World’s oldest teenager celebrates his 75th birthday

It’s not the first time he has been asked, nor will it be the last.

When Archie Comics artist and writer Dan Parent travels to expos, someone will inevitably expect him to resolve an issue that has haunted Archie Andrews for 75 years.

Who does he prefer? Betty or Veronica? The kind-hearted blond or the snobby rich girl?

“I tell them Veronica,” says Parent. “I’ve always been a Veronica guy. I’m in the minority, most people like Betty. From a creator standpoint, when you are writing and drawing stories, the slightly more villainous characters are slightly more interesting. I think that hooks me in.”

It’s an obvious question for anyone who has spent decades creating the romantic and comedic adventures for our terminally teenage red-haired hero, but is particularly relevant to Parent. Among his more notable achievements in the nearly 30 years he has written and drawn for Archie Comics is the fourissue Love Showdown series in 1994, which helped bring the gang from Riverdale international attention with the promise Archie would finally choose between the two girls.

In case you’ve forgotten, Archie chose neither. Parent wanted to bring back a minor character named Cheryl Blossom, so had his hero choose her. Briefly.

It was just one of the milestones for the comic series. Archie first appeared on the scene in late 1941, which means he has been around longer than Spider-Man and the Hulk. While it may not seem like it, Archie has gone through a number of incarnations over the decades. Some of them have been odd.

He was a right-leaning Christian in the 1970s, battled the undead in 2013, lived in the Year 3000, explored outer space, was a high-tech spy and even got married.

But 2015 marked one of the more drastic changes in Riverdale, when the publisher announced Archie No. 1. It was a complete rebirth of the character, with a new look designed by Canadian artist Fiona Staples.

There is a big push ongoing to celebrate the character’s 75th year, a campaign that has also included a TV pilot for the CW, a planned animated series and a clothing line.

Meanwhile, Parent will continue to work on the classic Archie comics.

“He’s ingrained in people’s consciousness,” he says. “At this point, at least here in the States, Archie is really a part of Americana. For 75 years he’s been around. He’s like Superman, Batman — one of those characters who has spanned so many generations. Everybody has somebody they can relate to in Riverdale.”