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The Best of Archie: Christmas Comics
The Holidays come to Riverdale in this can't miss stocking-stuffer!Packed with 250+ pages of classic Christmas tales, this festive collection is sure to get you in the spirit! Filled with warmth and laughter, this collection has the most humorous and heartwarming holiday stories from the past eight decades. The Best of Archie series is back, and it will make the greatest gift of all!
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 20, 2020
14 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Archie Superstars
1,523 books50 followersTHE ARCHIE SUPERSTARS are the impressive line-up of talented writers and artists who have brought Archie, his friends and his world to life for more than 70 years, from legends such as Dan DeCarlo, Frank Doyle, Harry Lucey, and Bob Montana to recent greats like Dan Parent and Fernando Ruiz, and many more!
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 30, 2025
In a Nutshell: A collection of some of the best Christmas stories from Archies comics dating from the 1950s to the 2010s. A good option for those who want to enjoy the antics of Archie and gang with a festive flavour.
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This comics compilation collects some wonderful Christmas tales published in Archies comics over the years. Most of the stories are either humorous or heartwarming; sometimes, both.
The stories are arranged in chronological order, with the first section coming from the 1950s and the final one from the 2010s. I am not a big fan of the newer comics. (This is true not just for Archie’s, but for most long-term comics.) The present-day stories simply don’t have the same appeal as the strips from a few decades before. So it was great to a major chunk for the book coming from the comics between 1950 to 2000, with just a handful of stories being from this century.
This book offers an interesting opportunity to see the evolution of the art and the characters over the years. Or perhaps I should say, the evolution of the female characters. Archie, Reggie, Jughead and most of the male characters remain almost exactly the same in appearance as well as in clothing, irrespective of the story being from the 1950s or more modern. However, the girls don’t fare the same way. It is a bit sad to see how much more sexualised Betty’s & Veronica’s portrayal becomes over the years. I guess it is representative of actual times, so I can't really complain about the comics, but I can certainly moan about modern society.
Funnily, while the art has changed over the decades, the plotlines haven’t. Whether the first comic or the last one, the concerns of the characters are the same. Betty and Veronica have regular tussles over Archie; Archie can't make up his mind about which one to pick; Reggie is still as devious; Jughead, still as hungry. It was nice to see several secondary characters such as Mr. Weatherbee, Ms. Grundy, Mr. Lodge, Smithers, Moose, Midge, Dilton, and many more pop up in the stories. The Archies isn’t just about the main trio, and these secondary characters are in many ways more appealing.
The Christmas element unfortunately was somewhat a mixed bag. Most of the comics focus on the travails of the commercial aspects of Christmas such as gifts, Santas, Christmas trees, decorations, food, and clothes. Barely a couple of the comics mentioned anything more truly connected to the heart of the festival such as carols. Then again, this is what Christmas is to much of the US crowd, isn't it? Whether in books or in movies, all we see is the materialistic celebrations than the religious foundation of the big day. So again, I cannot castigate the book much for this. It’s only reflecting our pretentious society.
The similarity of the themes also means that there is a certain déjà vu that seeps into the book after some point. I enjoyed the first half or so thoroughly, but as I kept reading, the stories felt like rehashed versions of the same few plot points.
Overall, if we keep aside the limitations of the genre (and of the mass commercialisation rampant in Christmas festivities nowadays), the comics do deliver as per their purpose and offer enough entertainment. Many of the stories, despite the repetitiveness of the themes and the outdatedness of some plotlines, will make fans chuckle. As a collection of Archies comics of Christmas time, the book delivers exactly what it promises.
Recommended to fans of Archie comics. This will make a good gifting option as well.
3.5 stars.
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Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This comics compilation collects some wonderful Christmas tales published in Archies comics over the years. Most of the stories are either humorous or heartwarming; sometimes, both.
The stories are arranged in chronological order, with the first section coming from the 1950s and the final one from the 2010s. I am not a big fan of the newer comics. (This is true not just for Archie’s, but for most long-term comics.) The present-day stories simply don’t have the same appeal as the strips from a few decades before. So it was great to a major chunk for the book coming from the comics between 1950 to 2000, with just a handful of stories being from this century.
