BusTalk

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All:

As a long-time fan of "Archie" (also, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, and Hot Dog!) I've long been accustomed to seeing buses of various types in both the comic book* stories, as well as the old "Archie" TV show of the late 1960's (I have the complete series on dvd!)

While a number of these buses are of the "generic comic book" variety, there are also those that, clearly, were inspired by real-life buses.

I've seen buses in the "Archie" stories that were clearly inspired by GMC "Buffalos" and various MCI series.

One old story had Betty's dad (Hal Cooper) chasing after a Fishbowl, after he got off work late!

A 1960's story had Archie and his gang on a class trip; the bus was obviously inspired by a CROWN of that era.

There were also several spots in the old late-60's "Archie" TV show where a bus (of some sort) could be seen.

(On a sidenote, in a reprint of a circa-1950 story, Riverdale High hosts a trip up the Hudson on the DAY LINE, aboard the "PETER STUYVESANT"!).......

"NYO"

*Not surprisingly, Your's Truly has quite a few of of these timeless comics on hand; one can never tire of the misadventures of "Archie's Pals 'n Gals"!

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....one (circa-1980's) "Betty & Veronica" story had the girls getting ready to go to the mall (Veronica was prepared to "overheat" her credit cards, in honor of a huge, mall-wide blowout sale!), when Veronica discovered that her new sports car was out of gas, and her billionaire dad (Mr. Hiram Lodge) was using the limo.

What do do?

"Ol' Betty-to-the-rescue" tells Veronica that it's no big deal, they can take the bus! (up to this moment, the only buses Veronica has ridden in were either school buses, or chartered buses on class trips)

"The BUS?!?!" Veronica cries "That's OK for common people, I guess."

Betty retorts, "Well, Ron, I'M a 'common person', and I see NO problem in taking the bus!"

Betty, of course, paid both their fares (the smallest bill Veronica had on her was a hundred!), and, as she told Betty, "RICH people don't have to carry coins!"

Once aboard (the bus looked like a "stylized" Flex New Look), though, Veronica thought that "it was kind of fun to see how 'the other half lived' "; she even got a kick out of pulling the buzzer cord when it was time to alight!

Of course, Veronica's first ride on a city bus set her "spoiled little rich girl's" mind to working overtime, and she began to daydream of owning her own luxurious, custom-outfitted bus, basically, a mega-megabucks "rolling mansion"!

"NYO"

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In another "Archie" story, Betty and Veronica notice an ad on the side of a Riverdale bus, for "The Ochre Wintry Show", and that gets them going to get tickets to the show.........

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One "Archie" story (late 1960's) truly reflects the long-ago era when most city buses still ran on frequent headways.

Principle ("The Bee") Weatherbee, when it's time to leave for the day, finds that his car won't start, and he'll have to take the bus home.

"Oh, well, it won't be so bad," Mr. Weatherbee muses, "I know the buses run every few minutes, so it won't take long to get home."

Clearly, this is NOT a RECENT story!!!!!!!!!!!!

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This one (for quite obvious reasons!) was too good NOT to post here......

https://www.deviantart.com/mcspyder1/art/Riverdale-Unified-School-District-Bus-564292086

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.....after a long day at the office, I wonder if Betty Cooper's dad "Hal" was going to board this bus, destination "Riverdale"......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?153716

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

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Veteran Riverdale High schoolteacher Miss Geraldine Grundy, after listening to her class stressing to their peers, the importance of owning their own "wheels", admonished them thusly:

"In MY day, class, not many students had their own automobiles, you know; we either walked to school OR, we took the BUS or the TROLLEY."

Veronica:

"The 'trolley'? How quaint!"

Reggie (thinking to himself):

"Man, Miss Grundy must be a LOT older than I thought, if she can remember trolleys!"

Ahhh, youth!

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....perhaps a young Miss Grundy was aboard this trolley......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?116439

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

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In an "Archie" story from 2008, the harried Mr. Weatherbee decides to "get away from it all" on his summer vacation, by traveling to a VERY remote tropical "resort", on the island of "Boola-Boola".

Journeying first via jet airliner and, later, a rickety, ancient biplane, he then boards (for the next stage of his extended, surprise-filled journey) an elderly, battered 1930's "jitney" bus!

Even though "The Bee" has a second-class ticket, the driver informs him that he has to ride with the crates of chickens at the rear of the beat-up, rattletrap bus, even though he's the ONLY passenger!

What a surprise to find (after FINALLY reaching his lush destination) that several of the staff from Riverdale High ALSO had the SAME idea for a "remote tropical getaway"!

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One "Archie" story from 2012 ends with a sarcastic, sleazy music critic having to leave town, showing him at the Riverdale Bus Terminal, about to board a GREYHOUND bus.

The bus is QUITE stylized and generic, featuring forward-slanting windows, and no running dog on the side(!!)

(Guess the "Archie" artists were allowed to use the Greyhound NAME, but NOT the "running dog" itself!)

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By far the BEST bus-related "Archie" story has Jughead reading aloud (to Archie, while riding aboard a city bus) about the bus fare going to 25 cents (he's reading from a 30 year old newspaper he found in his attic!)

Needless to say, the passengers begin insisting to the driver that there has been a fare cut, and the fare is now 25 cents; this driver, totally perplexed, goes to the head dispatcher of the company to find out what's going on!

The head dispatcher at the depot now thinks he lost an important memo from his superior, and does not want him to discover his "boondoggle"(!!)

The dispatcher then orders his assistant to "Have the sign shop print up "25 cent fare" signs, and also, have the fare boxes retooled!

This now gets the attention of local news reporters, the Mayor of Riverdale, and the US Secretary of Transportation!

Ahhh, if only this could happen in REAL life......

"NYO"

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I also recall a late 1970's/early 1980's "ARCHIE" story where Archie's class took their senior trip up to Canada, riding on what was clearly a GM "Buffalo"......

"NYO"