{"id":333,"date":"2019-03-11T10:00:06","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T14:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/?p=333"},"modified":"2019-03-10T13:47:45","modified_gmt":"2019-03-10T17:47:45","slug":"cheryl-blossom-too-liberated-for-riverdale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2019\/03\/11\/cheryl-blossom-too-liberated-for-riverdale\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheryl Blossom: Too “Liberated” for Riverdale"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fan\u2019s of the CW\u2019s <\/span>Riverdale <\/span><\/i>know Cheryl Blossom as the unscrupulous rich girl with serious fashion sense who lives by her own moral code. But many viewers might not know that Cheryl has a longer history in the Archieverse than her latest TV incarnation. <\/span>Cheryl Blossom <\/span><\/i>\u00a0#1 (Archie Comics, December 2018) invites us to remedy that knowledge gap by highlighting some of Cheryl’s earliest appearances in Archie Comics.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\"gif\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

But if you’re hoping for the gothy debutante of the series, you’re in for a bit of a surprise. Cheryl Blossom and her twin brother Jason were introduced in 1982 to unsettle the dynamics of the sleepy town of Riverdale. Private school kids with more money than is good for them, the twins are amoral and provocative. In the episode “Dare to be Bare” in\u00a0Betty and Veronica <\/em>#320, Cheryl and Jason flaunt their privilege on the local beach. Cheryl sports a racier bikini than Betty and Veronica would dare, and Jason tries to hide a beer in a soda can sleeve. Cheryl attempts to doff her top to make Riverdale beach more like the south of France. Both Cheryl and Jason get busted by the beach patrol and are escorted away.<\/p>\r\n\"Image<\/a>\r\n

In the comics, Cheryl and Jason act as foils to the more conventional Riverdale teens. Unlike in the series, which is known for its edgy, Twin Peaks-ish noir melodrama, the original Archie comics were undeniably conservative. The Cheryl and Jason episodes collected in\u00a0Cheryl Blossom\u00a0<\/em>#1 all use the rich, spoiled twins to underscore the dangers of violating community taboos. It might be going a bit far to say they act as trickster figures in the staid world of the comics Riverdale, but their transgressions always hold a moral for the other kids. Cheryl’s humiliations at the end of each episode are met with bafflement by the other teens: “I just cant figure those two,” says Veronica at the end of “Dare to be Bare.”<\/p>\r\n

This Reagan-era conservatism is underscored by the response of authority figures in the comic to Cheryl’s shenanigans. The beach cop who drags Cheryl off describes her as “A liberal trying to liberate more than the law allows!” who “Tried to make this a topless beach!”<\/p>\r\n\"Two\r\n

Cheryl’s transgressions on Riverdale<\/i>, while occasionally shocking, don’t produce the kind of corrective moral outrage as her early comics appearances. But TV Riverdale is a darker, stranger place than the Riverdale of the 1980s, which makes for richer character development for this bad girl than the comics allowed.<\/p>\r\n

