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With all the time spent looking for it throughout history, who would have thought the secret of eternal youth would be found in Riverdale? That's where it is, though, and Archie Andrews and his friends seem happy enough to keep that secret to themselves while sharing their trials, tribulations and milkshakes with generations of readers.

Founded in November 1939, the fledgling MLJ Magazines was named for its three founding partners, Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit and John Goldwater. After testing the waters of competition with their own superheroes in titles such as Blue Ribbon Comics, Top-Notch Comics and, in 1940, Pep Comics, they turned from supermen to an everyman.

In Pep Comics #22, surrounded by standard (albeit enjoyable) superhero fare, there was a six-page story featuring Archie Andrews and his friends. Not too long after that, in 1942, Archie made the leap to his own title. By May 1946, the company changed its name to Archie Publications. Archie was, one might correctly surmise, a hit. In the 60 years since, Archie has been featured in more than 30 different titles, on radio, and in cartoons, movies and TV shows. He's appeared in model kits, fan club kits, on cereal boxes, pinbacks, magazines, calendars, and other character collectibles. The comics even inspired the creation of The Archies, a pop group that scored a couple of hit records (like "Sugar, Sugar," originally intended for the Monkees!) and in turn inspired another cartoon interpretation of the characters.

Archie has spawned spin-offs like Josie & The Pussycats and Sabrina The Teenage Witch - he's even met The Punisher and lived to talk about it. What makes Archie particularly interesting, though, is that he really hasn't changed that much. Situations have been updated, but Archie remained basically untouched by the counter culture of the '60s, the "Me Generation" of the '70s or its better-dressed sequel, the '90s. In each case there were nods to the prevailing mores, but they were mainly of appearance in nature and not in substance. Archie was, and is, still what he was created to be - family entertainment.

The birth of the comic book specialty market, or direct market, precipitated a major decrease in the number of comics aimed at kids. Many publishers severely scaled back or flat out abandoned their efforts to cultivate the next generation of comics readers. Archie Publications, however, did not. They achieved the kind of cool you only get to be when you're not worried about whether you're cool or not. They produce family entertainment, they're good at it, and they stick with what works (or, more precisely, what their readers want).

"It's what we do best," said Archie's Victor Gorelick. "What's out there for young readers today? Not much in comics. We produce a product that parents are comfortable giving to their children. Archie Comics has entertained six generations of readers and hopefully will for another six."

Recent years have lead to some small but key successes for family fare such as Bone (from Cartoon Books), Akiko (from Sirius Entertainment), Amelia Rules! (from Renaissance Press) and a few other titles. These have been roundly celebrated for their all-ages accessibility, but even now few others seem to be willing to commit to Archie's level. The familiar characters-obnoxious Reggie, perpetually hungry Jughead, girl-next-door Betty, socialite Veronica and, of course, Archie-exist in the Rockwellian paradise of Riverdale, where the main concerns range from where to go on a big date to Betty & Veronica's perpetual rivalry over Archie.

A recent example of how the characters are frequently tweaked slightly can be found in the series Archie's Weird Mysteries, itself based on yet another cartoon incarnation of the gang. In this particular instance, it was sort of a Scooby Doo meets The X-Files take. Not surprisingly, the situations changed more than the characters.

Gorelick predicts his sixtieth anniversary as a headliner will be a big one for the not-so-young Mr. Andrews, and it's probably more than just another dodge to get out of doing his homework.

"We're developing live action Archie and Josie & the Pussycats singing groups, Archie, Betty and Veronica live action and/or animated movies, and Archie live or animated TV shows." There is also, he said, a possible theatrical musical production. But it's safe to predict that whether these particular ventures rise or fall, Archie will be Archie, and not much will change that.

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