In "Twelve-Cent Archie", Bart Beaty examines a limited run of the "Archie" comics from the 1960s in order to counter the trend in comics studies that favors auteurism. Further, rather than order his book into regular chapters, he uses a multitude of short, 1-3 page chapter breaks in order to replicate the story length of the "Archie" comics. In this way, he challenges notions of what defines a monograph. These sections examine everything from character development, location, continuity (or lack thereof), race, gender, and the medium of comics itself. This level of close analysis offers a great opportunity for limited theoretical examination based on a handful of examples within the limited time frame of the twelve cent run. Though Beaty occasionally references events beyond the comics, either in the industry or other artifacts of popular culture in the 1960s, these are used primarily for context only when necessary. In rejecting auteurism in comics scholarship, Beaty counters the trend both from comics readers and scholars to dismiss Archie as unworthy of analysis or serious consideration. He also acknowledges gaps in the archive, as many of these comics have not been reprinted nor included in public collections and are only available through comics dealers for private purchase. In challenging notions of what deserves study and what comprises an archive, Beaty has advanced the rapidly expanding field of comics scholarship. This edition includes full-color reproductions of many of the panels and pages that Beaty analyzes, which aid his discussion as he need not spend undo time describing what can so easily be shown.
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