they have been around. This book tells the evolution of Betty and Veronica, from when they were created in the 1940s to their television adaptation in 2020.

I’ve read Archie Comics for as long as I can remember. I always loved reading about Betty and Veronica. I hadn’t really thought about how sexist the characters were, but after reading about their history, I realize how problematic they were.

One of the major problems with Betty and Veronica was that their stories were written by men. They were sexualized by old men, though they were meant to appeal to young female readers. They were even originally drawn with the same face and body, but different hairstyles, unlike the boys who each had distant facial features. Now, with the tv show Riverdale, there are female writers and creators on the show, so they are finally written by women.

There were so many interesting stories in this book. There was a period during the 1970s when Archie and the gang were written by a religious writer, who made the characters preach the Bible to readers. There were also many tv and movie adaptations that didn’t end up happening. Despite a sometimes controversial history, Archie and his friends have survived for almost 80 years.

This book is a must-read for fans of Betty and Veronica!

Thank you Rowman and Littlefield for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I was always such a huge fan of the Archie comics when I was growing up so when I saw this book on Netgalley I just had to check it out. Betty and Veronica were my favourite characters from the comics and it was so fascinating to learn about how they evolved and changed throughout the years. I think Tim Hanley did a great job of explaining the history of the characters. This was such a great book to read and brought back so many good memories!

Interesting breakdown of the relationship of Veronica and Betty. Fun and academic look at a typical comic. Highly recommend this book and author.

Tim Hanley walks us through an in depth history of the Archie Comics characters' Betty and Veronica and how their depictions were a reflection of the current mores of society filtered through the conservative voice of the mostly male writers and publishers.

Early in their career Betty and Veronica could be seen as feminist trail blazers. Hanley takes care to emphasize that this depiction was not one of political sensibility, but of what worked best for the stories. Hey, sometimes the end result is more important than how you got there.

By giving a thorough examination of Betty and Veronica's history Hanley also gave us one of Archie Comics. And, this lets us know exactly how important Archie Comics was throughout comic book history. It seems like in every event in comics history there was an Archie comics reaction, or Archie Comics was a part of the cause. That was pretty mind blowing to see! I did know that John Goldwater was a big part of the Comics Code Authority that popped up when people were afraid that comic books were turning kids into juvenile delinquents. I did not know he was also a major factor in it's liberalization in the '70s. He was in charge of the Code when the famous Spider-man drug addiction story published without the CCA seal of approval. Anecdotes like this put the book into a real world context and place the books, and the characters.

Speaking of the real world. Hanley did an excellent job of contrasting and comparing the duo's depictions with what was going on in the real world. From Bobby Soxer to Women's liberation, to ? What would today's depiction be called? The zeitgeist of the real world was depicted by these characters. Of course, this depiction was through these conservative eyes, so the full picture might not come out. But, enough of one that it could be seen. And, Hanley was able to use snippets of dialog and scene descriptions to show what was happening in the books, and compare/contrast this against the real world.

If I had a complaint about the book it is that in some places I wanted even more information -even if that information had nothing to do with the subjects of the book! For instance, the history of Spire Comics is a fascinating one that I had never heard of. Al Hartley was writing for Archie Comics and at first injected his Christianity into regular Archie stories. Later, he was able to convince the publisher the use of the characters in Spire Comics, a religious comic book company. Now, when I was a kid I had a bunch of these. I was excited at first. But, then they got all churchy and I felt ripped off. Later, it came to me that I had those and wondered what the deal was. Now I know! But, I'd have loved to have found out more. Like, did that affect sales of regular Archie? What ended the relationship? Was there ever Spire comic issue featuring Sabrina?

I'm a pretty big fan of Archie Comics. I enjoyed the Mard Waid reboot (especially for the new amazing artists, but also for the historical comics each book would feature.) And, I read as a kid, and as an adult. But, I avoided the TV show Riverdale like the plague. Specifically for one relationship that was shown in the pilot. I thought it was gross, and I didn't need to watch a show that would glamorize something like that. Turns out, the show was on my side on this. And, sure it took this book spoiling every major event of the show (Thanks, Hanley. Ever hear of spoiler warnings?!) but now I really want to watch it. Netflix here I come.

This was a fun informative read. If you have any interest in comic book history, I think this would make for an interesting read.

I got this for free from NetGalley. But, that didn't affect my feelings on the book.