I'd hate me, too.

Veronica Lodge has the sassy, rich vixen role on lock most of the time, but whenever bombshell Cheryl Blossom sashays into Riverdale, it is Game Over. Even worse for Miss Lodge’s considerable ego, Cheryl knows she is hot with her red hair, dangerous curves, and short skirts — and she flaunts her assets with no apology. It’s quite a feat to make Betty and Veronica look plain.

Loving Betty (and I do) is politically correct, but Cheryl is really my favorite Archie Comics female character. She’s a brash bad girl, and something about that always appealed to me as a reserved type who wore Keds instead of Candie’s (the “fast girl” shoes of the late ’70s and early ’80s).

Plenty went over my head when I was in elementary school, but looking back, I’m struck by what a sexual character Cheryl is in the relatively tame Archie universe. I mean, in her very first comics appearance, she comes thisclose to taking off the top half of her tiny bikini on a public beach — just for kicks! This sends poor Betty into a hyperventilating panic. Continue reading →