Veronica in Japan #3 (1989) 

Writer – Kathleen Webb 

Artist – Dan Parent 

This past Giftmas, I got a really nice collection of old comic books and a Goldberg mini truck from fellow Avocado Lumbergini. A promise I made back in December was that I would use the stack of books I received as the basis for future reviews here at the site. A piece of advice I live by is “make few promises but keep them all.” I decided to pull out one book to read with my coffee on Saturday morning July 27^th and went with Veronica in Japan #3. 

I ended up pulling this old comic out of its plastic wrapper and gave it a smell before sitting down to read it. Nothing like the smell of old books or comics to really take you back to the past. 

Veronica accompanies her father to Japan on a business trip to get away from the “dullness of Riverdale.” He is in the middle of high-stakes negotiations with Saito Corporation for robots to put in his factories to help the staff with their daily work routines and production schedules. Since Mr. Lodge will be busy, Veronica is introduced to Rob Duron, a technician at the corporation and Veronica’s escort on her daily travels. They immediately take an instant dislike to each other and Veronica does all she can to drive Rob away, to no avail.  What these teens don’t know is that industrial spies are on their tail to try and sabotage Mr. Lodge’s hard work and get the specs on the automatons for their bosses. 

Growing up, you could find Archie comics at bookstores and their double digests at the checkout lane at the grocery store. I remember my Mom buying a digest for me and taking it with me to read on the school bus to elementary school. It would fit in the pocket of my backpack perfectly. I also remember getting a copy of Laugh from my uncle for my birthday – the cover was a spoof of Phantom of the Opera with Archie as the man behind the mask. 

What I really enjoyed was the facts about the tourist destinations in Japan while Rob and Veronica go on their daily sight-seeing tours. Remember when adults would say comic book would rot your brain? Well, this issue is a perfect example of teaching kids about a different country without them knowing it. Did you know that the Tokyo Tower is higher than the Eiffel Tower by thirty-three meters? How about Todaiji Temple housing a fifty-three-foot bronze statue of Buddha, weighing in at 452 tons? These are just two of the awesome and amazing tidbits I learned while reading along. If a little kid read this story, I’m sure they would want to learn more about Japan. At 42 years old, I’d love to read more about the country! 

This issue reminded me of those special episodes of sitcoms where the main characters would travel to a different country and get in over their head some way or another. I’m looking at you The Facts of Life Goes to Paris and Saved by the Bell Hawaiian Style! 

Looking back at this issue after reading it, who knew a Veronica comic could have romance, action, and intrigue in only 20 pages? FOR ONLY 95 CENTS! 

Next time I go dollar bin diving, I will have to see if there are any 80s era Archie comics are up for grabs. 

The classic ads in this issue are for Honeycomb Cereal, Sales Leadership Club, Cocoa and Fruity Pebbles, and Mr. Bubble. There are also some pinups featuring Veronica and a one page Say No to Drugs Ad. 

I’d like to once again personally thanks Lumbergini for their thoughtful Giftmas presents. You did a great job on the comics you sent me and I can’t wait to read and review them in the near future!