Keller @ Large: Bring Comics Hall Of Fame To Haverhill

BOSTON (CBS) - I stumbled across a review yesterday of a book I absolutely have to go buy, "Archie: A Celebration of America's Favorite Teenagers."

Listen to Jon's commentary:

If you don't know about Archie Comics, you either grew up in another country or just weren't paying attention.

Since the 1940's, Archie comics have been defining and exploring, in their own comic book way, the basics of being a teenager in America -- school, the opposite sex, hanging out with friends, the opposite sex, dealing with embarassing parents, and the opposite sex.

And the creators of Archie managed to identify teenage types that have remained recognizable across decades of social change.

Archie is the Ferris Bueller-type, the guy every guy likes and, apparently, every girl likes too.

For many years, Archie has faced a classic dilemma -- go with Betty, the blonde next door who was his first crush, or Veronica, the wealthy brunette who's always had a crush on Archie?

Money, or love, what could be a more compelling dilemma than that?

And one of Archie's greatest all-time accomplishments may well be about to take place in real life -- in Haverhill, which was home to the chief Archie Comics illustrator during his high school years.

Now they're talking about turning the long-abandoned Woolworth building in downtown Haverhill into a comics hall of fame, and I can't imagine a better way to help that long-suffering but proud city generate some badly-needed economic activity.

Comic art has never been more popular, and a tourist destination with special appeal for families with young teens could be a gold mine.

So I say, go, Haverhill, go. Build the comics hall of fame, and put Archie front and center.

And here's an idea -- get Dustin Pedroia to come to the ribbon-cutting.

He's as close to a real-life Archie as we're likely to get.

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.