Post by Eric on Oct 4, 2014 10:45:42 GMT -6
Part 2: A 37 year history of the 12 Digests!
Part 1 of the history of the Archie Double Digests was not the end of the history of the Digest but a beginning. Part 1 was primarily focused on providing a 32 year history of the Double Digest and its rebranding in May of 2014. This essay, Part 2, will focus on the Digest, a smaller format than the Double Digest, with the first Digest: Archie Digest #1, first appearing in August 1973. Did you know that Archie Digest #1 was 160 pages and cost about 50 cents. My first exposure to Archie Digests was not the smaller format Digests but the bigger Double Digests. I knew there were Digests around but I always preferred the bigger format Double Digest since they were 160 pages compared to the 96 pages of the smaller format Digest. It is also worth noting to see that the Digest went from 160 pages in 1973 to 96 pages in 2010.
It is important to look back at the history of the Digest because without it we would never have had the Double Digest that first appeared in January 1982. Archie Digests have an older history than the 32 year history of the Double Digest, being around for more than 37 years and 12 Digests, with the first Digest appearing in 1973, and the last Digest appearing in Oct 2010, when Double Digests took over as the main Digest available and the smaller 96 page Digests were phased out. My preferred type of Digest will always be the biggest type such as the 160 page Double Digests to the current 288 page Jumbo Comics because of the value you get for so many pages of great Archie stories.
Yet, even if I did not pick up the smaller 96 page Digests as much as the bigger format Digests, Archie should be complemented for coming out with a format type which contained a variety of so many different types of stories collected and reprinted together in one place from so many different eras of Archie's 75 year history of making great comics. The original Digests paved the way for the future of Double Digests and other Digest types to come. I believe Archie is very unique in the Digest market and I hope Digests will be around for a long time to come. So sit back once again as we look back at the Digests, 12 different Digest titles over a 37 year time period!
After reading part 2, I would love some feedback on the following:
1)What was your favorite of the 12 Digest titles listed below?
2)Did you prefer the smaller 96 page Digest format or the larger 160 page Double Digest format?
3)Do you have any Digests in your collection?
4)Was it a smaller Digest that started your Archie reading? Do you have any memories of the first one?
5)What do you think of the Digest format in general and how it can contain previous years of reprinted material and that can span stories from so many different decades?
1)Archie Digest
-The first Digest released and the oldest of the Digests
-267 issues released
-First issue August 1973, last issue September 2010.
-This title would continue as World of Archie Double Digest which is still produced today.
2)Jughead with Archie Digest
-200 issues released,
-First issue August 1974, last issue May 2005.
3)Laugh Comics Digest
-200 issues released,
-First issue August 1974, last issue April 2005.
4)Archie Annual Digest
-42 issues released,
-First issue 1974, last issue 1998.
5)Archie...Archie Andrews, Where are You Digest?
-114 issues released,
-First issue February 1977, last issue May 1998.
6)The Jughead Jones Digest
-100 issues released,
-First issue June 1977, last issue May 1996.
7)Betty and Veronica Digest
-208 issues released,
-First issue November 1980, last issue October 2010.
-Issue 208 was the last Digest ever released which brought an end to the 96 page Digest era.
-This title would continue as B & V Friends Double Digest which is still produced today.
8-Archie's Story and Game Digest
-39 issues released,
-First issue November 1986, last issue January 1998.
9)The New Archies Digest
-22 issues released,
-First issue October 1987, last issue May 1990.
10)Archie's Fun Holiday Digest
-12 issues released,
-First issue February 1997, last issue December 2007.
11)Jughead and Friends Digest
-38 issues released,
-First issue June 2005, last issue July 2010
-May have replaced Jughead with Archie which ended after 200 issues in May 2005.
12)Tales from Riverdale Digest
-This was the last 96 Page Digest title released.
-39 issues released,
-First issue July 2005, last issue August 2010.
Part 2: The Original Digests-A 37 year Digest History Timeline!
-Archie releases its first Digest title: Archie #1 on August 1973.
-This Digest reprinted stories from Little Archie, classic Archie stories and others.
-This is the oldest of the Digests with 267 issues released.
-The last issue: Archie Digest #267 appeared on September 2010.
-This Digest would end after 37 years but would be continued as World of Archie Double Digest, which began October 2010.
