Archie Andrews was introduced in Pep Comics 22 (December 1941), and practically invented the image of the American teenager, with countless thousands of comic book stories, plus cartoons, tv series, radio series, movies, and songs. Preteens look to Archie for a glimpse of their future, and adults, for a nostalgic look at their past. And gay boys can find in Archie Comics more shirtless and swimsuit-clad hunks than anywhere else on the comic rack.
Archie and his pals change year by year to keep up with contemporaryh fashions, slang, and pop culture, and so has the beefcake. In swimsuit and locker-room shots, the guys become more or less buffed, defined, depending on the interest of the comic artist and the changing expectations of masculine beauty.
Archie is thin, even underdeveloped, with little attention to realism in his arms and shoulders. In the 1940s, svelte men like Cary Grant were iconic.
Archie and Jughead appear in the Dan Montana house style, with some indication of pecs and maybe a line down the stomach to indicate abs.
When I was reading Archie comics as a kid, there was a lot more attention to the detail of pecs, shoulders, and biceps, particularly in the "muscle bound" Big Moose.
The guy's got a chest and well defined abs, in keeping with the muscleman craze defined by Schwarzenneger and Stallone.
More after the break
1993.
Real bodybuilders appear on occasion.
2002.
A rather realistic Archie, with chest, abs and biceps.
2013
Whoa, Reggie's got a 6-pack, plus shoulders, pecs, and biceps. Of course, he's parodying the tv show Jersey Shore, but still, he's come a long way.
2022.
2002.
A rather realistic Archie, with chest, abs and biceps.
2013Whoa, Reggie's got a 6-pack, plus shoulders, pecs, and biceps. Of course, he's parodying the tv show Jersey Shore, but still, he's come a long way.
2022.
So has Archie.
