Ask the Archivist

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ASK THE ARCHIVIST
April

Hey, all you Archie-information seekers out there -- you've come to the right place! It's another installment of "Ask the Archivist" with Archie Comics' resident archivist, Paul Castiglia.

Many fans write to me daily asking me when the first appearances of specific characters were. This month, in answer to many fan's requests, we answer the question:

"When was Reggie Mantle's first appearance?"

Reggie had a weird beginning. In fact, two incarnations of Reggie appeared in JACKPOT COMICS #5 (Spring, 1942), about three months after Archie's first appearance. Two you ask? How could that be? To answer that, we have to go to back to the beginning-- the beginning of the story, that is!
The untitled story features a character named Scotty, who is more than anxious to initiate Archie into Riverdale High's "Philomathian Club." Scotty practically looks identical in features to how Reggie turned out. But wait, it gets weirder: One could say that Reggie's appearance evolved out of the "Scotty" character, but then two pages later, we capture a "glimpse" of Reggie, hair blowing in the wind, as he drives Veronica through town. He's only seen in that cameo appearance, but he is referred to by name. Reggie would show up full blown in the next issue, JACKPOT COMICS #6 (Summer, 1942), which is considered his "definitive first appearance," wherein he takes a more active role. What is surprising here is the fact that Reggie's personality-- that of the arrogant, shifty trickster, is established, but his appearance is more streamlined and handsome than the "Scotty" character. Eventually, he would grow to look more like Scotty, and bedevil Archie and the gang for many years to come, in all the various Archie titles, including some of his own like "Archie's Rival Reggie," "Reggie & Me," "Reggie's Wise-guy Jokes" and "Reggie's Revenge." You can encounter Reggie's earliest appearances reprinted in the ARCHIE AMERICANA SERIES: BEST OF THE FORTIES trade paperback.

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