Cheryl Blossom #1\u00a0<\/em>collects four stories from 1982 and 1983 that originally appeared in\u00a0Betty and Veronica\u00a0<\/em>#s 320 and 322,\u00a0Archie\u00a0<\/em>#323, and\u00a0Archie’s T.V. Laugh Out\u00a0<\/em>#91. You can also catch the Blossom twins in their own horror spinoff\u00a0Blossoms<\/em> 666<\/em>, which debuted in January 2019.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fan\u2019s of the CW\u2019s Riverdale know Cheryl Blossom as the unscrupulous rich girl with serious fashion sense who lives by her own moral code. But many viewers might not know that Cheryl has a longer history in the Archieverse than her latest TV incarnation. Cheryl Blossom \u00a0#1 (Archie Comics, December 2018) invites us to remedy… Read more »<\/a>","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,4],"tags":[40,41,42,39],"class_list":["post-333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-closer","category-reviews","tag-archie-comics","tag-cheryl-blossom","tag-conservatism-in-comics","tag-riverdale"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9noXX-5n","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":781,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2023\/09\/08\/join-us-for-an-archie-comics-research-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":333,"position":0},"title":"Join us for an Archie Comics Research Day!","author":"John","date":"September 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Please join us on Wednesday, November 8, from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., in Willis Library 130, for an \u201cInto the Archieverse\u201d Research Day! In anticipation of the 2024 \u201cInto the Archieverse\u201d virtual conference, sponsored by the Digital Cultural Studies Cooperative, the UNT Libraries would like to share some of our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics Events"","block_context":{"text":"Comics Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/comics-events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Banner for the World of Archie Comics Archive database, featuring covers from historic issues of Archie comics.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/09\/Archie-Comics_banner.jpg?fit=791%2C284&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/09\/Archie-Comics_banner.jpg?fit=791%2C284&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/09\/Archie-Comics_banner.jpg?fit=791%2C284&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/09\/Archie-Comics_banner.jpg?fit=791%2C284&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":723,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2023\/07\/07\/exciting-developments-in-comics-studies-at-unt-libraries\/","url_meta":{"origin":333,"position":1},"title":"Exciting developments in Comics Studies at UNT Libraries","author":"John","date":"July 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 As of this Summer 2023, \"Comics Studies\" is now an official subject area in the UNT Libraries Public Services division, and John Martin has been designated as the subject librarian for comics studies. In addition to providing research, reference, and instructional support for patrons and courses at UNT, subject\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics in the library"","block_context":{"text":"Comics in the library","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/libraries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/07\/Archie-archive-1.png?fit=747%2C449&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/07\/Archie-archive-1.png?fit=747%2C449&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/07\/Archie-archive-1.png?fit=747%2C449&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/07\/Archie-archive-1.png?fit=747%2C449&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":827,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2024\/08\/15\/whats-happening-with-comics-studies-at-unt\/","url_meta":{"origin":333,"position":2},"title":"What’s happening with Comics Studies at UNT?","author":"John","date":"August 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome back, everyone, to the Fall 2024 semester and a new year of school, work, and Comics Studies at UNT! We've got lots of updates on our Comics Studies initiative and other comics-related events and activities happening at UNT. Over the last two years, our Comics Studies community has grown\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics Events"","block_context":{"text":"Comics Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/comics-events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/08\/Comic-Studies-Blog_F17_Event-Banner.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/08\/Comic-Studies-Blog_F17_Event-Banner.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/08\/Comic-Studies-Blog_F17_Event-Banner.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/08\/Comic-Studies-Blog_F17_Event-Banner.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":413,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2019\/12\/19\/comics-studies-happenings-fall-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":333,"position":3},"title":"Comics Studies Happenings, Fall 2019","author":"John","date":"December 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This Fall has been a busy one for many of our Comics Studies Reading Group members, who have been reading, teaching, reviewing, and writing about comics and graphic novels, among other things. So I thought this would be a great time to share some of the interesting work they\u2019re doing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics Reading Group"","block_context":{"text":"Comics Reading Group","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/comics-reading-group\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover of We3 Trade Paperback","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/We3_Trade_Paperback-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":630,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2021\/09\/02\/comics-studies-reading-group-fall-2021\/","url_meta":{"origin":333,"position":4},"title":"Comics Studies Reading Group-Fall 2021","author":"John","date":"September 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"For our first Comics Studies Reading Group meeting this Fall, we'll be reading Mariko Tamaki & Steve Pugh's multiple Eisner Award-winning graphic novel, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (2019). For fans of Harley,\u00a0Birds of Prey, or the recent\u00a0Suicide Squad films, this book offers a unique take on the coming-of-age story and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Comics Reading Group"","block_context":{"text":"Comics Reading Group","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/comics-reading-group\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover of Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki & Steve Pugh. Show's Harley in skater-punk gear leaping in the air with a baseball bat.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2021\/09\/harley-e1630615447855.jpg?fit=1200%2C1085&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2021\/09\/harley-e1630615447855.jpg?fit=1200%2C1085&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2021\/09\/harley-e1630615447855.jpg?fit=1200%2C1085&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2021\/09\/harley-e1630615447855.jpg?fit=1200%2C1085&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2021\/09\/harley-e1630615447855.jpg?fit=1200%2C1085&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":444,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/2020\/05\/25\/comics-in-the-time-of-covid\/","url_meta":{"origin":333,"position":5},"title":"Comics in the Time of COVID","author":"John","date":"May 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"At our recent Comics Studies Reading Group virtual meeting, we asked the question, \u201cWhat comics are getting you through the pandemic and why?\u201d. Some of the group\u2019s responses are shared below.","rel":"","context":"In "Comics in the library"","block_context":{"text":"Comics in the library","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/category\/libraries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/05\/bttm-fdrs.jpg?fit=247%2C204&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":337,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333\/revisions\/337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/comics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}