A brief history of MLJ Magazines and Archie
It was just another summer day at the beach for the Goldwater and Silberkleit families. The only thing that set it apart was that today John Goldwater, forever the salesman and creative, would convince Louis Silberkleit to go into the comic book business with him. Both men were already in the “pulp” business, dealing in cheap, fiction magazines who got their name from the low quality wood pulp paper they were printed on. Their jump to comics didn’t seem that tremendous, yet it was impossible for either of them to know that what they were discussing would eventually end up changing the face of pop culture and birth characters that would charm readers for the next 80 years.
Ever observant and prophetic, Goldwater had no delusions that the world would soon be going to war again. Once this happened, his overseas export business would surely evaporate, as pulps were not viewed as a necessary cargo on ships laden with war materiel bound for the battle against Hitler and the Axis powers. He was also quick to note the success of the new comic book business sparked by the introduction of Superman and foresaw that comic books would soon replace the pulps. With these thoughts in mind, Goldwater proceeded to pitch a flurry of ideas to Silberkleit for possible titles. These included a Rin Tin Tin knockoff about a boy and his dog called Rang-a-Tang, a man with a super-intellect named The Wizard that used magic to capture criminals through brain, not brawn, and the world’s first patriotic superhero, The Shield.
Silberkleit was impressed by Goldwater’s ideas. Both of their wives were agreeable to their potential business venture and their sons were enthralled by the comic book characters. Maurice Coyne, Silberkleit’s publishing partner, was also brought in on the new business. Taking the first letter of each partner’s first name, MLJ Magazines, Inc. was born. Just in time too. War broke out in Europe months later in September, 1939 thus ending Goldwater’s overseas export business overnight.
Blue Ribbon Comics debuted shortly after that in November and featured the first adventure of Rang-a-Tang. It was followed in quick succession by Top-Notch Comics in December with the Wizard and Pep Comics in January, starring The Shield. Despite the group’s enthusiasm, sales weren’t great for the first two years of operation. MLJ was viewed as just another publisher in a sea of comic book superheroes.
Goldwater felt in his gut that capped-crime fighters weren’t the only thing comic books were capable of. He believed that in order to guarantee a future for the young industry, it would need fresh, innovative characters to set them apart. He wanted stories that readers could relate to, so he thought back to his youthful days as a traveling salesman and the romantic adventures he’d gotten into on the road. With that in mind, a teenage character began to flicker into being.
Nothing is created in a vacuum. Goldwater pulled in ideas and inspiration from all over for his new creation. One such contemporary influence included Mickey Rooney’s portrayal of youth Andy Hardy in a series of sentimental comedy movies for MGM. Henry Aldrich, a character from the popular radio sitcom The Aldrich Family was another, along with bowtie and plaid pants wearing adolescent Harold Teen from the comic strip pages. To give his new creation an identity, Goldwater took the name of a friend from his hometown who always got into misadventures; Archie. Next, he took his ideas to his staff artist Bob Montana, a teenager himself, to develop further. Montana quickly sketched up Archie, Betty, and Veronica based on Goldwater’s descriptions, modeling the title character after himself. The final missing piece was writer Vic Bloom, who would go on to write Archie’s first three stories and help establish the key personalities in the series. With that, a star was born.
However, Archie didn’t burst onto the comics landscape like his contemporary, Superman. His rise to superstardom was a slow, steady climb. Archie’s humble first appearance was in the back pages of Pep Comics #22 in December, 1941 in a simple six-page short. Introduced as “America’s newest boyfriend,” Archie and his friend, Jughead Jones, went on a series of escapades around the small town of Riverdale, all in an attempt to impress his new neighbor, Betty Cooper.
It would take until the release of Pep Comics #26 in April, 1942 for Archie to finally make it onto the cover and even then he had to share the spotlight with The Shield. This issue would also mark another significant event in Archie’s life as it was the first appearance of Veronica Lodge and the genesis for the eternal love triangle that would come to define the series. Soon, Archie was regularly sharing the covers of Pep Comics with The Shield until he gradually displaced The Shield altogether starting in September, 1944 with issue #50. Two years later, in 1946, MLJ Magazines, Inc. acknowledged just how popular Archie had become by rechristening itself to Archie Comics Publications.
By 1949, it was hard to deny that Archie was a phenomenon. Over 2 million Archie comics were printed and distributed a month. Bob Montana started a comic strip featuring the group that circulated in over 75 daily newspapers across the US and Canada. Archie Comics continued to produce more spin-offs. Titles Archie and Pep were joined by Archie’s Pal Jughead and Archie’s Girls Betty and Veronica, which quickly emerged as the second-most popular title behind Archie.
Of course, other publishers also looked to cash in on the famous comic-pals. Imitations popped up from a myriad of rival companies; with such doppelgängers as Willie, Frankie, Georgie, and Buzzy and with female versions like Millie, Jeanie, Mitzi, and Tippy.
By the time the 1960s rolled around, Archie Comics were producing seventeen ongoing monthly, bimonthly, and quarterly titles devoted to the gang at Riverdale High, as well as a number of short-lived titles featuring the characters. This meteoric rise finally peaked in the summer of 1969 when a song from the Saturday morning Archie cartoon named “Sugar, Sugar” raced up the Billboard charts. The tune reached #1 in late September and remained there for four weeks. It was a height that none of the creators ever dreamed of for a cast of comic book characters with such humble beginnings.
John Goldwater died on February 26, 1999 at the age of 93. Although he was the father of three boys, when the New York Times wrote about his death they said “He is survived by Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica in Riverdale, USA.” It was a testament to the power of a creation and how it can come to define an individual. The gang from Riverdale have continued their adventures in comic books along with a wide variety of other media outlets, all the while touching the lives of people around the world. Not bad for a teenager who just turned 80 years old.
References:
- Archie: A Celebration of America’s Favorite Teenagers by Craig Yoe
- The Best of Archie Americana: Golden Age 1940s – 1950s
- Happy Accidents by Paul Castiglia
- Room 603 by Victor Gorelick
- Twelve-Cent Archie by Bart Beaty
- The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum