Veronica Lodge (Archie) channeling Bettie Page by Colleen Doran

This one has a long history. It goes back about five years when Archie Comics was trying to boost sales with what it called the "New Look Series". This was a series of stories that ran in the Archie Digests and were drawn in a more "realistic" comic style. I have two published pieces from this era by Norm Breyfogle, an artist most closely associated with Batman.

Anyway, Colleen Doran, who does a lot of creator-owned work, agreed to contribute to this series, but balked at certain aspects of the contract. When she tried crossing out those things before sending the signed contract back, they cut her loose. (She says she can take low pay or a bad contract, not both.)

By the time she was let go, she had already done a few preliminary sketches of the characters. She says she did Archie, Betty and Veronica. She couldn't find the Archie, but posted and auctioned off the Betty and Veronica pieces. This is the Veronica, who she drew basically like 1950s pin-up Queen Bettie Page.

But the story doesn't end there, oh no. After waiting a few days to see if I would also win the Betty piece (I didn't) I dutifully paid for this one and then waited for it to arrive. And waited. And waited. Eventually it reached the end of the expected arrival date (no tracking #), so I wrote to Ms. Doran. Much to her embarrassment, she had mailed it to the guy who won the Betty piece!

She got in touch with the guy and (just to show how much stuff *he* buys) he hadn't even realized he didn't win the Veronica! He just assumed it was his because it was in his package.

Anyway, he mailed it back to her and she mailed it out to me along with a *very* apologetic note and a free autographed print.

Alls well that ends well...