-When this Digest was released it was 160 pages and cost .50 cents.
-Archie releases its second Digest title: Jughead with Archie Digest #1 on July 1974.
-One of the series reprinted in this Digest is Jughead's Diner, classic Jughead stories and others.
-This is the second oldest of the Digests with 200 issues released.
-It is interesting to note that Jughead Double Digest, another Jughead Digest series also ended with issue 200 in February 2014.
-The last issue: Jughead with Archie #200 appeared on May 2005.
-This Digest would end after 31 years and was probably replaced by Jughead and Friends Digest #1, which released in June 2005 and ended in 2010.
-When this Digest was released it was 160 pages and cost .60 cents.
-Archie releases its third Digest title: Jughead with Archie Digest #1 on August 1974.
-Various characters featured in this Digest such as Li'l Jinx, Sabrina, That Wilkins Boy, Reggie and others.
-This is also the second oldest of the Digests with 200 issues released just like Jughead with Archie.
-The last issue: Laugh Comics Digest #200 appeared on April 2005.
-This Digest would end after 31 years.
-When this Digest was released it was 160 pages and cost .60 cents.
-Archie releases its fourth Digest title: Archie Annual Digest #27 in 1974.
-Originally issues 1-26 came out as a bigger type of comic book before being changed to a Digest size with issue 27.
-This is also the sixth oldest of the Digests with 42 issues released.
-The last issue: Archie Annual Digest #69 appeared in 1998.
-This Digest would end after 24 years.
-When this Digest was released it was 160 pages and cost .60 cents.
-This is also the fourth oldest of the Digests with 114 issues released.
-The last issue: Archie...Archie Andrews, Where Are You #114 appeared on May 1998.
-This Digest would end after 21 years.
-When this Digest was released it cost .75 cents.
-Archie releases its sixth Digest title: The Jughead Jones Digest #1 on June 1977.
-This Digest reprinted many classic Jughead stories and others.
-This is also the fifth oldest of the Digests with 100 issues released.
-The last issue: The Jughead Jones Digest #100 appeared on May 1996.
-This Digest would end after 19 years.
-When this Digest was released it cost .75 cents.
-Archie releases its seventh Digest title: Betty and Veronica Digest #1 on November 1980.
-This Digest reprinted many Sabrina animated and Josie and the Pussycats stories.
-This is the third oldest of the Digests with 208 issues released.
-The last issue: Betty and Veronica Digest#208 appeared on October 2010.
-This Digest would end after 30 years.
-This Digest would continue as B & V Friends Digest which began in January 2011 and is still produced today.
-When this Digest was released it cost .95 cents.
-Archie releases its eight Digest title: Archie's Story & Game Digest #1 on November 1986.
-This Digest included many puzzles, crosswords and other types of games along with stories from various characters.
-This is the seventh oldest of the Digests with 39 issues released.
-The last issue: Archie's Story & Game Digest #39 appeared on January 1998.
-This Digest would end after about 11 years.
-When this Digest was released it was about 128 pages and cost $1.25.
-Archie releases its ninth Digest title: The New Archies Digest#1 on October 1987.
-This is the ninth oldest of the Digests with 22 issues released.
-The last issue: The New Archies Digest #22 released on May 1990.
-This Digest chronicled the life of Archie and his friends and their challenges in junior high and reimagined the look of the characters we all know and love. Only lasting 22 issues, it is obvious that many fans may have preferred the classic Archie characters in high school as we all remember them from so many eras.
-This Digest would end after two and a half years.
-When this Digest was released it cost $1.35.
-Archie releases its tenth Digest title:-Archie's Fun Holiday #1 on February 1997!
-This is the tenth oldest of the Digests with 12 issues released.
-Interesting to note is that this seems to be the only Digest title that was specifically created with a Holiday theme.
-The last issue: Archie's Holiday Fun Digest was released on December 2007.
-This Digest was usually released in time for the Holiday season.
-This Digest would end after 10 years.
-When this Digest was first released it cost $1.79.
-Archie releases its eleventh Digest title: Jughead and Friends#1 on June 2005.
-This Digest reprinted many That Wilkin Boy stories, classic Jughead stories and others.
-This Digest probably replaced Jughead with Archie which ended with issue 200 in May 2005.
-This is the eight oldest of the Digests with 38 issues released.
