Chuck Clayton

Chuck Clayton

First appearance	Pep Comics #257 Sept. 1971
Hometown	Riverdale
School	Riverdale High School
Family	Coach Clayton (father) Alice Clayton (mother) Monica (cousin)
Hobbies	Various sports, comic book illustrating
Main love interest(s)	Nancy Woods

Chuck Clayton is an African-American teenage fictional character published by Archie Comics. Chuck lives in the fictional town of Riverdale, and is the friend of Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones, and other students at Riverdale High School.

History

Chuck is African American and the son of Floyd Clayton, who works at Riverdale High School as the school's coach and Alice Clayton, a housewife. Chuck grew up a shy loner but, after being unhesitatingly accepted as an equal by Archie and his friends, he grew up to become a confident, mature teenager.

Chuck was created for the Archie comics in the early 1970s, as a means of adding diversity to the (up until then, all-Caucasian) cast of characters. In his earliest appearances, he was fairly stereotypical for an African-American, often using hipster slang and being portrayed as athletic and philosophical. However, only his athletic abilities lasted. In his first few years in the comics, Chuck was often a sidekick to Archie as the two of them solved a mystery. By the early 1990s, his interest in cartooning was added to round out his character, and also serves to promote the comics he appears in.

He was originally intended to replace the minor, but commonly recurring character of "Frankie Valdez." However, Frankie later resurfaced as his own character. Chuck is seen as a "token" black character, and was called such in an episode of Robot Chicken. In stories where he plays sports, Chuck is usually seen with an afro, while in stories where he is focused on drawing he sports a flat top.

Interests

Chuck is first and foremost an artist; a cartoonist whose greatest ambition is to someday become a professional comic book and comic strip illustrator. Despite the long hours he spends practicing his craft, he still finds time to participate in all Riverdale high’s varsity sports, study his own African-American heritage, and spend time with his girlfriend, Nancy Woods.