''Archie's Mad House'' (sometimes rendered as ''Archie's Madhouse'') was a
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
magazine published by
Archie Comics
Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.[digest
Digest may refer to:
Biology
*Digestion of food
*Restriction digest
Literature and publications
*''The Digest'', formerly the English and Empire Digest
*Digest size magazine format
* ''Digest'' (Roman law), also known as ''Pandects'', a digest ...]
magazines.
History
The first 18 issues featured the "Archie gang" in stories that were a bit more "off the wall" than the normal Archie series. The idea was to produce stories that made no sense. The title ''Mad House'' was written as two words instead of one to suggest a false connection to ''
MAD Magazine
Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to:
Geography
* Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia
* Mád, a village in Hungary
* Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code
* Mad River (disambiguation), several r ...
'' and recapture its success. Beginning with issue 19, the Archie gang was dropped (though it was still called ''Archie's Mad House''), and the title began featuring monsters, space stories and other wacky short stories. The gags in the comics often parodied the latest
fads
A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period.
Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve short- ...
and
popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
. For a time, it would focus on stories with what were intended to be one-off characters. There were, however, exceptions to this rule. Characters becoming popular enough would appear again.
Perhaps the most noteworthy installment was issue 22 when
''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' was introduced, with art by Archie mainstay
Dan DeCarlo. This issue has become one of the most sought after Archie issues of the Silver Age. Sabrina began making intermittent appearances through issue 74, and then transitioned over to other titles, such as ''
Archie's TV Laugh-Out
''Archie's TV Laugh-Out'' was a comic book published by Archie Comics from 1969 to 1986. Sabrina the Teenage Witch appears in all 106 issues, and this title served as a transition for her from ''Archie's Mad House'' to her own title. The first issu ...
'' and her own ''Sabrina'' title. Other recurring characters included a bungling but victorious superhero named Captain Sprocket and a hippie named Clyde Didit (occasionally spelled Diddit) who served as a mascot for a while.
Shortly before Sabrina's departure, the title began a series of name changes, morphing into ''Madhouse Ma-ad Jokes'', ''Madhouse Ma-ad Freakout'', and ''Madhouse Glads''.
Issues #95-97 were published under the
Red Circle Comics Group logo and published horror. It was renamed ''Madhouse Comics'' for issue #98-130 and returned to humor. The ''Madhouse Glads'' run introduced yet another "gang" into the Archie universe, but much like the "gang" introduced in ''
That Wilkin Boy
''That Wilkin Boy'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about a teenage boy, Bingo Wilkin, who lives in Midville, next door to his girlfriend, Samantha Smythe. ''That Wilkin Boy'' debuted with issue 1 dated January 1969 (so it was on ...
'' several years earlier, the "Madhouse Glads" gang never caught on with fans like the Josie gang did. ''Madhouse'' then returned to the series' irregular, nonsensical style before finally being discontinued.
The Madhouse Glads
In the late 1960s, the comic went through a major overhaul due to the impact of
hippie
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
s,
mod
Mod, MOD or mods may refer to:
Places
* Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band
* M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...
s and
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
on popular culture. Clyde Didit, originally a mascot, and occasionally in featuring within the comics, originally had unkempt brown hair and sunglasses, though he also appeared in ''
Josie'' for a few issues with an orange Afro. The series was renamed ''Mad House Ma-ad'' starting with issue #66. At this point, Clyde and his friends took over the series, and it became more the typical style of that ''Archie'' used in the early 1970s. Thus, many stories focused more on adventure than humor, with a somewhat more serious tone.
Clyde was given a more clean-cut appearance and black hair. He and his gang continued into ''Mad House Glads'' (which started with Issue #73). At this time, Clyde and three his brothers Dippy Didit (orange hair), Dick Didit (brown hair) and Dan Didit (blonde hair) had a teenaged band called the Madhouse Glads (originally called the Madhouse Ma-ads), which somewhat resembled
The Monkees. Clyde played the drums, while the other three each played a guitar. Other characters included the brothers' frustrated father Mr. Didit; a narcissistic, fashion-obsessed mod known as Rod "the Mod" Roman; Bippy the Hippie, a weird, freaked-out hippie; the band's crazed groupie, Fran the Fan, who dated both Clyde and Rod; and Fran's blonde friend Annette. As the series progressed, Dippy and Dan were relegated to supporting roles, while Fran and Rod grew in prominence. Dick, however, being Clyde's best friend, remained as involved in the storylines as ever until the gang was dropped from the series.
Publication history
* ''Archie's Madhouse'' (66 issues, 1959-69)
* ''Mad House Ma-ad Jokes'' (4 issues, 1969)
* ''Madhouse Ma-ad Freakout'' (2 issues, 1969-70)
* ''Madhouse Glads'' (22 issues, 1970-74)
* ''Madhouse'' (36 issues, 1974-82)
* ''Archie's Madhouse Annual'' (6 issues, 1962-69)
* ''Madhouse Ma-ad Annual'' (1 issues, 1969)
* ''Mad House Annual'' (5 issues, 1970-74)
* ''Madhouse Comics Digest'' (8 issues, 1975-82)
References
{{Archie Comics titles, Archie's Mad House
Archie Comics titles
Comics magazines published in the United States
1959 comics debuts
1982 comics endings
Magazines established in 1959
Magazines disestablished in 1982
Teen comedy comics
Romantic comedy comics
Defunct magazines published in the United States