Monday, June 24, 2019

Terrific non-TV Toys: Betty and Veronica dolls by Playing Mantis, Part 1: Veronica

These girls know everything about fashion -- that girl-next-door Betty Cooper and the fabulously wealthy Veronica Lodge. And though they are rivals when it comes to both Archie and the latest fashion trend, they are friends through and through. That spirit is captured in a set of 11.5-inch fashion dolls released by Playing Mantis in 2000. There are three different versions for Betty and three for Veronica, and their delightful duds certainly do reflect the time period, as do all the wonderful outfits B&V wear in Archie Comics throughout the decades.

In part 1 of a two-parter on non-T3, we take a look at two of the Veronica versions (one was given away from BRB's collection -- she'll explain). Then, next month, you'll see the second part examining the three Betty dolls.

2 comments:

Wendy said...

I enjoyed this video so much! I'm 32 and so my era of Archie was more the small digest size that was popular in the mid-late '90s. I never had too many of the traditional Archie comics, though I always wished I could get all of the holiday Christmas specials -- I'm such a sucker for Christmas Archies!

"The Versace of Archie comics" -- this is so well put. Dan De Carlo is by far my favourite comic artist, and I agree, Betty and Veronica always looked dressed to perfection when Dan was drawing them. I was always so impressed with how he could depict the girls as truly sexy, but never trashy. They always somehow looked appropriate.

I loved the story about your niece, God bless you for parting with one of your dolls. She definitely chose the one I would have wanted. So fun that she's actually named after the character! I'm also named after a pop culture icon, but being named after a hamburger is much less glamourous than being named after a Lodge, lol!

I remember seeing these dolls advertised when I was young, but living in Canada, there wasn't many options for getting merch. Happily I DO have the Mattel Barbie versions of B&V that you mentioned, and they are so worth buying. I love that their face molds are very true to the comic art, and both are, of course, very fashionably dressed.

Betty is my favourite Archie gal, so I can't wait for the next video. And you looked splendid in your Riverdale jersey, btw! :)

P.S. Oh. My. Gosh. I had no idea bettyandveronica.com existed. The next hour will be spent convincing myself that I need NONE of this instead of ALL of it!

BRBTV.com said...

You do it, girl! Buy now, buy often!!! I got a couple of the comic-book-patterned dresses, along with a couple Veronica shirts for my niece. And thanks so much for the feedback! You are right about Dan DeCarlo -- sexy but not trashy. A fine line. :) Funny that you should mention the digests; I just read one for the first time in a long time on a plane trip home this past Sunday. So wonderful. Thanks for watching!