This book offers an interesting opportunity to see the evolution of the art and the characters over the years. Or perhaps I should say, the evolution of the female characters. Archie, Reggie, Jughead and most of the male characters remain almost exactly the same in appearance as well as in clothing, irrespective of the story being from the 1950s or more modern. However, the girls don’t fare the same way. It is a bit sad to see how much more sexualised Betty’s & Veronica’s portrayal becomes over the years. I guess it is representative of actual times, so I can't really complain about the comics, but I can certainly moan about modern society.
Funnily, while the art has changed over the decades, the plotlines haven’t. Whether the first comic or the last one, the concerns of the characters are the same. Betty and Veronica have regular tussles over Archie; Archie can't make up his mind about which one to pick; Reggie is still as devious; Jughead, still as hungry. It was nice to see several secondary characters such as Mr. Weatherbee, Ms. Grundy, Mr. Lodge, Smithers, Moose, Midge, Dilton, and many more pop up in the stories. The Archies isn’t just about the main trio, and these secondary characters are in many ways more appealing.
The Christmas element unfortunately was somewhat a mixed bag. Most of the comics focus on the travails of the commercial aspects of Christmas such as gifts, Santas, Christmas trees, decorations, food, and clothes. Barely a couple of the comics mentioned anything more truly connected to the heart of the festival such as carols. Then again, this is what Christmas is to much of the US crowd, isn't it? Whether in books or in movies, all we see is the materialistic celebrations than the religious foundation of the big day. So again, I cannot castigate the book much for this. It’s only reflecting our pretentious society.
The similarity of the themes also means that there is a certain déjà vu that seeps into the book after some point. I enjoyed the first half or so thoroughly, but as I kept reading, the stories felt like rehashed versions of the same few plot points.
Overall, if we keep aside the limitations of the genre (and of the mass commercialisation rampant in Christmas festivities nowadays), the comics do deliver as per their purpose and offer enough entertainment. Many of the stories, despite the repetitiveness of the themes and the outdatedness of some plotlines, will make fans chuckle. As a collection of Archies comics of Christmas time, the book delivers exactly what it promises.
Recommended to fans of Archie comics. This will make a good gifting option as well.
3.5 stars.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||
December 17, 2020
I love Archie’s Christmas stories!
December 30, 2020
Amazing collection! I’ve read a ton of Archie Digest sized stuff over the years. My favorite comics are always the holiday ones (Halloween and Christmas specifically). This collection is by far the best I’ve read. There’s a bunch of stuff here and it’s all good. Definitely recommend!
October 23, 2020
Pretty good selection of holiday stories, but have to admit that the newer stories aren't quite as funny as the older ones.
January 8, 2021
added to my collection of old Archie comics handed down by my mom.
July 7, 2021
Awesome! This collection contains marvy tales that are destined to fire up Christmas spirit in one. Must read!
January 1, 2022
Deeply cute, dated in the best way, and surprisingly NOT as repetitive as you'd think. Archie Christmas is as American as apple pie.
November 30, 2022
Archie and the gang spreading the holiday cheer, lots of tree mishaps, lots of Veronica snobbery, not enough Jughead eating.
December 31, 2022
4.8/5
A compilation of Christmas comics from different decades. It was a fun and an enjoyable read.
A compilation of Christmas comics from different decades. It was a fun and an enjoyable read.
December 26, 2024
I always get one every Christmas 🎄 I love Archie Comics
December 31, 2024
It was really fun and festive. I wish I had a physical copy.
The only thing that bothered me was that they confused mistletoe with holly a few times...
The only thing that bothered me was that they confused mistletoe with holly a few times...
December 17, 2025
So many memories while reading this comic collection. I received Archie comic books in my stockings at Christmas. Such good times.
January 1, 2023
I mean, c’mon. You gotta love it. They were very of their time though, of course.
January 6, 2022
I like Archie comics.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews