If you read enough Archie stories, patterns emerge. Not just the obvious things like Archie mistakenly taking both Betty and Veronica on dates on the same night or Hiram Lodge getting Smithers to kick Archie to the curb, but lesser-known sub-categories like Jughead’s effortless mastery of various sports, Archie accidentally pulling women out of the water with a fishing line and the Riverdale gang’s obsession with Real Dolls.

One of my favourite types is the prop gag, where an incongruous object is introduced to Riverdale, like a giant baloon or, in this case, a birdcage strapped to Archie’s head. Lullaby Of Birdbrain, a five-pager drawn by Harry Lucey (?), is one of the more surprising examples of this story, if only because it plays against expectations.

It’s as if everyone has grown so used to Archie wandering around with something attached to his head that it isn’t even a thing anymore. Mr. Weatherbee finally gives up. Archie has enough savvy to use the birdcage against Reggie. And in a surprising finale, Reggie comes out on top.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at 5:21 pm and is filed under Archie, La Cage aux Folles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.