Here (in alphabetical order) are some summaries from the original stories at the beginning of each comic book digest:
ARCHIE COMICS DOUBLE DIGEST #267: This first story is "Mess Code," featuring story & pencils by Fernando Ruiz, inks by Bob Smith, colors by Glenn Whitmore, and letters by Jack Morelli.
I know that I'll get in trouble for over-thinking this one, but I guess I'll go there. Mr. Weatherbee flips out when he sees a handful of kids wearing torn and dirty clothing. So, with the flick of his secretary's pen, he institutes a dress code for Riverdale High School. Basically, dresses and suits all around.
Of course, several of the kids -- including Archie and Jughead -- can't afford to meet the school's dress code and neither can their parents. So now the kids are scrambling to find additional part-time jobs in order to afford their new dress clothes. Overall, this wasn't my favorite Archie Comics story...
JUGHEAD AND ARCHIE SPRING ANNUAL #20: I enjoyed "Paws For Effect" much more. This story featured Archie and Jughead, along with their four-legged friends Vegas and Hot Dog. Archie has been spending his free-time lately bonding with his dog and teaching him a special new trick!
Some kid ends up recording Vegas' new trick and posts the video on Eyetube. Literally within seconds, the video goes viral and Archie finds himself the focus of hordes of new fans... and each of them wants a piece of Riverdale's newest online celebrities! It turns out that this was all a set-up by Riverdale's master-trickster -- for reasons that still don't quite make a lot of sense to me. But I still enjoyed this story!
"Paws For Effect" featured writing by Adrian Ropp, pencils by Bill Galvan, inks by Jim Amash, letters by Jack Morelli, and colors by Glenn Whitmore.
WORLD OF ARCHIE COMICS DOUBLE DIGEST #58: Lastly, we have "Thrills & Chills," featuring story by James Gartler, pencils by Fernando Ruiz, inks by Bob Smith, colors by Glenn Whitmore, and letters by Jack Morelli.
This story features a chance encounter between Betty & Veronica and Mrs. Andrews. Mrs. Andrews is at the end of her wits. Archie and Mr. Andrews took off for an afternoon of fishing, leaving her with a house that's full of dirty laundry -- and she would rather be outside having fun! The girls take pity on Archie's mom and treat her to a day at the amusement park. This proves to be a fun and exciting adventure for all. Plus, the girls pitch in and help Mrs. Andrews finish the laundry before the end of the story!
Leave it to me to pick up on the trivial when reading this story. Of course, everyone is noticing the coveted "Red Head Fred" doll at this ring-toss game, but I can't help noticing the Super Duck and Squoimy the Woim dolls hanging next to Red Head Fred! I love these classic MLJ characters and wish that they showed up more often!
(Speaking of which, I have a great short story featuring Betty, Veronica, and Squoimy the Woim bouncing around in my head. So if anyone from Archie Comics wants to hear it, I'd love to pitch it! Just saying...)