She's A Real Betty

If you haven't taken a look at Nick and Nora's Lovely Link List, please do.

It's certainly worthwhile.

After taking a look today at Manolo the Shoe Blogger, Nora was charmed to find these pair of shoes by an English designer.

Of the pair - Betty and Veronica, Betty has always been the favourite - probably for the same reason that in a popularity contest, Mary-Ann always trumps Ginger.

Why? Because they're charming, approachable girls next door.

If Betty triumphs in the likeability stakes, then credit should go to comic book writer and author Al Hartley who during the late 1960s through to the 1980s was the prinicpal artist behind the Archie series of comics.

In fact he has been the only person who has been give a licence to publish Archie outside the 'official' comics for the Spire Christian Comic series of the 1970s.


The last word on Betty comes from one of Al Hartley's Archie successors Kathleen Webb:

"It was Al's 'Betty's Diary' stories that intrigued me the most," she told the Journal. "He wrote a lot of them for the Betty & Me books in the early 1970's.

"At that time, he was 'getting away with murder' - writing blatantly Christian stories that Archie went ahead and published, regardless of the fact that the publisher was Jewish.

"Al's way of handling Betty as she shared her thoughts in her diary was with insight, humor and care. He never 'preached' in those pages; he just had Betty share her feelings, good and bad.

"His other Betty & Me stories were also written well, tackling Betty's relationship with Archie carefully, never making Betty out to be so much the 'sore loser' as the 'never-give-up-gal.'

She wasn't bitter - she kept in there, swinging, believing that someday, Archie'd come to his senses.

It's the type of charm and maturity that every parent wishes for their daughter when going through the awkward and sometimes fractuous teen and dating years.

Not quite sure?

Then take a look at the five lovely comic pages where Betty shares her thoughts about Archie, her rival Veronica as well as life and love in general.

(Don't forget to click on the images for a larger view.)