-The last issue: Jughead and Friends Digest #38 appeared on July 2010.
-This Digest would end after about 5 years.
-When this Digest was released it cost about $2.39.
-Archie releases its 12th and last Digest title: Tales from Riverdale#1 on July 2005.
-This Digest reprinted many Sabrina animated stories as well as stories from many different characters such as Cheryl Blossom, Betty and Veronica and others.
-This is the seventh oldest of the Digests with 39 issues released.
-The last issue: Tales from Riverdale #39 appeared on August 2010.
-This Digest would end after about 5 years.
-When this Digest was released it cost $2.39.
-This was the last Digest title released before these smaller digests were phased out at the end of 2010.
In 2010 there were only four 96 page Digests available: Archie Digest, Betty and Veronica Digest, Jughead and Friends Digest and Tales from Riverdale Digest but these would all be phased out at the end of 2010 in favor of the more profitable 160 page Double Digests which would be the main types of Digests available at the end of 2010. Two of these Digests would continue into the Double Digest era: Archie Digest would continue as World of Archie Double Digest and Betty and Veronica Digest would continue as B & V Friends Double Digest, both of which are still produced today along with 4 other Digest titles.
October 2010- The last Digest is released and ends the Digest era after 37 years!
-The last Digest is released: Betty and Veronica Digest#208 on October 2010. No more 96 page Digests would be released as the main Digests now available would be the 160 page Double Digests.
(To read about the Double Digests that would continue after this timeline as well as the rebranding of the Digest line in May 2014 please check the following topic on the board at, archiecomicsfans.freeforums.net/thread/76/digest-history-1)
Part 1 of the history of the Archie Double Digests was not the end of the history of the Digest but a beginning. Part 1 was primarily focused on providing a 32 year history of the Double Digest and its rebranding in May of 2014. This essay, Part 2, will focus on the Digest, a smaller format than the Double Digest, with the first Digest: Archie Digest #1, first appearing in August 1973. Did you know that Archie Digest #1 was 160 pages and cost about 50 cents. My first exposure to Archie Digests was not the smaller format Digests but the bigger Double Digests. I knew there were Digests around but I always preferred the bigger format Double Digest since they were 160 pages compared to the 96 pages of the smaller format Digest. It is also worth noting to see that the Digest went from 160 pages in 1973 to 96 pages in 2010.
It is important to look back at the history of the Digest because without it we would never have had the Double Digest that first appeared in January 1982. Archie Digests have an older history than the 32 year history of the Double Digest, being around for more than 37 years and 12 Digests, with the first Digest appearing in 1973, and the last Digest appearing in Oct 2010, when Double Digests took over as the main Digest available and the smaller 96 page Digests were phased out. My preferred type of Digest will always be the biggest type such as the 160 page Double Digests to the current 288 page Jumbo Comics because of the value you get for so many pages of great Archie stories.
Yet, even if I did not pick up the smaller 96 page Digests as much as the bigger format Digests, Archie should be complemented for coming out with a format type which contained a variety of so many different types of stories collected and reprinted together in one place from so many different eras of Archie's 75 year history of making great comics. The original Digests paved the way for the future of Double Digests and other Digest types to come. I believe Archie is very unique in the Digest market and I hope Digests will be around for a long time to come. So sit back once again as we look back at the Digests, 12 different Digest titles over a 37 year time period!
After reading part 2, I would love some feedback on the following:
1)What was your favorite of the 12 Digest titles listed below?
2)Did you prefer the smaller 96 page Digest format or the larger 160 page Double Digest format?
3)Do you have any Digests in your collection?
4)Was it a smaller Digest that started your Archie reading? Do you have any memories of the first one?
5)What do you think of the Digest format in general and how it can contain previous years of reprinted material and that can span stories from so many different decades?
The 12 Digests at a glance, 1973-2010
1)Archie Digest
-The first Digest released and the oldest of the Digests
-267 issues released
-First issue August 1973, last issue September 2010.
-This title would continue as World of Archie Double Digest which is still produced today.
2)Jughead with Archie Digest
-200 issues released,
-First issue August 1974, last issue May 2005.
3)Laugh Comics Digest
-200 issues released,
-First issue August 1974, last issue April 2005.
