Archie, Betty and Veronica Bring Comic Relief to San BernardinoSB Sun: October 6, 2009 by John Weeks
My favorite souvenir from San Bernardino's recent Stater Bros. Route 66 Rendezvous is a comic book.
It's not just any comic book. It's an Archie comic book.
And it's not just any Archie comic book. It's the current issue of "Betty & Veronica Digest," which features a cover story titled "Route 66 Here We Come," in which Archie and his pals leave their fictional home in Riverdale and head West to visit San Bernardino.
When they get here, lots of good things happen. They meet Mayor Pat Morris, who sports an aloha shirt and greets visitors with a friendly smile. "Welcome, everyone, to San Bernardino!" he says.
Betty and Veronica, along with Veronica's parents, attend the Rendezvous and are amazed at the sights and sounds of the city's summer spectacular. Betty is so inspired, she suggests to Veronica's rich dad, Hiram Lodge, that he develop a similar cruise event featuring the new wave of electric, hybrid and alternative-energy cars.
Meanwhile, Archie and his friend Chuck, a cartoonist, head to the Norman F. Feldheym Central Library where they meet real-life cartoonist Phil Yeh and library staffer Linda Adams, who are collaborating on a mural painting project to promote literacy.
It's a great story. It's entertaining to see the interaction between real and cartoon characters.
Mayor Morris is real. Linda Adams is real. Phil Yeh is real.
Yeh, in fact, is the real star of the story, in more ways than one. The Running Springs artist is founder of Cartoonists Across America, a non-profit literacy and arts advocacy organization that particularly targets young people.
Yeh also has many friends in the cartoon world, including longtime Archie writer George Gladir. That's the connection that explains San Bernardino's starring role in the new "Betty & Veronica Digest" tale, written by Gladir, an Escondido resident. READ MORE !
