Pep Comics #22 (MLJ, 1941) CGC GD 2.0 Off-white pages. It's the first appearance of Archie! And it's the first copy we've ever offered at Heritage despite selling 100,000 lots of Golden Age alone in our ten years of auctioning comics. This key book is currently ranked #23 on Overstreet's Top 100 Golden Age Books list, but so few copies change hands that we have a feeling this might pass the likes of More Fun #53 in the near future.
Of course, Archie's ascent from a brief backup feature to having a company renamed after him is a dramatic one that has no equal in the history of comics. Also making their first appearances were Jughead and Betty, both of whom had series named after them in years to come. The matter of who created Archie is a bit murky, but certainly Bob Montana was at the very least a contributor, and he drew this first story.
Being a backup feature, Archie did not make the cover, but we're treated to a pretty impressive cover in its own right, with the Shield and the Hangman taking on the jackboot of the Axis. Irv Novick cover art. Overstreet 2011 GD 2.0 value = $4,200. CGC census 4/12: 1 in 2.0, 5 higher.