ASK THE ARCHIVIST
February

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 Midge's first appearance?"

Midge was one of those characters who gradually evolved over time. As early as ARCHIE'S PAL JUGHEAD #1 (1949), we see that Moose has a certain taste in women-- and anyone who messes with his women will taste his knuckles!
In this story, Moose's gal is a blonde named Lottie Little who bears more than a resemblance to the early Midge, despite her blonde hair. Some other similar girlfriends followed, but it wasn't until 1951 that Midge came into her own. It is generally agreed that the first & official"appearance of Midge was in the story, &Of Moose & Men" from JUGHEAD #5 (April, 1951). In this story, Archie and Reggie are both "tutoring" Midge with Latin and math, respectively. But Betty and Veronica know better. Meanwhile, Moose asks (more like STRONGLY URGES) Jughead to help him write love poems to Midge. It is a surprising revelation in this story that Jughead has done the same for Archie, secretly writing love letters on his behalf to Veronica! This all backfires when Reggie reads over Jughead's shoulder and tells Moose that Jughead's seeing Midge, too! Just as Moose is about to rearrange Jughead's features, all the girls in school scare him off and rescue Jughead. But when the girls decide to keep Jughead as their "pet" and collect locks of his hair, he runs back to Moose, begging him to save him from the girls!!!
Almost simultaneously, Midge also appeared in 1951's "Betty & Veronica #4." In a story called "The Big Fix," it is revealed that Midge is pretty tough herself. Jealous of Archie's affection for Veronica, Betty tells Moose that Veronica is sweet for him. If you think Moose is tough, wait till you see Midge in action! When Midge finds out Moose reciprocates the alleged crush, it's Moose that's in danger of being crushed-- by Midge!!! Though she's generally not showcased in her own stories, Midge remains one of the most enduring characters in the Archie universe-- just don't tell Moose I said that!!!

| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul |

TM/© 2000 ACO

Back to Archie Offices