The Beatles

The Archie comic above popped up on my Tumblr dashboard this morning.

I have questions.

• Which albums are Betty and Veronica listening to?
• Doesn’t the one on the left look a bit like Meet The Beatles!, with its big white header and arrangement of 4 face/egg/floating orb things?
• …but does any Beatles album cover look like the one on the right?
• Could the fact the covers appear to feature 4 eggs each have inspired the “I am the egg-man” lyrics from “I Am The Walrus“?
• Does the fact that I started thinking about how valuable those records would be if they were real and their covers were horrific misprints mean that I have a record-buying problem?*
• Did the illustrator have a background in entomology?
• How much thought went into which beetle would represent which Beatle?
• By the time this comic was drawn (1965), were John and Paul already perceived in America as the group’s leading/co-equal creative forces?
• Is that why they’re nearly the same color?
• Was it intentional that John and Paul are on a head-butting collision course, or it merely accidental foreshadowing?
• By the time this was drawn, had George developed his reputation for being the quiet, sullen Beatle?
• Is that why he’s blue?
• Is that why he has vicious pinchers?
• …or are his vicious pinchers a vicious comment on his teeth, which seem to have been drawn even more unflatteringly than they needed to be?
• Could Ringo have been drawn any more appropriately — all goofy and off to the side?
• Should we read more into his being green, given that his second-class role in the group could have easily inspired envy?
• Should that same inference be applied to his positioning on the actual Meet The Beatles! cover? 
• Are those blue suede shoes Hiram’s rockin’?
• Might Hiram’s kicks imply that The Beatles were stepping on the older generation’s metaphorical shoes, or was Elvis too young at the time to represent Hiram’s generation?
• Am I reading too much into this comic?*

*Please do me the kindness of not answering this one.

As for the rest, I’d love to hear your thoughts and interpretations in the comment section below, especially if you were alive and kickin’ when this comic came out.

Since this illustration was featured on the comic’s cover, I thought it fitting to close with one of my favorite Beatles covers of all time — Fiona Apple’s interpretation of “Across The Universe.” Enjoy.

Fiona Apple — “Across The Universe” (Beatles cover) [Spotify/iTunes]