4)Archie Annual Digest
-42 issues released,
-First issue 1974, last issue 1998.
5)Archie...Archie Andrews, Where are You Digest?
-114 issues released,
-First issue February 1977, last issue May 1998.
6)The Jughead Jones Digest
-100 issues released,
-First issue June 1977, last issue May 1996.
7)Betty and Veronica Digest
-208 issues released,
-First issue November 1980, last issue October 2010.
-Issue 208 was the last Digest ever released which brought an end to the 96 page Digest era.
-This title would continue as B & V Friends Double Digest which is still produced today.
8-Archie's Story and Game Digest
-39 issues released,
-First issue November 1986, last issue January 1998.
9)The New Archies Digest
-22 issues released,
-First issue October 1987, last issue May 1990.
10)Archie's Fun Holiday Digest
-12 issues released,
-First issue February 1997, last issue December 2007.
11)Jughead and Friends Digest
-38 issues released,
-First issue June 2005, last issue July 2010
-May have replaced Jughead with Archie which ended after 200 issues in May 2005.
12)Tales from Riverdale Digest
-This was the last 96 Page Digest title released.
-39 issues released,
-First issue July 2005, last issue August 2010.
Part 2: The Original Digests-A 37 year Digest History Timeline!
August 1973- The first Digest: Archie Digest #1 releases!
-Archie releases its first Digest title: Archie #1 on August 1973.
-This Digest reprinted stories from Little Archie, classic Archie stories and others.
-This is the oldest of the Digests with 267 issues released.
-The last issue: Archie Digest #267 appeared on September 2010.
-This Digest would end after 37 years but would be continued as World of Archie Double Digest, which began October 2010.
-When this Digest was released it was 160 pages and cost .50 cents.
July 1974- The second Digest: Jughead with Archie #1 releases!
-Archie releases its second Digest title: Jughead with Archie Digest #1 on July 1974.
-One of the series reprinted in this Digest is Jughead's Diner, classic Jughead stories and others.
-This is the second oldest of the Digests with 200 issues released.
-It is interesting to note that Jughead Double Digest, another Jughead Digest series also ended with issue 200 in February 2014.
-The last issue: Jughead with Archie #200 appeared on May 2005.
-This Digest would end after 31 years and was probably replaced by Jughead and Friends Digest #1, which released in June 2005 and ended in 2010.
-When this Digest was released it was 160 pages and cost .60 cents.
August 1974- The third Digest: Laugh Comics Digest #1 releases!
-Archie releases its third Digest title: Jughead with Archie Digest #1 on August 1974.
-Various characters featured in this Digest such as Li'l Jinx, Sabrina, That Wilkins Boy, Reggie and others.
-This is also the second oldest of the Digests with 200 issues released just like Jughead with Archie.
-The last issue: Laugh Comics Digest #200 appeared on April 2005.
-This Digest would end after 31 years.
-When this Digest was released it was 160 pages and cost .60 cents.
1974- The fourth Digest: Archie Annual Digest #27 releases!
-Archie releases its fourth Digest title: Archie Annual Digest #27 in 1974.
-Originally issues 1-26 came out as a bigger type of comic book before being changed to a Digest size with issue 27.
-This is also the sixth oldest of the Digests with 42 issues released.
-The last issue: Archie Annual Digest #69 appeared in 1998.
-This Digest would end after 24 years.
-When this Digest was released it was 160 pages and cost .60 cents.
February 1977- The fifth Digest: Archie...Archie Andrews, Where Are You? Digest #1 releases!
-Archie releases its fifth Digest title: Archie..Archie Andrews, Where Are You? Digest #1 on February 1977.-This is also the fourth oldest of the Digests with 114 issues released.
-The last issue: Archie...Archie Andrews, Where Are You #114 appeared on May 1998.
-This Digest would end after 21 years.
-When this Digest was released it cost .75 cents.
June 1977- The sixth Digest: The Jughead Jones Digest #1 releases!
-Archie releases its sixth Digest title: The Jughead Jones Digest #1 on June 1977.
-This Digest reprinted many classic Jughead stories and others.
-This is also the fifth oldest of the Digests with 100 issues released.
-The last issue: The Jughead Jones Digest #100 appeared on May 1996.
-This Digest would end after 19 years.
-When this Digest was released it cost .75 cents.
