I've stated it many times here that I'm not always as "up" as I should be on matters of popular culture.

That can have its drawbacks, especially in social settings, when people are talking about popular issues, and I know next to nothing about them.

Don't get me into a conversation about Harry Potter, because I have read none of the books. And there is a large pile of books in my home (actually several large piles) to be read before I got into that.

Another example occurred many years ago, when it seemed the whole world was obsessed over who shot J.R. Having never watched an episode of Dallas (I haven't to this day), I had no idea what all the discussion was about, and to be honest, I couldn't have cared less.

That's the case with a lot of popular issues, which I think some people get a little too obsessed about. There have been a couple of times when I've fallen into the trap. For example, about 20 years I closely followed the world of professional wrestling. Taking part in animated discussions about who was hot and who was not. Of course I knew it was fake, but it's a fact that things don't have to be real in order to be entertaining.

Thus, I can understand it if some issues take on an exaggerated sense of proportion in the lives of many, as long as those people accept the fact the sophisticated folks like me might chose not to go along.

So I am not surprised at that one issue last week seemed to appear on everyone's radar a little more clearly than might have been appropriate. But if people are interested, who am I to deny them exposure to it.

I am referring to the news that Archie picked Veronica over Betty.

I have heard a lot of discussion of this matter over the last couple of days, as well as a certain amount of media coverage. In fact, I was reading a column in one of the weekend papers dealing with the serious topic of women having to put up with harassing remarks from ignorant louts they encounter while out walking, and she closed with an add-on containing some pithy observations about the conclusion of this love triangle that's been going on since long before I was born. I don't think I would have mixed the two topics, but it was not I who was composing the piece.

For the record, I think Archie is making a mistake. I would have taken Betty (as second choice behind my wife), because I always thought she was better looking and more down-toearth, but that is nothing more than one man's opinion, which few people would have solicited.

The fact is it's been more than 30 years since I read an Archie comic book, or any comic book for that matter.

But like most kids, I enjoyed reading comics, and my parents were inclined to go along with the interest. And Archie was usually the comic book of choice, and I think that's because of the various characters and the way they bounced off each other. There were others, like Sad Sack and the occasional Superman (I think those were my brother's), but Archie entertained my youthful mind, at least until I discovered Mad magazine.

Of course I always waited patiently for the weekend papers to go through the colour comics. Some of the strips I liked and read eagerly. Others, I couldn't have been bothered with. I was never much for the super heroes. Even in the '60s, when Batman was the hottest thing on TV (I watched it as enthusiastically as everyone else), I could never get into reading the comic strip. I always opted for the lighter ones, like Nancy (and her friend Sluggo), or Henry who never spoke (I guess that made for easier reading).

Peanuts, of course, was always a must-read for me, as was Blondie, although like most people, I think I was more interested in the misadventures of Dagwood.

I developed an interest in Andy Capp for a while; an interest I think I inherited from my father, who had several of the compilation books of the strip.

If this sounds like I'm dredging up a lot of ancient history here, it's because it has been years since I did anything more than glance at the comics. I have to make sure the comics are included when I get the Toronto Star every Saturday. That's where the High-Five Sudoku is to be found, and my wife wouldn't let me into the house if I neglected to bring that. But beyond the puzzle, I can't be bothered.

I guess I stopped being interested in the funny pages in December 1995, when Calvin and Hobbes came to the end of its run; a great pity, because it was a brilliant creation about a six-year-old boy who was sort of a combination of a social philosopher and Dennis the Menace, and his stuffed tiger.

Apart from the books with collections of the strips, I don't think there's much in the way of collectibles from Calvin and Hobbes. It's creator, Bill Watterson, was vehemently opposed to commercializing his work.

I was sorry to see the strip end, but one has to give credit to Watterson for getting out while he was still on top of the game. His was a strip that held one's interest until it was cancelled.

But since it was only a comic strip, it was easy for life to go on.

And as I recall, there wasn't a whole lot of media attention when it left. There was a newspaper story containing the announcement, but that was about it. Archie's pending engagement is evidently seen as more newsworthy.

And while we're back on the topic, I think most of us Calvin and Hobbes fans can agree that Calvin would have chosen Veronica. Hobbes would have gone with Betty.