November 1980- The seventh Digest: Betty and Veronica Digest #1 releases!
-Archie releases its seventh Digest title: Betty and Veronica Digest #1 on November 1980.
-This Digest reprinted many Sabrina animated and Josie and the Pussycats stories.
-This is the third oldest of the Digests with 208 issues released.
-The last issue: Betty and Veronica Digest#208 appeared on October 2010.
-This Digest would end after 30 years.
-This Digest would continue as B & V Friends Digest which began in January 2011 and is still produced today.
-When this Digest was released it cost .95 cents.
November 1986- The eight Digest: Archie's Story & Game Digest #1 releases!
-Archie releases its eight Digest title: Archie's Story & Game Digest #1 on November 1986.
-This Digest included many puzzles, crosswords and other types of games along with stories from various characters.
-This is the seventh oldest of the Digests with 39 issues released.
-The last issue: Archie's Story & Game Digest #39 appeared on January 1998.
-This Digest would end after about 11 years.
-When this Digest was released it was about 128 pages and cost $1.25.
October 1987- The ninth Digest: The New Archies Digest #1 releases!
-Archie releases its ninth Digest title: The New Archies Digest#1 on October 1987.
-This is the ninth oldest of the Digests with 22 issues released.
-The last issue: The New Archies Digest #22 released on May 1990.
-This Digest chronicled the life of Archie and his friends and their challenges in junior high and reimagined the look of the characters we all know and love. Only lasting 22 issues, it is obvious that many fans may have preferred the classic Archie characters in high school as we all remember them from so many eras.
-This Digest would end after two and a half years.
-When this Digest was released it cost $1.35.
February 1997- The tenth Digest: Archie's Holiday Fun Digest releases!
-Archie releases its tenth Digest title:-Archie's Fun Holiday #1 on February 1997!
-This is the tenth oldest of the Digests with 12 issues released.
-Interesting to note is that this seems to be the only Digest title that was specifically created with a Holiday theme.
-The last issue: Archie's Holiday Fun Digest was released on December 2007.
-This Digest was usually released in time for the Holiday season.
-This Digest would end after 10 years.
-When this Digest was first released it cost $1.79.
June 2005- The eleventh Digest: Jughead and Friends Digest releases!
-Archie releases its eleventh Digest title: Jughead and Friends#1 on June 2005.
-This Digest reprinted many That Wilkin Boy stories, classic Jughead stories and others.
-This Digest probably replaced Jughead with Archie which ended with issue 200 in May 2005.
-This is the eight oldest of the Digests with 38 issues released.
-The last issue: Jughead and Friends Digest #38 appeared on July 2010.
-This Digest would end after about 5 years.
-When this Digest was released it cost about $2.39.
July 2005- The 12th and last Digest: Tales from Riverdale Digest releases!
-Archie releases its 12th and last Digest title: Tales from Riverdale#1 on July 2005.
-This Digest reprinted many Sabrina animated stories as well as stories from many different characters such as Cheryl Blossom, Betty and Veronica and others.
-This is the seventh oldest of the Digests with 39 issues released.
-The last issue: Tales from Riverdale #39 appeared on August 2010.
-This Digest would end after about 5 years.
-When this Digest was released it cost $2.39.
-This was the last Digest title released before these smaller digests were phased out at the end of 2010.
Late 2010- The 96 page Digest era comes to an end
In 2010 there were only four 96 page Digests available: Archie Digest, Betty and Veronica Digest, Jughead and Friends Digest and Tales from Riverdale Digest but these would all be phased out at the end of 2010 in favor of the more profitable 160 page Double Digests which would be the main types of Digests available at the end of 2010. Two of these Digests would continue into the Double Digest era: Archie Digest would continue as World of Archie Double Digest and Betty and Veronica Digest would continue as B & V Friends Double Digest, both of which are still produced today along with 4 other Digest titles.
October 2010- The last Digest is released and ends the Digest era after 37 years!
-The last Digest is released: Betty and Veronica Digest#208 on October 2010. No more 96 page Digests would be released as the main Digests now available would be the 160 page Double Digests.
(To read about the Double Digests that would continue after this timeline as well as the rebranding of the Digest line in May 2014 please check the following topic on the board at, archiecomicsfans.freeforums.net/thread/76/digest-history-1)
End of Digest Timeline